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:
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.
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.