2002 Concorde Opti Coated

[richy]

This car belongs to a friend and co-worker who has since retired. It is a 2002 Chrysler Concorde with original paint. Considering it is 9 years old, the car is in pretty good shape. This car earns the (booby) prize of having the hardest clear I have ever worked on...more on that in a bit.
The client was very trusting and went with my suggestion to Opti Coat it. He really had no idea what it was or what it did. He also provided me with touch up paint. I had identified 20 different areas where touch ups were required...areas, not chips!
This is also the car with the failing cc on the wiper cowl.


http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t12/rhowitt/Live2Detail/b664d69d.jpg


THE PROCESS:

WASH STAGES:

The door jams were sprayed down with Zep Citrus and power washed off (with the power washer turned off, just the narrow stream as to control the force of the water)

Wheels/Wells/Tires/Barrels:


http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t12/rhowitt/Live2Detail/DSC_0009-26.jpg


The wheel face and barrels were done with Megs WB due to being chrome and very dull looking. After agitation and rinsing, Zep Citrus was sprayed on and allowed to dwell to neutralize the acid.
The tires were cleaned with Zep Purple.
The wells were cleaned with Zep Citrus.
The wThe tires were subsequently treated with Opti Bond.
The wheels were polished with M205 and a mf.
The wheels were then sealed with OC.
I used JL's trick of WB on the chrome exhaust tips too.

Paint:

The car was washed with DG 901 with 2 bm.

The wet car was then pulled into the garage and clayed with CM blue.


Exterior trim:

The front grille was treated to UTTG as was the inner wiper cowl.

Before Shot:ells were subsequently treated with Adams US.

http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t12/rhowitt/Live2Detail/DSC_0015-22.jpg

Paint:

As I mentioned, the clear on this car was extremely hard. I kept having to step up my aggressiveness until I was using my elephant gun...namely my 2 sided 3M white wool pad and Menz PG. If the car was to be perfect, it would have needed wet sanding. I did wet sand a few scratches and the 2000 hardly touched it. The magic eraser did nothing to this paint at all! I followed up the wool/PG with M105 and a B & S yellow pad. This was then jeweled with a blue B & S pad and M205.
I spent at least an hour, probably more, going around the car filling in all the chips and scratches. The paint was typical for 9 years old...scratches and swirls:


http://i156.photobucket.com/albums/t12/rhowitt/Live2Detail/DSC_0024-19.jpg


Preparation for OC:

Once the car had been polished to my satisfaction, I pulled it outside (at 1 am...my neighbours don't even take a 2nd look anymore, LOL) and cleaned it with OPC at 2 to 3 ounces in approx 2.5 gals of water. I went around the car twice. It was pulled back inside and dried.

Using OC:

This sure went a lot better than it did for the GT-R. It went on easily and this time I went back faster to even out the high spots. That was the key for me, not waiting to long to level any spots. The paint, wheels and glass (including the windshield) were done as well as the exterior wiper cowl. The next day before delivery, I went around the car with ReLoad. To me, this is a mandatory step for OC. Customers really like the smooth feel and the ReLoad gives it in spades.


Interior:

I used my new Powr Flight wet vac and my Gaia steamer. The mats were treated to 303 Fabric Guard. The windows were steamed clean.


BEFORES:




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[richy]

AFTERS:







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[CrownKote]

Looks great! I haven't had anyone want to "restore" their car when it looks like that but you never know someday....

[Shawn T.]

WOW! Incredible job! It looks like a different car! :xyxthumbs:

[detailguy71]

Nice Job!

[Crazy Amos]

Great job Rich! My wife has the same year black Sebring LXi with relatively soft clear, so this goes to show that paint systems are not consistent.

[dougaross]

Nice Job. The wheels look great. When applying OC to a large area like the hood, what pattern of application do you use?

[richy]

Looks great! I haven't had anyone want to "restore" their car when it looks like that but you never know someday....
Thanks. Yes, I guess at some age it's more of a restoration than a detail job. Considering the age, it was in pretty good shape really.


WOW! Incredible job! It looks like a different car! :xyxthumbs:
Thank you Shawn.


Nice Job!
Thank you very much.


Great job Rich! My wife has the same year black Sebring LXi with relatively soft clear, so this goes to show that paint systems are not consistent.
Thanks so much Troy. Just goes to show, you never know what you have till you put your buffer on it. It was a real contrast coming from the butter soft GT-R paint.

[BobbyG]

Richy,

There's no way in hell that's the same car, it looks too darn good! :D

Only kidding, it came out great and this really exemplifies how decent products combined with experience and skill can take a car that's clearly been used and transform it into something that looks better than new! :props:

Nice job Richy!!

[richy]

Nice Job. The wheels look great. When applying OC to a large area like the hood, what pattern of application do you use?

Doug, the largest panel I did at once was the hood. After applying it, I went back to the other side to level any high spots. I was surprised at how quickly it was curing, especially considering my garage was only at 60°F. The pattern was back and forth and then back over lightly with perpendicular strokes. I did not add more doing the opposing strokes.

[dougaross]

Doug, the largest panel I did at once was the hood. After applying it, I went back to the other side to level any high spots. I was surprised at how quickly it was curing, especially considering my garage was only at 60°F. The pattern was back and forth and then back over lightly with perpendicular strokes. I did not add more doing the opposing strokes.

Thanks for feedback. Did you do small areas or strokes the entire length/width of hood?

[richy]

Thanks for feedback. Did you do small areas or strokes the entire length/width of hood?

It depends on the panel. For a big panel like the hood, I'll do maybe 3' X 3' area, both directions. I will try the adjacent area without putting more on to see if some is still in the applicator pad. You'll be amazed at how far it can go. If it needs a bit, I just add a few drops. For a fender, I'll pretty much do the whole thing in both directions. Then go back after a minute or two (not too long) and level it. There won't be much to level...maybe a 5% area...that's it. I prefer to use a mf to level it myself. I've tried both it and the foam app.

[jamores23]

richy im kind of lost by what you mean when you say "high areas" and "leveling them"

[richy]

richy im kind of lost by what you mean when you say "high areas" and "leveling them"

High area is a term being used to describe what otherwise could be referred to as a wet spot. High area sounds better, LOL. You will see when you do an area, it flashes and disappears quite quickly. However, in some areas, especially if you lay it on too thickly, you will see little areas (I find often 1" by 2" kinda sized) where it still appears damp. It's not really wet, per se, but there is a dampness to the area. It looks different than the surrounding area that has flashed. So, to cure it, you "level" it by either rubbing a dry section of your applicator pad or very gently wipe with a small area of a mf to spread it out and allow it to flash. You are not buffing it off. You are helping to spread it thinner, thereby "leveling" it. Make sense? Until you actually play with it, it's hard to visualize. That's part of the problem is that you need to look at the area you just applied it to at different angles to make sure you didn't miss any high, or wet, spots. This is tougher to do on lighter colours. Take your time and you'll be fine. For goodness sake, if I can do it...anyone can, LOL!!

[momentum001]

Excellent work and review richy!
makes me want to try OC