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Archive for June, 2009

23′ Center Console Donzi with Dual Outboards

We enjoyed detailing this Donzi Daytona as we’ve always favored the styling and attention to detail Donzi has been creating for years. This 23 ft. center console Donzi with dual outboards was detailed at a boat yard in Amityville, NY.

We started with rinsing down the entire boat and scrubbing with hull cleaner to break down rust and stains under the water line. Next we scrubbed down the interior of the boat inside of all compartments. This took the most time as there were many dirty small compartments around the center console area. After rinsing out the dirt, we dried the entire boat down preparing for a coat of wax.

The gel coat on this Donzi was in superb condition. The owner requested that we do not compound the boat and just treat it with a high quality wax to bring out the shine and protect it from the elements.




After the wax was removed from the hull, there was a noticeable difference when touching the fiberglass. Additionally, the white color became highly reflective.

The interior of the boat came out every similar to the hull after removing the wax. We wrapped up the interior by treating the leather / vinyl surfaces, cleaning the canvas, polishing chrome pieces, and detailing the dashboard area.

There was a threat of rain the day we detailed the Donzi, but we were able to complete it before showers arrived. The pictures we took were dramatic as storm clouds were moving in. We hope to detail this Donzi next season and preserve the look of this beautifully designed center console boat.

Popularity: 2% [?]

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Be the first to comment - What do you think?  Posted by Nate - June 30, 2009 at 1:00 am

Categories: Boats   Tags: , , , ,

2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited in White

Jeep Grand Cherokee’s are always a pleasure to detail. We recently detailed a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited in North Babylon, NY. This Jeep had it’s typical wear and tear. The owner explained that she had a terrible experience at a local car wash the last time it was detailed. Additionally, she didn’t care for having to drop off the truck, find a ride home, and return back to the car wash again to pick it up. Calling Five Star Detailing (mobile professionals!) was clearly the right choice.

We started with rinsing down the car and scrubbing it. The only area that needed additional attention was the wheels. Jeep wheels are tough to work on as they become pitted, stained, and caked with brake dust. You can get them looking new again, but it takes time and agitation with stiff bristle wheel brush to deliver results. After rinsing and drying we took a clay bar to the Jeep Grand Cherokee’s painted surfaces. The clay worked well on the white paint and got into the cracks where we molded the clay to fit. If clay was not used on this car, dirt would have forever remained in the majority of tight spaces between the molding, weather stripping, etc.

After we removed the carnauba-based wax, the paint felt nourished, treated, and protected. There was a noticeable difference in the shine we created after wax removal. We finished by treating the vinyl, rubber, and plastic trim. We also treated the tires and protected the wheels. After the exterior glass was polished, we tackled the interior.

The interior was in good shape for the most part. The only source of concern the owner had was the condition of the door panels. (As left in poor condition from the last detailing job.)




There were white streaks that appear to have been created from a cheap “armor-all” type product that was never wiped off. We were able to removed the stains from the door panels and leave them with a brilliant shine.

We left our signature air freshener (new car scent!) in the Jeep and asked the owner to give the vehicle a glance over. She was very happy and impressed with our work as she told us “she hasn’t seen it looking this good since it was new!” We were pleased with the results and hope to detailing her 39 ft. RV in the near future.

Popularity: 2% [?]

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Be the first to comment - What do you think?  Posted by Nate - June 29, 2009 at 10:53 am

Categories: Automobiles   Tags: , , , , , , , ,

2006 GMC Sierra Detailing

One of our more recent details was on a 2006 GMC Sierra pickup truck in West Sayville, NY. This truck was in serious need of a detail as it had been neglected for quite some time. The owner of the truck warned us that it would be a messy job (both inside, and out) as he described that dirt was caked on the paint. Upon closer inspection, there was dirt everywhere! There was dirt in the wheel wells, on the truck’s bed, and of course on the interior carpets.

We started the exterior with a complete scrub down. We took our extended wheel brush inside the wheel wells and sponged the entire car down with our car wash formula. The majority of the dirt came off, but we spent extra time during the first wash to get as much of the dirt off as we could. After drying, we took a clay bar to every painted surface of the truck to remove any surface contaminants and dirt imbedded in cracks and crevices. We finished by washing the car down again, removing the clay residue entirely. The car finally rinsed clean and we were making progress.

To deliver a deep glossy shine we applied a coat of heavy carnauba wax to the Sierra’s paint. After removing the wax the surface felt slick, coated, and protected. The dark blue paint took on a very deep and glossy shine that got some attention from the neighbors! We finished the exterior by polishing the windows and chrome trim, and treating all plastic, rubber, and vinyl surfaces.

