Idiot Proof Paint Correction !
 

Since I got Vicky, I've promised her I'd give her a full paint correction, but had never done any such thing before (last time I properly valeted a car was back in the 1980's).

Although the paint was in relatively good condition for a 13 year old car, it had also suffered a lot, it was covered in swirls and holograms and just looked so dull:

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/for...1&d=1502817398


https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/for...1&d=1502817424

I doubt the paint had ever been corrected in its life.

I'm a great fan of the Forensic Detailing Channel on Youtube, and there's a brilliant how to video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zm62usnRycU (How to polish a car with a DA polisher DAS6 pro for Beginners). So I bought what was recommended on the video (DAS 6 Pro, Scholl - S20 Black 1-Step Compound, Chemical Guys - Green Quantum Pad 5.5" and various other bits and pieces (Clay bar, tar remover, buffing cloths, tape, CarPro Eraser - Intense Oil and Polish Cleanser, ShineMate - Polishing Conesfor wheels, oven cleaner etc, etc. And over the past few weeks, in between the rain showers (it's been a real nightmare, no garage or undercover area), have done a full paint decontamination and correction.

In many places I had to do two sessions of DA polishing, the first getting rid of the spidering and swirls and light scratches, but leaving the paint still quite dull, so did it again to remove the dullness.

After finishing each panel I waxed it with Soft99 Fusso Coat Darkwhich goes on and off like a wax but is actually a sealant. I also DA polished all the glass with CarPro - CeriGlass Polish and a Rayon pad.

The results are stunning. No, the paint isn't 100% but it's got rid of all the swirls, most of the scratches and the dullness and haze has gone. But due to the lack of sunlight recently, I wasn't sure just how good a job I've done. Until yesterday when Vicky had her MOT. Under the garage LED and pendant lights I was speechless. Talk about wet look gloss, she looks amazing and the paintwork has a depth to it I never imagined it could have. The reflection of the lights showed that apart from the odd scratch, all the swirls and dull patches had really gone and the paintwork shine looks really even. Even the swirls and surface scratches on the chrome trim and plastic light covers has gone.

I was amazed at how well the oven cleaner had worked on the wheels, getting rid of all the ingrained staining, and the polishing cones and revived the wheel paint better than I had hoped for and got between all the spokes.

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/for...5&d=1502728176

The photo doesn't do Vicky Justice. Under the garage lights she looked absolutely stunning!

The how to video was spot on and really encouraged me to give DA polishing a go. I'm really glad I did!

I hope my experience encourages people to try paint correction for themselves. It's really worth it and very rewarding when one sees the final result.

Ali.

Well done on a terrific job.:} It's hard work, but incredibly satisfying when you can see the results that can be acieved. Your '75 looks stunning. :drool4:

Cliff

I'm going to have to look at those you tube videos you mention. Same swirly problem on Kim British Racing Green, Longbridge shade, and Mo, firefrost red :}

Have you got identical photos as the first two pictures, after correction?

The DAS6 is a good entry level DA polisher, and will be able to deliver good results.
The pad and polish combos are what really make the difference.

I'm selling my DAS6 Power as I've now got a Flex rotary

Don't believe me eh? :p: Car is dirty & dusty and sun is in the wrong position, but I've just taken this:

https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/for...1&d=1502990481

Satisfied :) You can even see a clear reflection of the clouds and trees :)

My next door neighbour used to do paint correction for a local garage, and he was very satisfied with the end result I have achieved and doubts that a two stage correction would achieve anything better.

Ali.

Bonnet shot - excuse the dirt, dust and surface rain spotting.
https://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/for...1&d=1502992403


Ali.

It's certainly a hell of an improvement over its original state.
I was on a forecourt the other day at one of these 'nearly new car' supermarkets and almost every car was swirled to death, with heavy marring on the ones the valeters had made attempts to correct. These were 4yr old cars at the oldest and looked awful in the harsh sun

Nice job, surely we are looking at the clear coat improvement as the paint is under it unlike the days of cellulose paint.

Mine has been keyed on both sides, bumper scuffs the lot, tried to 1200 paper wet to get the scratches out hoping they were in the clear lacquer coat but, too deep and soon went through to the base coat.

When you use any polishing machine with compound use plenty of water or you could soon find yourself burning the paint .:}

As with many things there's a vast amount of info out there.

Have a look at http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/ for a fantastic resource.

I know a number of us are members there.:}

IMHO machine polishing is the way to go and you can start off for about £100. After that the sky's the limit ;).

Canonite...

The likely reason the cars you saw were in a poor state is because the "valeters" have an extremely limited time to do their work and possibly have limited products to work with. Or they may simply be useless and/or not care - a bit like the thread about being aware of garages that don't know what they're doing;)

I have a saying/phrase/mantra that "The best way to make someone mess up is to put them under time pressure." This is a classic example.

And don't get me started on the supermarket ones :duh::duh::duh:

This might be of interest: http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/blog/...ne-plus-ultra/. Note the time scale - 144 hours work :bowdown::bowdown: (but that's probably less than Cliff :bowdown::bowdown::bowdown::bowdown::bowdown:)

Happy cleaning.

Andy.

I used to work at dealers and time is the key element to poor preparation. I spend nearly two days doing full job on mine. They don't allow for prep work and a clay bar is unheard of. They now use minimum wage 'valeters' and it's a quick fire process and from what I saw on that forecourt there is little or no training on the equipment and as a result they've caused damage to the cars.
Back then we had a 1hr slot to wash and prepare a car for customer handover. When Supagard and Diamondbrite was sold with a sale there was still the same hour time slot, so no extra for the time it took to prepare the surface and apply correctly.
With second hand forecourts that poor prep is even worse.

Detailing World has some great info