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2 black Toyotas in one weekend! Goal was exterior beautification.
Here are some befores, check out nasty buffer trails on hood:
Here is some side swirlage, and a look at the condition of plastic trim:
Prep. Process was:
After the above test, I obviously decided 105/205 was the way to go. I switched up my actual technique on this one compared to the few cars I've done before. I did everything I could with 105 on a 7" Diamond Foam Polishing Pad, then I did all of those areas with 205 on a 7" Diamond Foam Polishing Pad. Then I did 105 by hand on all of the areas I left out, like above door handles and the entire rear (spare tire/door handle/badges/overall design led to cramped space!), and followed that with 205 by hand. I used ScratchX 2.0 by hand on the mirror backs. When I say I switched up my technique, I mean that at first, I would try to do a whole car with 7" pads, which was obviously a bad idea. Then I tried to do broad surfaces with 7" pads, follow up small areas with 4" pads. I found that what I did this time was perfect for this vehicle and cut my polishing time (for desired result) down by about 30%.
I also applied m21 sealant by hand for the first time. The last few times I've applied my sealants/waxes by D/A at Speed 2 with a Diamond Foam Finishing Pad. I always feel like it actually takes longer by machine since there are so many nooks and crannies, and with the pad it's kind of hard to tell how thin I'm applying the product (so in cases where I may unknowingly apply it a little heavy, it obviously takes forever to remove). However, doing it by hand seems to help me have more control over the amount of product used, plus I can get every inch of the car. I used a microfiber appliator pad, the Even Coat.
Here are some after shots:
Buffer-grams removed; shiny front end:
I didn't get a good before shot of this, but the mirror trim plastic is somewhat indicative of its condition. Here is under-wiper trim (ok, whats the proper-term???) after Ultimate Protectant:
I had some better "after" angles but they were out of focus. This one isn't bad:
It gets more and more interesting every time I work on a car. This is my 5th now. I always try to research the specific make/model before I attempt paint correction to see if there are any common issues. I read on here that a few Rav4's were single-stage, but they were mostly older, late 90s versions. I found that only the driver's side front door, rear door, and rear fender were single-stage (based off of paint transfer onto pad) while the rest of the car was not. Must've been repainted?
Though I have no pictures, I'm still having a problem with particular areas of the vehicle after paint correction. The side body right before the rear wheel always seems to come out dirty. The first time I experienced it, I thought it was just concrete or something that had been driven through, but I experienced it on this car as well. I'm looking to modify my wash routine to better include this portion of the car in my wash, and perhaps clay a little more aggressively on bottom side panels. Additionally, I never seem to have much luck with the front bumpers of cars. The ones I have done so far are all plastic and just don't seem to look right after the rest of the car is gleaming. Any tips/tricks/advice?
Thanks!
Here are some befores, check out nasty buffer trails on hood:
Here is some side swirlage, and a look at the condition of plastic trim:
Prep. Process was:
- Wash with Super-Soap (last time! switching back to Hyper-Wash)
- Clayed with Mild, LT 1:1
After the above test, I obviously decided 105/205 was the way to go. I switched up my actual technique on this one compared to the few cars I've done before. I did everything I could with 105 on a 7" Diamond Foam Polishing Pad, then I did all of those areas with 205 on a 7" Diamond Foam Polishing Pad. Then I did 105 by hand on all of the areas I left out, like above door handles and the entire rear (spare tire/door handle/badges/overall design led to cramped space!), and followed that with 205 by hand. I used ScratchX 2.0 by hand on the mirror backs. When I say I switched up my technique, I mean that at first, I would try to do a whole car with 7" pads, which was obviously a bad idea. Then I tried to do broad surfaces with 7" pads, follow up small areas with 4" pads. I found that what I did this time was perfect for this vehicle and cut my polishing time (for desired result) down by about 30%.
I also applied m21 sealant by hand for the first time. The last few times I've applied my sealants/waxes by D/A at Speed 2 with a Diamond Foam Finishing Pad. I always feel like it actually takes longer by machine since there are so many nooks and crannies, and with the pad it's kind of hard to tell how thin I'm applying the product (so in cases where I may unknowingly apply it a little heavy, it obviously takes forever to remove). However, doing it by hand seems to help me have more control over the amount of product used, plus I can get every inch of the car. I used a microfiber appliator pad, the Even Coat.
Here are some after shots:
Buffer-grams removed; shiny front end:
I didn't get a good before shot of this, but the mirror trim plastic is somewhat indicative of its condition. Here is under-wiper trim (ok, whats the proper-term???) after Ultimate Protectant:
I had some better "after" angles but they were out of focus. This one isn't bad:
It gets more and more interesting every time I work on a car. This is my 5th now. I always try to research the specific make/model before I attempt paint correction to see if there are any common issues. I read on here that a few Rav4's were single-stage, but they were mostly older, late 90s versions. I found that only the driver's side front door, rear door, and rear fender were single-stage (based off of paint transfer onto pad) while the rest of the car was not. Must've been repainted?
Though I have no pictures, I'm still having a problem with particular areas of the vehicle after paint correction. The side body right before the rear wheel always seems to come out dirty. The first time I experienced it, I thought it was just concrete or something that had been driven through, but I experienced it on this car as well. I'm looking to modify my wash routine to better include this portion of the car in my wash, and perhaps clay a little more aggressively on bottom side panels. Additionally, I never seem to have much luck with the front bumpers of cars. The ones I have done so far are all plastic and just don't seem to look right after the rest of the car is gleaming. Any tips/tricks/advice?
Thanks!
Thanks for sharing.
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