tssdetailing
New member
94k Mile 2003 Lexus SC430. The owner frequently drove from Cincinnati to NY to manage fashion shows and the road has done a LOT of damage to the car. Its evident that many panels have been re-sprayed, the OP and lack of luster in the clear coat was across the whole car. She didn't have a lot of money to throw at this project, but just wanted a nice refreshed car; repairing the scratches and cleaning the interior.
The hood and front clip was totally shot-gunned with rock chips. I suggested we just do the ones that are at line of sight from standing-viewing level, as the front clip would benefit more from a respray VS doing the hundreds of chips it had. The car was washed and clayed, washed and dried, then moved into my garage for closer inspection. The following images show progress shots.
Chip Repair Process:
Touch up paint via bottle brush (i made a nice thick droplet, and let cure for 15 minutes)
1000 grit wet sanded level with existing paint
2000 grit wet
3000 grit "damp" trizact on Flex DA (I wish i shot this photo-there were so many blasts to the hood, that it basically got completely wet sanded as the discs are 6" diameter. The OP in the aftermarket paint was reduced so significantly that I could see more detail in my ceiling than when I pulled the car in)
Surbuff/m105
Purple Foam Wool/ m105
Hydrotech Cyan/M105
Hydrotech Tangerine/M205
The following scratch was DEEP. So I broke out the bondo to fill it first before painting. I used my finger to apply the bondo so as to make it concave to the surface-this would allow me to fill the cavity with paint and prevent the possibility of seeing bright orange bondo when doing any sanding/blending.
On to the glamor shots, the paint was finished with BlackFire.
The unique interior recieved a full scrub down. Time was limited, but this poor thing had seen better days, lots of scuffs on the rockers leading into the car, the center console was coated in dust and the floor mats were chalk-full of salt and other debris. I used Adams leather cleaner for the leather surfaces which i feel works incredibly when used with a stiff bristle brush. I followed up with Adam's Leather conditioner b/c it is so easy to apply and leaves a rich semi-gloss finish to everything.
The hood and front clip was totally shot-gunned with rock chips. I suggested we just do the ones that are at line of sight from standing-viewing level, as the front clip would benefit more from a respray VS doing the hundreds of chips it had. The car was washed and clayed, washed and dried, then moved into my garage for closer inspection. The following images show progress shots.
Chip Repair Process:
Touch up paint via bottle brush (i made a nice thick droplet, and let cure for 15 minutes)
1000 grit wet sanded level with existing paint
2000 grit wet
3000 grit "damp" trizact on Flex DA (I wish i shot this photo-there were so many blasts to the hood, that it basically got completely wet sanded as the discs are 6" diameter. The OP in the aftermarket paint was reduced so significantly that I could see more detail in my ceiling than when I pulled the car in)
Surbuff/m105
Purple Foam Wool/ m105
Hydrotech Cyan/M105
Hydrotech Tangerine/M205
The following scratch was DEEP. So I broke out the bondo to fill it first before painting. I used my finger to apply the bondo so as to make it concave to the surface-this would allow me to fill the cavity with paint and prevent the possibility of seeing bright orange bondo when doing any sanding/blending.
On to the glamor shots, the paint was finished with BlackFire.
The unique interior recieved a full scrub down. Time was limited, but this poor thing had seen better days, lots of scuffs on the rockers leading into the car, the center console was coated in dust and the floor mats were chalk-full of salt and other debris. I used Adams leather cleaner for the leather surfaces which i feel works incredibly when used with a stiff bristle brush. I followed up with Adam's Leather conditioner b/c it is so easy to apply and leaves a rich semi-gloss finish to everything.
