Half of car repainted & wetsanded: 2012 Sti Paint correction & wheels off & Cquartz Coating... DetailedByPrecision - Bay Area

[CG6Lemon]

This customer had an interesting story to share about his car when we met up. The previous owner rented the car out through on of those car renting sites. The renter crashed the car and ruined the whole driver side and passenger fender and door. The previous owner sold it to my customer and my customer got it repaired and repainted. The repair turned out good but the finish of the repaint required sanding to level the orange peel. Since I was going to polish the repair areas I recommended the rest of the car get polished as well in order to not make the unpolished panels stand out. The wheels were to be removed from the car and coated along with the paint.






Started with wheels & tires. Then Foamed with CG Maxi suds




DSC_20751 by Limny Kuang, on Flickr




DSC_20981 by Limny Kuang, on Flickr




After washing the car, I was able to take a closer look at the car. There were plenty of overspray I needed to address.




DSC_2110 copy by Limny Kuang, on Flickr




DSC_2126 copy by Limny Kuang, on Flickr




DSC_2205 copy by Limny Kuang, on Flickr




Severity of orange peel, overall condition of car, and swirled out mess on soft OEM paint.




DSC_21681 by Limny Kuang, on Flickr




DSC_21331 by Limny Kuang, on Flickr




DSC_21321 by Limny Kuang, on Flickr




DSC_21211 by Limny Kuang, on Flickr




Oem paint readings. Lowest and highest readings




DSC_21601 by Limny Kuang, on Flickr




DSC_21501 by Limny Kuang, on Flickr




Starting to address the dirts in the paint, the dry areas, machine sanding, and blocking by hand as well for certain areas. Scuffed all the panels, then chased after dirts, and some minor fish eyes. Afterwards thoroughly went over it again to achieve a uniform white sheet look to it to ensure paint is flat and no hills or valleys.




DSC_2173 copy by Limny Kuang, on Flickr




DSC_2174 copy by Limny Kuang, on Flickr




DSC_2370 copy by Limny Kuang, on Flickr




DSC_2381 copy by Limny Kuang, on Flickr




DSC_2446 copy by Limny Kuang, on Flickr




I noticed the hood scoop was dull so I removed it to clean and dress it before I rinsed the car down to prep it for Iron X decon and claybar




DSC_2313 copy by Limny Kuang, on Flickr




DSC_2315 copy by Limny Kuang, on Flickr




DSC_2316 copy by Limny Kuang, on Flickr




DSC_2242 copy by Limny Kuang, on Flickr




DSC_2244 copy by Limny Kuang, on Flickr




Now the fun part begins after the long hours of prep work. The OEM paint was soft and finicky. It would cut really easy but the funny thing is the paint only like SMAT products. DAT products did not wipe off easy and left micro marring. I dialed in my test spot process for the OEM paint using Boss 21/HF DA paired with D300 W/LC orange, M205 W/LC white, and Essence was a life saver. The noticeably subtle white faint haze specifically for black cars would be a huge problem if I didn`t have Essence in my arsenal. I tried a lot of finishing combinations using SMAT & DAT products and none played nicely. For the Aftermarket paint, it was on the hard side. Boss 21/HF DA paired with M101 W/MF pad, Menz203 W/LC white, Essence.




DSC_2263 copy by Limny Kuang, on Flickr




DSC_2278 copy by Limny Kuang, on Flickr




DSC_2257 copy by Limny Kuang, on Flickr





DSC_2412 copy by Limny Kuang, on Flickr




DSC_2410 copy by Limny Kuang, on Flickr




Headlights required a complete restoration. Sanded with 800/1000/1500/3000. Protected with Opt Opti Lense.




DSC_2320 copy by Limny Kuang, on Flickr




DSC_2341 copy by Limny Kuang, on Flickr




DSC_2329 copy by Limny Kuang, on Flickr




DSC_2335 copy by Limny Kuang, on Flickr




Finished pics of the whole job.




DSC_2366 copy by Limny Kuang, on Flickr




DSC_26001 by Limny Kuang, on Flickr




DSC_259611 by Limny Kuang, on Flickr




DSC_259411 by Limny Kuang, on Flickr




DSC_2654 copy by Limny Kuang, on Flickr




DSC_26451 by Limny Kuang, on Flickr




DSC_26621 by Limny Kuang, on Flickr




DSC_2509 copy by Limny Kuang, on Flickr




DSC_2532 copy by Limny Kuang, on Flickr




DSC_2544 copy by Limny Kuang, on Flickr




DSC_2511 copy by Limny Kuang, on Flickr




DSC_2510 copy by Limny Kuang, on Flickr









Total hours: 30.

What I learned from this job:

You can never have too much sanding tools.

Not all sanding paper/disc are made equal. Some wear out a lot faster depending on brand

Test spot is invaluable to save time and materials

Always carry SMAT and DAT products in your arsenal

Essence is a game changer

Need a better alcantara cleaning product. (Appreciate recommendations)

Sonax leather foam works really well but pricey

Need to find another product other than 303 Fabric Guard


All i can think of for now... I`m sure I missed a couple more. If you guys have any favorite GO TO products that I can possibly replace the ones I listed please give me a shout out! Thanks for viewing. This was a pain in the butt job but very rewarding as well when everything is all done.

[FIDOAG14]

Heck of a transformation CG6Lemon, great job.

Perhaps not the place to ask this but would you mind explaining what you mean by SMAT and DAT products?

[Stokdgs]

Heck of a transformation CG6Lemon, great job.

Perhaps not the place to ask this but would you mind explaining what you mean by SMAT and DAT products?

This article written by Todd will explain it perfectly --

The Difference Between Diminishing and Non-Diminishing Abrasive Polishes

Dan F

[haris300]

That was an insane transformation. Nice job bringing that paint back to the condition it deserves to be in. Thanks for sharing.

[mjlinane]

Fantastic work!

[rlmccarty2000]

Only 30 hours? Wow! My back hurts thinking about all the sanding. Great work. I agree about Essence. Why are you looking for a replacement of 303 Fabric Guard?

[Ronkh]

WOW !!!!!!!!!!!! (think that says it all)

[CG6Lemon]

Heck of a transformation CG6Lemon, great job.

Perhaps not the place to ask this but would you mind explaining what you mean by SMAT and DAT products?

This article written by Todd will explain it perfectly --

The Difference Between Diminishing and Non-Diminishing Abrasive Polishes

Dan F

That was an insane transformation. Nice job bringing that paint back to the condition it deserves to be in. Thanks for sharing.

Fantastic work!

Only 30 hours? Wow! My back hurts thinking about all the sanding. Great work. I agree about Essence. Why are you looking for a replacement of 303 Fabric Guard?

WOW !!!!!!!!!!!! (think that says it all)

Thanks everyone! The 303 fabric guard works okay IME, but I wanna try something else. It takes too long to setup and cure. Hydrophobic properties isn`t the greatest as well. Anyone have any methods of cleaning alcantara or products? I`m currently using a product by Sonax.

[JBM]

Meticulous for sure!

[jimmie jam]

Beautiful result. Like Ronkh said - "WOW !!!!!!!!!!!! (think that says it all)"