Since 1953 the corvette has been known as "America's Sports Car."
This Monterey Red convertible is no exception. Equipped with Z51 suspension and the M6 6 speed manual, this 400hp vert will move you.
Not only was the clients main concern the water spot etching on the hood and rear deck, he was equally concerned with how much clear coat would be sacrificed while the water spot etching was dispatched with.
I explained to him how its always my goal to remove the minimum amount of clear coat, while ensuring that the defects (water spot etching in this case) are totally removed or to a point where the client is not cursing everytime he looks at his car.
I informed him that I'm one of the few detailers in the country that has a Defelsko PosiTector 200 Series (Advanced) PTG. So I am able to 100% know exactly how much clear coat I am removing from a composite, plastic or fiberglass based panel. I also know how thick the clear coat is. The advanced model can read up to three individual layers.
Some before shots of the water spot etching.
Hood:
Rear deck:
Process:
Wheels cleaned with MWB and various brushes.
Tires and wells cleaned with ARO.
Foamed paint and glass with Zaino Z7 carwash via foam lance.
Sprayed cloth top with 303 fabric top cleaner and allow to dwell.
Washed paint and glass via 2BM sheepskin mitt.
Scrubbed cloth top with fabric brush.
Thoroughly rinsed fabric top.
Clayed paint and glass while still wet with zaino clay and QEW mix as lube.
Electric leaf blower used to remove excess water from all surfaces, wheels and tires.
Final drying done with big blue WWs from CMA. I love these towels.
3x wipedown with straight 91% IPA to ensure all waxes, glazes or sealants are removed from painted surfaces.
The interior was my next area of concern. I wanted to let the fabric top to fully dry overnight. I would start on the paint the next day.
Interior process:
Thorough vacuum using our Dyson DC28.
Mats and carpets spot treated where needed with Folex.
Hard surfaces steamed with my VX5000 steamer.
Hard surfaces then cleaned with 1Z einszett Plastic Vinyl Deep Cleaner "Plastik-Reiniger."
Hard Surfaces treated with 1Z einszett Vinyl-Rubber Care & Protectant "Tiefenpfleger."
Leatherique Rejuvenator Oil applied to leather and allowed to dwell.
The interior was very dusty as the windows where left down in the clients garage for an extended period of time while he was out of country:
Leatherique Rejuvenator Oil applied:
The next day I started on the paint.
I first checked the thickness of the clear using my Defelsko PosiTector 200 Series (Advanced) PTG.
I have found the clear coat on each C5/6 vette that I have worked on to have a total thickness of 60-65% of the total coating thickness. As you can see we have 3.3 mil of clear coat and 2.0 mil of basecoat/other.
The maximum amount of clear coat removed was .10 mil
My process for the water spot etched hood and rear deck where as follows:
Surbuf pad/M105/Festool FEQ 150 speed 5
Orange classic flat LC pad/M205/Festool FEQ 150 speed 5
Black classic flat LC pad/M205/Festool FEQ 150 speed 4
Some progress shots after the surbuf pad step:
The remainder of the paint also had the above steps, but the surbuf pad step was worked at a decreased time due to the medium level of defects.
That ended a long day of paint polishing.
The next day I applied leatherique pristine clean to the leather to remove the Rejuvenator Oil.
Rewashed the car via the 2BM/sheepskin mitt with a mix of Dawn and Zaino Z7 to remove polishing dust and oils.
Aided by my electric leaf blower to remove as much water as possible from the freshly polished paint, I finished drying the paint with clean big blue WW towels. I ensured that I did not get the fabric top excessively wet.
I left the car out in the sun for another hour to ensure the fabric top was dry.
I raised the electric top up and placed 100% cotton towels under the top prior to lowering the top.
I applied 3x of Raggtopp fabric top treatment in alternating light coats. Allowing 30 mins of drying time between coats.
Any painted areas and glass that had Raggtopp overspray on them where cleaned with QEW.
A final Z6 wipedown was done.
I then applied 3x of the following zaino products mixed in a small zaino mixing bottle:
80% Z5pro
20% Z2pro
1 squirt of Z8
5 drops of ZFX.
Tires got Z-16 and wheels got ZAIO.
Rear tips polished with Blue Magic polish and #0000 steel wool.
