I was asked to detail Tim's 172 just before the french car show as he wanted her looking its best (thanks for the recommendation JD 
) I was informed that over half the car had been resprayed due to idiots with the usual stories you hear so you can imagine what sort of day i was leading myself into With him wanting a full correction doing in a day and not being able to have it longer due to his work commitments, i had to give it my best in one day only. So, i apologise if i havent put a picture to every step of the way and some of the pics were taken the wrong way round as i had to crack on. The car arrived at 7.30am and looked more or less clean which is always an added bonus ...........
First job was getting the wheels and arches sorted. Arches sprayed with a strong mix of Orange pre wash as i forgot to get some apc but none the less still worked, 10.1 mix of orange pre wash used on tyres and bilberry at 10.1 for the alloys. Swissvax style brush for the outer and a small ez brush for the inners. He admitted that the wheels were knackered and all needed a refurb at some point so dont bother going overboard with trying to make them look new. Tried a bit of tar and glue anyways with iron x shortly afterwards with not much luck as the inners were scabbed and past their sell by date. Best 2 pics were probably during cleaning.
Next the car was jetted off and treated twice through the sprayer head that came with my nilfisk pressure washer, once fairy liquid and second orange pre wash. With the tube thinned out a little, managed to squeeze a few suds out of it.
Badges, grills, petrol cap and other tiny cervices was then attended to.
Shuts and sills were up next but sorry no pics.......
Full car was then jetted off and rewashed with a strong solution of citrus wash and gloss using the 2 bucket method and Aquartz wool mitt, again with no pics. Tar and glue up next round the full car from the bottom of the windows downwards, to my suprise found a pointless pic but shown my efforts!!
Tar was removed and then jetted down again ready for claying, starting with the roof using sonus green ultra fine clay and a mix of CG speed wipe and water as the lubricant.
To my suprise there was hardly anything to shout about as the claybar was more or less as new
The boot managed to give my claybar some colour but not much.
and the bottom of the doors that contaminants were more evident but still not much.
Good sign to see that somebody looks after their car. Car was jetted off again and washed with CG Citrus Wash Daily and a little Maxi Suds 2 to help sudding abilities as i dont really like suddless washes. Again it was jetted off and took onto the driveway out of the sun to be dried. Silverline blower was used and then patted off using a microfibre leaving it ready for prep.
The car was then back out on the road and inspect the defects which were hard to capture on my Iphone 4. A search for my first camera is needed as soon as i get a few rupies together. Managed to get a pic of what the full car looked like but worse in other places. A few 50/50's later on will show the condition of the paint.
I then walked round taking a few PDG readings with worries what so ever. The few original panels that were left were healthy from previous detailing and the resprayed areas comming in between 240 and 270. The highest being 320 on the bonnet which i think was done at a different bodyshop.
Next was the test section so i thought i better make a start on the bonnet as it was the only panel to be the highest reading. Using the CYC compact rotary, i gave my new addition a go being Gtechniks P1 and a mix of pads and had no luck shifting any due to its lack of compound. Next up was menzerna 3.02 with a touch of P106FA on a 3m yellow but still only tickling the surface. My usual combo of 3M Fast Cut plus and Ultrafina was then tried on the 3M yellow which was giving me results yet taking too long to get to the defects so a switch of pad came in with CYC's own Hax pads, with yellow top as the choice. There was a change in results being almost immediate so gave half the bonnet a go leaving me with the following result.
The same process was carried out on all the painted panels with a shot of the difference being made with the passenger door not being touched.
As i got to the front bumper, i noticed a few big scratches that were going to be very hard to shift but trying my best without comprimising the clearcoat. I was told CYC'S hax pads are very good at low speeds too due to the strength and cut of the pad so i stayed with the same combo and hit it at starting speed of 700 rpms and no higher. Results were almost immediate even at such a low speed and was very happy with the outcome, only leaving a scar mark that wasnt even visible at 2 feet.
BEFORE
AFTER
Carrying on round the car and got to the drivers wing mirror, Tim told he had hit something with it the day before. Along with the recent scars evident, there were more signs of previous contact as the cap was in a bad state.
My polishing combo was tried but still left the main attention in the middle of the cap. This was going to slowly bug me as the day progressed so out came the Nikken sandpaper and block, giving it a soak in luke warm water for half an hr with a drop of fairl liquid. Settled on using 2500 grit with 3000's for refining. The best 15 mins ever spent !!
Working my way round the drivers side with no problems, i get to the back of the car and tried for a 50/50 shot as i was slightly in the shade.
