# Suzuki Grand Vitara - Not Always Easy!



## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

Some days you get a car which is more of a challenge than others, even if they look fairly innocent at the start of the day! This Grand Vitara was one of these cars, the subject of a full exterior detail by myself, Gordon (caledonia) and Davy (badly_dubbed).

The car on arrival in Edinburgh was not hugely dirty, and looked in good condition:




























Unlike a lot of my details however, this was to be carried out essentially outdoors (private car park), which as those who are regular mobile detailers will tell you, presents a set of different challenges to those you face when unit based 

The car was washed and clayed ready for machine polishing, and now it was clear to see the paint finish - not bad by any means, light to medium marks with a few deeper ones here and there...


























































































































































Depending on the paint requirements around the car, most regions received a two stage machine polish - that is a correction polish, followed by a finishing polish for refining and ensuring the gloss and clarity are the best possible. After testing various combinations out on a test region on the bonnet to assess what the paint required (I always do this - start light and build to reach the desired combination, this serves to achieve the results with the minimum removal of paint which is key to the longevity of the finish after detailing).

The chosen correction polish was Menzerna PO85RD3.02 Intensive Polish applied using a white 5.5" Chemical Guys Hexlogic pad. The paint on this car was found to be sticky, the polish tending to dry a little and higher panel temperatures experienced which was compensated for by making more passes at slower speeds to coax the polish into life...


Spread at 600rpm
Begin working at 900rpm, several slow light passes until residue evenly spread
Speed up to 1200rpm keeping pressure light, montoring panel temperature
Work at 1500rpm until residue clear, light to moderate pressure, continuing to monitor heat

No refinement made, this was left to the finishing polish which followed, which today was chosen to be Menzerna PO85RD Final Finish, applied as follows... The heat buildup was still notable with this polish, but the rotary glided much more easily...


Spread at 600rpm
Begin working at 1200rpm, light pressure and slow machine movements to spread residue
Work at 1500rpm, steady machine movements and light to moderate pressure monitoring the panel temperature
Refine at 1200rpm, light pressure and slow machine movements
Burnish at 900rpm, light pressure and slow machine movements

The paint required you to keep your wits truly about you, constantly monitoring temperatures to keep the low when finishing as raising them shortened the life of the polish and would contribute to reducing the quality of the finish achieved.

The next minor issue with this paint finish was its tendancy to mark - very gentle pressure with the microfibres was required which made residue removal more difficult. Very careful IPA wipedowns were performed but ultimately, we went for a very different pre-LSP preparation procedure: double strength Optimum No Rinse, after an IPA wipedown, which removed the light dust which the car was picking up in the car park between wipedown and LSP. This ensured no marring was inflcited during LSP and highlighted a fantastic use for ONR, a product that comes in very hand when you lease expect it too! :thumb:

The end results of this machine polishing on the bonnet...










Rear 3/4...




























You can still see very slight evidence of product residue in some shots, which was removed fully using ONR which allowed a safer method on this paintwork without inflicting any marring to the freshly polished paint. Working outdoors has its joys, and does mean you need to box clever if you are in pursuit of the best possible finish on more awkward paints.

Gordon worked away on the rear of the car, using 3" pads to cut into every detail surrounding the tail, the metal halide lights proving very worthy tools for assessing the quality of the finish - they highlight far far more than 500W halogens!










The front end of the car after finishing was showing a lovely deep gloss...



















And under the Sun Gun, was proving to be nicely defect free with good clarity for the metallic flake...














































Some regions of the car were refined using the G220 and 85RD, and a 3M Blue finishing pad... owing to wind blowing dust through the car park, it was necessary to keep the work area very small to guard against dust pick up during the set - this made the rotary impractical on sections exposed to more dust as the very small working areas were causing too high a heat buildup for finishing purposes. So the good old DA was pulled into action here and there, with a work area of absolutely 1' square max and the following application technique:


Spread polish at speed 2
Work for three or four passes on speed 4 to evenly spread residue
Work on speed 5, moderate head pressure and slow machine movements for around 3 or 4 minutes until residue clear

Care had to be taken when removing residue not to pick up any dust as the smallest piece of grit would mark the finish. IPA wipedown performed, again with very light pressure over very small areas at a time after first lightly dusting the finish. Full removal of any remaiining residue was left for the ONR wash at the end. After pics of a couple of DA'd regions...




























Times like this do make you very glad of your detailing unit  ... But sometimes you just have to adapt your style to your work environment - its all part of the fun :thumb:

More afters from around the car...























































The front wing, looking lovely and glossy under the garage lighting...










