My parents bought a Buick Rainier, new, in 2004. It was the vehicle that was to replace the '84 Caprice wagon (which we still have) as the vacation/long haul vehicle. My dad used to keep up on its maintenance and detailing, but after he passed away in '08, the vehicle has been heavily neglected on the interior and exterior.

Well, I had a few extra days off this weekend, so I took it upon myself to give this vehicle some much needed attention. Inside and out, it was covered by years of dirt and grime. The inside was loaded with dust and the outside was covered in scratches.

So, I started off with the interior. Vacuumed everything, and then used boar hair detailing brushes to clean out the vents and all the hard to reach crevasses. I used Detailer's Pro Interior Surface Cleaner and Protectant on all the vinyl and leather, and then a simple mix of alcohol and water to clean the windows.









I then washed it (using the 2 bucket method with Grit Guards) using Dawn dish soap. I washed again, this time using my Gilmore FoamMaster foam gun with Chemical Guys foaming soap, and let the suds sit for about 5 minutes. I hand washed, and clayed the whole vehicle. Washed it again afterwords.

After I dried it, I took my Griot's Garage 6" DA polisher with Lake Country CSS orange pads and HD Speed, and started working on getting all the light scratches and swirls out. Both doors on each side had some heavy scratches due to someone keying it last year. For that, I used HD Cut with the orange pads and HD Polish with the white pads, and those scratches are almost totally gone. I sealed it with HD Poxy, and finished off the windows with the water alcohol mix and put dressing on the tires.

I couldn't find any of my brushes, so I wasn't able to clean the mudflaps or wheel wells (wasn't going to use my sponges or mitts on that kind of dirt).

















This whole thing took me two complete days, but I think it was worth it. I'm just going to hate to see it get dirty. Also, any white specks you see in the pics are from dust and such, as it does sit outside on a busy road. I haven't even put that kind of attention into my Bonneville or G8 yet.

(And, no, this wasn't a product placement post. I just posted what I used in case anyone had any questions.)

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- Greg | -- Project Prasinos -- |

1995 LeSabre Custom: 312K Miles | Custom K&N CAI | Edelbrock SDT Muffler | Camaro Tips | 180 T-stat | LED Interior
& Exterior | 20% Tint | PA Grill & Portholes | Limited Trim | GTP Rims | Ported LIM | Plus Many More Mods | Restoration Thread
2001 Bonneville SSEi: 225K Miles | Instense FWI | Intense MPS (3.4") | 180 T-stat | ZZP Plog | Ported Rear Manifold |
ZZP 3" Downpipe | Magnaflow Cat | Retrofitted HIDs | GenV M90 | GXP Brake Upgrade | 35% Tint | Plus Many More Mods |
2005 Bonneville GXP: 101K Miles | Custom FWI
2009 G8 GT: 89K Miles | 35% Tint | Roto-Fab CAI | SOLO Mach Exhaust | BMR Tunnel Brace | BMR Sub Frames | BMR STB |
Kooks Headers | QTP Electric Cutouts | BMR Sway Bars | Elite Engineering Catch Can | Innovative Dual Wideband Kit
1984 Caprice Classic Wagon: 86K Miles | Restoration Project

Looks really good greg! I need to do this kind of detail on my car bad, also need to get a polisher. Where do you get your supplies? (Brushes and such)

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-Austin-
1988 LE, Intercooled L67 loading......

2000 SSEi R.I.P. Dead now :( INTENSE FWI, polished LIM, P&P supercharger, custom radiator, standalone trans cooler, trans-go shift kit (donating to the 88)

2002 2500HD Silverado with the 8.1 Vortec and Alison tranny. Likes to eat GT Mustangs and lots of tires, and all while stock!

This looks great, black vehicles are very rewarding to work on

_________________
Ryan

2003 Bonneville SSEi - The Black Mirror SOLD!
2002 Bonneville SE - The Mutt Complete 2004 SLE interior, drivetrain, and body harness swap, ECC swap, HUD swap, black GXP wheels, GXP headlights and tinted tails - SOLD
2003 BMW 540i M Sport, 2001 BMW X5 4.4i, 2010 GMC Acadia, 2017 Grand Design Imagine 3150BH
1982 Cutlass Supreme - The fun one

Has anyone asked where the new Buick came from yet? - BC

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In Memory of Brad - 1/21/1977 .. 10/23/2013 ...... Aaron - 1977 .. 2017 .....
2017 Hyundai Santa Fe Sport ..... 1992 Bonneville SSE 1SB 170 HP L27 4T60E retired/sold to MattStrike ..... 2005 Bonneville SE 1SC 205 HP L36 4T65E - retired/salvage yard ..... PBCF user 2321

Looks great!

_________________
~Ben


2010 Chrysler 300 Touring Signature Series, Cool Vanilla - chrome 18's, MyGig touchsreen, all the toys.
2004 Chevy Avalanche LT 4x4, WBH, Arrival Blue Metallic - CAI, MBRP cat-back exhaust, lots of mods and all the options.
2004 Ford Mustang Premium convertible, Screaming Yellow - 18" staggered Bullitt wheels, 1.5" drop Eibach springs, CAI.
1973 Cadillac Fleetwood Series 60 Brougham, Antigua Blue - 23 ft, 5200 lbs, and 472 cubes of luxo-barge goodness.
1998 Chevy Corvette convertible, Light Carmine Red Metallic

Thanks, guys. The black does look so good once it's clean. It has actually turned some heads already. I've actually put it in storage since the rains are coming. The G8 is a dirty mess, so I don't care if it gets rained on right now.

