Raven Black FRS - Correction and Opti-Coat Pro

[MusicMan]

Well this is a first for me, I`m doing a write up on a car we just finished yesterday. I`m trying to stay on top of these things more!





A few weeks back we had done a different FRS, this one was Asphalt Grey - and in very bad shape. Only a few months old but hammered already from the local hand wash joint. We were able to save his car and ``wow`` him with the results (literally). Well the owner of this Raven Black had heard about proper paint care, Opti-Coat and US from the Asphalt Grey owner. He contacted us a couple weeks back and we set up a date for him to drop it off with us to take care of.



Upon delivery, it was FILTHY. BUT, this was ok - honestly we`d rather have a filthy car that WE wash rather than a clean car with added swirls in the paint because it was improperly washed. We had requested that the owner just let us wash it rather than risk extra damage...so thats what he did!



Here she is, with a nice protective layer of dirt on it lol:



http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Reid%20Raven%20Black%20FRS/P1050823_zps0a86a234.jpg





http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Reid%20Raven%20Black%20FRS/P1050824_zpsc4a5e62c.jpg



http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Reid%20Raven%20Black%20FRS/P1050830_zpsa7c661b5.jpg





OH yeah, she`s dirty lol



http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Reid%20Raven%20Black%20FRS/P1050831_zps4574398d.jpg





Always gotta pull that license plate to be sure to get that caked up grime behind it...and this is after only about 1,000 miles of driving!





Some areas had been hit by water and spotted up, thus leaving some water spot etching for us to deal with. Part of the spots were just topical mineral build up, but the others had actually etched into the paint already:



http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Reid%20Raven%20Black%20FRS/P1050835_zps9cc39e7b.jpg





Tires were uhm..yeah...just...yup:



http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Reid%20Raven%20Black%20FRS/P1050834_zps5a2522b2.jpg



http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Reid%20Raven%20Black%20FRS/P1050833_zps1face9c2.jpg







Dirt coating!



http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Reid%20Raven%20Black%20FRS/P1050827_zps9a87d028.jpg







About 5 different brushes along with 3 different cleaners were used just to get the tires, rims and wheel wells back into shape. 1 brush for the tires, another for the wheel faces, 2 different types for the wheels barrels and then a 5th one for the wheel wells. Notice the bucket full of brushes. Also note this water was ONLY used for the tires and wheel wells.



http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Reid%20Raven%20Black%20FRS/P1050829_zps999d018a.jpg







After the tires were done, the car was rinsed, then covered in foam to help break down the dirt...and hand washed. We rinsed it clean, dried it off and pulled it inside the garage to being with the clay bar decontamination process of it. Both the paint and windows were all very `grabby` from contaminants, but we were able to get rid of those bonded contaminants without much fuss.



Then it was paint inspection time....here`s the damage. First the etched in water spots:



http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Reid%20Raven%20Black%20FRS/P1050841_zpsc3190be9.jpg





Then of course, the swirls. Most were straight line scratches going lengthwise with the body of the car. I`m thinking its pretty safe to assume that this was mostly from the dealership wash.



http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Reid%20Raven%20Black%20FRS/P1050842_zps4287babc.jpg





More goodies:



http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Reid%20Raven%20Black%20FRS/P1050840_zps62d03165.jpg





Close up, not pretty is it?



http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Reid%20Raven%20Black%20FRS/P1050839_zps6d7fdf71.jpg





A few deeper ones were present in some areas:



http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Reid%20Raven%20Black%20FRS/P1050836_zpse2895a02.jpg





OUCH!



http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Reid%20Raven%20Black%20FRS/P1050837_zpsae534629.jpg





Of course around the door handle always gets scuffed up:



http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Reid%20Raven%20Black%20FRS/P1050838_zpsdce72fca.jpg







So now that we saw what we were working with, it was time to do a test spot. With new cars, we typically try to get all the correction we need with a 1-step polish. So first we tried a Buff & Shine Blue light polishing pad with some Meguiars 205 polish. After doing a section...it came out very nice, but there were still quite a few deeper scratches left. SO, i bumped up the pad aggression to a green medium polishing pad and tried again.



