Today I met my kryptonite; have some questions

S

stilez

New member
I always knew this day would come, but *when* was more of the blind factor to me.



Today, one of my best customers had me come in to detail a '93 Buick Century he bought from a customer for pennies and wants to turn it around to sell.



The car was the epitome of haggard. The exterior had dried wax, heavy etched water spots, foreign residues, fall out, sap, swirls, oxidation, heavy orange peel, clearcoat failure, clearcoat checking, you name it.



I've done plenty similar to this before, but there was something about this Buick...



I started off with a Chemical Guys Extreme Wash, followed by a Z18 clay session, dried, then wiped the car down with a body solvent to help cut down on the cleaning needed to be done by the polishing (all pics taken after these steps).



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I then stepped up to the plate with Hi-Temp Extreme Cut and Optimum Car Polish, side-by-side, and a wool pad on the rotary. Once cranked to 1500, the rotary felt like it had a mind of it's own. Running away, jumping, gumming, just to name a few of the problems. I looked like a total newb out there; thank goodness my client knew what I was capable of.



I spent a total of 20 minutes on half the hood trying to find something that worked. I tried the following:



-Hi Temp Extreme Cut and Optimum Car Polish @ 1500 , wool

-Gliptone Glaze-It (light polish with oils) @ 1200, polishing

-Klasse AIO @ 1000, polishing

-Optimum Car Polish @ 1200, polishing





Nada! Nothing! Zilch! Defects still remained, the pads jumped, and I was stumped.



I then started to apply the Glaze-It and AIO by hand to rejuvinate the paint. The products were hard to work with and were getting absolutely nowhere. I got up-close and personal with the paint in some direct light and started to notice more and more failing clear and checking. I had to call 'er quits.



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I told the owner it needed a repaint, period. If I continued, I would've had the owner sign a waiver freeing me from any paint damage in addition to what was done. I would've sanded the whole car with 1500 grit, compounded, polished, sealed. It would've looked better, no question, but the owner didn't like the $400 pricetag for that + interior.



So, in the end, he accepted it, I was apologetic, and I put a coat of Gliptone Carnauba Paste (he supplied/requested) and called it a day.



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So, my question to you, Autopia, is what could I have done differently? Was there any way around this? I feel a bit incompetent right now as this is my first big bump in the road.



Thanks for any help, in advance.
 
That reminded me of a loaner car my mechanic gave me. I decided to clean it up since I'd be driving it for a while, and I knew there was no way I was gonna "fix" it. Maybe the approach I used would've worked for you in this instance.



Rather than try to do normal correction, I simply tried for "better". I didn't even get out the rotary, just the Cyclo. I didn't want to exacerbate the failing clear and I worried that I'd cut through. I used 1Z Ultra on polishing pads, had to stop and clean them out frequently. All it did was clean the surface and gently round over the marring (well, it did remove the finest stuff). Left a decent shine though, and filled a bit of the residual marring a lot better than AIO/etc. would. A quick coat of 476S left it with some protection, some more concealing, and a bit more shine.



Still a horror show by Autopian standards, but my mechanic was thrilled when he got it back. And the whole job was so easy for me that I didn't mind doing it (so you could've done it without charging an arm and a leg).



So, less correction, more filling, locked in with some heavy-duty paste wax.



Maybe the 3M Trizact stuff that Bence used would've worked here. He reported that it had incredible filling abilities. Not what he wanted in that case, but maybe just the ticket for those "beyond repair" jobs.



I've gotten to where I kinda like doing "beyond repair" beaters. It's a break from doing my cars to the level I want them.
 
I really think you did the right thing, I do believe the next step would've been wet-sanding, but with a failing clearcoat on a metallic car.. I don't know if I would've even accepted the task. $400 for a wet-sand, compound, polish, sealed AND interior was a steal! Whether the car was worth it is up to the owner, but I seriously think you would have under-charged that job.
 
Kinda makes you desire the flexibility of an healthy but neglected old single-stage paint.



With so much clearcoat failure and deep etching of the intacted clearcoat, the only route should be a repaint. Maybe a cheap Macco $250.00 special since this vehicle is intended for re-sell.



Sean gallant try :bow . I would have rejected this project immediately after viewing the paint damage. A challange is one thing, but mission impossible is another even at your elite skill level. :nixweiss
 
Sean, It looks like you did all you could, and if you couldnt get it, I dont know anyone who could. Im sure the owner knew that also. It was better for you call it quits rather than to risk doing damage.



Greg
 
Once the paint gets those lines, I think that is pretty much the end. I have an otherwise Beautiful Buick Riviera, and the previous owner/s must have let it sit in the sun every day because I am getting those sharp lines in several sections of the car. The only thing I can do at this point (and what I did) is to give it one final go-around with the 3M compounds/glaze/polish/etc. and seal it up with Liquid Glass, then top it off with my 2 sealants (one is UV resistant) and some NXT paste wax on top. Then I can keep hitting it with more sealant and wax every week or two, because I park (bake) it out in a hot parking lot, with no shade.



I have seen this happen 3 times, and all three were Buicks. My car(silver), a co-worker (white), and your client. Your client's is by far the worst of the three. I believe these lines are due to UV/heat damage, but I am no expert in that department.





My advice to you is to Glaze it up/fill it up like CRAZY, and SEAL it up. the longest lasting stuff you got/they make. Try the lquid glass or the stuff right next to it on the shelf of your local auto parts store. He can't be expecting a miracle.







One more thing. I wonder if this may also be the result of thin clearcoat? What is the thickness of the CC?
 
Honestly, there are just some cars out there that have paint too far gone to correct. I had a similar problem with a red Jeep that was painted by Maaco. It just got to the point that while I could relatively easily bring back the paint, I was removing so much each time that after the last time I told him I couldn't buff it out again because I just didn't trust that there was enough paint left to safely correct it again.



Same deal with the late 80s GMs with laquer checking. Not even worth waxing because the wax would build up in all the cracks. Wax the sides and be done with it was all you could do.



Looks like you tried everything, Sean. Honestly, I can't see that car was even worth your expertise, probably isn't even worth $1000 with perfect paint. Your solution to simply wax it was the best route. :)
 
Thank you for the feedback, everyone.





Seems like I wasn't too far off course. I do plan on having a strong chemical polish and heavy-duty nuba in my trunk on a more regular basis.
 
I'm with everyone else. Seeing some of the magic you have worked in the past I think it's safe to say that if you find that it can't really be done, then it probably can't. Honestly, old Buicks don't need saving anyway, they need crushing.
 
The vast majority of you have more talent than I, but I have learned this:

You can polish a t*rd but it's still just a t*rd.



That car was beyond hope and you knew it. What I appreciate is that you were trying to help a good customer....you made the effort and I'm sure it will come back to you in a positive way.
 
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