[MPOWER5266]

Long time no see. I finally got around to starting the detail/tornado repair on the wagon. I gave it a decon wash last night to strip what wax was left, and then hit it with a clay bar and iron remover.

Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

The plan tonight is to tape it off and hopefully finish the compounding. Then polish and coat it with GTechniq CSL over the weekend. It will be nice to finally get this back to its former glory.

[MPOWER5266]

Worked on compounding the wagon last night. I hit all the heavily damaged areas Meguiars 101 and got most of it out. There is still this one spot on the hood that will not budge but it might be okay after I touch it up with Dr Colorchip.


Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr


It was a late night in the garage but I should be ready to work on the polishing tonight. I am hoping that will go a little quicker.


Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

[MPOWER5266]

Spent a little more time on the wagon last night, and finished the polishing. This is the best part of every detail.


Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr


Its not perfect but I think its looking pretty good.


Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr


Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr


Then I worked on fixing the scratches. Its hard to see in the photos but there was pretty bad scratch here, and the Dr Colorchip covered it pretty well. Its about a 80% fix in my book but I don't want to pay for paintwork and an insurance claim might total it.


Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr


After that I took a microfiber towel and a little bit of Sonax Perfect finish and cleaned up the shadowline trim.


Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr


Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr


Apparently Dr Colorchip needs to cure for 7 days before I can coat the car but I talked to my buddy at Gtechniq and I may be able to do it sooner. I am thinking probably Thursday or Friday, I will apply the coating.

[MPOWER5266]

Over the last couple days I finished up the detail on the wagon. Wednesday night I wiped the car down with Eraser panel wipe to get all the polishing oils off the paint and jumped head first into my first coating project.


Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr


I watched a couple youtube videos and read the instructions, and it was actually really easy but time consuming. You basically just wipe it on the paint and make sure the whole panel is covered, taking care to not hit the adjacent panel. Then buff it off with a towel, and just to make sure you get all of it you wipe with another towel right after. I have used a ton of detailing products but nothing has made a car shine like this.


Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr


Hard to believe this is a 15 year old car that went through a tornado.


Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr


Thanksgiving morning, I cleaned the windows before running to my in-laws house to stuff my face. Then in the evening, full of turkey and all the fixings, I did a quick interior clean, dressed the tires, cleaned up the wheels, and wiped the car down with Gtechniq C2. This stuff is amazing and some how made the car look even better.


Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr


The first few days after the tornado, I spent a lot of time getting my family settled, making the house livable, and helping neighbors. Once I finally got around to checking my car and my wife's Tahoe for damage, I was pretty drained. I remember looking my car over and contemplating just selling it since it would never be right. It may seem silly to worry about such things when my house wasn't livable but cars and detailing cars are my outlet, almost like therapy. I made a post about it on facebook and I had a few people call me silly and told me not to worry about since it's a "daily." But one friend that happens to work for Gtechniq reached out and understood where I was coming from. We chatted a little bit about options and their products, and he offered to help. He sent a care package full of products and swag, it encouraged me to at least try to fix it. I know its just a car, but my family and friends are okay and the house is finally finished, so I am thankful to have it back to its former glory.


Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr

[rothwem]

Man you have way more patience than me. I detail my car once a year or less and I always seem to have a bird take a shit on it within 20 minutes.

[MPOWER5266]

Originally Posted by rothwem

Man you have way more patience than me. I detail my car once a year or less and I always seem to have a bird take a shit on it within 20 minutes.

Coat it next time, the shit wont stick. I have driven the car every day since the last photo was taken and it still looks clean.

[MPOWER5266]

After a few years of ownership, the wagon let me down for the first time. I took a week off work, and wife and I rented a cabin in Asheville. The Air B&B specifically noted that a 4x4 is recomended so the wagon stayed home. The cabin...


Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr


The weather was really nice the week before, so I drove some other cars. Basically the wagon sat for 2 weeks plus. I decided that it needed to be driven so I hopped in, and *click.* Hmmm, "battery might be low" I thought so I hooked the jump box to it.... Nope. Starter...... My dad and I pushed the wagon into the garage, the M3 has taken over the daily driver duties for now.


Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr


I ordered the parts and after a couple of days FCP had them to my door..... I dug in last night.


Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr


Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr


Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr


Ahhh, there it is.....


Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr


Since the manifold was off, I decided to replace the hard to get to DISA valve.


Untitled by Nick Wood, on Flickr


And I checked the easier to get to one and it has failed... I am hoping FCP can get that to me as quick as the starter. I miss driving this thing.

[M-technik-3]

Cars look great sitting beside each other. Funny the S52 is the same power as the N52. I just recently ordered a set of blackline taillights for my wagon. They look stunning over white.

[smulyanto]

beautiful build!

[bshambam]

Did you put the Evo 2 beneath the crystal serum? That combo works really well!