Admittedly this is nothing earth-shattering but I've been getting interested in high-end detailing ever since someone posted that link to the Ferrari 458 detail job a while back. That opened me up to the world of detailing forums and a whole new place for my OCD to wander. All of my various hobbies and occupations have been outlets for OCD, from house painting/restoration to engine building to various subjects of study, etc...
Anywhoo, what was interesting to me was not how shiny they could get a car but rather the "paint correction" or repair that is possible from a skilled detailer. Scratches removed, color-sanding, all of that. I recently acquired an old Mercedes S500 from a friend that was a bit neglected and needing some repairs. It's a good, low miles car that his (late) father bought new, just had been sitting for several years going to hell since his dad died. There is a longer story behind it but suffice it to say that it fell into my life like an unplanned pregnancy. I rarely drive it but it's now in great shape with everything mechanically perfect and only 65k original miles.
The paint was really bad with deep scratches in the clear coat and a hood that had been painted by a crook body shop after a minor accident that did not shine. When I say "did not shine", I mean that it looked like it was painted with a brush and a roller in satin finish. With absolutely nothing to lose but some thick/rough clear coat, I decided that this car was my guinea pig. I was going to dive balls-first into advanced auto detailing. I've been washing and polishing cars since I was a kid in the '60s but realised that I really knew nothing after lurking a little on the detail boards. I'd done some color-sanding on real junk paint, (with ok results), now I had a potentially more valuable car and I wanted to do it right.
First thing I did was invest in quite a bit of new tools and equipment + chemicals. The most important new tool was a Porter Cable DA polisher that seems to be favored by the pros.
Here are some "before" pictures from the day I got the car a few months ago:
The trunk was pretty hideous, big scratches from boxes being slid on it while in storage. Poor car. Wasn't sure whether I could erase these.
