2005 TL: "My son took the snow off with a steel shovel"

G35stilez

G35stilez

Ari Gold
:scared: :scared: :scared:


I thought the same thing...


I went and visited mgm2003 this weekend in Delaware. It was more of a leisure and post college planning visit, but he asked for my help on his friend's TL. It's a 2005 that hasn't been cared for well. He had to run inside for something and while doing so his young son decided to clear the snow off his TL with a steel snow shovel. John attached only 3 pictures when I heard about this but upon further review, this thing was cut up bad.

The hood, I was almost sure, would need a respray. He really took the paint with him on there. The fenders were both bruised nicely as were both the A-pillars, rear bumper, roof, and skirts. I didn't photograph every area as I wanted to get cracking on this one. I ended up touching up for about an hour straight! If I had to estimate, there were well over 50 R.I.D.S. and the ones on the hood were far longer than 6 inches.

The rest of the vehicle wasn't too bad. The clay picked up a lot of junk on the rear bumper and was rather normal for the rest of the vehicle. All in all, not an Autopian owner :(. Here's what we did:


Cleaning
-Optimum Wash with vinegar pre-soak
-Optimum Clay
-Poorboy's Spray and Rinse on wheels
-Optimum APC on tires/wells
-Flitz on exhaust
-Natural Look on wells/tires


Scratches
-PrepSol wipedown on all scratches
-Touch up each scratch very gently with enough paint to allow a "blob"
-Allow to dry for 60-90 minutes in heated garage
-Sand with variations between 1000>2400 grit papers (3m and Micromesh)
-Menzerna Powergloss via rotary and LC Foamed Wool Cutting Pad @ 1500-1700 rpm x 2-5

These steps took about 3 hours in total



Polishing and Protecting
-Menzerna Final Polish II via PC @ 5 on vertical surfaces (John polishing)
-Menzerna Final Polish II via rotary and LC Finishing Pad @ 1500 rpm on horizontal surfaces (me polishing)
-IPA wipedown
-Z5 on paint, wheels, windows, and tailpipes
-Z8 final wipedown



Before
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Before :down
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After
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Before
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After
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Before
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After
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After polishing
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After Zaino
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IMG_0707.jpg



A critic :lol:
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I want to thank John for this opportunity. While it was a lot of work, it was great practice for touching up and sanding. I became very confident over the course of this detail. On portions of the hood, I Powerglossed 4-5 times. The owner wanted it good enough that the dealer wouldn't notice when he turned it in for a lease. I'd say the scratches were 90% as new. You could see minor scarring on some spots of the hood but only up close and under certain lighting.


Questions/Comments, feel free.
 
OMG... The results came out great! Man I got a head ache now just thinking that would happen to me... Whoa...

Great work to bring it back!
 
WOW! JUST FRIGGIN WOW!

you really have some skill and patience. amazing how u can make something that looked soo bad, look soo good again...

SHOWOFF!

my wetsanding jobs look soo mediocre i try not to do them.:(
 
don't feel bad!!
I did the exact same thing when i was younger. It was after we got a big snow. I decide to clear the snow off our silver honda civic hatchback and i regret it to this day. Darn my younger years. All I can say we all make mistakes.
 
This is a classic. What a wonderful procedure. I could of said process but chose procedure because this was an operation of talent and expertise.

You have truly honed your skills as a detailer. Something that you should be as proud of as I am in awe of your work. This a Hall of Fame type post. if there is such a thing on this forum!!

Interesting choice of pads with FPll after using the rotary and Powergloss. I would have use a more aggressive pad but I am not any where in your league as far as detailing expertise is concerned. Having used Powergloss on other vehicles I needed IP as well as FPll to complete the look.
 
Very nice work. What would you charge for that job? I'm finally getting to the point with my touch up skills that I feel comfortable offering it when I see an opportunity. I don't know what to charge on it since it is a lot of work and takes some time.
 
Great Job Sean. :bow
The guy must be thrilled, and I'm sure that you saved his plenty of money with that

"J"
 
Thanks folks :).

cwcad: The foamed wool pad from LC finishes cleaner than standard wool, but cuts just as hard. I like it a lot and saves a step of polishing :).