Unfortunately, the results were the same....it was good, but not good enough. I finally went and set up a Megs Microfiber cutting disc along with some Megs D300 compound and did the area again. It left noticeable haze, but the swirls and deep scratches were gone. My sister followed up behind me with the blue pad and 205...and MAN did it look sweet!



Knowing the combo that was needed, i sent a message to the owner letting him know extra work would need to be done and it would take extra time, but we did not want to Opti-Coat a `pretty good` looking car. He said he totally understood and appreciated the extra work.



So, round and round we went:



http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Reid%20Raven%20Black%20FRS/P1050845_zpsc336522a.jpg





Light looks ridiculous but it is needed to see what type of results im getting as I`m compounding.



Small pads for small areas:



http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Reid%20Raven%20Black%20FRS/P1050844_zps3c71d7a7.jpg





Coming along behind me was Dani doing the final polishing:



http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Reid%20Raven%20Black%20FRS/P1050846_zps96fe76cb.jpg



http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Reid%20Raven%20Black%20FRS/P1050847_zpsa0eb687c.jpg







Again, checking the condition of the paint to be sure all hazing/marring left behind was removed. She would also check to see if there were any deeper scratches i missed while compounding...which she found a few, so i`d come back and touch up that spot to get rid of the deep guys...and then she`d re-polish it to glossy perfection:



http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Reid%20Raven%20Black%20FRS/P1050848_zps5b1ca51e.jpg





We finally finished with the polishing - so it was time to spray down each panel with isopropyl alcohol and do a rinseless wash on the car to make sure all polishing oils were removed.



Now it was time to Opti-Coat. I would be using a new method this time for application. I took a tire dressing applicator sponge and wrapped it in plastic wrap...this was to make sure that the sponge wouldn`t absorb the coating:



http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Reid%20Raven%20Black%20FRS/P1050850_zps2cf11b43.jpg





Next i put my suede applicator on top of the sponge:



http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Reid%20Raven%20Black%20FRS/P1050852_zps6adff8c9.jpg



Then i primed the cloth with Opti-Coat...and began applying:



http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Reid%20Raven%20Black%20FRS/P1050853_zps6dfa8dfd.jpg



http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Reid%20Raven%20Black%20FRS/P1050856_zpsf82c740a.jpg





I found this to apply the coating MUCH smoother than using a foam pad. It took a bit more to prime the cloth, but once after about a panel or so it was pretty well primed and didnt require so much coating for each following panel.





I went around and coated all of the paint while Dani went around and cleaned all of the wheels and coated them. She also applied it to the hard plastic on the back, the head and tail lights and even coated the exhaust tip :)



After i finished the paint, i coated the windshield wipers and the hard plastic under them as well.



The polishing was done, the coating was done, but the DETAILING was not....i think all too often these things are all lumped into one. A paint polisher isn`t always a good detailer...and a detailer MOST times is not a good paint polisher. While paint polishing correctly i feel is an art form and requires a great amount of skill, time and knowledge...I think that if you leave the DETAILS out of your job, you`re not giving your work the best presentation possible.



So, thats why after several hours of work, we still had more to do. We went around wiping down all the door jambs, trunk jamb and hood jamb...cleaned all the windows...and even though this was not an interior detail...Dani vacuumed out the inside and did a wipe down of all dirty surfaces.



http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Reid%20Raven%20Black%20FRS/P1050858_zpsd49e1e06.jpg



http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Reid%20Raven%20Black%20FRS/P1050860_zpsbd008ca3.jpg





Having this type of work done should be an all around excellent EXPERIENCE for the owner...so if we can do a few extra things to make it just that...then thats just what we do :)





Now for the fun part, we got to pull it out and take a look at our work!



