2018 Ford Mustang GT - A Miracle Detailing - CQuartz Professional

[Merlin]

2018 Ford Mustang GT - A Miracle Detailing - CQuartz Professional

Interesting story on this car...
The previous owner only had it 1 year and put 30,000 miles on it.
Tons of swirls marks, Hologram - buffer trails, scratches, etc. It was a mess.

The new owner brought it to me to see if I could "fix" it.
If not, he was planning on doing a complete 5-10 thousand dollar paint job.
I did a small test spot on the trunk and lo and behold the OEM paint was metallic!

Now on to the technical...

Machines:
My weapons of choice are the Rupes Mark II 21 Bigfoot 5" BP and iBrid Nano

Compounds/Polishes:
Recently I`ve been using Megs M110 and M210 for correction and polishing.
In this case, M110 with microfiber pads barely made a dent in correction.
I had to switch to M101 and the paint now corrected with minimal issues.
Although, M101 had some dusting and left a micro-marring fog. M110 did not.
Even then, the fogging easily cleared up with a quick two-step polishing process.

In short, M101 for correction and M210 with a 5" Rupes Yellow pad for polishing.
I followed M210 with Scholl`s S30 on a Carpro Gloss pad for brilliance and clarity.

Convertible top:
I completely masked off with a plastic drop cloth during the compounding/polishing.
Ragg Topp Fabric Cleaner with a flat brush and the aerosol spray protectant to seal.

Tires:
Coated with OBSSSSD Matte Tire Dressing - for a nice, clean, dark, subtle look.

Wheels:
Iron-X followed with Iron-X snow soap & wheel brushes in a Detailing Outlaws bucket.

Engine Bay:
Cleaned with Multi-X APC followed with Sonus Trim and Motor Kote
This is a favorite of mine. No greasy shine. Just a factory fresh matte finish.

LSP:
Cleaned paint with Eraser and applied two thick coats of Cquartz Professional.

Now on to the pictures...

Please watch in 1080p with sound. (feedback appreciated)

Swirl marks

Holograms

The Merlin Shot

The End

Thanks for looking...
Please reply to this thread with any feedback.

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[Lonnie]

Merlin:
I am confused; is M101 to be used specifically with FOAM pads or were you using this compound with microfiber pads?? I was just wondering what you meant by "fogging" if this is micro-marring from the dust. Have you ever mixed M110 with M101 to get the cut of M101 but with less dusting, like M110.

Does Scholls make a compound that is similar to M101? Just wondering why you are using M101 if you have a similar compound that does not "fog" and dust like M101. I have an early version of M105 that I "dislike" and will use it by mixing with Meg`s Ultimate Compound to reduce the inherent dusting. I hate the water spraying of the pad to reduce the dusting because it may cause sling and splatter. Getting that combo of water and M105 just right can be frustrating.

 

[Merlin]

Merlin:
I am confused; is M101 to be used specifically with FOAM pads or were you using this compound with microfiber pads?? I was just wondering what you meant by "fogging" if this is micro-marring from the dust. Have you ever mixed M110 with M101 to get the cut of M101 but with less dusting, like M110.

Does Scholls make a compound that is similar to M101? Just wondering why you are using M101 if you have a similar compound that does not "fog" and dust like M101. I have an early version of M105 that I "dislike" and will use it by mixing with Meg`s Ultimate Compound to reduce the inherent dusting. I hate the water spraying of the pad to reduce the dusting because it may cause sling and splatter. Getting that combo of water and M105 just right can be frustrating.

M101 was originally designed for foam. I use M101 with Meg microfiber discs. M101 dusted and left a haze on this paint finish.
Although, M110 did not dust , it did not give me the level of correction needed (on this paint). That was accomplished with M101.

I have never mixed M101 and M110

Scholl`s makes two very good cutting compounds S2 and S3
I have not used M105 in a long time (on a rare occasion) I use it with wool/rotary.

 

[Coatings=crack]

Beautiful job. I’m about to do my 2016 shadow black and I hope it comes out half as good. Great pro tip about covering top. Didn’t even think about it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Bill D]

I’ve always been a fan of M101 for correcting. I think it’s great. I fully expect to follow with a polish so hazing and dusting doesn’t bother me.

Great job as usual!

 

[Sizzle Chest]

Way to save your customer an unnecessary paint job! Excellent before and afters!!!

 

[rlmccarty2000]

Great save! Someone sure hacked up that paint job. I will never understand why an inexperienced person starts out with a rotary and messes up someone’s paint. I saw a meme over on AG that said “I fix $100 detail jobs”.

 

[392hemi]

Amazing save! Why would the new owner buy it in that condition for a 2018 and then want to drop 5 to 10k to repaint?

 

[Merlin]

Beautiful job. I’m about to do my 2016 shadow black and I hope it comes out half as good.
Great pro tip about covering top. Didn’t even think about it.

Thank you. That is very kind.

Yes, the plastic roll is inexpensive and I have a lot left.
A pair of scissors, a little detailing tape, and 5-10 minutes.
It sure beats trying to get splatter out of a convertible top!

 

[Merlin]

I’ve always been a fan of M101 for correcting. I think it’s great.
I fully expect to follow with a polish so hazing and dusting doesn’t bother me.

Great job as usual!

Rumor has it they may discontinue M101 since the introduction of M110.
M110 did not haze or dust...but it did not correct (in this case) as good a M101.
A little final finishing polish and the surface turned out really good. Nice and glossy!

Thank you. That is very kind.

 

[Merlin]

Way to save your customer an unnecessary paint job!
Excellent before and afters!!!

He told me he has always taken care of his own cars..."I have never had any vehicle professionally detailed"
It`s always better if you can "save" the OEM paint. He was blow away! IMHO it turned out as good as showroom new.

Thank you. I`m starting to do a few before/after shots. I finally got a descent camera (before I just used the iPhone)
I still use the iPhone for the video walk around. I have a small (inexpensive) gimbal that helps a lot with the shaky video.
Did you check out the video (in 1080p)? I like the last 4 seconds. Does it look smooth? Not like Michael J. Fox on 3 Red Bulls.
The iPhone could not capture the swirls and holograms with a lens the size of a small pencil eraser. (the camera has better glass)

 

[Merlin]

Great save! Someone sure hacked up that paint job.
I will never understand why an inexperienced person starts out with a rotary and messes up someone’s paint.
I saw a meme over on AG that said “I fix $100 detail jobs”.

Thank you!

As a rule...a rotary what the $tealership gives the minimum wage "car wash" guy.

I saw that one too!. I believe it says " I don`t do $100 details. I fix $100 details!".
I have many of those $100 details come to my door done on one week old vehicles.

The last one was a new black pick up truck with less than 200 miles on the ODO.
I gave him a price to "fix" it, with a minimum two step, on the entire vehicle.
He looked at me like I had a third eye in the middle of my forehead.

I wise man once told me " You pay for a hotdog...you get a hotdog."

 

[Merlin]

Amazing save! Why would the new owner buy it in that condition for a 2018 and then want to drop 5 to 10k to repaint?

Thank you. That is very kind.

Actually, due to the fact it was less than one year old with 30k on the ODO he purchased it for a good price.
His issue was he could not stand how the vehicle looked. "I looked like Spiderman went berserk on the paint!"