1990 #2517

[Aurora40]

Here's my car shortly after I took ownership of it a couple of months ago, and after my first go-round of detailing it and cleaning it up a bit:





The car is basically stock but with AFS 5-spoke wheels, the hood badges, a hurst shifter, 1-4 bypass, and one of those goofy power-plate things on the ashtray lid. It also had a t-handle "ZR-1" embossed shift knob, but I put the stock on back on (though it wasn't stored well and I'd like to replace it with a more mint one).

I've changed the oil, coolant, tranny fluid, plugs, replaced the brake pedal switch so the high-mounted lights work, and I need to replace the reverse switch and address a secondary leak. The injectors seem to leak slightly as well, I'm trying some Chevron Techron hoping that fixes it, otherwise they'll go off to get rebuilt.

The car is a lot of fun, for sure! And I really love the way the C4 looks. It can look fairly flat in photos, but it has a lot of curves. The way the fenders curve out, and buldge up on the hood, and the curve at the bottom of the body. Such a gorgeous car!

[Aurora40]

Well, I "used too many images" apparently, so here are the others:





The brake fluid looks much clearer now than in the last pict...
Oh, and I need to get my front tires remounted, as they are on the wrong sides...

[RiceEatingZR1]

Wow! now that is a nice shine! what wax do you use?

[Z Factor]

Looks like you keep her in top shape.

[Aurora40]

Originally Posted by RiceEatingZR1

Wow! now that is a nice shine! what wax do you use?

Well, the car isn't nearly as shiny as the Aurora, but I've owned that car since new. This car is coming around, though 15 year old paint, even garage kept, will not be as amazing as newer paint.

But here is a write-up I did at the time on my process and products:

I spent most of my time on the interior. It was in nice shape, but it could be better. Everything is mint, no wearing etc, but it was a little dusty. I used Meguiar's APC+ at 16:1 on the carpets as needed, but mostly just vacuumed.

Then I wiped the doors and dash down with distilled water and treated with Pinnacle V&R protectant. I was gonna use Meguiar's #40 but wanted something more matte and with slightly less cleaning power (it's a 15 year old car). I hit the weatherstripping with Vinylex because it has more cleaning power than #40.

The leather I cleaned thoroughly with Lexol leather cleaner, then treated it with Lexol conditioner. The next day I treated it with Pinnacle leather conditioner. It is really much more supple feeling now, and smells great.

I washed and used Meguiar's Gold Class bug & tar remover as needed, and then spot clayed the exterior. I didn't want to go nuts with polishing until I got a feel for the paint. I would have gone with Meguiar's #80 or #82 by hand, but I've been itching to try Pinnacle paint cleansing lotion. I wasn't as impressed as I thought I'd be. It dries out quickly and gets sort of dusty if you aren't careful (and this was by hand). Also you have to work it a lot or it is hard to buff off. It did brighten the already bright and glossy paint, though. The difference side-by-side was clear, though not huge. Then I topped that Pinnacle Souveran, which added a nice depth and shine. Oh, prior to polishing/waxing, I hit the black beltline molding with Meguiar's #38. Man was that easy to use and it looks so black.

I have subsequently polished it out with Meguiar's #83 DACP on the horizontal surfaces, and #80 Speed Glaze on the whole car followed by Klasse AIO and Pinnacle Souveran.

I maintain it with Pinnacle Crystal Mist and Meguiar's Final Detail (which sadly they discontinued)

[Aurora40]

Originally Posted by Z Factor

Looks like you keep her in top shape.

Well, when I was shopping, a car with very few exterior and interior flaws was my biggest criteria. So most of what I did was just sprucing up what was already pretty clean. The differences in the interior look after conditioning was pretty amazing, though, but it looked nice and clean initially, it wasn't until it looked even healthier that you could tell it was in need of something.

I've only owned it since March. And the engine is not as clean as it appears in photos, though it's hardly bad.

Thanks for the compliments folks!

[WB9MCW]

When can you come over and detail my ZR-1????

[Jim Jones]

Very nice !! The interior really shines!!

[RiceEatingZR1]

Originally Posted by Aurora40

Well, the car isn't nearly as shiny as the Aurora, but I've owned that car since new. This car is coming around, though 15 year old paint, even garage kept, will not be as amazing as newer paint.

But here is a write-up I did at the time on my process and products:



I have subsequently polished it out with Meguiar's #83 DACP on the horizontal surfaces, and #80 Speed Glaze on the whole car followed by Klasse AIO and Pinnacle Souveran.

I maintain it with Pinnacle Crystal Mist and Meguiar's Final Detail (which sadly they discontinued)

Thanks for the Tips.. I have been wanting to Clay bar my car for a while now how hard is it to do?

[Aurora40]

Originally Posted by WB9MCW

When can you come over and detail my ZR-1????

Heheh, if you want to drive your car over here, I'd be glad to give you a hand! Detailing is pretty fun, but detailing a nice C4 is even more so!

Originally Posted by Jim Jones

Very nice !! The interior really shines!!

Thanks! As I said, it was pretty clean already. But it didn't really take on that glow until after really going over it. In that picture you can really see how much healthier the leather seemed to get. It really felt more supple and soft and looked better after a cleaning and conditioning. A few more applications and the interior should start to take on a nice leather shop smell...

Originally Posted by RiceEatingZR1

Thanks for the Tips.. I have been wanting to Clay bar my car for a while now how hard is it to do?

Clay is very easy to use, provided you are careful and use common sense. However, you need to evaluate the surface to see if it needs to be clayed. I really only needed to clay the bottom of my car. You can run your hand gently over the panels after you wash the car and see if they feel glass smooth or gritty. You can also clay a spot and see if it improves the feel or not. Then decide if you need to clay that area.