Thoroughly checked by Sun Gun to ensure no marks, or marring left in the finish...




























Following an ONR wipedown, the glass was cleaned with Duragloss 751, trim and tyres with Chemical Guys New Look and then the paint protected with Duragloss 111 sealant.

After shots, indoors I'm afraid in the car park as the car was being parked up readied for a long trip and then its move to another country 



























































































Have to say, I was loving the depth in the bonnet 



















This car was a challenge, but very rewarding in the end - and we do enjoy a challenge!! :thumb:


----------



## slimjim (Mar 22, 2007)

Cracking Job :thumb:


----------



## Guest (Aug 18, 2009)

Love Reading your threads. Excellent


----------



## Edward101 (Jun 5, 2009)

Top work as usual, a nice write up, look forward to your next one


----------



## Grizzle (Jul 12, 2006)

Nice job i hope you didn't make a mess of the walls, doors, and floor with yellow numbers as i painted all that a few years back lol.

Its an Apple-cross development the penthouses at the top are..were worth 1-million at the time.


----------



## badly_dubbed (Dec 11, 2008)

aye we got talking about the penthouse flats, one of the developers has one apparently


----------



## Grizzle (Jul 12, 2006)

Also its not the best of places to be detailing the dust that lower car park gets is unreal you done well.


----------



## badly_dubbed (Dec 11, 2008)

Grizzle said:


> Also its not the best of places to be detailing the dust that lower car park gets is unreal you done well.


:lol::lol::lol:

you decide to tell us that now!

it was horrendous.


----------



## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

Yes, the dust does make for a challenge, but you just need to keep your wits about you


----------



## eurodub (Mar 24, 2009)

Great Job Lads....:thumb:


----------



## caledonia (Sep 13, 2008)

Lets just say it was one of those interesting day.

But for me this is the money shot.
We captured Dave. Cracking shot.










As well as another cracking day out and about. :lol:

But the Mc Donald's after was better. :thumb:

Gordon


----------



## -tom- (Jan 27, 2009)

spot on lads looks realy smart


----------



## badly_dubbed (Dec 11, 2008)

we ate like kings!!!

for such a small bloke dave can throw down some amount of grub!!! must have hollow legs :lol:


----------



## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

badly_dubbed said:


> we ate like kings!!!
> 
> for such a small bloke dave can throw down some amount of grub!!! must have hollow legs :lol:


:lol: Yes I do eat a lot! Three burgers, two large fries and a doughnut if I remember right!


----------



## badly_dubbed (Dec 11, 2008)

and washed down with a coffee :lol:


----------



## Scotch (Jul 23, 2009)

Nice work guys:thumb:

Though you can see the number plate just before you typed

"The front end of the car after finishing was showing a lovely deep gloss..."

Cheers


----------



## MAWA4 (May 17, 2008)

Nice work as always Dave, even if you had stolen my parking place for the day to do it. I just work in the building, couldn't dream of affording an appartment here.

The developer, as 'Badly Dubbed' suggested is in one of the penthouse flats, although, times must be harder these days as the DB9 and Range Rover Sport have been replaced with a still very nice TT.

By the way, Vitara still in the garage and looking great, just popped down and had a look.


----------



## alexf (May 23, 2009)

they are some awesome reflections!


----------



## Bigpikle (May 21, 2007)

great work guys - looks like a very creative team effort :thumb:

....and using the washing solution of the devil


----------



## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

Top work there


----------



## caledonia (Sep 13, 2008)

Bigpikle said:


> great work guys - looks like a very creative team effort :thumb:
> 
> ....and using the washing solution of the devil


And there I thought you would approve.
Don't worry big guy in know when your joking.

As you right fully know when have very strict laws up here. And as we where mobile we have no choice to carry out a wash that has no run off.

It is nice to have packed in the kit bag, we even had a pressure sprayer set up as a pre soak. Prior to the first wash. But this was required again after machine polishing to remove a great deal of dust and heavy grit. We decided to make this up at double strength to remove the polish residue also. It worked remarkably well, especially on very soft paint.

O the joys of have a unit with internal drainage taken care of. But ONR was the savour on this day. :thumb: But as if I would use anything else. 
Gordon.


----------



## waxy (Feb 27, 2006)

Unless you have very hard water,there is no benefit in using a double strength solution of ONR,it's just a waste of product.


----------



## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

waxy said:


> Unless you have very hard water,there is no benefit in using a double strength solution of ONR,it's just a waste of product.


There is a benefit if you are looking to ensure you remove polishing oils with absolute minimum of pressure - the cleaning power of the solution at increased strength was found to be adventageous on this detail, using the product rather than pressure which was a risk on this paintwork.


