The Abused Vehicle gets some TLC

[LegacyGT]

So I called up one of my friends and arranged to pick up his car to give it a full detail for his birthday, and give me an opportunity to test out a new Beta Nano Polish not currently available to the public. This car has been featured in a few of my other reviews as the 'abused vehicle' ... it is 11 years old and has never seen a detail or even wax let alone regular washing. Perfect!

000.- Products Used
Flex PE-14 Rotary
Flex 3401 VRG DA
LC Hydro Tech Cyan & Tangerine pads
LC Red wax pad
Menzeran SIP
Menzerna Power Gloss
Beta Nano Polish
Iron X
Tar X
OPC 3:1
Mothers Yellow Clay
Optimum Car Wash Concentrate
MF wash mitt
2 Bucket Method w/ GG
Mothers Long Handle Tire Brush
Daytona Speed Master Brushes
1'' brush
Master Blaster
Griots Paint Prep
DP Gloss Tire Gel
Ultima Trim and Tire Guard
Fenix Headlamp
Cobra Micro fiber towels
Other Micro Fiber towels
Stoners Invisible Glass
DP Poli-Coat Sealant

00.- Pictures- Pictures were adjusted for white balance, cropped, and some cases exposure adjustments made. All adjustments were made to the entire photo, and no selective editing was made.

0.- Conditions
The car was in bad shape, the paint had no luster, and there was heavy over spray over the entire car. Don't confuse the white dots of paint with metallic flake ... though we do discover the metallic later.

http://www.billmorton.com/Cars/Andys-Honda/i-Td6gmTQ/0/XL/IMG3908-XL.jpg

The condition of the vehicle before I began working:
http://www.smugmug.com/Cars/Andys-Honda/i-Rf7vg8S/0/XL/IMG3912-XL.jpg

http://www.smugmug.com/Cars/Andys-Honda/i-RBrkFSd/0/XL/IMG3913-XL.jpg

Truly flat looking paint, basically looks steel grey.

Washing the vehicle I only found 2 spots on the paint that beaded any water ... I thought they were bird bombs at first, but they turned out to be globs of grease. They cleaned up easily with some OPC 3:1 and a MF. To wash the vehicle, I rinsed the entire surface, then soaked in OPC 3:1 before washing with Optimum Car wash Concentrate and a MF mitt.

http://www.smugmug.com/Cars/Andys-Honda/i-rb7XZ9f/0/XL/IMG3914-XL.jpg

http://www.smugmug.com/Cars/Andys-Honda/i-VRtjWFc/0/XL/IMG3915-XL.jpg


1.- Wash & Iron X
I began the detail at night which I actually prefer because it allows me to break up the detail. In the evening I do the initial wash, paint decontamination, and clay then I get some sleep and wake up in the morning to polish out and finish the paint. Working at night requires some extra tools, in addition to my dual 500 watt halogens, I have an excellent Fenix head lamp (285 lumen) and a hand held flashlight of similar power that Heath helped me out with.
http://www.smugmug.com/Cars/Andys-Honda/i-bxH9Cj6/0/XL/IMG3931-XL.jpg

Time to decontaminate the paint! I began with the Iron-X, and this was my first application using Iron-X so I was excited to see it work. From opening the cap to insert the sprayer I can tell you this stuff was strong so I decided to use my respirator while using it. I also discovered the 1 downside to my beard ... my respirator no longer makes a perfect seal http://www.live2detail.com/images/smilies/sad2.gif but by using one hand to hold it tight and the other to spray with it did it's job quite well, and I didn't smell a thing while using the Iron X.

I was not sure that I would be able to see the Iron X doing its job in the dark, but I was pleasantly surprised after a minute or two of waiting:

http://www.smugmug.com/Cars/Andys-Honda/i-vfk92rD/0/XL/IMG3917-XL.jpg

http://www.smugmug.com/Cars/Andys-Honda/i-bWrq5PR/0/XL/IMG3918-XL.jpg

http://www.smugmug.com/Cars/Andys-Honda/i-mMrqrzn/0/XL/IMG3920-XL.jpg

http://www.smugmug.com/Cars/Andys-Honda/i-DHXsJB2/0/XL/IMG3921-XL.jpg

http://www.smugmug.com/Cars/Andys-Honda/i-HmQhB4S/0/XL/IMG3922-XL.jpg

http://www.smugmug.com/Cars/Andys-Honda/i-VhdSTbP/0/XL/IMG3923-XL.jpg

http://www.smugmug.com/Cars/Andys-Honda/i-tb2RHVZ/0/XL/IMG3927-XL.jpg

The Iron X did its job nicely, and Car Pro is quickly becoming one of my go-to lines much like Optimum and Ultima are.