Carried on working the bootlid and the handpad had to be used above the badge near the wiper and around the lettering at the base on both sides. There was also stickers visible and he wanted me to go round them rather than removing so this took a little time.
Bumper was up next and this was also a scenario a little like the drivers wing mirror cap. Tim has a dog and some terrible markings were made in the middle towards the bottom of the bumper. Out with the sand paper again after polishing alone failed and came up with the following results which i was very happy with but a little remained as i didnt want to push it.
BEFORE
AFTER
Bumper top lip
50/50
FINISHED
All paint correction work had now been competed so the car was jetted down again to get rid of the dust and the full car was then IPA'd to eliminate any polishing residues. Now this had been done, the full car was then ready for the pre sealant/wax stage.
To me, this product is really good at setting a perfect foundation layer and have always found products to last longer on the cars skin. This was applied to 1 panel at a time and then buffed of due to the sun hitting me at all angles. Next up to top the foundation layer was CG Blacklight as it is a perfect combo and also i think it has its own thing with most paint colours.
This was left for as long as i could before the sun baked it on which was roughly 40 mins due to getting soe shade for 20 mins!!
As the Blacklight was curing, the alloys were treated with my favourite combo and have never had any problems using the 2 together.
First on was the Finish Kare and left for 10 mins before being removed. Next the SW Autobahn was applied and left for the same time. Whilst the Autobahn was curing, i decided to dress the tyres with SW Pneu
The Autobahn was then removed and then back to removing the first coat of Blacklight off the paintwork. Whilst having a short break between the second coat, it was time to treat the shuts and sills.
Gtechniks C2 was applied as it manages to last a lot longer on sills in the long run. Product was diluted 75ml to 400ml of water to make it stronger than the usual 25ml to 500ml water recommedation. As seen in the pic from reopening the door, seems to be working nicely.
Once both sides were completed, the second coat of Blacklight was applied and left for 20 mins as the sun was now back out in full view. Once removed, the full car had a light misting of CG V7 Hybrid sealant to finish the job off.
THE FINISHED PRODUCT
TOTAL TIME TAKEN: 10.5 HOURS
Thanks for reading my post!! Again, sorry for the lack of pics in the stages i had done. As you can see, there was a lot to be done throughout the day . Cheers, Lew
) I was informed that over half the car had been resprayed due to idiots with the usual stories you hear so you can imagine what sort of day i was leading myself into With him wanting a full correction doing in a day and not being able to have it longer due to his work commitments, i had to give it my best in one day only. So, i apologise if i havent put a picture to every step of the way and some of the pics were taken the wrong way round as i had to crack on. The car arrived at 7.30am and looked more or less clean which is always an added bonus ...........First job was getting the wheels and arches sorted. Arches sprayed with a strong mix of Orange pre wash as i forgot to get some apc but none the less still worked, 10.1 mix of orange pre wash used on tyres and bilberry at 10.1 for the alloys. Swissvax style brush for the outer and a small ez brush for the inners. He admitted that the wheels were knackered and all needed a refurb at some point so dont bother going overboard with trying to make them look new. Tried a bit of tar and glue anyways with iron x shortly afterwards with not much luck as the inners were scabbed and past their sell by date. Best 2 pics were probably during cleaning.
Next the car was jetted off and treated twice through the sprayer head that came with my nilfisk pressure washer, once fairy liquid and second orange pre wash. With the tube thinned out a little, managed to squeeze a few suds out of it.
Badges, grills, petrol cap and other tiny cervices was then attended to.
Shuts and sills were up next but sorry no pics.......
Full car was then jetted off and rewashed with a strong solution of citrus wash and gloss using the 2 bucket method and Aquartz wool mitt, again with no pics. Tar and glue up next round the full car from the bottom of the windows downwards, to my suprise found a pointless pic but shown my efforts!!
Tar was removed and then jetted down again ready for claying, starting with the roof using sonus green ultra fine clay and a mix of CG speed wipe and water as the lubricant.
To my suprise there was hardly anything to shout about as the claybar was more or less as new
The boot managed to give my claybar some colour but not much.
and the bottom of the doors that contaminants were more evident but still not much.
Good sign to see that somebody looks after their car. Car was jetted off again and washed with CG Citrus Wash Daily and a little Maxi Suds 2 to help sudding abilities as i dont really like suddless washes. Again it was jetted off and took onto the driveway out of the sun to be dried. Silverline blower was used and then patted off using a microfibre leaving it ready for prep.