The client was kind enough to leave a comment on the CF:
This Monterey Red convertible is no exception. Equipped with Z51 suspension and the M6 6 speed manual, this 400hp vert will move you.
Not only was the clients main concern the water spot etching on the hood and rear deck, he was equally concerned with how much clear coat would be sacrificed while the water spot etching was dispatched with.
I explained to him how its always my goal to remove the minimum amount of clear coat, while ensuring that the defects (water spot etching in this case) are totally removed or to a point where the client is not cursing everytime he looks at his car.
I informed him that I'm one of the few detailers in the country that has a Defelsko PosiTector 200 Series (Advanced) PTG. So I am able to 100% know exactly how much clear coat I am removing from a composite, plastic or fiberglass based panel. I also know how thick the clear coat is. The advanced model can read up to three individual layers.
Some before shots of the water spot etching.
Hood:
Rear deck:
Process:
Wheels cleaned with MWB and various brushes.
Tires and wells cleaned with ARO.
Foamed paint and glass with Zaino Z7 carwash via foam lance.
Sprayed cloth top with 303 fabric top cleaner and allow to dwell.
Washed paint and glass via 2BM sheepskin mitt.
Scrubbed cloth top with fabric brush.
Thoroughly rinsed fabric top.
Clayed paint and glass while still wet with zaino clay and QEW mix as lube.
Electric leaf blower used to remove excess water from all surfaces, wheels and tires.
Final drying done with big blue WWs from CMA. I love these towels.
3x wipedown with straight 91% IPA to ensure all waxes, glazes or sealants are removed from painted surfaces.
The interior was my next area of concern. I wanted to let the fabric top to fully dry overnight. I would start on the paint the next day.
Interior process:
Thorough vacuum using our Dyson DC28.
Mats and carpets spot treated where needed with Folex.
Hard surfaces steamed with my VX5000 steamer.
Hard surfaces then cleaned with 1Z einszett Plastic Vinyl Deep Cleaner "Plastik-Reiniger."
Hard Surfaces treated with 1Z einszett Vinyl-Rubber Care & Protectant "Tiefenpfleger."
Leatherique Rejuvenator Oil applied to leather and allowed to dwell.
The interior was very dusty as the windows where left down in the clients garage for an extended period of time while he was out of country:
Leatherique Rejuvenator Oil applied:
The next day I started on the paint.
I first checked the thickness of the clear using my Defelsko PosiTector 200 Series (Advanced) PTG.
I have found the clear coat on each C5/6 vette that I have worked on to have a total thickness of 60-65% of the total coating thickness. As you can see we have 3.3 mil of clear coat and 2.0 mil of basecoat/other.
The maximum amount of clear coat removed was .10 mil
My process for the water spot etched hood and rear deck where as follows:
Surbuf pad/M105/Festool FEQ 150 speed 5
Orange classic flat LC pad/M205/Festool FEQ 150 speed 5
Black classic flat LC pad/M205/Festool FEQ 150 speed 4
Some progress shots after the surbuf pad step:
The remainder of the paint also had the above steps, but the surbuf pad step was worked at a decreased time due to the medium level of defects.
That ended a long day of paint polishing.
The next day I applied leatherique pristine clean to the leather to remove the Rejuvenator Oil.
Rewashed the car via the 2BM/sheepskin mitt with a mix of Dawn and Zaino Z7 to remove polishing dust and oils.
Aided by my electric leaf blower to remove as much water as possible from the freshly polished paint, I finished drying the paint with clean big blue WW towels. I ensured that I did not get the fabric top excessively wet.
I left the car out in the sun for another hour to ensure the fabric top was dry.
I raised the electric top up and placed 100% cotton towels under the top prior to lowering the top.
I applied 3x of Raggtopp fabric top treatment in alternating light coats. Allowing 30 mins of drying time between coats.
Any painted areas and glass that had Raggtopp overspray on them where cleaned with QEW.
A final Z6 wipedown was done.
I then applied 3x of the following zaino products mixed in a small zaino mixing bottle:
80% Z5pro
20% Z2pro
1 squirt of Z8
5 drops of ZFX.
Tires got Z-16 and wheels got ZAIO.
Rear tips polished with Blue Magic polish and #0000 steel wool.
The client was kind enough to leave a comment on the CF:
