After a 10,000 mile tour of the country earlier this year my silver 2004 Santa Fe was in DIRE need of a good detail. She'd spent two and a half months parked outside while I was in Kansas City for school and exposed to the elements (she's been garaged since we bought her). I was shocked and amazed to find that the paint had suffered from some slight oxidation. Nothing terrible but enough to take the shine off the surface and you could tell the difference between a panel that had been polished and one that had not. Please keep in mind that this car does have 122,500 miles on her so I did what I could.

I do not have any before photos as she'd already been washed and it's silver so it's damn near impossible to see the defects anyway. Sorry I'm usually a bit more snap-happy but this car is just like her owner; not photogenic in the slightest way.

I mostly use Griot's Garage products so that will be indicated by the acronym GG.

Exterior Process:
Wash using GG Car Wash and MF Mitt
Dry with MF Waffle Weave drying towel
Clay using GG Clay and Speed Shine as lubricant
Machine polished using GG Random Orbital, orange pad, and GG stage 2 machine polish
Re-wash car following polishing to prep surface for LSP and remove any remaining speed shine and polishing oils
Applied one coat of 4-star UPP by hand and allowed to cure for 2 hours

Wheels, Undercarriage, and Engine
Pre-soak wheel arches with APC 4:1 and agitate with brush
Pre-soak engine compartment with APC 4:1 and rinse with hose on 'Shower' setting
Dress arches with GG Undercarriage Spray and engine compartment with Stoner's Trim Shine
Remove all four wheels, remove tar spots and clean wheel barrels (reverse sides) and lips.
Dress tire faces with GG Long-Lasting Tire Dressing

Interior
Vacuum seats and carpets
Scrub cargo area rubber mat with APC 4:1 and brush
Fit new carpeted floor mats
Dust and clean plastic surfaces with GG Interior Cleaner
Clean windows inside and out with Sprayaway Glass Cleaner and paper towels

Total Time Spent: 12 hours (silver is an easy color and Hyundai paint is REALLY soft and easy to work with)



This door had to have some PDR work done on it a few years ago which is why it's not perfectly straight...




Nothing like clean arches. Please note that what looks like dirt at the top of the mud guard is actually the reflection of the alloy wheel on the plastic dressing.




Notice I go for the lines in the cloth seats and carpets. It's those little touches that make the difference, if you ask me.






Shiny....


Thanks for looking.

 

Sheeeeeesh, looks brand new....I love those cars. I want to get rid of the Expy guzzler and get one of those for the wife......That thing, seriously, looks like it it was taken off the showroom, and I love Silver.....

 

Thanks, man. It's hard for me to see just how good it looks because I try to keep it looking like that as much as I can.

My first real glimpse at how good she really does look came after I got home. The car was given a quick wash in Philadelphia and then driven another 6,000 miles before her next bath. She cleaned up like a new penny and it was then and only then I saw what people were talking about. Unfortunately I can't relate to it anymore.

 

Kickass job Andrew! I have to agree, that Santa Fe looks brand spankin new. I am always impress with your attention to detail (also your RL thread) cleaning the wheel arches and under carriage.

 

Looks great. Have you ever thought of applying the tire dressing and wheel well dressing with a spray gun?

I started that last year and really a time saver and it also dresses in the side tread grooves.

 

Andrew, I wish I had known you were in Kansas City! We could have hooked you up with other Acurazine members here in town.

The car looks great too (by the way!)

 

Thanks, guys.

Steven...I don't think I would have fit in. A Hyundai driver in a group of Acuras? I'd stick out like an albino at the Apollo.