2.- Clay and over spray removal
Claying was one of the more time consuming steps on this detail due to the amount of white over spray that has been bonded and baked into the paint for the last 6 years. The paint having never seen a detail in its life was also in poor shape - so much so I didn't need the baggie test, simply running my nitrile gloves against the surface sounded like sand paper. Here is a video showing the surface condition, and me getting very close to letting my clay hit the ground. The video is a bit shaky, but the audio is the important part.


Andy's Honda.m4v - YouTube


After claying and a final rinse and drying with the Master Blaster, it was time for some much needed sleep before continuing the next day.


3.- Paint correction and beta product testing.

I chose a test spot on the hood which is pretty typical to try out the beta polish I had been given to evaluate before continuing to correct the rest of the car with Menzerna SIP.

The test spot:
http://www.billmorton.com/Cars/Andys-Honda/i-jD3FDP5/0/XL/IMG3929-XL.jpg

http://www.billmorton.com/Cars/Andys-Honda/i-FtC6sN4/0/XL/IMG3932-XL.jpg

The test spot includes some RIDS and light scratches so I felt it was a good test point to begin with. During the testing I used the Flex 3401 VRG with a Tangerine 6.5'' Hydro-Tech pad on speed 6 with firm pressure and slow arm speed to make sure I was getting some heat in the panels to activate the beta polish.

A- Ambient Conditions
http://www.billmorton.com/Cars/Andys-Honda/i-fLpJ6PQ/0/XL/IMG3942-XL.jpg

B- First impressions with the beta polish
The beta polish is very fluid, not quite water, but close. Nothing like a Menzerna Polish. I lightly primed the pad, then used an X of product and went to work. There is a lightly fruity smell. As far as using the polish it was hugely user friendly. Epically long working time, no dusting and removal was effortless with short or long nap MFs.

The beta polish I was testing specified that it was heat activated, so I checked it quickly with the thermal gun (proof that with the Flex 3401 you can get some good heat in the panels):
http://www.billmorton.com/Cars/Andys-Honda/i-Qx2x83m/0/XL/IMG3941-XL.jpg

I was really impressed with the working qualities of the Beta Polish, so I had high hopes when checking out the results:

http://www.billmorton.com/Cars/Andys-Honda/i-ThKXFs2/0/XL/IMG3934-XL.jpg

http://www.billmorton.com/Cars/Andys-Honda/i-LmBhcGx/0/XL/IMG3937-XL.jpg

http://www.billmorton.com/Cars/Andys-Honda/i-m8txTL7/0/XL/IMG3938-XL.jpg

The paint was burnished to a very high luster and all of the light swirls were removed, however, the RIDS remained. I tired repeating the section again, and had the same results, so I broke out the Rotary with HT Cyan and Menzerna SIP (what I had planned for the rest of the car) and after wiping off the SIP (which was much more difficult than the Beta) I found that the RIDS were still there !!! I ended up having to use Power gloss, then following up with SIP to get out the level of defects that I wanted to remove.

Either the horizontal surfaces were much harder than the rest of the car, or contained many more RIDS because I had to break out the Power Gloss for the trunk and sections of the roof to get the correction that I wanted.

After seeing that the hood took Power Gloss to correct, I felt that I needed to find another section to test the Beta Polish on, and chose the left front fender - it was filled with fine scratches and swirls, but no major RIDS.
http://www.billmorton.com/Cars/Andys-Honda/i-hJGpLHg/0/XL/IMG3944-XL.jpg

I used the same technique as before to polish out with the Beta Polish on the 3401 speed 6 with HT Tangerine.

Here is a quick look at the unpolished side (except the small spot where I polished over the tape http://www.live2detail.com/images/smilies/poke.gif)

http://www.billmorton.com/Cars/Andys-Honda/i-xjr8BVz/0/XL/IMG3945-XL.jpg

50/50:
http://www.billmorton.com/Cars/Andys-Honda/i-HbdhLhS/0/XL/IMG3946-XL.jpg

http://www.billmorton.com/Cars/Andys-Honda/i-sLCbdCJ/0/XL/IMG3947-XL.jpg

http://www.billmorton.com/Cars/Andys-Honda/i-tzhCtZQ/0/XL/IMG3950-XL.jpg

http://www.billmorton.com/Cars/Andys-Honda/i-wRWVgqq/0/XL/IMG3951-XL.jpg

http://www.billmorton.com/Cars/Andys-Honda/i-mSQjpxD/0/XL/IMG3952-XL.jpg

[LegacyGT]

http://www.smugmug.com/Cars/Andys-Honda/i-zZWzsvs/0/XL/IMG3953-XL.jpg

After trying the Beta Nano Polish on the fender, I was very pleased with the results, and ended up using it on the 3401 to tackle some of the tight spots that I didn't want to hit with the rotary and it worked very well. The finish it leaves has a very high gloss that I would put on par with 85RD, however it has enough cut to take out haze and light swirls in the paint.

