Neglected Black 350Z

Did you have to fill the key scratch with touchup? I have yet to use my 4inch LC pads and am just amazed if those key marks buffed right out with no paint andwetsanding!



Too bad the owner never saw it before the rain! That is my favorite part, especially with a car in that condition.
 
Amazing Job!!! It's too bad you didn't get to see the owner's reaction when he picked it up. His jaw must have dropped.



These are the kinds of before and afters that I like to see...when someone brings a car back from the "dead." Thanks for sharing.
 
audicoupej said:
Did you have to fill the key scratch with touchup? I have yet to use my 4inch LC pads and am just amazed if those key marks buffed right out with no paint andwetsanding!



Too bad the owner never saw it before the rain! That is my favorite part, especially with a car in that condition.
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No touch-up. I tried to in a few spots , but it wouldn't hold in the scratch.....indicating to me that , if it's not deep enough to hold paint , then it may be shallow enough to buff out.



You really have to be careful , though , and pay attention when using the 4" pads...they WILL create heat and this paint seemed to work soft. It's wierd because I had an easier time working out that giant key-scratch than I did with swirl removal.

After compounding to remove oxidation and round off some hard edges , I found myself

moving toward less aggressive pad/product/speed combos and getting better results than I would have thought. The OP/Green pad combo resulted in the most noticable improvement in the swirling.



That being said , I haven't gotten the same results vis-a-vis time and effort when using the 4" pads on other vehicles...Jaguar , BMW , Chrysler , for example.

This paint seemed to respond better to coaxing and finesse rather than raw aggression.



Hope some of that made sense.
 
LOVE the Rotex !!!!! Very smooth and balanced...makes quick work of swirls and even deeper scratches.

It tackles flaws in a fraction of the time of the PC.

Does an amazing job of stock removal on wood , too.

Expensive , but well worth the money.

In perspective , over your lifetime (it'll probably outlive you) , you'll likely spend 10x

in product what you will on this tool....consider the long term and the price isn't nearly

as daunting.
 
Where did you order the Rotex? Seems like a mix of the Rotary/PC, I rather get both and play with it then grab the Rotex (Or a similar version of it). Thoughts on Langka?
 
hooked said:
Amazing Job!!! It's too bad you didn't get to see the owner's reaction when he picked it up. His jaw must have dropped.
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Guys, based on the condition of the car and how this guy reacted afterwards do you really think he went wow? He might have said it's nice or looks better. Someone like this doesn't deserve a nice car. An old Chevette would better suit this guy.



Amazing turnaround on the Z, it doesn't even seem like the same car! You're good my man.
 
Ben , you're exactly right....I haven't even talked to the guy since he dropped the car off.

Even then , he didn't seem mildly concerned about what I was going to do to it. He just said , "Gimme the works". So I did.......



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When my wife talked to him afterward, he just said it looked 'great'.

Now , if you paid $400 for a detail (it would've been more , but my wife talked me down),

wouldn't you at least be a LITTLE curious about what you're paying for ...???





SilvaBimma : it really doesn't matter where you order it from. The prices and distributorship

is controlled by the manufacturer. You're just as well off going to FestoolUSA.com (I think)

and purchasing there. They will automatically ship it from the nearest distributor to you.



As for the Langka...I was satisfied with the product. it's not as easy as their ad

makes it out to be , but it's not terribly difficult. You just have to learn how to work it.

I actually bought it last year and tried it once and gave up on it , but decided to give it another shot for this detail.



What I learned : Let the touch-up paint set up for at least 15-20 mins. in moderate temps.

If you don't let it set up long enough , the soft touch-up paint will easily be pulled from the scratch

when you try to smooth it. If you let it sit too long , you'll be rubbing the paint blob down forever

and induce more marring around the scratch than neccessary.

Apply the touch-up paint in at least two coats. The paint shrinks in the scratch once it dries....and it also helps to ensure a solid dry base that won't as easily be pulled loose.

Definately over apply the second application ....to allow for shrinkage and to give you some margin for error when working the paint down with the 'Blob Eliminator'.

If you get any hazing or marring around the area you're working , it's easily buffed out.

All in all , the system's pretty fool-proof (and I'm a fool who proved it) , but there are some tricks to it.

Hope this was helpful to you.
 
SilvaBimma said:
http://www.festoolusa.com/ProductDetails.aspx?id=7&prodid=571494



Is that the Rotex you have? Seems that they have discontinued the RO Sander. Thanks for the Info on Langka! Seems like all the Paint Touch Up kits you get require a little special skill to apply.
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Yes , that's the one I have. Though that particular incarnation of the

RO150 is discontinued , they have updated it :



http://www.mcfeelys.com/festool/index.asp?gw=3467&gclid=CPbszLbVqoYCFRAMHgod71zAEw





I wouldn't worry too much with the touch-ups. Just monkey with it a little

and you'll get the hang of it.
 
Gus, I know if I was going to be putting out that kind of money I would ask what steps you'd be doing. Then when I picked it up I'd have fallen over! I know you weren't home when he picked it up, but you'd think he'd be calling to thank you or drop by. You went way above and beyond the call of duty.



Thanks for the extra photos, I'd heard you'd put some up showing the wheels off. :hifive:
 
SVECobraR said:
Great work, how much did you charge for that?
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$400.....I spent 2 solid days on it. Mostly on the tiny , aggravating details :



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The paint chips are what really ate up a lot of time. They were EVERYWHERE....all

over the front bumper & fenders (which are not easy to work with those curves)

and halfway up the hood. I tried to get some decent

before and after pics , but they really didn't turn out too well.



I would've charged more (on general principle , if nothing else) ,but, since the interior was in good shape and he was a good friend of my wife's , she talked me down on the price.
 
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