98 Corvette needed some help

white gecko 99 · 03-06-09, 11:55

Hey guys, this 98 Corvette came to me from its very enthusiastic new owner today. Corvettes were his favorite cars as a kid and now he finally got himself one. He mentioned over the phone how the car looked great in the dealer's showroom. This was a dealer of classic, muscle, and sports cars only. I drop by there once in a while to drool over their enormous collection, yet always leave with my head shaking when I see the swirls on them.

So anyway, we talked about what could be done with the car and I knew paint correction was a must. Once I arrived I got to see the the true extent of the damage. It had been detailed recently before he bought it. When I saw what this dealer called a detail I was horrified, but not entirely suprised. Once I explained the paint flaws to him and educated him on what to look for, he immediately opted for a more extensive detail. His eyes were opened. And this is what he saw......

The finished pics will be up tomorrow when I get home. The car is coming along nicely though. One thing I wasn't expecting....customer's house is 1 street down from my ex's house. Lame. Haha, oh well.

Luster · 03-07-09, 05:06

Yeah, that's fairly typical for a 10 year old Vette. Probably never been polished.

Have you ever polished a C5 Vette? The paint is as HARD AS A ROCK so you need something with some cut.

With these cars I usually start with PB/SSR3, PC-orange pad, then ZPC-white pad.

Finish with you your fav wax/sealant.

Apollo_Auto · 03-07-09, 05:18

Actually those swirls look kinda cool psychedelic

. Can't wait to see the results!

Jakerooni · 03-07-09, 05:36

Oh the pretty colors.. LOL Yea can't wait for some afters on this one. Should be a fun detail.

Scottwax · 03-07-09, 05:22

Ouch. Have fun.

BigJimZ28 · 03-07-09, 05:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luster

Probably never been polished.

sure it has look at the buffer trails & holograms

white gecko 99 · 03-07-09, 06:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by Luster

Yeah, that's fairly typical for a 10 year old Vette. Probably never been polished.

Have you ever polished a C5 Vette? The paint is as HARD AS A ROCK so you need something with some cut.

With these cars I usually start with PB/SSR3, PC-orange pad, then ZPC-white pad.

Finish with you your fav wax/sealant.

It has holograms and buffer trails all over it. Some hack tried polishing it and thats what I got to fix lol.

Yes I've done many Vettes and am quite familiar with how hard the clear is on the C5 and C6.

I ended up using a LC PFW and SIP, followed by LC white with Menz Nano. It was the magic combo! It cut swirls like a normal car! It didn't feel typical vette hard. I LOVE the PFW!!!!! Uploading finished pics now.

white gecko 99 · 03-07-09, 07:23

A couple more swirly shots

before

after

before

after

After finishing the correction, I pulled it out to inspect the paint for holograms and swirls. As I did, 4 neighborhood kids came running up to check out the car. Some of the things they said were just priceless. They asked the owner if it was brand new. That sure made me feel good.

As I inspected it I was able to see about 90-95% correction, with almost zero swirls and just some RIDS left.

the kids.....

Inspection pictures. No holograms to be seen, just a little residue showing that kinda looked like holograms, but immediately dissapeared when wiped again.

Sprayed down and a quick soak with suds followed by an IPA wipedown.

dsms · 03-07-09, 07:42

Really impressive work on probably the most un-detailer friendly car there is. That car wash trashed! Love the direct sunshots as well, no better way to prove the true level of correction you achieved!

white gecko 99 · 03-07-09, 07:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by dsms

Really impressive work on probably the most un-detailer friendly car there is. That car wash trashed! Love the direct sunshots as well, no better way to prove the true level of correction you achieved!

Thanks!!

Here are the final pics. Was dueling with the sun, so I had to do the pics before I was totally done. Wheel wells, air dam, exhaust tips had to be done after pics.

*no holograms here... cloud streak in the sky..*

Owner got some stainless letters and asked if I could put them in. Definately a nice touch to this car.

Luster · 03-08-09, 07:36

Hey Gecko!!!! Nice work on the Vette!

I originally mis-read your post title... I thought it said "Need Help"... when you were saying "Vette NEEDED Help"!

Obviously you didn't need any!

Looks fantastic.....

Luster · 03-08-09, 07:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigJimZ28

sure it has look at the buffer trails & holograms

Haha... missed that!