The Beta Nano Polish is currently targeted as being a finishing polish and not a correcting polish, but not knowing this going in, I felt like it actually provided some impressive results correcting light swirls, and really makes the metallic pop the way 85RD would. I'll be looking forward to this product coming to the market in the future.

The rest of the vehicle was polished out with the Flex PE14 Rotary and Menzerna SIP on a Cyan Hydrotech pad. I had a fantastic experience with the rotary this time around, which if you have followed some of my other reviews you will know it has been a bit of a battle with the learning curve for me. Part of the reason I offered to detail this car for free was to get in some 'rotary time' to improve my skills, and afterwards I feel much more confident picking up the rotary to use on my next paying job.


4.- LSP
My LSP for this detail was DP Poli-Coat Sealant which I won in a contest from AG a month or two back. This was my first time using Poli-Coat and I decided it would be perfect for testing on the 'abused vehicle' as it sits outside 24x7 and will provide great feedback as to the durability of the sealant. DP Poli-Coat was applied with the Flex 3401 and a 5'' super soft red pad.

I felt that I had to reload the product a bit more frequently than if I were using a hybrid wax like Fuzion (which keeps going and going) but otherwise the application was not very eventful. After coating the car, I took a break for lunch and allowed the Poli-Coat to haze for about 30 minutes.

Removal was where things started to get interesting; I noticed very quickly that removal took a bit more effort than removing WGDGPS, but more importantly there was zero dusting. None. It felt more like I was polishing up the top layer rather than removing product and both thick nap MFs and short nap MFs worked equally as well during the removal. During the entire process I felt like I was leaving behind a very thick coat of protection and I was really impressed with the performance. Again, zero dusting, no streaking, and it felt like I had left behind a very substantial layer of protection. Well worth a bit of extra effort on the removal.

Slickness was good, but nothing extraordinary (not as slick as WGDGPS is). As I follow the durability and performance of Poli-Coat, I think the real story will be with the durability which I expect to be pretty impressive.

I had some fun with the product shot, it has not been photo shopped in any way, see if you can spot the smiley faces

http://www.smugmug.com/photos/i-zrxdk4m/0/XL/i-zrxdk4m-XL.jpg


5.- Final Shots
http://www.smugmug.com/Cars/Andys-Honda/i-xnsc7Rj/0/XL/IMG3957-XL.jpg

http://www.smugmug.com/Cars/Andys-Honda/i-skrM4tN/0/XL/IMG3958-XL.jpg
Still a couple of RIDS, but overall a 95% improvement

http://www.smugmug.com/Cars/Andys-Honda/i-gJ85ZgW/0/XL/IMG3959-XL.jpg

http://www.smugmug.com/Cars/Andys-Honda/i-wPtbmBH/0/XL/IMG3960-XL.jpg

http://www.smugmug.com/Cars/Andys-Honda/i-PWKVZ7g/0/XL/IMG3963-XL.jpg



Remember the dull lifeless (over sprayed) paint ... that's history!




I dropped off the car at my friends house before he got back from watching the game, but the moment he got home I got a barrage of texts from him. To say he was floored is an understatement ... and for an 11 year old car that, according to the owner, looks better than when he got it brand new is a very rewarding compliment.

5.- Cleanup
Last thing that impressed me with the DP Poli-coat was clean up. After soaking in a bucket of hot DP Polishing Pad Cleaner, my applicator pad cleaned up nicely with some gentle scrubbing. I didn't have to squeeze oily residue out of all the pores which has been my experience with other sealants such as WGDGPS.

Thanks for reading!

[CEE DOG]

Awesome writeup Bill! Great job on the car and beautiful photos of course! I can't see the video from iPad but will look again later.

I didn't find as much of the correction properties you did with the DG nano polish but found a lot of cleaning ability and certainly a very glossy finish!! Im the MAN Was there any cure time on the nano "polish" before application of DP?

Thanks for investing all the time it took to share this with the rest of us. It is greatly appreciated!

Oh, almost forgot to mention, congrats on the rotary too buddy! It's great to have a friend learning it at the same time I am!

