A friend's aunt dropped off a 2004 Nissan Sentra yesterday evening. The plan for me was to work on this a couple of nights this week in an effort to get it 'sale ready' as they've recently listed it in the newspaper.

My task (and I chose to accept it) was to spend a minimal amount of $ in a fair effort to give this thing some additional life...

Naturally, I saw this as a potential to tinker with a couple of products that I've not really had much time to play with (nor the right vehicles honestly).

The first tinkertoy product is Meguiar's M86 Cut & Shine (So1o System)...

First, let's look at the subject vehicles:



Lots of tiny scratches (said to have been caused by the evil kitties)



So dirty that it's hard to see the swirls... low light too.





-CONTINUED-

 

Not too sure the kitties could've done this...



After the wash, more problems are noted...



Front body damage...Obviously, the owner and I talked about this before she left the vehicle. It's important to note that this was a 'home fix' (as if one couldn't tell). It was accomplished with a rattle can. As such, and as a tip, it's important to find out little details like 'rattle can' because, once you know this, you can safely assume that the paint is ULTRA thin in this area and that you should STAY OFF OF IT AT ALL COSTS with your machine...



Post-wash...




--CONTINUED--

 

Alkaline water spotting - etched.



Extra-Dirty Engine Bay



Okay... let's crank up the Makita and tinker with the M86... That's a WWLC 7" Meguiar's So1o pad (btw, I *REALLY* like the pad!)



After using the WWLC 7" / M86 Combo...



--Continued--

 

Using only the M86 So1o Cut & Shine product and now a WDFF 7" Finishing Diamond Pad... Half of the hood...



Remember that earlier picture of the alkaline water spot? It's gone.



Here are a couple of LOUSY inside of the garage with crappy lighting pictures...



Before someone makes a comment about the shelving situation - remember, 98% of my stuff is still inside in totes. It should be coming out this weekend and I'll add a pic or two to the 'show your stash' thread...



Products Used Thusfar:

1. Meguiar's Super Soap (D-112)
2. Meguiar's Solo M-86 Cut & Polish Cream
3. Meguiar's Easy Buff Rotary Backing Plate
4. Meguiar's WWLC 7" Light Cut Wool Pad (rotary only)
5. Meguiar's WDFF 7" Black Foam Finishing Pad (Diamond) (Rotary Only)
6. Meguiar's Premium Paint Cleaner (PPC) (Disconinued)
7. Makita Rotary
8. PC 7424 with Meg's polishing & finishing pads
9. Meguiar's Hyper Dressing
10. Meguiar's Body Solvent
11. Meguiar's APC+
12. Simple Green (4:1)
13. Meguiar's C2000 Detailing Clay (mild)
14. Poorboy's Spray & Wipe
15. Gilmour Foamaster w/ Goodyear Spray Nozzle (replaced the Gilmour cheapy with a NICE one - HIGHLY recommended!!!!)
16. Meguiar's #80
17. Poorboy's Natty Red
18. Meguiar's Premium Paint Protection (MPPP) (Discontinued)
19. Meguiar's M-21 2.0 Synthetic Sealant

Heck, I think there were a few others... Like I had previously mentioned, because this was a job that didn't require precision, I decided that I'd tinker with a few product combos, new products, and also a few new techniques that I've been working on... That's why I've used better than 20 products and still need to fine tune the paint (in a bit more daylight) and to apply the LSP (although, I've tinkered with *several* combos on the hood thusfar -- the standard, put it on, look at it, admire it, shine different lights on it, strip it, try something new scenario). Not real effective but, there were definitely a few product combos that I found that didn't work well on Black at all... another one or two really impressed me (Natty's Red over #21 looked stellar).

I'll stop rambling and tell you guys that I'll do my best to get a few more pics before the owner takes delivery (scheduled for Wed - I still have the interior and trunk to do). Hopefully, we'll have some sunshine so that it can get a little well-deserved respect (because this owner is getting a BOATLOAD more than what she's paying for due to it being a 'tester' vehicle)...

More later.

-RP-

 

when you gonna bring that 76ish F100 ranger back to life?

 

It's alive. 68k'ish on the ticker. Stock EVERYTHING (minus wheels). It's a 78'.

 

wheels look like 88 or something

you just dont like driving a carb'd truck im assuming

 

It's his dad's ole Bronco that shouldn't be used as a storage shelf... Oh, and its a carbed truck with little to no muffler on it...

Lookin good RP! I'll be starting a similar detail soon... My buddy Gary has a 1996 F-250, black and silver two tone. Paint seems to be in similar condition, so I'm taking notes... :o

 

Thanks, Zaair... by theory, it should be completed this evening. Pictures may not follow until Wed. night depending on lighting...

It's actually been therapeutic to work on this vehicle during the evenings as stressful as work has been as of late...

 

Very nice Rock, but then again, we expect it from you.

Well documented procedure, new comers should take note of this thread and learn from the "pro's"

Anxious to see the other photos.

 

thats lookin pretty sweet. so was it the M86 So1o Cut & Shine you used to get that alkaline water spot off with? my friend has some on his jeep and wants to have it repainted because of them

 

Just from doing a bit of reading, it sounds like the M86 is best left to pros to use... They recommend using a rotary and a wool buffer...

 

Hardly a 'pro'... This was a 'trial and error' event.

 

The Sentra is complete. The owner just took possession and cashed out...

All in all, it was a decent car to work on. It arrived in D- condition and was returned in B+ condition. The long and short of it is that you can only fix so many issues for a certain cost. If I had more time - and more of an investment by the owner - I could've fesibly brought it into A- territory -- well, maybe I could have. It needed *a lot* of love...

On to the pics...









--CONTINUED--

 

Most all of the pictures that I took this evening were lousy at best. The light - as you can see - was pretty low and thus, it's tough to really 'show off'. Trust me on this, the hood was absolutely swirl free (as was the rest of the vehicle - minus the rear of the tailgate which didn't get much extra love due to time constraints and *thin* paint (resprayed)).

Products used were noted in an earlier post. The LSP of choice ended up being Meguiar's Premium Paint Protection and was topped with #26 Hi-Tech Yellow. Tires were Hyper Dressing. Interior was Poorboy's Natural. Wells were Eagle One Wet (because it's lousy - and that's where lousy dressings go to die). Engine compartment (forgot the after photo although, it wouldn't have been monumentally impressive - it was just too far gone for the time I could give to it) was APC+, the late Safe D-Greaser and Simple Green -- dressed with Hyper Dressing at 4:1.

While I did enjoy working on this and really bringing it back to life, it was a tad disappointing having to let it go in only B+ shape. The owner, I should add, was *thrilled* with it. She felt very confident that she'd get the money that she had put into the detail back out of it when she puts it in the Louisville Courier Journal's classified ads for this weekend (and I think she will too).

Anyway... that's about it. I've rambled enough. It's not my best work but, the customer asked for a specific goal (that being to get it ready for resell); she definitely got that (and quite a bit more, honestly).

BTW, before someone says something about the wheel wells -- they were done. That's a lighting issue that is making it look 'brown'... trust me, they were blacked out. Secondly, I'm not nearly that enormous (I'm overweight... but not that bad! LOL!). As they say, the black Sentra adds 40 pounds... as does the TV camera, etc...

Feel free to ask questions, comment, smirk, make jokes, fart in my general direction, or critique.

-RP-