Jngrbrdman: I would normally charge $30-40/hour for standard procedure detailing and $50/hour for touching up/wetsanding work. For the same vehicle all over again, the price for the exterior alone would be about $300...Add another $50 for the interior. I think $50/hour is fair if you are really putting your time/effort into making sure the owner doesn't need to repaint.
 
Shiny Lil Detlr said:
Oh wow.... nicely done! I've always said, the darker the color, the harder to match the touch-up; I'm impressed! :D
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I have found the opposite. I find silver metallic to be the hardest. Every time I get the chip filled and looking good, as far as color match, I have to wet sand to level the blob and the color is totally off after that.


Sean very nice work. How do you get away with wet sanding so quickly after applying touch up paint? Is there a special quick drying paint that you use?
 
GSRstilez said:
I ended up touching up for about an hour straight! If I had to estimate, there were well over 50 R.I.D.S. and the ones on the hood were far longer than 6 inches.


I'd say the scratches were 90% as new. You could see minor scarring on some spots of the hood but only up close and under certain lighting.


Questions/Comments, feel free.
Click to expand...


I could easily spend an hour or more on one little chip. By the time I prep, apply touch up paint, let it dry and apply some more untill there is a blob, than wet sand or Lanka it would take more than an hour. It takes hours for the paint to dry never mind the sanding step. What am I missing here?
 
Amazing!! Wanna fly up to MN this spring and touch up a couple chips for me? haha. Great Job!

Greg
 
Sean is a gifted detailer, and challenges himself to be the best in all aspect of his life (and he's one of the most humble people you'll ever meet). It was a pleasure to watch him do his magic on the TL.


If there are any areas of improvement in his rotary and detailing skills in general, they are minor at best. Watching him work for a few hours was an education. I’m sure he would have finished much sooner if I wasn’t in the way!

The TL owner and his best friend (my neighbor) were blown away at the improvement Sean made. You had to really look for the areas that he repaired; many could not be seen at all. I didn't think it was remotely possible to achieve his results.


I'm still shaking my head at how he can blot 6-8 globs of Power Gloss on the hood and pick it up using an 8" foam/wool pad, at speed, and not sling a SINGLE drop. Unreal!
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Anthony A said:
I have found the opposite. I find silver metallic to be the hardest. Every time I get the chip filled and looking good, as far as color match, I have to wet sand to level the blob and the color is totally off after that
Click to expand...

Not to again whore the same pics I've been posting over and over, but IMO silver metallic is the EASIEST color; now metallic green or blue, THOSE are hard (like my old green truck).





Click to enlarge.

Anthony A said:
I could easily spend an hour or more on one little chip. By the time I prep, apply touch up paint, let it dry and apply some more untill there is a blob, than wet sand or Lanka it would take more than an hour. It takes hours for the paint to dry never mind the sanding step. What am I missing here?
Click to expand...

Is it possible you're just making "too much" blob? If you apply the paint a little thicker than it really has to be, it'll take dramatically longer to dry/cure to a point that it can be sanded. I used to have that problem, too; until I found out that the key was remembering the paint doesn't have to be very much thicker than the rest of the surface in order to be leveled off.

Past that, the only other thing I've ever done differently was that I use a hair dryer to "help" the curing process after 15-20 minutes of air drying.

Hopefully Sean will chime in about his own processes, too.... I'm interested to hear his technique.
 
Shiny Lil Detlr said:
Not to again whore the same pics I've been posting over and over, but IMO silver metallic is the EASIEST color; now metallic green or blue, THOSE are hard (like my old green truck).
Click to expand...
I've had this conversation about matching paint with a few body shops and have always been told that metalic silver is the hardest paint to match. Also, in the course of these conversations I have been told that dark colors are the easiest to match.

Sean, awesome work!! I should drive down to CT and watch you work.
 
Mikeyc said:
I've had this conversation about matching paint with a few body shops and have always been told that metalic silver is the hardest paint to match. Also, in the course of these conversations I have been told that dark colors are the easiest to match.
Click to expand...

I must just be odd, then.... I dunno :w00t: I'm usually the exact opposite with color match problems. :surrender

Either that or my paint supplier just sucks....
 
Yeah silver metallic is brutal to work with. As soon as you attempt to level it you disturb the metallic and the color changes drastically.


Shiny Lil Detlr, I keep the blobs minimal to cut down on the amount of leveling I have to do. It takes some time though to properly fill the chip. I do it in steps because filling it in one attempt usually doesn't work.
 
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