1999 black Lincoln LS... first wool pad use!

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imported_Picus

New member
Like the title says, 1999 Lincoln LS, 200,000km. This is easily the toughest detail I've had since I've been in Toronto. When the owner contacted me he said "it was pretty bad", which was true. I had 6 hours; the detail was a present for his g/f (who is the actual owner of the car). He was picking her up from the airport at 2pm, so the deadline loomed. Definitely the worst swirls I've seen in a long time, nevermind the random really deep marring from groceries, gas fillups, etc... buttload of rock chips too, I filled what I could.



Yes, I used a wool pad on my Makita rotary. Why? Well, time constraints...and the overall condition of the car can be summed up pretty acurately by this:



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I ended up wetsanding about 3/4 of the rear of the car (rear quarterpanels, rear decklid, trunk, rear bumper) as well as some spots near doorhandles, on the hood, c-pillars... you get the idea. The results were good, but not nearly perfect. I was unable to get out some of the deeper marring, but I told the owner ahead of time to expect it. He was very pleased with the results... Process:



Wetsand above mentioned areas with 2000 grit then 3000 unigrit

Menzerna PG/RMG, wool pad, rotary @ 1300 rpm

Menzerna IP/RMG, orange pad, rotary @ 1500 rpm

Menzerna PO106FF, grey pad, rotary @ 1200 rpm

I stopped here. Had I had more time I'd have done PO106FF via PC but I was satisfied with the results after the grey pad/rotary and I was running low on time...

Poorboys EX

Clearkote Carnauba



The spot above after PG and IP (before P0106FF), notice the haze... :bawling:

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Left side polished all the way down, right side...not:

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Gratuitous and meaningless reflection shot:



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You can see some of the deeper marring I couldn't get out here. This kind of marring was still scattered over the car. :nixweiss

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Yes, the Northwest Territories license plate is shaped like a bear. :)
 
Beason said:
awesome work. do you think you could of gotten the marring out with more time?
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Maybe a bit more; definitely not all of it. I think if I had all day I might have wetsanded a few more areas and also done a PO106FF step via PC to complete the polishing. I'm not sure how much more that would have taken out though. I'd have also filled and wetsanded some of the bigger rock chips. As you can see it has quite a few, so I filled the bigger ones but didn't have time to sand them down.



I guess sometimes you can only do so much; the area by the gas cap still had some distinct marring when I was done, a lot of it I could feel with my finger, so it's not coming out.



Thanks guys.
 
First off, is his girlfriend blind? It looks like she used the Hellen Keller method to find the gas tank.





Second, I would not be discouraged. I think you did an AMAZING job with what you had to work with. In the end, you have to remember how much clear you are taking away. There has to be a happy balance between minimal swirls and clearcoat life.



In any event, gorgeous turnaround.
 
Frugle; about 5 and a half all told. He arrived at 8:15, I was working on the car by 8:30, and he left to pick up his g/f at the airport at 2pm. Luckily the wash/wheels were easy since he had recently washed it. Just some Eagle One All wheel cleaner, Opt No Rinse then right to wetsand/polish. Using a rotary only saves so much time it's just crazy. I used EX and CMW both because they look good on black *AND* because they are super quick on/off.



Sean - thanks. I knew when I saw it under the halogens that it was not going to be perfect. I was pretty happy with the results overall through I wish I'd have an extra hour or two. You know how that is. In any event the owner was really happy with it, so it was a sucess. :)
 
GSRstilez said:
I would not be discouraged. I think you did an AMAZING job with what you had to work with. In the end, you have to remember how much clear you are taking away. There has to be a happy balance between minimal swirls and clearcoat life.



In any event, gorgeous turnaround.
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Perfectly said! I don't think anyone here could have done anything more given the condition of the paint and the time constraints. Absolutely outstanding! :up
 
Just, just wow. I love checking out this forum on Monday mornings, and this is a prime example. Absolutely amazing work. At a much more elementary level I'm coming to terms with the concept of removing what you can and accepting that there will be some imperfections that remain. Nonetheless, the difference in these photos is remarkable! I only hope the fellow's girlfriend appreciates the effort and is a bit more careful.
 
VroomVroom said:
Nonetheless, the difference in these photos is remarkable! I only hope the fellow's girlfriend appreciates the effort and is a bit more careful.
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I agree... beautiful work- nice recovery.



I just wonder how long it will be before the car is trashed again though. Car care just does NOT register on some people's radar. My old roommate in college went 4 years without washing his car (a '77 MonteCarlo). Then instead of washing it, he finally just went out & had it repainted. And in the last 20 years, he hasn't changed his ways either.



oy vey... these "mixed marriages"... if her car is maintained after this, it'll likely be HIS doing- not hers.
 
Hard to say; I guess it goes through a "hand wash" pretty often, but we all know what that means. The guy who brought it to me to have it detailed as a gift is actually a G35 owner. I'll be detailing his car in the near future; he seems very cogniscent of proper care, so I am sure it's in much better shape!
 
unreal detail !!! - I was wondering about the winter tires still being on, until I read the NWT tags on it.....LOL
 
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