First Correction: 2012 Black Genesis Coupe

[Top Gear]

Hey everybody, this is my first post on MOL (other than the pictures), though I've been active on the Genesis forums. I want to thank the admins and experts posting here for helping me indirectly (while lurking threads for weeks) in deciding what products to buy and what techniques to try. It can be very confusing! Many of my comments below are with that in mind. Scroll down for some pics of my recent correction, but first, here's my updated shelf list and methods:

REGULAR WASH

• Wheel Cleaner Spray (especially for brake dust, also for underbelly)
• Two Buckets (sudsy and plain water) & Typical Microfiber Mitt
• Wash-n-Wax Soap (use AmourAll, Meguiar's, Mothers, Rain-X, etc)
• Microfiber Towels for Drying to prevent hard Water Spots
• Tire Shiner (I try different ones when they run out, or disappoint)
• Meguiar's Ultimate Black (outstanding for plastic trim)

PAINT CORRECTION DETAILING

• Meguiar's Clay Kit with Quick Detailer as "lube" (after washing)
• Meguiar's ScratchX (occassional deeper scratches, by hand)
• Fine point Brush & Factory Paint Sample (for paint chips, by hand)
• Porter Cable 7346SP (similar/upgrade from 7424XP, Home Depot)
• Meguiar's W67DA 5-inch Backing & 6.5-inch Soft Buff DA Pads (Summit)
• Meguiar's Ultimate Compound -->> Burgundy-Cutting DA Pad
• Meguiar's Ultimate Polish -->> Yellow-Polishing DA Pad
• Meguiar's Gold Class Liquid Carnauba Wax -->> Beige-Finishing DA Pad
• Microfiber Towels & Chamois for Product Removal, Buffing

REGULAR DETAILING

• Meguiar's Gold Class Quick Detailer (between washes, matches wax)
• Meguiar's Gold Class Quick Wax (between corrections, matches wax)
• Microfiber Towels & Chamois for Product Removal, Buffing
• California Duster (for pollen, light dust, etc)

INTERIOR CARE

• Meguiar's Ultimate UV Protectant (spray)
• Meguiar's Rich Leather Cleaner/Conditioner (spray)
• Windex, Dawn, as needed for windows, spills, etc
• Typical Reflective Sun Shades

BY THE WAY

• Car is not garage-kept , I currently don't use a cover , and it's black-on-black
• I live in the hot Southeast, with baking humid Summers and forgettable Winters
• Snow is very rare, rain is average to heavy Gulf moisture and non-acidic in my area, yielding a spot-free rinse if sitting, but a dirty mess if driving
• Pollen can be like a sandstorm in the Spring, tree sap and pollution are "normal" for the Southeastern US
• During 2012 the car was new and I was washing every week (great product and mitt, but single bucket), waxing every month or so, but the swirls and other defects caught up with me
• I've leaned toward Meguiar's over the years because you have a full system all figured out, and are readily available in stores for the most part - but others may like Lake Country, Chemical Guys, Adams, Mothers, and so on
• My prejudices (um, "lessons" from previous cars) are to avoid overly aggressive or cheap products like Turtle Wax compound or ArmourAll's classic protectant
• These pro-quality supplies cost around $350 USD
• Liquid products should last a year or more, Porter Cable & pads indefinitely, so yearly costs should be $100 or less
• Professional paint "blending" (basically air-brushing) is the best low-cost option for yearly-or-so paint-matched perfect touch-ups from accumulated rock chips and whatnot

FIRST PAINT CORRECTION (Feb 2013)

	Before Correction Car is unwashed, rained on previous night. Doesn't look like it needs any correction at this distance. At this point, the car is about a year old and had only been washed and waxed since new, with a lot of MF towel wiping/drying, some spot polishing, and some areas on the front had been airbrush blended 5 months prior from road chips.
	Fender Holograms Trying to remove a pretty bad scratch by hand seemed to work, but produced holograms.
	Side Spiderwebs This is looking down toward the right rear wheel at the fender, one of the best-looking areas of this car, btw. The webs are typical from over-washing and over-wiping, and here the car has not been washed. Notice the water spot from where I rinsed recently but missed and then it was rained on.
	Rear Spiderwebs This shows the typical webs from too much washing and wiping.
	Test Area Because of the holograms and scratches in this area, this was my test spot with the full treatment.
	Hood "Cosmos" This shot, after the correction, shows how cosmological the metallic can be. There are spiderwebs in this spot, but they disappear with most angles.
	Fender "Liquid" This shot shows how liquid the paint looks after the correction work.
	Side Shot Sorry for the grainy photo. This shot is immediately after the correction, and simply shows how the paint looks to regular people
	Fender After Same spot after a full compound, polishing and waxing. Scratch is still there, and could be further worked.
	Side After Same side spot looking down after the correction and after the week of driving and rain without being washed. The drops are rainwater yet to evaporate. I did it this way to show how clean the car is after a week, a regional drive, and two days of sitting in the rain. These panels were not compounded - just polished and waxed.
	Rear After Same area afterward, and although there are still some fine webs, they will almost disappear with the QD and QW.
	Roof After Close shot showing the typical remaining spiderwebs around the car when looking at just the right angle in the Sun for panels that were not compounded, but clayed, polished and waxed. At first I thought I'd have to do the whole thing again, but look at the other shots for how these webs effectively go away using quick product.
	Roof Section Quick Detailed Same spot after applying Gold Class Quick Detailer.
	Roof Section Quick Waxed Same spot after QD and after applying Gold Class Quick Wax. This is why I'm not worried about the remaining webs around the car.
	Roof Wide Shot Same roof angle from farther back. Only the small section near the Sun was touched with QD and QW.
	After Correction Car is unwashed, rained on previous two days and nights, and this is a week after the correction work, and after a regional 200 mile trip in good weather. Notice the difference in reflectivity and blackness from the "before" shot.
	Left-Before Right-After
	Black Beauty A larger version of my current avatar. This shot was taken in July 2012 and the car was dusty from driving, yet the paint was in very good shape, particularly in this light and at this distance.

