Mustang paint ?

[SunnyD]

i have a mustang coming in to do a full detail today. as its my first full detail customer. i want to do a good job its a 2008 mustang gt. anyone who owns a mustang or has worked on one. hows the paint what did you use on it.

[Mike Bones]

Re: Mustang paint ?

Don't know if Ford still uses the same type of paint as 12 years ago but I recently did a 99 Cobra with UC/UP which had some hard water etching. I couldn't get the etching out but the Ult. Combo really brightened the paint. Had I some 4 inch pads or MFCS, I probably would have been able to do a full correction.

Mustangs do not have incredibly hard paint, IMO. Hope this helps.

[ogbatman]

Re: Mustang paint ?

Have somce ColorX on hand just in case also. I own a mustang and have done a few and I have found all mustangs r not alike because people paint them all the time.

[SunnyD]

Re: Mustang paint ?

This one is stock but it didn't come in today coming in tommorow so I have more time for suggestions

[3Fitty]

Re: Mustang paint ?

Sunny,

No such thing as "Mustang paint". You'll have to test that particular car to see what that paint is like on that car.

The problem you'll run into if you get into "Mustang paint", "Lexus paint" and "Mercedes paint" is that you'll rely on a method someone else used on a car who's paint may have nothing in common with the car you are working on. They might have needed to use M105 with multiple passes to correct defects, while your car might only need 1 pass with M205.

Meguiars always recommends starting with the least aggressive product first and working your way up until you find what works well on that particular car.

[SunnyD]

Re: Mustang paint ?

Thanks for the info fitty

[CHzo6]

Re: Mustang paint ?

Definitely do a test spot before you buff out the whole car and find that what you were using did not give you the results you were looking for.

[Buck91]

Re: Mustang paint ?

Did clay>UP>ULW on my '96 Mustang GT and it came out quite nice. Amazed at how many defects were removed (or covered?) by the UP. Did haze the hood a tough, but I think I let it dry too much.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Mustang paint ?

Sunny,

No such thing as "Mustang paint". You'll have to test that particular car to see what that paint is like on that car.

The problem you'll run into if you get into "Mustang paint", "Lexus paint" and "Mercedes paint" is that you'll rely on a method someone else used on a car who's paint may have nothing in common with the car you are working on. They might have needed to use M105 with multiple passes to correct defects, while your car might only need 1 pass with M205.

Meguiars always recommends starting with the least aggressive product first and working your way up until you find what works well on that particular car.

Definitely do a test spot before you buff out the whole car and find that what you were using did not give you the results you were looking for.

Solid advice on both counts.

Getting feedback from others as to "paint hardness" is really just anecdotal at best. The only thing that really matters is the paint on the specific car you're working on, and the only way you know how that paint responds is to do a test spot. Sure, you could get lucky and have half a dozen people tell you that such and such combo will get the job done, and it does. But what if you start relying on what other people tell you about the paint you're going to work on, and next time their advice doesn't fit? You always have to be ready to think on your feet in this hobby because you never know what's going to be thrown at you. The more vehicles you work on the more you come to realize this. And when something really out of the ordinary is presented to you, you're going to have to rely on your own experiences and ingenuity to solve the problem. Fortunately, it's rare to come across really strange, uncooperative paint. But it does happen.

[JoeDirt]

Re: Mustang paint ?

Agreed- it's a labor of love, and requires a lot of experience to get it right sometimes.

As you do more and more cars, you'll start to figure out what works, and what doesn't. It's scary when you're working on someone else's car, especially for money. I'd really suggest doing some cars around your neighborhood to get some experience on different finishes. I know you're just getting into the detailing grind, but you've been asking a lot of questions on what should be done for this, or that, etc... That's great, but as Mike said- advice is anecdotal at best for some of the things you're asking about. I'd caution especially in the case if you get one reply, and make a decision based solely on that one person. Heck- I've been doing this for 20+ years, as a hobby, and still learn stuff every time I do my car. I do it sometimes too- I fell into that when trying to layer different LSP after my DA MF on my truck. I asked, but shortly after, I of course took Mike's (and a few others' advice) and experimented, since I knew that it depended on my car and individual preference. So, I had 4 stripes of different processes on my hood before I decided on my last step product.

It's all about experience, and most of that you can't gain from asking, you just have to do it, figure out if it works, and adjust accordingly...

[SunnyD]

Re: Mustang paint ?

Thanks for the info guys. the car came in late today. I clayed alot of it now tommorow I'm going to finsh claying. then move to defect removal. this cars paint is worse than sand paper it needed to be clayed bad. the customer will notice that difference right away.

[JoeDirt]

Re: Mustang paint ?

Be sure to post up some pics!

[SunnyD]

Re: Mustang paint ?

Don't worry I already plan to