Advice needed about getting my Jaguar ready for Concours

[1855Cru]

I am a newbie here and also to detailing in general.

My car is a 1994 Jaguar XJS in British Racing Green that I have owned since new. The car is completely original including the paint and has always been garaged. I have entered several concours in the driven class and the car has shown well. Now I would like to get the car ready to campaign in the championship class and I know I have to step up my game!!

The paint is in decent shape but there are some scratches and water/bird droppings/tree sap that I could not get off by claying of applying ultimate polish by hand. The paint surface is very smooth but it seems the blemishes are etched into the clearcoat. So I bought a GG6 DA and plan to do the following.

After washing and claying again, apply WG SR 3.0 with an orange CCS pad then WG finishing glaze with white pad and M21 with blue pad. I may follow that with Souveran wax. If the SR does not get all the blemishes out, I was thinking of using M105. Is this a sensible approach? Also if I have to use the M105 would I just apply it to the blemished area or the whole panel/car?

Here are a few pics of the car and affected areas. (sorry about the quality, wasn't sure how big the files could be)

Thanks,
Allan

This my car


This shows some typical scratches and the worst of the etched blemishes in the lower left area.


This shows some more scratches and water stains.

[TundraPower]

The championship class is a lot to chew on, I admire you for attempting this yourself. I would use Sonax Perfect Finish on this, switching pads to see what works best where. For the more severe defects you might need a more aggressive pad. If you use SPF make sure you have lots of pads.

[1855Cru]

I would use Sonax Perfect Finish on this, switching pads to see what works best where. For the more severe defects you might need a more aggressive pad. If you use SPF make sure you have lots of pads.

Thanks! So is the SPF more aggressive than the SR 3.0? I have ordered more pads including some yellow ones which I understand have more cutting power.

[TundraPower]

Consider this: If a polish/pad combination is not working, should you change them both at the same time or just one at a time? SPF is one of the only polishes I know of that works as expected on a wide spectrum of pads, including very fine finishing pads on very soft paints. I just corrected a Ferrari using only this polish. I switched the pads around as needed. I'm not saying don't use TSR and FG or anything else. All I am saying is when you're a beginner it is a bad idea to have too many different variables involved in your process.

[1855Cru]

Thanks TundraPower, reducing the number of variables makes perfect sense. I was just asking because I had read that the SR was a diminishing abrasive that could be used effectively with different pads to control the amount of cut? So I was wondering if the SPF had a wider range?

Sorry if my questions are a bit simple but I'm a total newbie I have ordered some of the SPF and will have 3 each of the LC pads in Yellow through to Red would that be ok?

Cheers,

Allan

[TundraPower]

Thanks TundraPower, reducing the number of variables makes perfect sense. I was just asking because I had read that the SR was a diminishing abrasive that could be used effectively with different pads to control the amount of cut? So I was wondering if the SPF had a wider range?

Sorry if my questions are a bit simple but I'm a total newbie I have ordered some of the SPF and will have 3 each of the LC pads in Yellow through to Red would that be ok?

Cheers,

Allan

TSR is a diminishing abrasive, it is a superb product, and it certainly can be used with different pads. But it is not a finishing polish. In my opinion, yes SPF has a wider range. Yellow to Red will certainly have you covered, but 3 each is just barely enough. SPF builds up in pads quickly (not sure why but it does). I would have 3 yellow and 6 each of the others.

[1855Cru]

Thanks TundraPower,

I'll look into getting more pads.

I understand that with experience you would probably be able to tell which pad to use just by looking at the defect but for a newbie what would be the best approach?

Cheers,

Allan

[TundraPower]

Thanks TundraPower,

I'll look into getting more pads.

I understand that with experience you would probably be able to tell which pad to use just by looking at the defect but for a newbie what would be the best approach?

Cheers,

Allan

The Golden Rule: Always start with the least aggressive approach first. If that doesn't work, change to one level more aggressive pad, etc.

[1855Cru]

Thanks. I will be practicing on an old body panel before I tackle my car but just one other question.

Let's say that using the SPF I work on an area that requires going progressively more aggressive. Once I reach the point of best results, would I then go back over the area with a softer pad for finer polishing or would that not be necessary? I'm thinking yes but not sure.

Sorry if this is dumb question

Cheers,

Allan

[TundraPower]

Thanks. I will be practicing on an old body panel before I tackle my car but just one other question.

Let's say that using the SPF I work on an area that requires going progressively more aggressive. Once I reach the point of best results, would I then go back over the area with a softer pad for finer polishing or would that not be necessary? I'm thinking yes but not sure.

Sorry if this is dumb question

Cheers,

Allan

Yes, once you go down the ladder in pads, you come back up with lighter pads until it's finished. See you're getting it!