• BTW, the correction pics are on the small side because it's a pet peeve when people post huge photos right off their camera into a forum. They're otherwise unmodified.
• I probably could have been more thorough for each panel, but I was getting my feet wet on a lot of new product, this took place over three afternoons and my back was giving out, and only the front clip needed the full treatment, anyway, so I skipped only the compounding step for everything behind the windshield.
• The biggest difference for me on this car wasn't the visual change from the correction, but the way the surface feels and protects. Before I clayed each panel, some areas felt like fine sandpaper, and had the traction of rubber, even after a recent waxing, but now, after this full clay, compound in some areas, and the polishing and waxing on all areas, the surfaces feel like a smooth wet velvet, almost like a non-stick coating!
• I also tried the Ultimate Black on the exterior plastic/rubber trim, and it transformed the dry-ish surfaces into new. Wow!

Thanks

[Michael Stoops]

Re: First Correction: 2012 Black Genesis Coupe

Black is such a hard color to get perfect, or even close to perfect at times. Your car was seriously need of some TLC and the improvements you made are huge! Like you said, you probably could have been more thorough, but for a daily driver that sits outside 24/7 how far are you willing to go? You could become a total slave to the finish if you're not careful! Now, if that's what you want, that's great, but most people are probably envious that you're rolling in a black daily driver that is never garage but looks this good!

Nicely done, and thanks for taking the time to document all of your work to share here on MOL.

[Top Gear]

Re: First Correction: 2012 Black Genesis Coupe

Thanks Michael! I've learned to let go of absolute perfection Like anyone doing compounding or DA work for the first time, I was horrified of "grinding through" anything. But, the more I've worked with Ultimate Compound (by hand before) and now the DA pads, the more I started to feel like I'd have to go well out of my way to damage anything. The Ultimate Polish has a huge payoff for effort, as well. Obviously, I can redo some sections, but after I'd posted everything above yesterday, I applied the QD and QW to the whole car (then went for a drive!!), and nearly all of the remaining fine swirls just went away - at least temporarily. I should have taken more pictures of that last stage, but the roof section above tells the tale. Nobody I saw drooling at the car would have given me the slightest grief for a remaining swirl or two

[Golden]

Re: First Correction: 2012 Black Genesis Coupe

You're now addicted. Enjoy the obsession of paint that looks better than 99% of the other vehicles on the road. Very nice work.

[Top Gear]

Re: First Correction: 2012 Black Genesis Coupe

Thanks, Man! And tell me about it I've had black vehicles before, but this is a whole other level or two of obsession.

After another rain, some spiderwebs were visible again, so I've reapplied GC QD & QW, and will go cruising later. Sure, I still need to remove them so that I'm not depending on quick product to mask them, but wow, how fine a black metallic looks in that 99th percentile category. The 100th can wait

[Blackwolf_Oz]

Re: First Correction: 2012 Black Genesis Coupe

Stunningly presented topic too....awesome shots and superb attention to detail.

People keep saying, "I'll never buy black again".........Its the only colour I'll buy from now on......looks stunning.......and the looks you get.....

[Meticulous-Detail]

Re: First Correction: 2012 Black Genesis Coupe

Nice job.

[Top Gear]

Re: First Correction: 2012 Black Genesis Coupe

Thanks, Guys

[Top Gear]

Re: First Correction: 2012 Black Genesis Coupe

Last week, I finally got myself a Whirlpool water filter for the garden hose I use to wash and rinse the cars. It cost $20 plus a few brass pipe fittings and a two-pack of the "2 micron" premium filters, or about $40 total from Lowes. I've rinsed a few times now using it due to heavy pollen dust. The filter pretty much eliminates the hard water spots I was getting, and I don't think there is any reduction in water pressure, since the sprayer on the end keeps the pressure up. I also got a small $30 electric leaf blower from Home Depot to push the large beads off the top surfaces where the water spots were the worst (the "flood" method with the hose does not work for me, as the GC wax beads just as strongly). So, I'm washing/rinsing less often, and wiping far less when I do. Detailing is much easier, creating fewer spiderwebs in the process, which then require less work to correct

[Top Gear]

Re: First Correction: 2012 Black Genesis Coupe

Well, it's been 3 full months since I did that first correction and there's little sign of being forced to do it again. I've only washed the car outright 3 times (as opposed to weekly, before) and I've learned how to keep the car looking detailed on a daily basis with much less work, using filtered water rinses and an air blower when necessary, plenty of QD/QW for cleaning and finishing, or just light duster brushes sometimes. I've had the car in a few informal car shows and people cannot believe how "show car" the black looks, which just accentuates the exotic "what car is that?" look of the Genesis Coupe. Sure, there are some fine spiderwebs visible in hard light (see the shots above), but I can remove those in the next correction. To those who worry about wax longevity and perhaps wax theirs too often, this Gold Class waxed car looks as good as when I'd corrected it, and now in late May just as good as the April shot below (taken on the fly with my phone during a Sunday cruise). This shot captures that "plastic model" look of the car which really turns heads

Phone Camera Shot: Late April 2013

[jakes29]

Re: First Correction: 2012 Black Genesis Coupe

Nice Hyundai Bro! Santa Fe owner here.

[Top Gear]

Re: First Correction: 2012 Black Genesis Coupe

Thanks Man! Kia-Hyundai-Genesis is the new Scion-Toyota-Lexus I've been very happy with the car, my first in the K-H-G family, and have had no problems.