RaysWay
Autopia Specialist
My buddy got a great deal on a Camaro and said the first thing he did after finalizing the deal, was give me a call for a detail. He knew the paint needed a lot of work and he wanted it to look good for his Super Bowl party, so friends and family would drool over shiny black paint. I asked him to bring it over so I could inspect the paint and give him an estimate.
He ended up opting for the exterior paint detail only and Pinnacle Black Label Paint Coating as his protection.
The paint had your standard dirt, dust and water spots.
Unfortunately the matte finish vinyl stripes were in rough shape. I told him I would try to improve their look, but because they were matte finish I didn't have too much hope.
The wheels were actually pretty clean.
The car looked great from a distance in the shade....so I asked him to roll the car into the light to check for swirl marks...
BOOM. Swirls galore.
The early bird gets the worm. I always like to set up all the tools/chemicals as early as possible so I'm completely setup when the car arrives. I know someone will ask me so I'm drinking Folgers Black Silk with vanilla creamer.
I've also been telling clients they get $20 off the detail if they arrive 15 minutes within their scheduled drop off time. It's been working great. As soon as I mention the discount, every client immediately has a positive reaction. I'll gladly give up $20 to start working on the car ASAP.
The car arrived on time and it looked worse than I remembered.
I washed with CarPro Reset, decontaminated with CarPro Iron X followed with a Nanoskin Wash Mitt (Fine Grade).
Tuf Shine Tire Cleaner/Iron X on the wheels and paint.
I pulled the car into the newly expanded garage and the new lights are great. They showed every imperfection in the paint.
Ouch.
I started by taping off all the vinyl decals and trim. I didn't want to make more work for myself by getting compound/polish on the vinyl.
Don't forget the antennae!
I grabbed my sisters FLEX 3401, Buff and Shine pads and my go-to polishing combo, BLACKFIRE Compound and Finishing Polish.
I started by performing a test spot with the least aggressive combination. In this case, it was BLACKFIRE Finishing Polish with a White Buff and Shine Polishing Pad.
(BEFORE)
(AFTER)
The Finishing Polish did a great job. If this was my sisters Camaro I would've been happy with these results, but my friend had a Super Bowl party to throw and he was looking forward to impressing his friends and family with his new purchase. I thought I could remove more of the imperfections by using the compound first, then the polish. So a second test spot would be needed.
For the second test, I used BLACKFIRE Compound with an orange Buff and Shine pad.
The compound did a great job but left some DA haze, so a second polishing step would be required.
He ended up opting for the exterior paint detail only and Pinnacle Black Label Paint Coating as his protection.
The paint had your standard dirt, dust and water spots.
Unfortunately the matte finish vinyl stripes were in rough shape. I told him I would try to improve their look, but because they were matte finish I didn't have too much hope.
The wheels were actually pretty clean.
The car looked great from a distance in the shade....so I asked him to roll the car into the light to check for swirl marks...
BOOM. Swirls galore.
The early bird gets the worm. I always like to set up all the tools/chemicals as early as possible so I'm completely setup when the car arrives. I know someone will ask me so I'm drinking Folgers Black Silk with vanilla creamer.
I've also been telling clients they get $20 off the detail if they arrive 15 minutes within their scheduled drop off time. It's been working great. As soon as I mention the discount, every client immediately has a positive reaction. I'll gladly give up $20 to start working on the car ASAP.
The car arrived on time and it looked worse than I remembered.
I washed with CarPro Reset, decontaminated with CarPro Iron X followed with a Nanoskin Wash Mitt (Fine Grade).
Tuf Shine Tire Cleaner/Iron X on the wheels and paint.
I pulled the car into the newly expanded garage and the new lights are great. They showed every imperfection in the paint.
Ouch.
I started by taping off all the vinyl decals and trim. I didn't want to make more work for myself by getting compound/polish on the vinyl.
Don't forget the antennae!
I grabbed my sisters FLEX 3401, Buff and Shine pads and my go-to polishing combo, BLACKFIRE Compound and Finishing Polish.
I started by performing a test spot with the least aggressive combination. In this case, it was BLACKFIRE Finishing Polish with a White Buff and Shine Polishing Pad.
(BEFORE)
(AFTER)
The Finishing Polish did a great job. If this was my sisters Camaro I would've been happy with these results, but my friend had a Super Bowl party to throw and he was looking forward to impressing his friends and family with his new purchase. I thought I could remove more of the imperfections by using the compound first, then the polish. So a second test spot would be needed.
For the second test, I used BLACKFIRE Compound with an orange Buff and Shine pad.
The compound did a great job but left some DA haze, so a second polishing step would be required.
