1999 Corvette - Remove Swirls and Scratches

[oldmodman]

Thanks Don and Mike. Looking at the door in the before pics I wouldn't have believed that it could be fixed without a repaint.
The second shot shows that all the "friend" created damage was gone. If the door looks as good as the rest of the car after the dacp and NXT the owner is going to be jumping for joy.

[Slats]

Mike,
You mention that Meguiar's has improved the clay in the Quick Clay system...How is it better?? I read somewhere that the clay (presumably the old clay) is hard to reshape and leaves a lot of residue. Is the new stuff different?

Slats

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by ebpcivicsi
Mike, first off, FANTASTIC job! The paint looks amazing.

I have a question. Why did you apply the DACP to the entire car then remove? I have always removed it a section at a time because I have found it difficult to remove once it dried. Do you always do this or was there something special about this detail that called for it?

Good question ebpcivicsi,

In my life, when I used to detail cars full time, it was too time-intensive to work panel by panel. It may have been easier, but not faster, at least in my mind.

Now mind you, I was never a production-oriented detailer, but instead a quality-oriented detailer. While it may be easier to remove cleaner/polishes like #83 DACP panel by panel, I would focus on using good technique together with an excellent collection of soft, 100% cotton terry cloth towels, to help me remove all compounds, cleaner/polishes and even the initial wipe for pure polishes before switching over to microfiber polishing cloths.

Good removal results come from both,

* High quality removal materials, (Premium quality 100% cotton towels and premium quality microfibers polishing cloths)

* The human element of caring
(In order to get good results you have to pour some of yourself into the work your performing)


Personally, for every car I have ever detailed, I mentally adopt each car as my own. Once I think of a car as my own, I naturally work in such a way as to only do the highest quality work possible.... because it's now… my car.

Does that make sense?

For most people, it's probably easier and faster to apply and remove most products panel-by-panel. At least until their skill level increases. This insures good results no matter what the skill level.

Mike

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by butchdave
Mike,

Fantastic job as usual! So, just 83 is ok? Would there have been an improvement by using 84 (I think its 84?) afterwards or would that have been over the top for a daily driver?

Thanks
Dave

Hi Dave,

My experience with buffing out late model Corvettes with factory paint has taught me that the paint on these cars in incredibly hard. They scratch easy, but removing scratches is very difficult because,

It's hard to remove small particles of paint in a controlled fashion and leave the finish as though it has never been touched. It can be done, however, it's a lot of work.

Because this particular Corvette is a daily driver, I don't believe it was in the owners interest, or my own, to compound the car and produce a completely, scratch-free surface. That's why I only used the #84 Compound Power Cleaner on the scour affected area, and for the rest of the car I used the #83 DACP with the W-8006 on a rotary buffer.

The above combo is much more aggressive than the G-100 by itself, but not so aggressive that I would have to worry about removing too much film-build, (paint), or leaving behind an unsightly swirl.

Just as a side note, I don't go looking for Corvettes to buff out, they seem to find me. Case on point, I have a 1967 Coupe coming up that will blow your socks off! (Yet, it still needs the tender loving care of a Meguiar's foam pad spinning at 1500 +/- rpm with the right chemicals to produce a true, show car shine)



This car has a Show Car Shine, but... it doesn't have a flawless finish. That will be my goal; remove the isolated, random deeper scratches, (RIDS), and restore a flawless finish.

Mike

[Open Air]

Working on Vettes

Mike,

I'm really interested in your work/threads on the vettes. My wife and I own two C-5's and they inevitably have small RIDS as you call them. I'm pretty confident with the PC but do not have any training or experience with a RB. I was hoping you could provide some safe solutions to RIDS using the PC.

I have seen other detailers using small wool pads attached to the PC to get at deeper scratches, then working the area with progressively lower abrasive polishes to return the deep/clear shine.

Do you have any experience/thoughts on this process?

Thanks.

[ebpcivicsi]

Originally posted by Mike Phillips
Good question ebpcivicsi,

In my life, when I used to detail cars full time, it was too time-intensive to work panel by panel. It may have been easier, but not faster, at least in my mind.

Now mind you, I was never a production-oriented detailer, but instead a quality-oriented detailer. While it may be easier to remove cleaner/polishes like #83 DACP panel by panel, I would focus on using good technique together with an excellent collection of soft, 100% cotton terry cloth towels, to help me remove all compounds, cleaner/polishes and even the initial wipe for pure polishes before switching over to microfiber polishing cloths.

Good removal results come from both,

* High quality removal materials, (Premium quality 100% cotton towels and premium quality microfibers polishing cloths)

* The human element of caring
(In order to get good results you have to pour some of yourself into the work your performing)


Personally, for every car I have ever detailed, I mentally adopt each car as my own. Once I think of a car as my own, I naturally work in such a way as to only do the highest quality work possible.... because it's now… my car.

Does that make sense?

For most people, it's probably easier and faster to apply and remove most products panel-by-panel. At least until their skill level increases. This insures good results no matter what the skill level.

