Finally (almost) Done! (many 800x600)

G

Grimm

New member
Here is my new daily driver I bought in August. 2003 Bonneville SLE. I figure I spent close to 14 hours so far and have a couple more to go finishing up the interior. I'm not totally happy with the results, there are still a lot of scratches. The car is probably 80-90% swirl free though, so hopefully I can remove more next spring. I still plan to put on another coat of wax, but had to get some pics since it was such a nice day.



Process:

Wash-Meg's Deep Crystal soap

Partial clay-Claymagic

OHC x2 via orange pad

OP via white pad

EX-P

Collinite 845

Meg's Hot Shine



Here are some before shots to show how swirled it was.

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This one shows the damage from the claybar that I posted about a couple days ago

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Here are the afters.

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Woo that is some great looking black Grimm! Sure can tell you took some time doing your car, nice combo you used. Got to love how well Optimum works with the PC and rotary.
 
Sweet, how do you like the OHC? I couldn't detail without it. Collinite 845 is a true beauty wax, as the pics show. Very reflective and rich.
 
Wow, Great job!



I have to say...Thank you for dressing your tires and wheel wells so nicely :) it really completes the detail having even the small parts looking perfect. Now enjoy it for a couple days before we get the expected snowfall on Thursday and Friday :sadpace:
 
Thanks for the replies. Man was it a lot of work. Half the problem though was working at night. I'd get in an hour or so, and so much time is prep and such. Plus it took a while to figure out what I had to do to get it to work.



martinager said:
very nice job. how did you like the optimum ? About how much of the damage were you able to reverse ?
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I liked the Optimum. As some have said though, it takes too long to work. I can't compare to anything since I just started with this, but it was hard to tell if I worked it long enough. It sure felt like I did though. Like I said, I think I got 80%+ of the swirls, but there are still a lot of scratches. They aren't deep, just minor stuff. I think I either need to work it longer, or maybe need more bite. I hope to get a yellow pad and try that in the spring. The car didn't quite turn out how I hoped, but the paint is the reason there. The black is really more of a deep brown, and in the direct sun it just doesn't thrill me. But otherwise I am very happy with how it turned out. And I don't know if it was the EX-P or the 845, or both, but something must have some filling properties because the scratches look less severe now than they did when I checked it over before the sealant. And the shine is just amazing. When I brought it out into the yard, I was literally blinded by the sun's reflection off the car. Now I'm rather scared to even drive it. Like my dad said when he saw it last night, I'll have to keep it in the garage as a collector car.
 
Joshua312 said:
Wow, Great job!



I have to say...Thank you for dressing your tires and wheel wells so nicely :) it really completes the detail having even the small parts looking perfect. Now enjoy it for a couple days before we get the expected snowfall on Thursday and Friday :sadpace:
Click to expand...



Thanks for the uplifting snow report Joshua! Actually I need to work on the wheels yet. I have some Mothers chrome polish I bought a while back that I hadn't used yet; I tried it and it was worthless. I need to find something to get rid of the light scratches in the wheels.
 
[quote name='Grimm']And I don't know if it was the EX-P or the 845, or both, but something must have some filling properties because the scratches look less severe now than they did when I checked it over before the sealant.QUOTE]



It is the Collinite that is filling, I have always noticed decent filling from Collinite-virtually none with EX-P. Don't think the long working time of OHC is a bad thing-it allows you to remove more defects once the abrasives have broken down(pad providing the cut). With other products, like Menzerna IP, you could can only work it until the abrasives are done and then you are left with a dusty mess.
 
looks awesome,it does take a lot of work as i found out.being a newbie i though this will be easy as pie.....wrong it takes awhile but it is worth it. :2thumbs:
 
By spring (actually, earlier) a more aggressive version of OHC will be available. That might be enough to remove any winter damage along with any defects left after the first round of polishing. Honestly, I think you did the right thing not going all out in the fall because it'll be hard to maintain a perfect finish during the winter. Come spring, you'll be able to take the finish to a higher level and be able to keep it there.



Definitely a huge improvement! :)
 
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