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This was an unusual but extremely rewarding TNOG as we changed things up a bit. Social Media can be an interesting thing as it brings together people who otherwise would never meet. Such is the case with our subject car's owner, Kate. We happened upon Kate and her story of her beloved Crossfire being destroyed in a rear end collision, and its subsequent replacement with another Crossfire, while perusing a Facebook group dedicated to the model. When she posted pictures of the car she found to replaced the crunched Crossfire, the swirls were immediately apparent. Knowing that she lived locally (but not knowing that she actually works just down the street from our offices - really small world, isn't it?) we invited her to bring the car in for a bit of a makeover. This would also give the attendees at TNOG an interesting project to work on.
Well, the car turned out to be in far, far worse condition than we expected. At 11 years of age, this car was not just neglected prior to Kate acquiring it a month ago.... it was downright abused. It didn't just have swirls, it had what looked like scouring marks all over it, as if it had been continually rubbed with an old canvas bag or something. Quite frankly, we were a bit worried!! But, hey, we're always up for a challenge!
Yep... that's pretty bad.
Swirls, scuffs, scratches.... just a mess.
Unfortunately the top of this fender is experiencing clear coat failure so there's no fixing this with a buffer (it needs paint!!) but the hood next to it, although in a pretty bad state, is repairable.
Let's get down to business, shall we? This is from a very small area of the hood - it felt like 80 grit sandpaper and was really noisy when running a hand over it.
Claying goes faster when two people work at it.
It goes even faster with three!
With that out of the way, it's time for a test spot. Given the state of the defects and our hand on experience with the paint on the Crossfire, we went straight for a microfiber cutting disc and M100. Drastic times call for drastic measures!!
Since our test spot told us that, even though this poor car looked pretty well thrashed, we'd be able to work wonders on it relatively easily. And with that, it's time to get people working on the car. First up, naturally, is the car's owner, Kate. This can be daunting for someone who has never used a power tool to polish paint before, but the MT300 is so easy to learn. And highly effective at slaying swirls.
Even Kate's mom, Dawn, got in on the action.
This is Dawn's first pass with the MT300: the right side is untouched and just a mess, the left side shows a massive improvement with a single pass. And remember, this from someone who had never even seen a DA polisher before, let along actually use one!
If that picture isn't impressive enough for you, check out this video clip. Yes, there are still some RIDS present in the "after" side, but this is first pass on seriously messed up paint, but a total novice. If this is a starting point, we've got a great night ahead of us!!
Time for the rest of the crew to jump in and help out. We have a limited amount of time and a really messed up car. We need all hands on deck to finish this job tonight!!
With all the MT300 buffers in action, Paul grabbed a G110v2 and mounted a 3" backing plate to and started tackling some of the tighter spots.
After the major correction work was done, we moved over to foam polishing pads and M205 to refine the finish and increase the gloss.
As night fell, the whole team took to M205.
A quick hit with our Heavy Cut Metal Polish brought the exhaust tips back from the brink as well.
To speed up the M205 polishing process we had one group working the buffers while another followed behind wiping off the residue.
Time to wax! Ultimate Wax paste applied with 4" foam finishing pads via DA.
Once again, it's a team effort to wipe off the hazed wax.
Of course we couldn't forget the glass.
With the paint polished and the glass clean, the plastic trim looked bad so there was that to deal with.
Reflections!! Gloss!!
Sooooo much better!!
The whole team in front of a really shiny, black Crossfire.
Talk about a major turnaround!! Amazing what you can do with a DA polisher, especially when that DA is a bunch of MT300s fitted with microfiber cutting discs and a bit of M100!
One shiny car, one happy car owner!!
We owe a huge thanks to the entire team for diving in and putting in their time and skills to transform this car. It was a great night all around, made so by all the great people involved!
Well, the car turned out to be in far, far worse condition than we expected. At 11 years of age, this car was not just neglected prior to Kate acquiring it a month ago.... it was downright abused. It didn't just have swirls, it had what looked like scouring marks all over it, as if it had been continually rubbed with an old canvas bag or something. Quite frankly, we were a bit worried!! But, hey, we're always up for a challenge!
Yep... that's pretty bad.
Swirls, scuffs, scratches.... just a mess.
Unfortunately the top of this fender is experiencing clear coat failure so there's no fixing this with a buffer (it needs paint!!) but the hood next to it, although in a pretty bad state, is repairable.
Let's get down to business, shall we? This is from a very small area of the hood - it felt like 80 grit sandpaper and was really noisy when running a hand over it.
Claying goes faster when two people work at it.
It goes even faster with three!
With that out of the way, it's time for a test spot. Given the state of the defects and our hand on experience with the paint on the Crossfire, we went straight for a microfiber cutting disc and M100. Drastic times call for drastic measures!!
Since our test spot told us that, even though this poor car looked pretty well thrashed, we'd be able to work wonders on it relatively easily. And with that, it's time to get people working on the car. First up, naturally, is the car's owner, Kate. This can be daunting for someone who has never used a power tool to polish paint before, but the MT300 is so easy to learn. And highly effective at slaying swirls.
Even Kate's mom, Dawn, got in on the action.
This is Dawn's first pass with the MT300: the right side is untouched and just a mess, the left side shows a massive improvement with a single pass. And remember, this from someone who had never even seen a DA polisher before, let along actually use one!
If that picture isn't impressive enough for you, check out this video clip. Yes, there are still some RIDS present in the "after" side, but this is first pass on seriously messed up paint, but a total novice. If this is a starting point, we've got a great night ahead of us!!
Time for the rest of the crew to jump in and help out. We have a limited amount of time and a really messed up car. We need all hands on deck to finish this job tonight!!
With all the MT300 buffers in action, Paul grabbed a G110v2 and mounted a 3" backing plate to and started tackling some of the tighter spots.
After the major correction work was done, we moved over to foam polishing pads and M205 to refine the finish and increase the gloss.
As night fell, the whole team took to M205.
A quick hit with our Heavy Cut Metal Polish brought the exhaust tips back from the brink as well.
To speed up the M205 polishing process we had one group working the buffers while another followed behind wiping off the residue.
Time to wax! Ultimate Wax paste applied with 4" foam finishing pads via DA.
Once again, it's a team effort to wipe off the hazed wax.
Of course we couldn't forget the glass.
With the paint polished and the glass clean, the plastic trim looked bad so there was that to deal with.
Reflections!! Gloss!!
Sooooo much better!!
The whole team in front of a really shiny, black Crossfire.
Talk about a major turnaround!! Amazing what you can do with a DA polisher, especially when that DA is a bunch of MT300s fitted with microfiber cutting discs and a bit of M100!
One shiny car, one happy car owner!!
We owe a huge thanks to the entire team for diving in and putting in their time and skills to transform this car. It was a great night all around, made so by all the great people involved!
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