Austin, in the past I've gotten a lot of my supplies from autogeek,net, but mostly everything comes from Amazon now. The HD stuff comes from 3dproducts.com.

_________________
- Greg | -- Project Prasinos -- |

1995 LeSabre Custom: 312K Miles | Custom K&N CAI | Edelbrock SDT Muffler | Camaro Tips | 180 T-stat | LED Interior
& Exterior | 20% Tint | PA Grill & Portholes | Limited Trim | GTP Rims | Ported LIM | Plus Many More Mods | Restoration Thread
2001 Bonneville SSEi: 225K Miles | Instense FWI | Intense MPS (3.4") | 180 T-stat | ZZP Plog | Ported Rear Manifold |
ZZP 3" Downpipe | Magnaflow Cat | Retrofitted HIDs | GenV M90 | GXP Brake Upgrade | 35% Tint | Plus Many More Mods |
2005 Bonneville GXP: 101K Miles | Custom FWI
2009 G8 GT: 89K Miles | 35% Tint | Roto-Fab CAI | SOLO Mach Exhaust | BMR Tunnel Brace | BMR Sub Frames | BMR STB |
Kooks Headers | QTP Electric Cutouts | BMR Sway Bars | Elite Engineering Catch Can | Innovative Dual Wideband Kit
1984 Caprice Classic Wagon: 86K Miles | Restoration Project

Auto parts stores will also carry some good brushes sometimes and I have even found brushes I like in the kitchen or general cleaning areas at stores.

_________________
Ryan

2003 Bonneville SSEi - The Black Mirror SOLD!
2002 Bonneville SE - The Mutt Complete 2004 SLE interior, drivetrain, and body harness swap, ECC swap, HUD swap, black GXP wheels, GXP headlights and tinted tails - SOLD
2003 BMW 540i M Sport, 2001 BMW X5 4.4i, 2010 GMC Acadia, 2017 Grand Design Imagine 3150BH
1982 Cutlass Supreme - The fun one

Terrific looking vehicle. The black paintwork has come up lovely.

Oh my that did come out nice. The Rainier group seem to be holding up to age and abuse VERY well. I haven't seen too many bad ones out there.

We have an '07 Rainier V8, and that thing HAULS. Very quick for an SUV, and since it has this power, we use it as our tow vehicle!

Again, awesome job Greg.

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1997 Buick Riviera - 102,000 miles : Series II L67/4T65E-HD : Intense intake : Ported S/C outlet : Ported LIM : Yella Terra 1.8 Ratio Rockers : LS7 Lifters : PLOG : Hogan Downpipe : INTENSE 3.5" MPS : 180 degree thermostat : AL104's : AC Delco 8mm wires : Shift Kit : STS strut tower brace : Custom Rear Strut Brace : F41 Sway Bars : Monroe HD rear air shocks : HD sway bar links : DHP Tune :
1988 Buick Lesabre T-type - 127,000 miles : Series I L67 : 4T60E-HD : AL 104's : 180 degree thermostat : '97+ Ignition Coils : Intense FWI : Walbro 255 : 2.5" Stainless Exhaust : Flowmaster 40 Series : STB : 'Caddy' braces : hood louvers: Karma Kustoms Ported M62 : Non-walled LIM : YT 1.8:1 rockers : LS7 Lifters : 2.4" S/C pulley : Custom PCV Oil bypass : B&M Trans Cooler : Sinister Tune

I also run the Buick Lesabre T-type Registry

Yeah, my dad wanted to get the V8, but he got such a deal on this one (50% of sticker, and it was new). It has the I6 in it. It's still pretty quick for an mid-size SUV. For 10 years old, there is very little rust, but for so odd reason, there is more rust under the hood than one would expect. I'm hoping in a couple of years to take car of that.

_________________
- Greg | -- Project Prasinos -- |

1995 LeSabre Custom: 312K Miles | Custom K&N CAI | Edelbrock SDT Muffler | Camaro Tips | 180 T-stat | LED Interior
& Exterior | 20% Tint | PA Grill & Portholes | Limited Trim | GTP Rims | Ported LIM | Plus Many More Mods | Restoration Thread
2001 Bonneville SSEi: 225K Miles | Instense FWI | Intense MPS (3.4") | 180 T-stat | ZZP Plog | Ported Rear Manifold |
ZZP 3" Downpipe | Magnaflow Cat | Retrofitted HIDs | GenV M90 | GXP Brake Upgrade | 35% Tint | Plus Many More Mods |
2005 Bonneville GXP: 101K Miles | Custom FWI
2009 G8 GT: 89K Miles | 35% Tint | Roto-Fab CAI | SOLO Mach Exhaust | BMR Tunnel Brace | BMR Sub Frames | BMR STB |
Kooks Headers | QTP Electric Cutouts | BMR Sway Bars | Elite Engineering Catch Can | Innovative Dual Wideband Kit
1984 Caprice Classic Wagon: 86K Miles | Restoration Project

Of their family, I think these are my favorite, except maybe the Saab 9-7s.

You did a great job cleaning her up!

_________________
-Car Guy Carl
"Penelope" - 2003 SLE - 247k Miles
"Sydney" - 2000 Honda S2000 - 98k miles