Mike

Makes perfect sense to me.

I also prefer using a product over the entire surface, then removing. This is one of the reasons why I love #80 speed glaze.

I guess I have never even thought to try #83 in that manner. Maybe I should think outside the box sometimes.

[Elite M.D.]

Awesome Job on the Vette! Thats what a Vette should look like

[Lynn Matthews]

Originally posted by George Wax
Mike what did Lynn use on the carpet to clean it...????

Heavy Duty Carpet & Interior Cleaner.

Lynn

[rusty bumper]

Fabulous job Mike!...But I thought Lynn's work was just as good!

I enjoy seeing neglected paint get new life.

[empowah]

Do you think it is possible to do the same job by hand? I don't have a buffering machine.

[Teak]

Great work Mike and Lynn.

Questions:
How many miles does the vette have? Just wondering due to the condtion of the before interior.

I thought #82 applied using a PC/G100 and W-8006 would be a better follow-up for #83 applied using a rotary with #82 on the PC/G100? Or maybe an additional step after #83 applied using Pc/G100 with W-8006? I realize time is money in the detailing business. Just curious

Mike, I have the same philosphy when detailing someone else car, I adopt the car.

Eric

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by empowah
Do you think it is possible to do the same job by hand? I don't have a buffering machine.

Not even remotely possible. I'll show what can be done by hand on the write-up for the 1947 Plymouth Coupe. Although this is an old car, it has a modern, basecoat/clear coat finish.

Mike

[iceburgh]

Hey Mike that is outstanding....If it is ok by you I am going to post a link to tihs thread at www.corvetteforum.com
I have been telling everyone over there about NXT and other products and many people are starting to see the light this will get everyone using this

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by iceburgh
Hey Mike that is outstanding....If it is ok by you I am going to post a link to tihs thread at www.corvetteforum.com
I have been telling everyone over there about NXT and other products and many people are starting to see the light this will get everyone using this

Hi iceburgh,

I go to CorvetteForum once in a while and read the posts over there. I was over there 2-3 times today.

I have a Corvette Clinic coming up on April 3rd and there will be over 20 Corvettes here at Meguiar's. On the same day, my friend and co-worker, Jason Rose will be holding a Corvette Clinic up North for two different Corvette clubs. Hopefully there will be some CorvetteForum members at either of these two events that will share their experience with their peers.

Here's a link to the event,

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums...info&eventid=4

I have noticed that now that Tech Wax has proven itself in the Appearance Catagory, now everyone is testing it for durability. From what I can see, there are a handful of people that do their best to position Tech Wax as a product that doesn't last very long. But durability and protection are very hard things to accurately measure.

But when it comes to protection, and I mean real protection, not just water beading, I can't help but to remember this thread on Autopia posted by a person with no apparent axe to grind, in fact, he was using Zaino under the impression it was protecting his finish

#20 provided better protection than Zaino..

Here’s his post that started the thread,

Originally posted by suginami
My wife and I had to leave our cars outside of the garage for about 5 days. Both cars got hit with sprinklers daily, and the water dried on the cars, leaving heavy water spots / mineral deposits.

My wife's car is a 1994 black Infiniti G20. I had five coats of Z5 and two coats of Z2 on the car, the last coat of Z2 was put on two weeks before the car was left outside. That is a total of seven coats of Zaino.

My car is a 1993 smoke silver (champagne color) Mercedes E320 and had one coat of Meguiar's #20 Polymer Sealant. The coat of Meguiar's #20 was put on the same day as the last coat of Z2 was applied to the Infiniti G20.

I washed and detailed both cars this past weekend.

The results?

The water deposits chemically etched the paint on the G20. Went right through the seven coats of Zaino, and left mineral deposits on the paint. I tried removing the water spots with my Dual Action Polisher, and it wouldn't remove the chemical etching, even with the Meguiar's Compounding pad and #83.

I had to pull out the DeWalt Rotary Buffer and use the Meguiar's Compounding Pad and #83. I then stepped down to #82 and the Polishing Pad, then #82 again with the finishing pad. I then hand applied Show Car Glaze, and just applied a coat of #20 Polymer Sealant.

My E320, on the other hand, remained completely protected with one coat of Polymer Sealant. Everything just hosed right off, and the paint was spotless. No chemical etching. All of the water spots, bird droppings, dirt, etc. just hosed right off.

I'm done with Zaino.

In the big picture, people will use what they find works best for them…

Like I always say, ”Find something you like and use it often”.


Mike

[HEK]

1st let me say that ..wow...and being here a new guy on the block I will ask, is the Mirror Glaze an abrassive??...I have some scratches on the door of my car caused by frozen brushes on a car wash that my wife decided to go in during this past month...anyway I have purchased just about all the products used on this and other threads and will follow your steps, which by the way make sense...

This is about the 4th time I've visited this topic to study your technique....I've used a regular buffer in the past and have had good luck with it, now I have a PC and will repea myself by saying hope to mirror your work....

Great JOB!!