All swirls and water spots had been removed:



http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Reid%20Raven%20Black%20FRS/P1050896_zps5b563d21.jpg



http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Reid%20Raven%20Black%20FRS/P1050893_zps894a2203.jpg



http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Reid%20Raven%20Black%20FRS/P1050895_zps931911a4.jpg





The paint looked GORGEOUS! Under direct light it had a beautiful metallic look, but in indirect light it looked black and liquid and glossy. The reflections were awesome.



http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Reid%20Raven%20Black%20FRS/P1050868_zps2282c43c.jpg



http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Reid%20Raven%20Black%20FRS/P1050871_zps97c2599f.jpg



http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Reid%20Raven%20Black%20FRS/P1050870_zps9bbbbdf0.jpg







And those nasty looking tires, rims and wheel wells...well they were better than new:



http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Reid%20Raven%20Black%20FRS/P1050869_zps22e809aa.jpg



http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Reid%20Raven%20Black%20FRS/P1050863_zps03500b17.jpg









Here is a series of reflection shots that i thought were awesome...it looked great far away:



http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Reid%20Raven%20Black%20FRS/P1050865_zpsf83c1e0f.jpg





And then if you looked closer...it looked better:



http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Reid%20Raven%20Black%20FRS/P1050866_zps80b319b4.jpg





And once you got right on top of it..it was like you were going into another dimension...it LITERALLY looked like you could reach into the paint:



http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Reid%20Raven%20Black%20FRS/P1050867_zps82367e94.jpg



http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Reid%20Raven%20Black%20FRS/P1050875_zpsf3eefea1.jpg



http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Reid%20Raven%20Black%20FRS/P1050859_zps0bd7d7ea.jpg







The owner pulled up and the first words out of his mouth were "Oh my God" lol. THIS is what we live for! We love reactions like that. He circled around the car with us...he didn`t even want to get in it because he didnt want to touch the door handle - our kinda guy!



As we stood around talking, the sun began to set..and it darkened the reflections on the paint...giving them a different, but very cool look:



http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Reid%20Raven%20Black%20FRS/P1050882_zps1dd81d3e.jpg





Then, right on point, some clouds rolled in and this is what we were left to look at as the sun went down:



http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Reid%20Raven%20Black%20FRS/P1050883_zps9602f93a.jpg



http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Reid%20Raven%20Black%20FRS/P1050881_zps163685dc.jpg



http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Reid%20Raven%20Black%20FRS/P1050879_zpsb7d3dabb.jpg



http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Reid%20Raven%20Black%20FRS/P1050885_zps338afa9d.jpg





I hope you guys enjoyed the read and the pictures, it was a fun detail with an excellent turn around and finished product :)



Thanks all!

[maxepr1]

Awesome job guys! Shame that car has to live like that. When you go back hopefully it won`t be so dirty.

[MusicMan]

Awesome job guys! Shame that car has to live like that. When you go back hopefully it won`t be so dirty.



Thank you! I dont think it`ll ever get back into that condition...and if it does, OC will make it easy as hell to clean up :)

[maxepr1]

Thank you! I dont think it`ll ever get back into that condition...and if it does, OC will make it easy as hell to clean up :)

Don`t say "Ever". I just OC a Tesla about a month ago and it`s coming back totally trashed!! Worse than when I first corrected it!......lol

[MusicMan]

Don`t say "Ever". I just OC a Tesla about a month ago and it`s coming back totally trashed!! Worse than when I first corrected it!......lol



Worse as in more dirty or worse as in swirled to hell?

[maxepr1]

Worse as in more dirty or worse as in swirled to hell?

Worse in Swirled! Looks like ScotchBrite washing! Give all my customers advise on proper washing technics, but some listen some don`t. The one`s that don`t, pay twice.

[pwaug]

Fantastic job!!! Who says OptiCoat has a bland look?? Why would you ever need to top it???

[Scottwax]

Fantastic job!!! Who says OptiCoat has a bland look?? Why would you ever need to top it???



