Well, I spent some time this weekend getting the C7 detailed really nice. It seriously looks brand-new again, except for the tires.
The ceramic coating has protected it nicely, and I basically had been just running it through the touchless carwash all these years. I used my foam gun with some Blackfire Foam Soap (
https://www.autogeek.net/blackfire-foam-soap.html), foamed up the car, went over it with a microfiber cloth to get any bugs or stubborn dirt, rinsed it off, and dried it with another clean microfiber towel, then followed it up with the air blower to get water out of cracks and hard to reach areas on the grille, etc. That's really all I had to do for the paint - it still looks great with the ceramic coating intact, nothing really to be done.
Moved on to the wheels, and hit them with Wolfgang wheel cleaner, which dissolves the brake dust. I have one of those angled wheel brushes (
https://www.amazon.com/EZ-Detail-Brush- ... B07W71NW1V) and used that between the spokes and in the wheel barrel to get the dirt out of there. Hose them off and dry with microfiber - done. Those had ceramic on them as well. A little beaten up because the city decided they were going to re-rock my paved street a few years ago and left it on there pretty much all summer - but overall they still look nice.
If I would've thought about it better, I would've done tires before wheels, but whatever. Moved onto the tires and sprayed them with Bleche Wite tire cleaner (
https://www.blackmagicshine.com/tire-ca ... e-cleaner/). Stuff works good - let it sit for a couple minutes, then agitated it with a wet microfiber cloth, let it sit for a couple more minutes, and then hosed them off. Dry with a different microfiber cloth. Perfect. Re-dry the wheels.
Next, put on Wolfgang Black Diamond tire gel (
https://www.autogeek.net/wg4700.html). Wipe it on with a sponge applicator, let it sit for a bit, then wipe with a microfiber cloth. Looks great. It isn't as permanent as some of the newer stuff you guys have been talking about, but it works well and I already had it. Done.
Vacuumed out the interior, cleaned the leather, dash, interior panels, door jambs, and rubber weatherstripping with a damp microfiber cloth - worked well. Cleaned all the glass with some foaming glass cleaner and microfiber.
Cleaned the exhaust tips, which were pretty dirty and black (yes, I'd been kind of ignoring those because it has been more of a "drive it whenever I can" instead of a "show car" sort of deal). Used 3D Metal Polish (
https://www.3dproducts.com/product/metal-polish/), which works great. Puts a really nice shine on, and seems to last for a good while.
I didn't really do much under the hood, other than wipe a few surfaces and use the vacuum with a bristled brush attachment to get some of the dust off the plastic engine covers.
The car seriously looks almost brand-new again. There's some minor pitting in the paint on the leading edge of the front of the car from road pebbles or whatever, and a bit of clearcoat abrasion on the aero panel under the car behind the rear tires from pebbles/sand/etc. Other than that, it looks perfect still. I should've taken some photos, but it was raining out today and garage photos don't really show a car in its best light.
Damn, I'm really going to be sad to see this car go. It has been super-fun to drive, and still looks great like the day I brought it home. I have no idea how the conversation with the dealer is going to go tomorrow, but we'll see what happens. I'm guessing we'll need to finalize my purchase agreement/contract for the C8 and somehow work the trade into that so that everything is in writing. I don't want to end up in some strange scenario where they've already sold my C7 and try to jerk me around on pricing on the C8 or something stupid like that. I already have a written confirmation via email from the sales manager that my C8 will still be at MSRP, but you never know with car dealers.
I think the only thing they could really complain about on the car is the tires. They are getting close to the wear bars on the rear tires, which seems to be pretty normal for a C7 at 13,000 miles. I did do some burnouts at the dragstrip, and I do drive pretty aggressively - and there's a nice double bend in the road leading up to my house that can be fun to slide it around the bends a bit on the way home.
And I may have done a few donuts in the cul-de-sac in front of my house a few times. Maybe.
The weather should be nice tomorrow, so I'll try to grab some pictures before I leave for the dealer. I don't think I'll end up leaving it with them tomorrow, but I guess one never knows.