Wills.WindowsAndWheels
06-25-2012, 03:50 PM
When you look up 'hard paint' on wikipedia there should just be a photo of a Corvette. We've got a few of this bad boys under our belts now but, still every once in a while a curve ball is thrown at us...in this case...it was the hood...i'll explain.
Rick had seen some of our work via write ups, but was still up in the air about who to hire to polish out his beloved C6. From what he told us, he almost hired Euro Detail out here in Arizona, but after talking with another club member, who spoke highly of our work (as we had done his Z06), he decided to give us a call.
His car may have been many things, but dirty it was not. It was obvious he was very particular about his car, but the hood, the hood is what bothered him! We took a look at it when we first got there and could see right away what he was talking about, there were some very deep scratches/swirls in the paint. The whole car was covered in them, but the center point of the hood turned out to be the worst by far (we found that out part way through the detail).
But first thing as first, had to wash it and prep it to get it ready for polishing. So tires, rims and wells were cleaned first...followed by stripping the paint of any old wax and then claying the car free of any bonded contaminants.
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/WheelWells2.jpg
Foam time!
Lots of clearance...
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/WheelWells1.jpg
After they were done it was time to do the prep wash...gotta remove the license plate though, there is always lots of dirt hidden up behind there:
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/LicensePlate2.jpg
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/LicensePlate1.jpg
See, told ya...nasty stuff
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/LicensePlate3.jpg
Half way through our wash a truck drove by...and what was written on the back window was too damn funny to not get a picture of lol:
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/ExWife.jpg
Ah love, isn't it grand? I say freedom = ex-swirls lol
You could tell he kept the car waxed...the water beaded up very nicely. But a waxed car is not enough....wax doesn't eliminate these:
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/HalogenSwirls10.jpg
And these were what we were there to get rid of.
After examining the car...the consensus was....there were swirls....LOTS of them....everywhere:
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/SunSwirls14.jpg
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/SunSwirls13.jpg
As you can see above there was also a bit of damage beyond our repair...looked like someone had bumped into the Vette from behind and left some nice wrinkles in the paint....
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/SunSwirls12.jpg
Big swirls...
and little swirls:
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/SunSwirls9.jpg
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/SunSwirls1.jpg
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/SunGunSwirls17.jpg
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/SunGunSwirls14.jpg
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/SunGunSwirls12.jpg
And the good ole hood..
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/SunGunSwirls11.jpg
These here were quite deep as well...
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/SunGunSwirls10.jpg
Not so pretty...
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/SunGunSwirls9.jpg
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/SunGunSwirls7.jpg
These weren't half steppin' either
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/SunGunSwirls1.jpg
We even found these little suckers hiding between the bottom runner near the rear passenger tire...how they got in there i dont know but they sure were fun to get out without scratching the paint:
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/Rocks.jpg
So, by now i think you get the idea...though it was pampered...it still was in pretty bad shape. Paint in this condition didn't make Rick happy, didn't make us happy and damn sure didn't make the Vette happy! But it's ok....thats why we were there.
As always our first step would be to tape off a test spot and figure out what combo of machine/pad/product and technique would work best.
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/TestSpotHood11.jpg
My sister Dani who was taping off all the trim did the honors of taping off my test spot so i could get our process dialed in while she finished up the remainder of the taping.
After testing our test area with a new microfiber cutting pad along with a cutting compound, it knocked down the swirls quite well...but as was expected, a VERY light haze was left. This is why lighting is SO important...under most circumstances...the paint would have looked awesome as if all defects had been removed, but having multiple light sources we were able to see the haze...which is why we always follow up with a second polishing step to further refine the paint.
The results of this will speak for themselves i think...here is a side by side before and after shot:
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/TestSpotHood7.jpg
THAT is what red is suppose to look like.
A couple deeper ones still remained along the tape line, but they would come out when working on the undone section of the hood, as we always overlap a few inches into the section that we have already worked on, just to make sure if we did miss anything or if there were a few being stubborn, they would still get worked out:
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/TestSpotHood4.jpg
All n' all, the test spot was showing many good things to come, here is a 50/50 shot of the test spot:
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/TestSpotHood3.jpg
One more look...this was before:
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/TestSpotHood1.jpg
WOW!
