2007 Black Corvette - Paint Correction

[David Fermani]

This past weekend I had the opportunity to work on this 2007 black Corvette. The vehicle was dropped off at my house late afternoon Friday and the owner allowed me all weekend to make sure the vehicle was brought back to better than new condition. This client recently had this vehicle “professionally” detailed at one of S. Florida’s premier Car Washes and their “technician” created extensive clear coat marring. This marring was initiated from their failed attempt to gently buff the surface with a cutting wool pad coupled by piss-poor technique & silicone fortified compounds and glazes. After installing deep buffer gouges throughout the entire vehicle, the shop covered up their mess with a healthy portion of silicone based LSP. Late Friday night, my 1st concern was to thoroughly
remove/decontaminate/cleanse the finish of all possible waxes, dirt & silicone so that the correction process could be performed without any hiccups. I knew as soon as I took my garden hose to the hood that the already dulled finish was coated with a healthy portion of LSP. The water was beading like it was just freshly waxed.

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After power washing the exterior to loosen any and all loose dirt & grit, I proceeded to presoak each section with a strong mix of Auto Magic (AM) Red Hot degreaser and hand washed the surface with Dawn soap.

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After rinsing, the water on the surface was laying flat and there was little to no beading. After rinsing the exterior and engine compartment, I clayed all the painted exterior surfaces with AM blue Clay Magic & AM Body Shine lubricant. After drying the finish with terry cotton towels, I 4000 grit sanded the surface using Lacquer Thinner as my gliding lubricant. Because the finish was contaminant free by this time, the 4000 grit sandpaper barely induced any further marring into the finish. This process finally insured that there would not be anything on the surface that would interfere with the buffing process to follow.

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Here’s what the buffer pad damaged finish looked like under Halogens at night:

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Here’s what it looked like in daylight. The finish was so marred up, that it gave off the illusion of having metallic paint!

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[David Fermani]

After taping off all critical areas where my buffer pad could inflict marring/burning, I started off leveling the finish down with Meguire’s 105 compound with a fresh Lake Country Purple Foamed-Wool (PFW) pad. This product instantly cleared out any and all micro marring and left the finish with a nice glossy finish under 500 watt halogens. After working the my 1st pass for about 20-25 seconds, I laid down another bead of product and refined the compound induced marring by buffing for 10-15 seconds and then wiping the buffed section.

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I propped the hood & trunk open with stacks of towels so that I could safely buff each panel edge without fear of burning:

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Test Panel:

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Here’s how it looks after 105 via PFW:

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After buffing the entire car, I then high pressure washed it again to remove any and all compounding dust and residue.

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After experimenting with several Menzerna polishes and pads densities, I decided on going with Super Intensive Polish (SIP) with LC white CCS foam pad as my middle stage treatment. This step by itself refined the gloss and removed all micro marring that the 105 installed in the finish. After final micro fiber wipe down, I finalized the buffing process with 3M Perfect-It 3000 Ultrafina SE (swirl eliminator) with a LC blue CCS foam pad. This final step insured that the finish would be “buffer trail” free and in addition would even out the dynamics of the gloss.

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll128/protecht561/2007Corvette-Black077.jpg

After glazing over the finish, I then re-washed the vehicle again. This time with Meguiar’s 00 Hi-Tech car wash soap. I prefer using this product right before applying a paint sealant because it does a great job of gently cleaning the surface of all lubricating oils and doesn’t contain any protectants or gloss enhancers to interfere with most sealant’s bonding/cross-linking properties.

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll128/protecht561/2007Corvette-Black083.jpg

Here’s some late evening sun shots right before sealing:

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Toward the end of this 12 hour paint correction, I applied 2 thin coats of 1Z Einszett Glanz Wax “Hart Glanz” sealant by hand. I called it quits for the day and in turn this allowed for this sealant to fully cure overnight. The next morning I applied 2 light coats of Zymol Carbon and was completely impressed with how black, deep and shiny the finish appeared in day light.

1Z/Zymol stacker:

http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll128/protecht561/2007Corvette-Black154.jpg

Interior received a very quick wipe down/vacuum and all the inner/outer weather-stripping seals were coated with 1Z Gummi Pfledge. The roof panel was removed so to gain access to clean/protect inner seals.

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Engine just was rinsed and wiped down.

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[David Fermani]

Unfortunately, there was hit & miss cloud patches (see clouds in reflections) and full sun shots per were “prime pickins”.

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[blacknblu]

Unbelievable! What a beautiful result. I particularly liked the reflection of the clouds in the paint. I know, straight sun shows the paint condition the best, but the reflections were awesome.

[novs25]

i am speechless. You make me feel like I need to go back and check my car to see if I screwed it up like the previous guy. lol . Great job. Unreal.

[dengood1]

Now that's how it's done!!

[TOGWT]

Great work David (although I must say I've never thought to use detailer's clay combined with a lacquer thinner

[mini titan]

Wow

[Mike T]

Just beautiful! Great job. Thanks for sharing.

[Jimmie]

Really enjoyed seeing and reading your detail. Beautiful.

[Matt S.]

Wow now that's a detail! LOL great work, thanks for posting! I'm sure a lot of people will learn from this one thanks to your thorough step-by-step process and pics.

[M3Cosmos]

Absolutely amazing. I bet that was one happy 'Vette owner.
Are there any special precautions that need to be taken when buffing on a fiberglass vehicle?

[ScottB]

SIP/106FF are the choice for the Vettes clearcoat ... should have used Pinnacle Souveran for a dripping wet final finish. It looks like the deep end of the pool.

[Lumadar]

Amazing work with unique (to me) methods. Well done! :goodpost:

[David Fermani]

Unbelievable! What a beautiful result. I particularly liked the reflection of the clouds in the paint. I know, straight sun shows the paint condition the best, but the reflections were awesome.
Thanks blacknblu. There was tons of clouds that day!


i am speechless. You make me feel like I need to go back and check my car to see if I screwed it up like the previous guy. lol . Great job. Unreal.
Thanks nov25. I'm sure you're fine (as long as you're not in Florida). Almost every "detailer" down here doesn't have a clue about proper detailing.


Now that's how it's done!!
Thanks dengood1.


Great work David (although I must say I've never thought to use detailer's clay combined with a lacquer thinner
Thanks Jon. I think you might have misunderstood the process:
I clayed with a traditional clay lube (then dried the car off) & then sanded with laquer thinner. Solvent would have melted my clay bar. :D This car had a ton of silicone based products on the finish that I wanted removed for correction.


Wow
:cheers:

Just beautiful! Great job. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Mike T.


Really enjoyed seeing and reading your detail. Beautiful.
Thanks. I enjoyed creating it too!


Wow now that's a detail! LOL great work, thanks for posting! I'm sure a lot of people will learn from this one thanks to your thorough step-by-step process and pics.
Thanks Matt. I hope so too.


Absolutely amazing. I bet that was one happy 'Vette owner.
Are there any special precautions that need to be taken when buffing on a fiberglass vehicle?
He was super pleased and shock with the before & afters. Nope, no real precautions with fiberglass. It's pretty much the same clear as steel.


SIP/106FF are the choice for the Vettes clearcoat ... should have used Pinnacle Souveran for a dripping wet final finish. It looks like the deep end of the pool.
After using SIP with a white pad, I didn't feel 106 was needed when I was using 3M Ultrafina. I've used Souveran and didn't care too much for it. Maybe in the future.


Amazing work with unique (to me) methods. Well done! :goodpost:

Thanks Lumadar! I try to think outside of the box as much as possible.