[LegacyGT]

Awesome writeup Bill! Great job on the car and beautiful photos of course! I can't see the video from iPad but will look again later.

I didn't find as much of the correction properties you did with the DG nano polish but found a lot of cleaning ability and certainly a very glossy finish!! Was there any cure time on the nano "polish" before application of DP? Im the MAN

Thanks for investing all the time it took to share this with the rest of us. It is greatly appreciated!


Thanks Corey!

I found this paint color was notoriously difficult to photograph well or even get a good read on the defects.

The DG Nano Polish had a lot of cleaning ability, I neglected to mention that so thanks for adding it. My polishing pad ended up getting pretty dirty from the junk coming off the paint in between cleanings. Ultimately it reminded me of a combination of Optimum Poli-Seal for the cleaning ability, and 85RD for the super high gloss/luster it left behind.

As for curing, it had several hours before getting Poli-Coat, as I tested the beta sections first, then polished out the rest of the car, then came back and sealed everything.

[CEE DOG]

Thanks Corey!

I found this paint color was notoriously difficult to photograph well or even get a good read on the defects.

The DG Nano Polish had a lot of cleaning ability, I neglected to mention that so thanks for adding it. My polishing pad ended up getting pretty dirty from the junk coming off the paint in between cleanings. Ultimately it reminded me of a combination of Optimum Poli-Seal for the cleaning ability, and 85RD for the super high gloss/luster it left behind.

As for curing, it had several hours before getting Poli-Coat, as I tested the beta sections first, then polished out the rest of the car, then came back and sealed everything.

That's a good way of describing it I think as far as disappearing like poliseal and also having cleaning and protective sealant abilities.

I had the same thing! Dirty pads quickly, I don't know where it was sucking all the dirt from on that van!

I see smileys :). Lol about the beard

Again, car looks fantastic!

[slickooz]

That was very nice of your detailing a buddy car for free. Great pics/videos and documentation of your work. :props:

So did you basically do a two step? One with the Flex PE14 then finish with the Flex 3401?

[lokerola]

Fantastic job. The reflections in the after shots are soooo glossy and wet looking. Nice work!

[embolism]

very impressive Bill

it always amazes me how car finishes that are so neglected for so many years can be brought back to better than showroom condition like this...

[LegacyGT]

That was very nice of your detailing a buddy car for free. Great pics/videos and documentation of your work. :props:

So did you basically do a two step? One with the Flex PE14 then finish with the Flex 3401?


Thanks Gary!

The 3401 was only for testing the DG Beta polish, most of the car was a 1 step with the rotary. I only had a small sample of the Beta product, so only did a few panels with it.

I used Griots Paint Prep to strip the oils and checked it under direct sun a few times, but found no holograms, so I kept with that process. The hood, roof and trunk lid were 2 step with power gloss first, then SIP.

[alko]

Goodness this came out great!!! Awesome job on this! Just make sure he doesn't abuse it for another 11 years.

[LegacyGT]

Goodness this came out great!!! Awesome job on this! Just make sure he doesn't abuse it for another 11 years.

Thanks Alex,

I have the feeling this may be a turning point where it gets a lot better care from now on :xyxthumbs:

[LegacyGT]

very impressive Bill

it always amazes me how car finishes that are so neglected for so many years can be brought back to better than showroom condition like this...

I agree Tim, the dramatic turn around corrections are deeply satisfying

[LegacyGT]

Fantastic job. The reflections in the after shots are soooo glossy and wet looking. Nice work!

I appreciate the comments Lokerola, the Poli-Coat is neat stuff, really looks good.

[Hoytman]

The smiley faces in that photos speak for themselves. Took me a minute or two to find them. Just when I was about to scroll down they jumped right out and said, "Can you see me now?" They were everywhere smiling. Interesting photo, and nice work for sure.

Think I'll have another look at that photo.

EDIT:
Some of those smiley's even have the little cheek marks LOL.

[mdb917]

Holy cow Bill, this turn around is one of the more dramatic ones I've seen. :dblthumb2:

I am still comparing the before to the after shots. I think you got a completely different car. :laughing:

Extremely nice of you to take that on for someone's birthday present. :props:

As I mentioned in one of your earlier reviews I like the fact you intentionally seek out imperfect cars and non-ideal conditions to test your knowledge and expertise on. Most of the other reviewers here do that also which in reality is what all of us face.

The pics and write-up are first class. I like the humor (smiley faces, beard comment, etc.) as it makes the reading more fun. I also enjoyed some of your adjectives and adverbs: "Epically long..." for example.

Keep up the good work!

Remember, my birthday is May 6th ;).