Agree 100%. At the most, I use ONR Wash and Wax.



Great job as always, really looks terrific in the afters.

[IHA Mark]

Great job! Your appreciation for the small things is very apparent.

[MusicMan]

Worse in Swirled! Looks like ScotchBrite washing! Give all my customers advise on proper washing technics, but some listen some don`t. The one`s that don`t, pay twice.



Oh man..thats horrible :-\. I know SOME swirls are goign to happen if a car is driven, but scotchbrite...ouch. We had one guy with a black Camaro, did a 2-step on it...it was black..his daily driver. We went back out 6 months later cause he wanted a touch up done...man that thing looked like we had JUST done it! It had one long scratch along the hood...and the rear bumper needed some work, other than that...it was TOP NOTCH. Couldn`t have done better myself...owners like that make me :-D




Fantastic job!!! Who says OptiCoat has a bland look?? Why would you ever need to top it???



I agree. Seriously...i think 90% of how a car looks..is in the prep..its the polishing process that REALLY counts...if thats done right...i think almost anything half way decent would look damn good.




Agree 100%. At the most, I use ONR Wash and Wax.



Great job as always, really looks terrific in the afters.



Thanks Scott. I havent tried the W&W yet, how do you like it?




Great job! Your appreciation for the small things is very apparent.



Thanks Mark...and yes for sure...always finding some other new little thing to just make it a little better ya know .. no one else may ever see it but, we know we did it :)

[Scottwax]

Thanks Scott. I havent tried the W&W yet, how do you like it?











Love it! Use it on my own car every wash (seems to have a cumulative effect, car just gets better looking) and for my couple weekly wash customers. Plus diluted 32:1 it makes a great glass cleaner and sheds rain better than RainX.

[BigAl3]

very nice, great job by both of you... :2thumbs:

[pwaug]

"We finally finished with the polishing - so it was time to spray down each panel with isopropyl alcohol and do a rinseless wash on the car to make sure all polishing oils were removed."



Noticed this process in your write up--do you spray a panel with IPA, let it dwell for a short period and then immediately wash that panel with ONR?? Seems like it would help avoid inducing swirls by just wiping down the IPA.

[MusicMan]

Love it! Use it on my own car every wash (seems to have a cumulative effect, car just gets better looking) and for my couple weekly wash customers. Plus diluted 32:1 it makes a great glass cleaner and sheds rain better than RainX.



Wow that sounds pretty sweet...might have to grab a bottle to try out for myself...thats also pretty cool that it works better than RainX lol...i love multi-purpose products!




very nice, great job by both of you... :2thumbs:



Al! Man I haven`t spoken to you in forever, how have you been? Thanks for checking out the write up. The owner sent me an email earlier saying "THANK YOU SO MUCH! I can`t stop just staring at my car!" lol...love that kinda feedback :)



Hope you`re doing good man...I`m gonna send you a PM

[MusicMan]

"We finally finished with the polishing - so it was time to spray down each panel with isopropyl alcohol and do a rinseless wash on the car to make sure all polishing oils were removed."



Noticed this process in your write up--do you spray a panel with IPA, let it dwell for a short period and then immediately wash that panel with ONR?? Seems like it would help avoid inducing swirls by just wiping down the IPA.



Yes, thats what i do. Honestly, i personally feel i have LESS of a chance of inducing swirls. Megs Rinseless or ONR is quite slippery and obviously uses more water than just spraying a panel. So i feel that by aiding the IPA wipe down with ONR or Megs Rinseless, it allows me to glide any dust/polishing dust off the paint safer than if i were to just do an IPA wipe down. In my mind its kinda like comparing a quick detail spray wipe down to an ONR wash...the ONR uses water and therefore is more slippery.



I also find that doing a rinseless wash allows for fewer streaks upon drying...IPA always seems to streak SOME on me...which drives me nuts. Its just my method, not saying its for everyone but...i feel better about doing it that way.