Black C230 Kompressor

[Mike Phillips]

If I was the owner of this shop, I sure wouldn't want anyone to find out about the non-existent quality work being delivered to the customer. Ouch!

[OctaneGuy]

Yeah tell me about it. It sure reflects on the attitude of the rest of their work--if the paints good enough, well what about the repair itself? Was that just good enough as well?

Seems that test spot I did has proved more useful that I anticipated!

Richard

Originally posted by Mike Phillips
If I was the owner of this shop, I sure wouldn't want anyone to find out about the non-existent quality work being delivered to the customer. Ouch!

[Five Star]

Originally posted by OctaneGuy
Yeah tell me about it. It sure reflects on the attitude of the rest of their work--if the paints good enough, well what about the repair itself? Was that just good enough as well?

Seems that test spot I did has proved more useful that I anticipated!

Richard

Thats a perfect example of actions speak louder than words.

Some people just dont understand what real detailing is or can actually do for their vehicles finish.

When they have to part with a few hundred dollars for quality, its easiest to show them what can be accomplished than try to explain it verbally.

The proof is in the picture... Great job!

[OctaneGuy]

Wow what a day. I took tons of photos. My day began at 10:15AM, and in hindsight, should have begun at 6AM because I didn't finish until 8:30 PM.

I ran into a number of issues, including noticing where the body shop made a number of mistakes--from painting over bondo on the inside wheel arches that wasn't first sanded down, to thin paint along the doors where primer seems to be showing through. The car was also covered in white overspray, and was completely swirled out all the way around.

I spent from 10:15AM to 2:30PM just cleaning. I began with the wheels/tires, and claybarred everything including the glass and ornaments. It was a windy day and proved problematic because as soon as I laid M83 down, it dried. Although the paint was cool to the touch and I was in the shade, it dried too fast. Even M80 dried faster than I'd ever seen it do that before. So a lot of effort was spent in removing the cleaner. I was surprised that even my PC couldn't remove the M83.

I began by cleaning the wheels with Professional Wheel Cleaner (I will substitute correct links later). I agitated the wheels with a soft wheel brush and a cotton sponge.

Then I hosed the cleaner off. Next I sprayed NXT Tire Cleaner on the sidewalls
And scrubbed them with my tire brush. I let them air dry.

Using the 2 bucket method with a grit guard and NXT Car Wash, I washed all the panels, dried it, and claybarred it with NXT Speed Detailer. Every surface that could be clayed was clayed including all paint and glass and chrome.

[OctaneGuy]

After cleaning the wheels and tires, I took some photos in its prewashed state.



I noticed the K was crooked!



This was a little polisher the customer had, and I advised him to stay clear from this, especially the old terry cloth bonnet he had.






I washed the paint with NXT Car Wash and dried with an Absorber towel.

[OctaneGuy]

From the beginning, I knew I would take this car as far as I possibly could, so I decided to clean everything. I noticed the chrome seemed oxidized and contained what looked like white over spray---little white dots. I found these dots on the hood as well during the claying process.




I also did the hood ornament


Windshield


Hood


The clay was doing its job!


Rear glass


Hood Grill

[OctaneGuy]

The tires had Endurance High Gloss added



Look at the beautiful dark gloss!!!



After the cleaning, I decided to see what the paint looked like



My test spot from earlier in that week is clearly visible.

[OctaneGuy]

I think by now, you should have gotten the hint that no matter where you look, you will find swirls. However, it is without question that the side the body work was done, buffer swirls were evident, while the rest of the car was just swirled out.

[OctaneGuy]

Ok, now unfortunately, there's going to be a huge time gap here. I was really pressed for time, sun was going down, and I really needed to get polishing and waxing.





Because my test spot showed the process I had in mind was effective, I used that process throughout the car. While the rotary worked great at removing the defects, this body style had a lot of high points that concerned me, so I was very careful not to buff on the edges. Because there were many, I had to use the PC in all the areas that I couldn't reach with the rotary. I guess a 3" pad might have been useful here.

And here are the results. Ok, be forewarned. The sun was already gone from the area I was working, so I had to move the car to the front of the housing complex. And I didn't have any wax at this time. I only had 1 pass of M83 and 2 PC passes of M80 by this time.














While it wasn't 100% defect free, it was almost flawless. I took it back to my work area, and continued with the polisher and removed more defects while applying 2 coats of M21. Because daylight was almost gone, I moved the car inside of the garage and used overhead lighting and my xenon flashlight.

[OctaneGuy]

Here are a few shots with M21 applied.








NXT Metal Polysh was used on all the chrome surfaces including the exhaust tips that were covered in soot. I can see why it's beneificial to keep a car for 2 days if possible. I'm going to have to look into making some fluorescent tubes on wheels or something to create my own light when it gets dark.

[Setec Astronomy]

Re: Black C230 Kompressor

Originally posted by OctaneGuy


A visit back to the body shop didn't do any good. They told him that it's supposed to look all scratched, and that was perfectly normal. He consulted with another body shop who said he would have to repaint.

Boy, what great info/advice from "professionals"

[stealth]

Outstanding results on an extremely challenging unit! Very nice narrative to help anyone who may encounter a similar situation. Having done more than my share of black units I empathize with you & the amount of time, effort & supplies needed to produce the results you have. Very nice work & I hope the compensation was just as nice.

[imacarnut]

richard, what a big improvement and an excellent job! *pat on the back*

[Big Ben]

Well done Richard,
Good work, good advises, that'swhat being a detailer is all about!

[OctaneGuy]

Thanks everyone for the nice comments. I know the owner is reading this thread and all your comments. Maybe he will register and post something. Hint Hint.