The car was then back out on the road and inspect the defects which were hard to capture on my Iphone 4. A search for my first camera is needed as soon as i get a few rupies together. Managed to get a pic of what the full car looked like but worse in other places. A few 50/50's later on will show the condition of the paint.
I then walked round taking a few PDG readings with worries what so ever. The few original panels that were left were healthy from previous detailing and the resprayed areas comming in between 240 and 270. The highest being 320 on the bonnet which i think was done at a different bodyshop.
Next was the test section so i thought i better make a start on the bonnet as it was the only panel to be the highest reading. Using the CYC compact rotary, i gave my new addition a go being Gtechniks P1 and a mix of pads and had no luck shifting any due to its lack of compound. Next up was menzerna 3.02 with a touch of P106FA on a 3m yellow but still only tickling the surface. My usual combo of 3M Fast Cut plus and Ultrafina was then tried on the 3M yellow which was giving me results yet taking too long to get to the defects so a switch of pad came in with CYC's own Hax pads, with yellow top as the choice. There was a change in results being almost immediate so gave half the bonnet a go leaving me with the following result.
The same process was carried out on all the painted panels with a shot of the difference being made with the passenger door not being touched.
As i got to the front bumper, i noticed a few big scratches that were going to be very hard to shift but trying my best without comprimising the clearcoat. I was told CYC'S hax pads are very good at low speeds too due to the strength and cut of the pad so i stayed with the same combo and hit it at starting speed of 700 rpms and no higher. Results were almost immediate even at such a low speed and was very happy with the outcome, only leaving a scar mark that wasnt even visible at 2 feet.
BEFORE
AFTER
Carrying on round the car and got to the drivers wing mirror, Tim told he had hit something with it the day before. Along with the recent scars evident, there were more signs of previous contact as the cap was in a bad state.
My polishing combo was tried but still left the main attention in the middle of the cap. This was going to slowly bug me as the day progressed so out came the Nikken sandpaper and block, giving it a soak in luke warm water for half an hr with a drop of fairl liquid. Settled on using 2500 grit with 3000's for refining. The best 15 mins ever spent !!
Working my way round the drivers side with no problems, i get to the back of the car and tried for a 50/50 shot as i was slightly in the shade.
Carried on working the bootlid and the handpad had to be used above the badge near the wiper and around the lettering at the base on both sides. There was also stickers visible and he wanted me to go round them rather than removing so this took a little time.
Bumper was up next and this was also a scenario a little like the drivers wing mirror cap. Tim has a dog and some terrible markings were made in the middle towards the bottom of the bumper. Out with the sand paper again after polishing alone failed and came up with the following results which i was very happy with but a little remained as i didnt want to push it.
BEFORE
AFTER
Bumper top lip
50/50
FINISHED
All paint correction work had now been competed so the car was jetted down again to get rid of the dust and the full car was then IPA'd to eliminate any polishing residues. Now this had been done, the full car was then ready for the pre sealant/wax stage.
To me, this product is really good at setting a perfect foundation layer and have always found products to last longer on the cars skin. This was applied to 1 panel at a time and then buffed of due to the sun hitting me at all angles. Next up to top the foundation layer was CG Blacklight as it is a perfect combo and also i think it has its own thing with most paint colours.
This was left for as long as i could before the sun baked it on which was roughly 40 mins due to getting soe shade for 20 mins!!
As the Blacklight was curing, the alloys were treated with my favourite combo and have never had any problems using the 2 together.
First on was the Finish Kare and left for 10 mins before being removed. Next the SW Autobahn was applied and left for the same time. Whilst the Autobahn was curing, i decided to dress the tyres with SW Pneu
The Autobahn was then removed and then back to removing the first coat of Blacklight off the paintwork. Whilst having a short break between the second coat, it was time to treat the shuts and sills.
Gtechniks C2 was applied as it manages to last a lot longer on sills in the long run. Product was diluted 75ml to 400ml of water to make it stronger than the usual 25ml to 500ml water recommedation. As seen in the pic from reopening the door, seems to be working nicely.
Once both sides were completed, the second coat of Blacklight was applied and left for 20 mins as the sun was now back out in full view. Once removed, the full car had a light misting of CG V7 Hybrid sealant to finish the job off.
THE FINISHED PRODUCT
TOTAL TIME TAKEN: 10.5 HOURS
Thanks for reading my post!!
Again, sorry for the lack of pics in the stages i had done. As you can see, there was a lot to be done throughout the day . Cheers, Lew
