1975 Corvette Extreme Makeover - The Importance of a Paint Cleaner

[Mike Phillips]

1975 Corvette Extreme Makeover - The importance of a Paint Cleaner

Tuesday night, starting at 5:00pm, we will be conducting an extreme makeover on this 1975 one-owner Corvette.



This car was brought to the CorvetteForum at Meguiar's! detailing clinic this last Saturday and because of the extreme Dirt in paint condition of the finish, we used it to demonstrate the purpose of a Meguiar's paint cleaner.

You see, over time, without proper maintenance, paint can become dirty, not as in dirt on the car, but as in dirt in the paint, also known by the acronym, DIP. Dirt in paint is also referred to as road stain, or just stained paint. The point is, dirt can build up below the surface of a car's paint in the microscopic surface imperfections, which normal washing will not remove.

When this car pulled in, we inspected it closely to find out that while the owners were washing and waxing the car regularly, the wax they were using did not have any cleaning ability and thus would merely coat over the dirt in the paint, and not remove it.

Also, two portions of the car have been repainted, the front valance, and the rear valance. Extraordinarily enough, the body shop that repainted these portions did not afterwards buff out the rest of the car so that the old, stained and oxidized paint would match the new paint in color and gloss.

Often times, a body shop will buff the entire car out as a courtesy to the customer and so that there isn't such a dramatic difference between new and old paint. Because a lot of times these types of buff-outs are done quickly, the quality of the work and the chemicals used can be questionable. In a way, the owners of this Corvette are lucky that the rest of the panels were not buffed out, as we're going to do it the right way using premium quality products and professional techniques which will takes this Corvettes finish to its maximum potential!

Below are some before pictures. Note the car was washed before it was driven to Saturday's detailing clinic. The dirt, or staining you see in the paint, not on the paint.

Here is a close-up of the finish. The black or grayish looking area is actually dirt that has built-up in the paint.





While the above photo's show some areas where the dirt is concentrated, the entire finish is stained with dirt in paint.

The below picture shows a circular area where we applied some ScratchX, an advanced Meguiar's paint cleaner for use by hand.



Later, towards the end of the class, we polished out one half of the hood using some #83 Dual Action Cleaner Polish on a W-8006 foam polishing pad on Meguiar’s G-100. The results between before and after are dramatic. The results also help to demonstrate the concept of dirt in paint and the importance of choosing the correct product for maintaining your car's finish.





Below you can see the new paint on the front valance, versus the old paint on the hood. Note how the old paint is dull and lifeless with no gloss whereas the new paint is vibrant in color with high gloss.



We will be using and demonstrating a wide variety of products for the extreme makeover of this one-owner 1975 Corvette. If you would like to be a part of the team that performs the dramatic transformation, the come on down to Meguiar’s Garage this coming Tuesday night.

Here's the address,

Meguiar’s address for Mapquest Driving Directions
Meguiar’s Inc
17991 Mitchell South
Irvine, CA 92614

The transformation begins at 5:00pm, see you here!

Mike
mphillips@meguiars.com


Note: The acronym DIP and the term dirt in paint is also used in the refinishing industry to describe dirt and dust that lands in fresh paint and becomes embedded in the top surface as the paint continues to dry. After the paint has dried, professional body shops will remove the dirt specs usually by sanding and buffing.

[NewlyCarCrazy]

Is there any experience required in the detailing business? I am 17 and the largest detail I have ever done was on a neighbors 1989 Toyota. I just bought a PC and want some tips.

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by NewlyCarCrazy
Is there any experience required in the detailing business? I am 17 and the largest detail I have ever done was on a neighbors 1989 Toyota. I just bought a PC and want some tips.

For many detailers, experience is gained through on the job training and a few lessons at "The School of Hard Knocks".

What Meguiar's tries to do is to help reduce the time you spend at the School of Hard Knocks. While the lessons taught there are valuable, if you can learn proper surface evaluation, product selection and proper application and removal technique, you will be years ahead in the experience area...

Like someone one said,

"Try to learn from other peoples mistakes, you may not live long enough to make them all on your own"

Mike

[Mike Phillips]

Finished!









And tonight's Extreme Makeover Team!

Greg and Mike



Process pictures and write-up tomorrow...

Mike

[Mike Phillips]

Bump!

More pictures tomorrow!

Mike

[Buffalo Dude]

Mike, did you get the pictures I sent?

Greg

[Mike Phillips]

Yes, check your e-mail.

I'll be posting some more pictures of the process today. Thanks for letting us buff out your car.

Mike

[Newport Viper]

Me likey yellow! Nice Work!

[The Eagle]

I love yellow cars. What a great job you did on this car!

[Buffalo Dude]

Wow, it's been awhile since it happened, but pictures are still just as good. With school and work, I just got swamped and couldn't post until now. So, here's our final work in sunlight:

The sun was setting when I took this so I couldn't get a real shiny picture, but look at the richness in color.


Same time frame, different area of car:


Now, here's where I'm most impressed. For as long as I've been driving this car, it's never looked this good. You can see clear up our front yard in the reflection. This was taken about mid-day and the shine is amazing. Keep in mind that this is ~20 year old single-stage laquer. Amazing. Simply amazing.


I know I've said it before, but I'd like to thank Mike at Meguiar's again for such a great opportunity and Mike from the corvette forum for lending a hand. It looks spectacular and I can't wait to drive it around again at Thanksgiving

Next step is the engine compartment