Detailed 1999 SVT Lightning

[Rich189]

Did Nick's (aka nick the hammer) lightning last night and today it took a bit longer then I originally planned but it was worth it I think.

Gave it a 3 stage polish using
Menzerna power gloss compound
Wolfgang Concours total swirl remover 3.0
Wolfgang concours finishing polish 3.0

then coated it with the new Wolfgang fuzion wax (even though its 175 bucks a container its worth it to me anyway)

Anyway heres the pics sorry for the quality and not so perfect comparisons (only 1 in 4 pictures came out decent) i had to do it in my garage again with all this damn rain not to mention i worked on it from 10pm last night through 6am this morning slept like 5 hours and woke up and finished it.


Before


During compounding


After compounding before polishing and wax (notice the compounding haze)



Before




After




Before



After




Before


After



Before





After





Before



After




Beading before


Beading After





And if your not sick of them already heres one more featuring big jon and nick

[DaSkinnyGuy]

after looking at this im almost interested in watching this process in person. Watching = learning - Learning + elbow grease = Detail job

[ar0ck]

Looks Amazing Rich! I'm sure Nick is one happy customer save the poor weather.

[Blackbirdws6]

great work on a semi-rough looking lightning. I applaud you for using the shop lights to truly show off your work. You did a fantastic job. My friend Frank said he got in touch with you and is looking forward to setting up an appointment for his detail.

Are the products you used (sans the fuzion wax) for the compounding used in order and can any of them be left out if the paint isn't as bad as the one your have shown here? I'm looking to try a different compound so I may pick up some product to try out. What kind of pad did you use as well?

-Brian

[BonzoHansen]

Not bad for a ferd

[Tru2Chevy]

Nice work Rich.

- Justin

[Anti_Rice_Guy]

Nice kneepads old man . j/k I just use a boat cushion.

Looks good Rich, I always try and compare the condition of the paint with our cars. Mine beads up like that I'm proud to say

[Rich189]

Originally Posted by Blackbirdws6

great work on a semi-rough looking lightning. I applaud you for using the shop lights to truly show off your work. You did a fantastic job. My friend Frank said he got in touch with you and is looking forward to setting up an appointment for his detail.

Are the products you used (sans the fuzion wax) for the compounding used in order and can any of them be left out if the paint isn't as bad as the one your have shown here? I'm looking to try a different compound so I may pick up some product to try out. What kind of pad did you use as well?

-Brian

Frank got in touch with me i e mailed him back but havent heard from him yet. The compounds/ polishes can be used seperatley depending on the paint condition and color for example:

White car that has light/medium swirls etc. You can get away with using the total swirl remover on an edge green pad (light cutting) followed by your wax but on the same car in black to get the best results youd have to use the finishing polish after.

For this truck i used:
Flex rotary with yellow pad and powergloss compound
flex rotary with green pad and total swirl remover
flex forced rotation orbital with finishing polish
then wax was done by hand

If your looking for new products id recommend the wolfgang 3.0 set they are similar to my favorites (menzerna sip and 106ff) but come in a 16 oz so they are cheaper to try then if you like them buy the sip and 106ff. I got them for free though to do a review if i didnt i would have used the menzerna.

[bad64chevelle]

Yeah the Lightning was a solid 10 foot car before, but those swirls were getting real bad. The thing looks amazing Rich, he is definitely happy, just pissed that it rained today The paint was getting worse with all the driving he did out at my house lately to work on his car, the dirt driveway really kicks paint's ass.

[qwikz28]

go nick! i bet he is happy as heck!

[Rich189]

Originally Posted by bad64chevelle

Yeah the Lightning was a solid 10 foot car before, but those swirls were getting real bad. The thing looks amazing Rich, he is definitely happy, just pissed that it rained today The paint was getting worse with all the driving he did out at my house lately to work on his car, the dirt driveway really kicks paint's ass.

Well he should be good for a while now as long as hes careful not to rub dirt into the paint like i told him bring it back at the end of the season and ill seal it till next spring so itll look decent all winter and wont get messed up with the salt etc.

[maroman88]

looks awesome, those are my fav sport trucks

[Rich189]

knee pads ftw.... boat pad doesnt work for me not enough cushion and when im on my knees for 4-6 hours and sliding around cars they are the best 30 bucks i ever spent

Originally Posted by Anti_Rice_Guy

Nice kneepads old man . j/k I just use a boat cushion.

Looks good Rich, I always try and compare the condition of the paint with our cars. Mine beads up like that I'm proud to say