Finally, After Six Months...

[DobieG]

I finally got around to taking some pics of my car! After a front to back, bottom to top detailing job I snapped some pics and posted them on my webpage.

Be forewarned that most of them are basic and might be boring, but my Dad wanted to see as much of the car as possible! He lives in Ohio, so he won't be seeing it in person any time soon! :( If I play my cards right, I'll be making a roadtrip back to Ohio later next year.

Let me know what you think!

http://home.pacbell.net/jim1970/

DG

[nicksan]

Looks nice and shiny!

I gotta get my new 2001 baby detailed also...

How much was your detail job?

[DobieG]

Thanks for the nice comment, nicksan!

I did the detail myself. Took almost 9 hours (total).

Leather:

Used Lexol cleaner & conditioner

Interior:

Swiffer duster for the dash & vents followed by Meguiar's Natural Shine for the black plastic/rubber parts.

For the body:

Mother's clay bar

Meguiar's Scratch X

Mother's Pre-wax Cleaner (phase one)

Mother's Sealer & Glaze (phase two)

Mother's Pure Carnuba Wax (phase three)

Wheels:

Mother's Chrome Polish

DG

[lexusk8]

Wow DG, you certainly can't get in any better condition than your ES. Can't believe the low mileage on the 5-yr old vehicle, so you know it's time to start racking up them miles! :D

[amf1932]

Hey Jimbo-

I just had the most enjoyable time perusing your website, from the "Bellagio", to the "Our Cats", to the "Water Damage", and finally to your "Lexus ES 300". That car of yours is a rare find, and a real beauty, especially with the extremely low mileage. Use it well. Oh yeah, one other thing.......all of your photos were top notch!

P.S. You must be a high roller to have stayed at the Bellagio in one of their luxurious rooms.

[timmay217]

hey DobieG that clay stuff.....does it really work? cause my sister works for meguiar's =D!!!! and we get that stuff all the time all the other stuff works perfectly but i never tried the clay blocks yet

how does it work ?

[DobieG]

am41932:

Thanks for the nice comments. Glad you enjoyed the website. Believe it, or not, it's the first time I've ever used a digital camera! :o I'm actually not a high-roller by any means! I just always choose to stay (and play) at Bellagio. Every once-in-a-while they will send out mailers with deals on their rooms. This time around I decided to take them up on it! It was a great experience! Still, I'll have absolutely no problem staying in the "regular" room on my next visit! :)

timmay217:

The clay works wonders! Even when I thought my car was smooth as silk, I was still able to remove particles using the clay. It's just amazing! I recommend you give it a try. Here's a link to get you started:

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...c=10431&hl=clay

Let me know how it turns out!

JIMBO

[amf1932]

Hey....anybody that gets comped for 20¢ is a high roller in my book. :D

[NeiLtYmE]

hey great job with the detailing. looks real good. And loved the photography you did with the city lights. One of these days, im ganna have to get out there.

Coach editions are awesome, the emblems, the leather, OOO yes. we have rare cars.

Enjoy!

- neil

[Geo]

Nine hours !!... and that is a light colored car.

I have had relationships with women that lasted less ;) .

Looks great.

Later, George

[NeiLtYmE]

I have had relationships with women that lasted less ;) .

Indeed ....

[DobieG]

I have had relationships with women that lasted less  ;) . 

Yes, but do the women know it lasted less...?

doh!

DG

[tundra-lover]

How did yo post those pic's? I want to give it a try.

[nicksan]

Yeah, the clay bars are miracle workers.

I use Zaino products and really, my favorite product is the clay bar.

Even when you think your car is clean, when you run your hand on the finish, you can feel the dirt and bumps. I certainly can on my dealer "detailed" 2001 ES. I mean nothing beats a real detail at the body-shop but the clay bar leaves that silk smooth feeling to the finish.

You got some bird-crap marks?

You go some minor surface marks?

Did somebody else's paint rub off on your finish?

Bug death marks?

Tar?

Clay bar all that off...takes some effort...actually takes a lot of effort and my finger muscles were stiff for a few days after a good 4 hour session of claybar but I think it was worth it. Then you coat it with all the Zaino/M's stuff, put another coat...blah blah...and crap comes right off.

So you really need to clay bar once. Just make sure you put on coats of wax they provide for you...

I used to just wash my car then dry.

I did the whole treatment over 2 days with my Acura MDX and people were amazed at the shine.

[DobieG]

How did yo post those pic's? I want to give it a try.

tundra-lover:

I uploaded them to the Pacbell site (since I use Pacbell/SBC dsl) and then posted them on my webpage. I didn't use the gallery in the LOC forum because I wanted my family to be able to view them easily.

nicksan:

Question for you...how often do you use the clay bar? A couple times a year? Every wash? Only when necessary? Just wondering, since this is my first time ever using it.

Thanks!

JIMBO

[nicksan]

From what I have been told last year when I started using the ZAino stuff, I needed to initially get the surface clean, free from any debris.

So I used liquid dawn to get grease out, etc...then I started to use the clay bar for the stuff that was still on there...for me that took a while because I really never cared for my SUV this much.

That was a long process and since I only have time after work I split up the session into 2 days.

After you are done with the clay bar, you are supposed to coat it every once in a while...some people have many many coats of "wax" on their cars. The Zaino stuff is supposed to me made ro repel any new debris and make it easier to wash your car. Therfore the impression is that you only need to clay bar the thing only when needed...but clay barring it will take off any coats of wax so you need to work on the spots as well.

That's my understanding...it's like fine science with these guys who go CRAZY with this stuff...but their cars look AMAZING!!!

My SUV did for about a month...then I got lazy!!!!!

[DobieG]

My SUV did for about a month...then I got lazy!!!!!

I know exactly what you mean!

I hope to keep up the care with this car. I kept my Maxima looking really nice and ended up getting over Blue Book when I finally sold it. The way a car looks plays alot in the final selling price, in my opinion!

Thanks for the tips!

JIMBO