----------



## Miglior (Feb 12, 2006)

nice write up dave


----------



## Grizzle (Jul 12, 2006)

caledonia said:


> O the joys of have a unit with internal drainage taken care of.


Couldn't agree more the unit edinburgh has an internal drain :thumb: its excellent and with the new hot PW arriving soon will make light work of the winter grime.


----------



## waxy (Feb 27, 2006)

Dave KG said:


> There is a benefit if you are looking to ensure you remove polishing oils with absolute minimum of pressure - the cleaning power of the solution at increased strength was found to be adventageous on this detail, using the product rather than pressure which was a risk on this paintwork.


Well,as you can wash a car,and remove abrasive dirt from paint without marring,using the manufacturers recommended dilution,i don't see any benefit.There would only be a benefit to an increased dilution ratio when using hard water,as some of the polymers would bind to the calcium and silicate in the water,thereby reducing the amount of polymers available to encapsulate dirt/dust on the vehicle surfaces.By incresing the dilution ratio for hard water,you ensure that there is a sufficient amount of dirt encapsulating polymers available to do the job of preventing wash induced marring.


----------



## caledonia (Sep 13, 2008)

waxy said:


> Well,as you can wash a car,and remove abrasive dirt from paint without marring,using the manufacturers recommended dilution,i don't see any benefit.There would only be a benefit to an increased dilution ratio when using hard water,as some of the polymers would bind to the calcium and silicate in the water,thereby reducing the amount of polymers available to encapsulate dirt/dust on the vehicle surfaces.By incresing the dilution ratio for hard water,you ensure that there is a sufficient amount of dirt encapsulating polymers available to do the job of preventing wash induced marring.


Where I agree with all of your comments above. As Dave has said the ONR was your to carry out two jobs in one. Removal of Dirt and grime safely, which a standard dilution would have done. But the second reason was not to make it wax safe. So in turn removing the wax residue present with the Menz polish.

Technically doing two jobs in one. :thumb: and preparing the surface for the LSP. Which was applied as soon as the panel was dried.
Gordon.


----------



## badly_dubbed (Dec 11, 2008)

and also keep water usage and run off to a minimum


----------



## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

waxy said:


> Well,as you can wash a car,and remove abrasive dirt from paint without marring,using the manufacturers recommended dilution,i don't see any benefit.There would only be a benefit to an increased dilution ratio when using hard water,as some of the polymers would bind to the calcium and silicate in the water,thereby reducing the amount of polymers available to encapsulate dirt/dust on the vehicle surfaces.By incresing the dilution ratio for hard water,you ensure that there is a sufficient amount of dirt encapsulating polymers available to do the job of preventing wash induced marring.


As Gordon has highlighted above, it was the polish residue as well as the dirt that we were looking to remove and this is why the product was used at double strength - we could have removed the oils with IPA but the pressure required to do so without smearing risked the marking of the paint, hence the use of ONR in this fashion instead. Yes ou can remove road grime with standard strength car shampoo, any shampoos, but this purpose of this wash was two fold.


----------



## Bass-Evolution (Aug 13, 2009)

Every post of Dave's seems to be a detailer's guide to something. I'm always learning something reading your posts. Great work.


----------



## Finerdetails (Apr 30, 2006)

good effort guys, nice improvement. A week of those and you'll know why we dont post every car we do, you just dont have the energy left for it


----------



## KKM (Dec 10, 2007)

Stunning work Dave!!

Got to be happy with the end results!!

:thumb:


----------



## alx_chung (Aug 13, 2006)

Great job guys!! All I can say is 'Peeek a booooo' :lol::lol::lol:
Alex


----------



## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

alx_chung said:


> Great job guys!! All I can say is 'Peeek a booooo' :lol::lol::lol:
> Alex


Aaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh :lol::lol::lol::lol:


----------



## badly_dubbed (Dec 11, 2008)

wrong wrong wrong wrong!!!!


:lol:


----------



## Planet Man (Apr 12, 2008)

Top work fellas:thumb:


----------



## harooshum (May 28, 2012)

Now that's how a black car should look!


----------



## zippo (Mar 26, 2008)

2009 mmmm I didn't have a hint of grey hair then so what changed . _Snaps fingers_:wall:
OCD Big time and that thing that comes through the post commonly known as the credit card bill that the wife better not find :thumb::thumb::thumb:
Daz


----------



## B17BLG (Jun 26, 2012)

This is the glamourous side of detailing i see :lol:

Nice work indeedy!


----------

