PorscheGuy997
03-21-2011, 11:58 AM
Hey folks,
So, a while back I was asked to take a look at a '68 Dodge Charger. The car had been repainted over twenty years ago and had not aged well. This is a one owner Charger and needed a bit of work, to say the least. Spring break was just around the corner and the restoration filled the week nicely.
Here's what the car looked like to start:
http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/9333/adsc0157.jpg
http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/7765/adsc0142.jpg
http://img855.imageshack.us/img855/87/adsc0139.jpg
Talk about a little texture...
http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/9540/asdfir.jpg
With all the deep scratches and texture, I really had no choice but to sand the entire car.
So, I sanded the whole car using 1500 Unigrit Sanding discs (both 3" and 6") with my PC 7336 and 3" Mirka sander in the tighter areas. For the finish sanding, I chose to use 3000 Unigrit Finishing discs. After much testing, the Unigrit discs provided a more uniform surface free of pigtails that was easier to polish. Mirka Abranet Soft disks level much better, but they left pigtails on this paint.
http://img851.imageshack.us/img851/4550/dsc0195bz.jpg
Oh yeah, so much for spring break. We got up to 50 degrees with drizzle most of the week...
http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/9883/dsc0207l.jpg
Test spot using 3" MF cutting pads and D300 Compound:
http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/830/adsc0186.jpg
To level the sanding marks, I chose to go back to the rotary and a wool pad with M105 (old school mix, of course). The paint was extremely hard and needed something very aggressive. For the edges and tight areas, I used my trusty 7336 and 3" MF cutting pads. After the initial cutting, I used 5" MF cutting pads with D300 on the DA to remove any holograms. To further refine the finish, I used a 6" MF finishing pad and M205.
http://img576.imageshack.us/img576/9524/dsc0216jq.jpg
Five days later, I fired up the car and inspected the work out in the sun.
http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/2074/dsc0255dk.jpg
http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/3303/dsc0228jk.jpg
http://img859.imageshack.us/img859/5607/dsc0234h.jpg
http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/7896/dsc0251yl.jpg
http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/4272/dsc0258svz.jpg
http://img834.imageshack.us/img834/8372/dsc0265rr.jpg
Overall, the car turned out very nicely. The owner was thrilled to see the difference a sand and polish can make, even on an old paint job. Although the paint wasn't 100% perfect, it is still better than 99% of the cars sitting at the local dealership.
Oh yeah, I skipped a trip to Hawaii to polish out this classic. I guess you can say that the detailing obsession is pretty deep...
So, a while back I was asked to take a look at a '68 Dodge Charger. The car had been repainted over twenty years ago and had not aged well. This is a one owner Charger and needed a bit of work, to say the least. Spring break was just around the corner and the restoration filled the week nicely.
Here's what the car looked like to start:
http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/9333/adsc0157.jpg
http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/7765/adsc0142.jpg
http://img855.imageshack.us/img855/87/adsc0139.jpg
Talk about a little texture...
http://img41.imageshack.us/img41/9540/asdfir.jpg
With all the deep scratches and texture, I really had no choice but to sand the entire car.
So, I sanded the whole car using 1500 Unigrit Sanding discs (both 3" and 6") with my PC 7336 and 3" Mirka sander in the tighter areas. For the finish sanding, I chose to use 3000 Unigrit Finishing discs. After much testing, the Unigrit discs provided a more uniform surface free of pigtails that was easier to polish. Mirka Abranet Soft disks level much better, but they left pigtails on this paint.
http://img851.imageshack.us/img851/4550/dsc0195bz.jpg
Oh yeah, so much for spring break. We got up to 50 degrees with drizzle most of the week...
http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/9883/dsc0207l.jpg
Test spot using 3" MF cutting pads and D300 Compound:
http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/830/adsc0186.jpg
To level the sanding marks, I chose to go back to the rotary and a wool pad with M105 (old school mix, of course). The paint was extremely hard and needed something very aggressive. For the edges and tight areas, I used my trusty 7336 and 3" MF cutting pads. After the initial cutting, I used 5" MF cutting pads with D300 on the DA to remove any holograms. To further refine the finish, I used a 6" MF finishing pad and M205.
http://img576.imageshack.us/img576/9524/dsc0216jq.jpg
Five days later, I fired up the car and inspected the work out in the sun.
http://img26.imageshack.us/img26/2074/dsc0255dk.jpg
http://img801.imageshack.us/img801/3303/dsc0228jk.jpg
http://img859.imageshack.us/img859/5607/dsc0234h.jpg
http://img687.imageshack.us/img687/7896/dsc0251yl.jpg
http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/4272/dsc0258svz.jpg
http://img834.imageshack.us/img834/8372/dsc0265rr.jpg
Overall, the car turned out very nicely. The owner was thrilled to see the difference a sand and polish can make, even on an old paint job. Although the paint wasn't 100% perfect, it is still better than 99% of the cars sitting at the local dealership.
Oh yeah, I skipped a trip to Hawaii to polish out this classic. I guess you can say that the detailing obsession is pretty deep...