I just wanted to share this with you guys as with the upcoming Group Buy and recent chat about ADS, I thought it would be a good read to see what the guy behind ADS in the UK is really about.  Everyone I know who has met Matt speaks incredibly highly of him as a nice bloke, extremely helpful and a fantastically competent detailer.  Here he has written up a difficult detail of a Toyota Rav4.  I love that it gets the level of attention you would associate with a super car detail.
 
I found the process and pics a great read and have so much respect for the results achieved.
 
It is nice for me to see and be reminded that the guy running Obsidian/ADS detailing supplies isn't just preaching, he is practicing too.
 
I was also stoked to see him use the Blackfire Wet Diamond protection (because I just bought some )
 
"Possibly the most damaged car I've worked on yet, total turn around"

rubbish, it currently wont let me paste the write up - going to try to fix it.

 

But for now the link http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=347598

 

Fixed it- yay- I am so freakin' smart

So, as you can see, lots of work to do and problem areas. The next step may seem over the top, but i much prefer to do this, especially on expected soft paints, than to rewash the car mid detail. When i know I'm going to be doing a great deal of compounding, and thus generate a lot of dust, i like to sheet and seal up lots of the nooks, crannies and tight areas to stop the collection of all the spent material. It goes thus, side windows are wrapped in cling film individually, and then sealed at the bottom over the trim. This means i can open doors as i require, and simply brush or blow off dust



 

Next the front screen. Place a sheet upto, and under if poss the side trim, and under the bonnet onto the engine bay




Then tape this up over the trim to fully seal




Once both sides are done and the bonnet is dropped, this is then fully protected




Rear done too



So polishing to begin. Paint measured pretty healthy, if not a little inconsistent, so measurements were taken continuously during the correction sets to stay safe. Correction was done with wool and m101, and when happy, a firm foam pad was used with m101 again on a direct drive da for a little more correction and a more even finish. Solid black is a pain after all











After 2 sets with wool, these still remained, one more set was completed in localised areas to soften them more, and that was as far as i could safely push it




On to the wings







Difference in colour is ridiculous right? So on to the doors, i start with the handles, in the dish, as these were not spared the terror




Then cut in around them



Then complete the door






Again, more localised work to be done, within safe levels

 

And so on











 

Again, more localised work to be done, within safe levels



And on to the rear








And front bumper



 

All ready for finishing



Now this part was, much like before, not straight forward. I had to double refine as ANY form of solvent cleaner marred the paint. So i had to refine and wipe down to check i had removed any hologramming etc, THEN refine the wipedown marring with 205 and use no solvent afterwards, taking it on faith we had done our job. There was also the added frustration of a couple of repainted panels that simply would not finish properly,i had to move to the das6 pro, with a black lc pad and P2 at a mid speed to get it to where i found it acceptable. Some times its the every day cars that really challenge you! Once refined






it was time for lsp. I chose blackfire wet diamond due to its effortless removal and wet look. This had 2 coats




 

And checked out pretty good under lighting






Please enjoy some afters as I'm really proud of the finish achieved. I do not envy the owner and her friend who now have to keep it something like, good luck gary













As always, thanks for taking the time to look, i hope it serves as an honest read to those who assume that things just fall into place, and anything other than 100% in a day is where you need to be to hold your head high. This took a week on and off, and was i would estimate 80% corrected AT BEST

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Yes Matt is a great bloke, had the pleasure of meeting him recently & we had a good chat. Looked a pig of a car to do.

That is an amazing turnaround. 

That car was certainly a mess given its age - very unloved.

Great work and nice to see the progress from start to finish.

 

....only 80% correction - but looks absolutely stunning after Matt's efforts! 

Just goes to show, a proper correction takes days, not a few hours. Thanks for sharing.

Fantastic job done on what I regard as the best ever Rav4 model ( 4.3 Facelift).As you can guess I had 3 Rav,s in various guises for 10 years and loved them dearly.To see the fantastic job done on this Rav by Matt is a credit to him, as said before it was very sadly unloved.

Tony

Wow. Thats a great job there. Shame my black car looks like his before pictures

Yup sure is a brilliant job and matt does seem a top bloke.

Quality bit of workmanship.

Although I did see it on DW mark thanks for sharing with those who don't visit.

Great job.  I have done a few motors which are in similar condition.  Some worse.  I think some people don't care up to the point they look at the paint in the sun and realise what they have done. :(

Although I did see it on DW mark thanks for sharing with those who don't visit.

 

Yeah that was where I came across the write up too, it was mostly because I know that a lot of people don't go on there and it seemed topical with quite a bit of ADS chat recently.

Crikes good turn around, looked totally neglected, and not salvageable to look good, but sure does at the end.

Great little write up and detail on the work involved to restoring it to its former glory, great work.

Wow. We the RSPCA etc for animals. The RSPB for birds ... .... ....

Need to setup a group to remove cars from those who don't look after them too.

What a state!!

Very good work on the Rav. Really shows what's possible with some knowledge and experience.

Incredible work. It just illustrates how much can be achieved given the right approach, knowledge and of course materials. Very, very impressive.