thewaxmania
10-07-2010, 02:40 PM
Hey guys, I've just got a topic that I'm looking for some folks to jaw with about. I just bought a 1995 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme in Bright Red (code 81) as a winter car after a scary winter a few years ago with snow and my Jaguar Vanden Plas and sliding into snow banks all the time. Last year I didn't drive it much and kept it hidden away when it did look foul out, but it didn't snow much so I put off buying a winter car until now. Its been a long time since I've been around the late model GM or Ford cars and trucks on a regular basis so I haven't gotten into them much and I only detail my own Jag and other similar cars for friends and exotics and motorcycles here and there when people beg me so I'm not even really a detailer, per-se, anymore.
The problem I found was that no matter what I did to the paint, I could not remove all swirl marks and defects. My Jag's paint levels nice and Merc paint has always been good to work with, but this car, just didn't want to cut. I buffed with a pretty aggressive cutting compound and a wool pad, a medium compound with a Megs red foam pad, a polish/swirl remover and a Megs polish pad, a machine glaze with a black foam finish pad, and waxed it with Colinite 476s by hand and by all means is it shiny and looks 100 times better, but I can still see the more aggressive swirls/scratches/defects are still there. Aside from wet-sanding the entire car and starting over (and I'm not sure there's even enough paint left to do so and the car really isn't worth the time and expense on my knees and wrists) what do you guys do?
I've never really worked with cars that have had finish flaws with crappier quality paint and a client who wanted the car perfect, so I'm not sure that market even exists. I guess I wouldn't expect someone to pay me $500 or more to detail a car that's only worth twice or three times that. No one else will notice these imperfections, but I do. I keep thinking, "its a winter beater, quit worrying", but I'd certainly like to know of other experiences out there. The car has 140,000 miles on it and could probably use a new paint job, but its overall in good condition otherwise. A perfectly serviceable automobile. I think back to when I was in high school and college and a Jaguar was a pipe dream, I would have poked someone in the eye really hard to get my hands on something like this Olds, so its a properly decent car. I think these old GMs get overlooked as worthless, when they just need some love. I mean, it gets 30 mpg and costs about $0.50 to insure. What's not to like?
Thanks
Brett
The problem I found was that no matter what I did to the paint, I could not remove all swirl marks and defects. My Jag's paint levels nice and Merc paint has always been good to work with, but this car, just didn't want to cut. I buffed with a pretty aggressive cutting compound and a wool pad, a medium compound with a Megs red foam pad, a polish/swirl remover and a Megs polish pad, a machine glaze with a black foam finish pad, and waxed it with Colinite 476s by hand and by all means is it shiny and looks 100 times better, but I can still see the more aggressive swirls/scratches/defects are still there. Aside from wet-sanding the entire car and starting over (and I'm not sure there's even enough paint left to do so and the car really isn't worth the time and expense on my knees and wrists) what do you guys do?
I've never really worked with cars that have had finish flaws with crappier quality paint and a client who wanted the car perfect, so I'm not sure that market even exists. I guess I wouldn't expect someone to pay me $500 or more to detail a car that's only worth twice or three times that. No one else will notice these imperfections, but I do. I keep thinking, "its a winter beater, quit worrying", but I'd certainly like to know of other experiences out there. The car has 140,000 miles on it and could probably use a new paint job, but its overall in good condition otherwise. A perfectly serviceable automobile. I think back to when I was in high school and college and a Jaguar was a pipe dream, I would have poked someone in the eye really hard to get my hands on something like this Olds, so its a properly decent car. I think these old GMs get overlooked as worthless, when they just need some love. I mean, it gets 30 mpg and costs about $0.50 to insure. What's not to like?
Thanks
Brett