imported_Aurora40
11-12-2002, 08:39 AM
I did an exterior detail job on a family member`s 1983 Chevy Caprice. It was dark blue on light blue two-toned. The paint was really dull. It also had this sort of pattern in it from oxidizing. It looked sort of like water was sitting or had dried on the paint everywhere, except that`s just what the paint looked like. I washed with GC. Then I tried two products on part of the hood to see what would work best. One was Swirl Free Polish, and the other was Medallion Paint Cleaner. I really didn`t think the SFP would have much bite. Amazingly it had the same cleaning ability, plus it left more gloss from the glazes in it. What I really needed was some DACP. Maybe I`ll try that next year. I also didn`t clay. I was going for big improvement, not entire-day-taking-and-all-my-product-using perfection.
So, I used SFP and a PC on the car. I used the white Porter Cable pad that came with it because I really didn`t want to crap up my nice pads. The pad was jet black after just doing half of the hood. I had to wash it out like 5 times (the rest of the car didn`t blacken the pad as fast as the hood). The SFP got harder to buff off once I washed the pad (as it was still wet). However, it still did the same great job of cleaning. Afterwards, the car had much better gloss than before, but still not a great gloss. Also, that weird oxidized pattern was all but gone. I really didn`t think SFP had that much punch in it. I tried the Medallion cleaner on a few spots after the SFP and it didn`t really help. DACP was really needed. Then I topped the car with Medallion Premium Paint Protectant by hand. I had to use about three applicators for this too, as the foam pads kept turning black. I`ve never seen that much "dirt" come off a car. In fact, when I`d buff the SFP and the MPPP, the buffing towel would turn black. I used about 10 towels. It was really something...
I also used some Meguiar`s bug and tar remover on the front bumper. I have to say I was not impressed. It works well on my car with fresh bugs and tar, but it didn`t do a great job on these 15 year old bugs. I thought it was hopeless. But I was planning on using AIO on the bumpers anyway because they were chrome. Well, AIO took the remaining bug stains completely off. And the chromed bumpers look amazing.
I sprayed the wire-spoke hubcaps with some Meguiar`s Hot Rims and tried to brush it around a bit. That worked pretty well. I then sprayed them with some Engine-Kote which really does leave a great shine on wheels (although I doubt it has much lasting protection). And I sprayed some GC vinyl & rubber protectant (I don`t like it too much. #40 is way better IMO) on the tires. I wiped it around with a paper towel to even it out, but really I didn`t see much point as the sidewalls had that crumbling rubber look to them. The sidewalls were beyond help.
It wasn`t the best approach to detailing a car, but it looks much better than it did. It`s just going to be neglected again anyway. It took me about 5-6 hours total. It`s sort of fun to detail crappy cars because you really get to see the products working. At the same time, it`s kind of a pain because they are in such crappy shape. Constantly having to clean the pad and constantly having black come off on everything (remember, it`s a blue car) gets old pretty quick. I think some DACP would have done wonders, and then I probably would have followed up with some #7 just to add some gloss, then maybe tried #26 on top. But since it wasn`t too sharp looking, I figured MPPP would clean it a little more and would probably last longer. All in all the car looks much better and the owner was pleased. I didn`t feel as much of a sense of accomplishment because the paint doesn`t look new, though. It looks like paint that has been neglected for 3-5 years now instead of 15-20 years. I guess that`s a start, though.
So, I used SFP and a PC on the car. I used the white Porter Cable pad that came with it because I really didn`t want to crap up my nice pads. The pad was jet black after just doing half of the hood. I had to wash it out like 5 times (the rest of the car didn`t blacken the pad as fast as the hood). The SFP got harder to buff off once I washed the pad (as it was still wet). However, it still did the same great job of cleaning. Afterwards, the car had much better gloss than before, but still not a great gloss. Also, that weird oxidized pattern was all but gone. I really didn`t think SFP had that much punch in it. I tried the Medallion cleaner on a few spots after the SFP and it didn`t really help. DACP was really needed. Then I topped the car with Medallion Premium Paint Protectant by hand. I had to use about three applicators for this too, as the foam pads kept turning black. I`ve never seen that much "dirt" come off a car. In fact, when I`d buff the SFP and the MPPP, the buffing towel would turn black. I used about 10 towels. It was really something...
I also used some Meguiar`s bug and tar remover on the front bumper. I have to say I was not impressed. It works well on my car with fresh bugs and tar, but it didn`t do a great job on these 15 year old bugs. I thought it was hopeless. But I was planning on using AIO on the bumpers anyway because they were chrome. Well, AIO took the remaining bug stains completely off. And the chromed bumpers look amazing.
I sprayed the wire-spoke hubcaps with some Meguiar`s Hot Rims and tried to brush it around a bit. That worked pretty well. I then sprayed them with some Engine-Kote which really does leave a great shine on wheels (although I doubt it has much lasting protection). And I sprayed some GC vinyl & rubber protectant (I don`t like it too much. #40 is way better IMO) on the tires. I wiped it around with a paper towel to even it out, but really I didn`t see much point as the sidewalls had that crumbling rubber look to them. The sidewalls were beyond help.
It wasn`t the best approach to detailing a car, but it looks much better than it did. It`s just going to be neglected again anyway. It took me about 5-6 hours total. It`s sort of fun to detail crappy cars because you really get to see the products working. At the same time, it`s kind of a pain because they are in such crappy shape. Constantly having to clean the pad and constantly having black come off on everything (remember, it`s a blue car) gets old pretty quick. I think some DACP would have done wonders, and then I probably would have followed up with some #7 just to add some gloss, then maybe tried #26 on top. But since it wasn`t too sharp looking, I figured MPPP would clean it a little more and would probably last longer. All in all the car looks much better and the owner was pleased. I didn`t feel as much of a sense of accomplishment because the paint doesn`t look new, though. It looks like paint that has been neglected for 3-5 years now instead of 15-20 years. I guess that`s a start, though.