And this was after:
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/TestSpotHood2.jpg
Much clearer don't you think?
Rick had seen some of our work via write ups, but was still up in the air about who to hire to polish out his beloved C6. From what he told us, he almost hired Euro Detail out here in Arizona, but after talking with another club member, who spoke highly of our work (as we had done his Z06), he decided to give us a call.
His car may have been many things, but dirty it was not. It was obvious he was very particular about his car, but the hood, the hood is what bothered him! We took a look at it when we first got there and could see right away what he was talking about, there were some very deep scratches/swirls in the paint. The whole car was covered in them, but the center point of the hood turned out to be the worst by far (we found that out part way through the detail).
But first thing as first, had to wash it and prep it to get it ready for polishing. So tires, rims and wells were cleaned first...followed by stripping the paint of any old wax and then claying the car free of any bonded contaminants.
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/WheelWells2.jpg
Foam time!
Lots of clearance...
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/WheelWells1.jpg
After they were done it was time to do the prep wash...gotta remove the license plate though, there is always lots of dirt hidden up behind there:
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/LicensePlate2.jpg
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/LicensePlate1.jpg
See, told ya...nasty stuff
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/LicensePlate3.jpg
Half way through our wash a truck drove by...and what was written on the back window was too damn funny to not get a picture of lol:
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/ExWife.jpg
Ah love, isn't it grand? I say freedom = ex-swirls lol
You could tell he kept the car waxed...the water beaded up very nicely. But a waxed car is not enough....wax doesn't eliminate these:
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/HalogenSwirls10.jpg
And these were what we were there to get rid of.
After examining the car...the consensus was....there were swirls....LOTS of them....everywhere:
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/SunSwirls14.jpg
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/SunSwirls13.jpg
As you can see above there was also a bit of damage beyond our repair...looked like someone had bumped into the Vette from behind and left some nice wrinkles in the paint....
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/SunSwirls12.jpg
Big swirls...
and little swirls:
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/SunSwirls9.jpg
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/SunSwirls1.jpg
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/SunGunSwirls17.jpg
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/SunGunSwirls14.jpg
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/SunGunSwirls12.jpg
And the good ole hood..
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/SunGunSwirls11.jpg
These here were quite deep as well...
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/SunGunSwirls10.jpg
Not so pretty...
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/SunGunSwirls9.jpg
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/SunGunSwirls7.jpg
These weren't half steppin' either
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/SunGunSwirls1.jpg
We even found these little suckers hiding between the bottom runner near the rear passenger tire...how they got in there i dont know but they sure were fun to get out without scratching the paint:
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/Rocks.jpg
So, by now i think you get the idea...though it was pampered...it still was in pretty bad shape. Paint in this condition didn't make Rick happy, didn't make us happy and damn sure didn't make the Vette happy! But it's ok....thats why we were there.
As always our first step would be to tape off a test spot and figure out what combo of machine/pad/product and technique would work best.
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/TestSpotHood11.jpg
My sister Dani who was taping off all the trim did the honors of taping off my test spot so i could get our process dialed in while she finished up the remainder of the taping.
After testing our test area with a new microfiber cutting pad along with a cutting compound, it knocked down the swirls quite well...but as was expected, a VERY light haze was left. This is why lighting is SO important...under most circumstances...the paint would have looked awesome as if all defects had been removed, but having multiple light sources we were able to see the haze...which is why we always follow up with a second polishing step to further refine the paint.
The results of this will speak for themselves i think...here is a side by side before and after shot:
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/TestSpotHood7.jpg
THAT is what red is suppose to look like.
A couple deeper ones still remained along the tape line, but they would come out when working on the undone section of the hood, as we always overlap a few inches into the section that we have already worked on, just to make sure if we did miss anything or if there were a few being stubborn, they would still get worked out:
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/TestSpotHood4.jpg
All n' all, the test spot was showing many good things to come, here is a 50/50 shot of the test spot:
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/TestSpotHood3.jpg
One more look...this was before:
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/TestSpotHood1.jpg
WOW!
And this was after:
http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/Ricks%20C6%20Corvette/TestSpotHood2.jpg
Much clearer don't you think?