A client contacted me after his car was involved in a slight off road excursion. No body damage, but below the bump strip the car had acquired a few scratches that really stood out. After viewing the car and checking the paint thickness ( 170 microns in most areas ) it was decided a two stage correction was in order as polishing the scratches out would result in a very noticeable two tone paint job. Shiny black on the bottom and dull black on the top. Amazingly enough, this car was in exceptional condition. Not even a door ding. The client even did a bang up wash on it before delivering it so I could get right to polishing. I had no idea the job would turn into the job it did. In the end the client was ecstatic so all is well.
Before we start, these new drying towels showed up from CG.UK. They are a plush MF towel. Long nap on one side, short nap on the other. And they are BRIGHT ORANGE! :)
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0002.jpg
Side by side shot with a Sonus towel.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0003.jpg
Nap shot
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...DSC_0004-1.jpg
Sonus towel on top, plush towel in middle and new CG towel on bottom.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...DSC_0005-1.jpg
A friend had this banner made up for me. Cool!
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0007.jpg
Some damage on the hood
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...DSC_0008-1.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...DSC_0009-1.jpg
Damage on trunklid
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0010.jpg
Rear bumper skin
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0011.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...DSC_0012-1.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0013.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0017.jpg
After one pass of Megs 105 on a Menz compounding pad. Just a wee bit of hologramming resulted.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...DSC_0018-1.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0020.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0022.jpg
50/50 on hood
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...DSC_0032-1.jpg
and another
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...DSC_0033-1.jpg
Reflection shot on hood
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...DSC_0040-1.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0041.jpg
50/50 on door
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0045.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0049.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0001.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0004.jpg
Damage on trunklid
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0005.jpg
After
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0008.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0009.jpg
Damage on rear bumperskin
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0012.jpg
After
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0014.jpg
These were too deep to chase. After two passes of 105 on (wool and Menz compounding) it just wouldn't have been prudent to try and remove these.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0015.jpg
Taillight before
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0016.jpg
and after
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0018.jpg
More 50/50s
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0019.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0023.jpg
Apparently 105 produces some dust when you get it really hot. If I kept the rpms down around 1200 it didn't dry out as fast and greatly reduced the amount of dust produced.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0025.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0026.jpg
Polishing with Scholl S30 and 3M finishing pad on my PC to remove any light marring and hologramming. On dark colours, you can't beat Scholl. This paint was quite soft as my go to combo, Gloss it green and Power Finish hologrammed like crazy. :(
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0028.jpg
The results. Overall I was able to achieve over 95% correction on the car with the exception being the rear bumperskin.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0029.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0032.jpg
And then we went outside to wash and get rid of the polishing dust. These pics were taken with about a 10 second shutter speed as it was dark out. Check out the parking lot lights on the buildings.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0033.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0034.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0035.jpg
Washing in the dark.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0037.jpg
Playing with aperatures and my new drying towel.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0038.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0039.jpg
Had to use my trusty DG Nu Glass to remove the buildup of water spotting on the front and rear glass and sunroof. I used my Flex rotary on 1100rpm and a Menz compounding pad.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0040.jpg
This is what the sunroof looked like before. To give you an idea hoe caked on this was, I normally use Nu Glass by hand with a MF towel.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0043.jpg
Here are some afters for you.After the first two days I had around 12 hours of straight polishing time. When I came in Saturday to seal it, I opted to spend a few more hours jeweling with S40. It was so worth it. It added so much wetness and depth. Overall, this job took around 17 -18 hours. Lsp was Colli 845.
http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0046.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0050.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0052.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0053.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0054.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0055.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0057.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0058.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0062.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0063.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0065.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0066.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0067.jpg http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/l...a/DSC_0068.jpg
Thanks for looking.
