Finding Your Combo (What Works For You?)

mgm2003

mgm2003

New member
2005 Buick CXT.

This car sits outside 24 x 7, and was in the body shop this past October for a fender-bender fix-up.

The kind folks at the shop absolutely hammered the paint via an inexperienced rotary operator, then filled it with some glaze to make her ‘good as new’ looking.

The paint looked nice initially, but after some exposure to weather (i.e winter), the true condition of the paint reared its ugly head.

Here are a few before shots taken after a wash & clay.

The paint was air dried.
I only wiped down the jams (to remove any dirt/debris before polishing):

Keep1.jpg

Keep4.jpg

keep3.jpg


To correct the paint, I used 1 polish product, 3 Lake Country Pads, and a rotary.

This one took some time to correct, but the results were pretty nice in my eyes.

Here’s my process:

Wash: Car wash x 2 the recommend dose and a wheel cleaner for the tires,
wheels, and wells.

Clay Bar (2 full bars on this one to deal with tar, over-spray, build up on the wheels, etc..)

Polish:
Rotary @ 1800 via synthetic wool
Rotary @ 1500 via light-cut pad
Rotary @ 1200 via finishing pad

Protect:
The paint was topped with 2 coats of sealer.

I’m not submitting this to win a contest. The reason that I’m submitting this is to show you guys that it’s more about process than it is about getting into product wars.

At the end of the day, if you find a combo that works well for you,
stick with it, and teach others how you do it.

Here are a few after shots:

After-5.jpg

After-1.jpg

IMG_0013.jpg
 
:bigups :bigups :bigups
Great transformation!
Since you used a rotary and evidently still made three passes to clean up the marring, I had a question.
Do you think that given enough time, the vehicle could have been cleaned up with a PC?
While I have had good luck using the PC for minor correction, I doubt that the damage you had to work with was something I would want to tackle with the PC.

Charles
 
That is definitely some very good work. I sure wouldn't want to tackle that with a PC. I don't even want to think how long I'd be polishing to try and remove all of that damage.
 
Those before pictures are NASTY (esp. #3), I've never seen a car look like that out of a body shop, that's pretty sad. But you did a helluva job transforming the finish to a "like-new" state :bigups

Not to hi-jack, and it's still on topic, but I totally agree with you about process and not product. Finding a product that works for you and learning to how manipulate that product makes detailing much, much easier. When I was talking with my local supplier I mentioned that I too mix up pad/product combos to get different results, he said that's really where the market is heading (One product, different pads for each step), similar to the new Megs SOLO line. My brother works at a body shop and I believe they use a similar product called G3 or G6? He claims it works very, very well

Dolan
 
Looks great, I also agree about the process. I believe that if you are a true detailer, with experience than you should be able to use any product with success.
 
Nice Work!
I agree process before product ...
I do find that some products work better on the rotary and others work better on the PC.
I am sure that it is personal preference and what a person gets used to. Some of my favorites for the rotary have been around almost forever.
 
Nice turnaround on this car.
I agree totally about the process over product.some people can can get super results from OTC products with the right process.Where as other people spend a fortune on products and with out the right process they stuff up the whole job.
Dave
 
wow.......great job, you really did a great job, but what products did you use?, in terms of initial shine, i agree, any otc will do the trick, the best cheap shine i think is mothers carnauba wax liquid, its like 6.99 a bottle, however doesnt last that long
 
CharlesW said:
:bigups :bigups :bigups
Great transformation!
Since you used a rotary and evidently still made three passes to clean up the marring, I had a question.
Do you think that given enough time, the vehicle could have been cleaned up with a PC?
While I have had good luck using the PC for minor correction, I doubt that the damage you had to work with was something I would want to tackle with the PC.

Charles
Click to expand...

Charles, Thank You.

How have you been?

Taking good care of the folks on DC I'm sure:bigups

I've had good luck using the PC to correct defects. You need to use a more abrasive product & pad combo to 'cut', which is effective. The hard part on the PC is to clean up after abrading the surface. Producing a marr free finish (that looks great under full sun) takes time and patients.

I had to step into this one pretty hard on the rotary. I honestly don't know if the PC would have produced the same results.

P.S. Thanks everyone for the great comments.
 
C'mon, be honest, that is a different car....just kidding. Great transformation.

I have to agree, the process is more important than the product.
 
05SilverTRD said:
C'mon, be honest, that is a different car....just kidding. Great transformation.

I have to agree, the process is more important than the product.
Click to expand...


:thanks

Over time, you'll find that there's a balance between product, process and results.

At the end of the day, 'dial in' products that work best for you, and produce the
results/characteristics that you're after.

-John
 
Great work John :bigups

Thanks for posting the speeds you used as well. Many people will say they used a SMR w/ a polishing pad on a rotary or PC and not indicate the speed. Then others get confused when you don't acheive the same results.

"J"
 
WOW! Great work man! :10:

Great results come with experience!

Did someone complain to the body shop that created that mess? That was just horrible and shows you that a rotary in the wrong hands can be devastating.

You've done a fantastic and and definitely something to be proud of! :bigups
 
jaybs02 said:
Great work John :bigups

Thanks for posting the speeds you used as well. Many people will say they used a SMR w/ a polishing pad on a rotary or PC and not indicate the speed. Then others get confused when you don't acheive the same results.

"J"
Click to expand...

Jay, :thanks

The speeds posted worked for me on this detail, but I would not call them 'go to' dial settings.

It all depends on the condition of the finish. As a rule of thumb, I try to keep the RPM's as low as possible, and don't mind if I have to take a few passes at a panel.
 
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