Steve @ Showroom FX

[firefighter1]

Ladies and Gentlemen,

First let me say this is going to be a somewhat long story to bare with me!

I'm starting this thread to show my great appreciation to Steve over at showroom FX. About a month ago a horrible thing happened to my camaro. My neighbors water well sprung a leak while my camaro was parked outside. The hard water has alot of gypsum in it and it stained my clear coat. I had tried 4 different details shops and even talked to numerous body shops and was unable to get the water stains out of the paint. I was sick to my stomach. I contacted junkman here on the forum and ordered what he believed to be the right things to get it fixed and I tried to do it myself. I got some of it off, but the stains were deep and I was afraid I was going to "burn through the clear". With little luck I finally found myself at my local insurance office ready to file a claim to have my entire car repainted. The insurance company paid and had my car sent to three different detail companies in my area. One clay barred the entire car and had no luck, another tried an "acid rain" wash solution that was suppose to take anything out of the clear. This didn't work. The last guy just polished it and well did more damage than good. I was sick. My red jewel camaro looked horrible and I didn't even want to drive it. I had even began to think about trading it off and finding another one! About three weeks ago I came across Steve's number and gave him a call. I explained to him what had happened to the car, what I done to try and fix it and flat out asked him what my options would be. Steve was unable to give me a quick fix that I was looking for but was very nice and told me that if he could see the car he might be able to help but he was unsure. Living three hours away I didn't want to take up any more of his time. Therefore I set out to find a body shop that would be qualified to do an all over paint job. I got ahold of Mike @ Whiteside customs and talked to him about doing an all over paint job. I was hoping that when I take my car up to lewisville for ADM to do some motorwork that I would have time to get them to look at the car. Low and behold that night I get a phone call from Steve. Steve had been researching all day the problem with my car and had felt that he could fix my paint. We talked about setting up a time and he cleared a day for him to work on my car. I loaded up the car and trailered it to him. I arrived at about 9:30 in the morning and to my surprise not only is Steve there, but so is Mike with Whiteside Customs. The entire crew there at Green Planet car wash jumped on cleaning the car first. The ran it throug the tunnel wash and hand dried it off. Then the experts got to work. Mike and Steve both got to work on my car. It was a little trial an error at first but they finally found the right combo of pads and chemicals to make the water stains go away. Almost 8 hours later my car had never looked better, it was the best shine the car has ever had. The color really pops now and it's got an amazing rich color. Steve, Mike, and the guys at Green planet, THANK you. You have a customer for life!

Here is a link to the short youtube video of the work done the car.


Jess

[adub4185]

Great post and video. Steve is awesome and we are so happy/lucky to have him as a sponsor with LSC.

I hope you don't mind if I link this thread to one over on lonestarcamaro.com.

[firefighter1]

Of course not, it was because of Lonestar that I came across his number!

[Shuffler]

Great job guys. Car looks fantastic again!!!

[Camaro21]

I got to see this car in person and Steve with Showroom FX did an amazing job on Jesse's car and he did my car as well.. Like Jesse said "Customer for Life"

[Junkman2008]

A couple of things that that other "detailers" should take from that video. Notice that 3 different polishers were being used (a Flex, PC and Makita). As I have stated on numerous occasions, a great detailer will NOT limit themselves to just one polisher as one polisher is not going to be perfect for every situation. A lot of "professionals" will break out a rotary and a wool pad and try to wipe all the clear coat off your car. You'll notice that in the videos, no wool pads were being used (they appear to be Lake Country pads). Also notice that various sizes were being used. This is a sign of a professional detailer who is armed to deal with the vast array of damage that a professional can possibly see. Also notice how long it took two guys who knew what they are doing, using the right equipment to complete the job. This should give you an idea as a novice how long it would take you as a novice using much safer equipment to perfectly correct the paint on your car.

To the novice, this type of stuff would totally go past you. These are the type of things that I like to see with people who are in the business of detailing. Kudos to you guys for the professional looking job that you did.

A quick question to the detailers, could you PM me a quick explanation on the process you used and how bad the water damage was? Water damage is always a topic for discussion that usually takes some trial and error to fix, as it appears you guys experienced. I'd be interested in hearing what you finally came up with.

Again, great work!

[Steve P]

Here you go in a nutshell:

I get contacted by many people for product advice or pricing on detail services. Sometimes it can be very difficult to speculate or determine what is needed to correct a specific condition without seeing a vehicle in person.

This was the case in Jesse's car until I had a chance to see the surface up close and in person. Upon first glance, you could not see the spots by looking directly at the finish. I was able to see them by looking at the paint from a 45 degree angle in the fluorescent lights above the detail bay. They were very faint in appearance but could be readily seen once we narrowed the scope of the search. The spotting outlines were concentrated to the passenger half of the paint and glass.

I had a couple of product pad combinations in mind for this project. For the test area, I sectioned off a 3" x 8" section on top of the passenger fender just in front of the side view mirror. Using the least aggressive combination rule, I began with a white pad/Menzerna SIP test. Little to no change. Based upon what Jesse told us that other facilities had done, I decided to move up to a LC 4" purple foamed wool/Meguiars M105 compound using the PC. After working this combo for a short time, the spotting was significantly lightned and then removed. Sometimes this can be an aggressive combination that may mar darker colors.

Now that we have a working combination for the spots. There also significant linear scratches associated with the washing and drying process. Using the purple/105 combo, I took care of 2 birds with one stone. Using the 4"/PC for the narrow and tight to reach areas while switching to the FLEX polisher and PC with 5.5" purple pads for the larger open surfaces. With the M105 use, I also added a dab of the Menzerna SIP to help extend the working time of the 105.

Once the heavy M105 compounding was completed to remove the scratches and spotting, I switched to the Meguiars M205 polish and LC 6" gray polishing pad to remove any compounding haze and marring.

To complete the restoration process, I topped the surface with our "Blazin Maize" synthetic wax using a 5.5" red LC finishing foam pad.

Feel free to contact me with any questions about the products used or process for this vehicle.

[Junkman2008]

Your description explained it all. Thanks for taking the time.

[FinalTouchDetail]

Steve is a fantastic guy and the products he sells are just as good!