The interior was in rough shape as the owner had mentioned. We were able to remove all the dirt by a combination of using the vacuum, shampooing the carpets, spot stain treatments, and repeating the process. The plastic and vinyl trim were treated as well. We finished the interior by polishing the glass and mirrors and neatly placing all large items back into the truck.

The owner was very pleased with our results and we’ve earned the privilege of now detailing his wife’s SUV. He was very happy with the results and how the plastic trim above the fenders came out. We were equally happy with the results and look forward to tackling another detailing job for this client.

Popularity: 3% [?]

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Be the first to comment - What do you think?  Posted by Nate - June 28, 2009 at 10:35 pm

Categories: Automobiles   Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

2002 Mercedes Benz ML320 Detailing

Last weekend we detailed a 2002 Mercedes Benz ML320 SUV in South Huntington, NY. We spoke to the owner earlier that week and briefly spoke about the condition it was in. As he mentioned during our phone conversation, it was in poor shape and had not been run in over two years. He also mentioned it was parked under a tree and had been scratched by fallen branches. Before we began working on ML320 we inspected the vehicle to confirm the owners concerns.

There was a lot of dirt that settled in cracks and crevices so we spent a fair amount of time during washing phase to remove the grime. After the first washing, we began clay barring the vehicle down. We molded the clay to fit inside many of the cracks to pick up the dirt around the edges. In order to ensure that area is clean, the clay needed to be folded over many times. As the clay hit every surface of the vehicle we were confident that all the dirt had been removed. To ensure this, we washed the vehicle down a second time to rinse off the dirt and clay residue. After drying, the vehicle was 100% clean, free of dirt and surface contaminants, and ready for wax.

The clay was able to remove many of the surface scratches and imperfections on the clear coat. We next applied a thick carnauba based wax to protect the vehicle. The results were great as the Mercedes was left with a brilliant shine after removing the wax.

We completed the exterior by treating the tires, protecting all vinyl and plastic trim, polishing the chrome and exterior glass, and cleaning the door jams. The interior needed help too as there was a lot of loose dirt underneath the seats. We treated the dash, (all plastic and vinyl) and brought the shine back. The interior surfaces were very dry and really shined up after being treated. The results of the leather seats were similar as it had been years since they were treated.

We were pleased with the results of this detailing and the owner was too. We really took our time with it as there was caked up dirt around 90% of all pieces of trim. The clay bar we used really helped us achieve the results we were going for. We hope to detail this vehicle again in the future.

Popularity: 46% [?]

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Be the first to comment - What do you think?  Posted by Nate - June 25, 2009 at 1:00 am

Categories: Automobiles   Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Mariah Bow Rider – 19 ft. – “Extreme Detailing Results”

Last week we detailed a 19 ft. Mariah Bow Rider boat in Massapequa Park, NY. This boat was out of the water and in a trailer in the owner’s driveway. There was no cover on the backside area or the bow when we found it so we knew we had our work cut out for us as the elements had already got to the boat. This boat was dirty! There was grime and oxidation on the hull, bow, and all seating areas.

We started by rinsing the boat down with water coming out of our high pressure nozzle. Next, we scrubbed every area on the boat to loosed and remove all the dirt. Periodically, we rinsed down due to the abundance of dirt on the boat. We also vacuumed the interiors carpeted surfaces as there were many leavers and debris left from a tree directly above the boat. After the final rinse the boat was clean and we could move on to compounding.


The compounding and waxing process went very smoothly and we were able to address areas of oxidation and remove many of the black streaks and stains from the hull and the rub rail and above.


Additionally, the owner was happy that we opted to get the fiberglass surfaces compounded as he originally just wanted it waxed.

The interior of the boat came out brilliantly clean as well. We cleaned, treated, and protected all leather and vinyl areas. We spent additional time on the seating areas as they were soiled and dry in some spots. The results were dramatic as you can see in the pictures below.

The swim platform was in rough shape too. The dirt was caked on and the fiberglass was highly discolored. We scrubbed it until we were able to remove all the dirt, compounded, waxed, and polished the chrome trim. Our results speak for themselves, what do you think?

This boat is fun for cruising bay in, and making trips to Fire Island, etc. We hope the owner of the boat Brian and his family have fun this summer on their clean and freshly detailing Mariah Bow Rider. We hope to detail this boat again and bring it back to life next season.

Popularity: 14% [?]

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Be the first to comment - What do you think?  Posted by Nate - June 24, 2009 at 1:00 am

Categories: Boats   Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

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