2006 Black Cadillac XLR, Paint Correction and Detail, LOTS of Pics!!

[Grifftech]

Well I just want to preface this thread with I am by no means a seasoned detailer and I am still honing my paint correction skills. Overall though I am fairly pleased with the results considering the condition the paint was in when I got it.

I spent approximately 35 hours working on the car and 95% of that time is the paint as the interior of the car is in great shape so I didn't need much time to detail the inside.

The car has just over 10,000 miles on it.

My choice of products for this detail and paint correction varied as I figured out what worked best for me, and I did have to order some products. Luckily the owner, my uncle and his wife, have been away for a month so I was able to keep the car at my house in the garage and had plenty of time to work on it.


First off comes the wonderful before pics!!! If you have a weak stomach you have been warned !



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[Grifftech]

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Honeydew Snow Foam dwelling before first wash! I started off with a swelling of the Honeydew and let that sit for about 10 mins and then rinsed the car down. I then foamed it again and used the 2 bucket method to wash the car. Once I rinsed the car off I clay-barred it and gave it another rinse and then an IPA wipe down in preparation for the paint correction.

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Here are some photos of the hood once I got working on it and started to get my system down. I initially started out with Chemical Guys v38 and a White LC CCS pad and that wasn't cutting it, no pun intended. :) I then went with the CG v36 and a LC Orange CCS pad and I was getting some decent results but started seeing alot of halos and micro-marring.

So I kept trying different things with my pressure, working time etc, but couldn't get it how I wanted. So I went to the local auto store and picked up some M105/M205 and found a place that sold the Meguiar's Soft Buff 2.0 pads.

I started with the M105 and the burgunday pad and things were looking up then I went back over my test area with M205 and the Soft Buff polishing pad (think it is beige), but I just couldn't get away from the halos, at this point I was at my wits end. The swirl and defect correction was coming out great but I was leaving halos behind.

I hit the forums for the umpteenth time and was watching some vids and getting advice and decided I am going to try the Meguiar's DA MF Correction system. So off to the computer I went to order it up. Luckily I found it on Amazon and my wife has a Prime account so I got it shipped to me in 1 day for 4 bucks!

The next day I busted out the DA MF system and, BAM, this works great!!! I got my system worked out with it and things starting cruising at this point. I would say I got about a 90% correction. I wanted to get it perfect, cause the perfectionist in me, but I had to know when to stop. There were some RIDS and other deeper defects that I don't think I could have tackled with a DA and I have not attempted wet sanding yet and I was not about to learn how on their car. :)

Once I got it corrected to where I was happy I started the sealant and waxing. Even though the DA MF correction system comes with the Finsihing Wax and Polish I went ahead and used it since it was part of the system. I wasn't sure how the wax portion of it would behave with a sealant over it. So I wiped down with an IPA then did the sealant.

I went with Blacklight, I did 2 coats with 8 hours between coats and then topped it with Blackfire Midnight Sun. The car sat for a day and a half after the LSP and before I delivered it I dusted it off and gave it wipe down with CG V7.

For the tires and trim I dressed them with Meguiar's new Tire and Trim dressing, which I love! And for the rims after I got them all polished up I gave the two coats of CG JetSeal.
For the interior, I used CG InnerClean, CG Leather Cleaner and Conditioner, and Stoner's for the glass. The carpets were in great shape, the floor mats I used spot cleaner then washed them and set them out to dry and then gave it the usual vacuuming.

[Grifftech]

Not sure what I may have missed, as this is my first write-up. Please ask me any questions you may have on stuff I may have not covered. Next time I will make sure to do 50/50's



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Unfortunately I don't have any 50/50 photos, but once I got going I couldn't put the polisher down and kept working :) Here are some photos of the car done prior to being delivered.



Hood with my gorgeous mug in the reflection :)



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Passenger side

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Driver's Side

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Lots of miscellaneous angles of finished car and engine bay. I didn't have to do much for the engine except vacuum out leaves and such. Wipe down the plastic with Meguiar's Tire and Trim detailer and do just a good wipe down.


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[Grifftech]

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[KneeDragr]

Amazing, looks like a different car than the one dropped off.

[Grifftech]

Amazing, looks like a different car than the one dropped off.


Thanks!

[Y2KSVT]

Looks like a professional job! Way to stick with it and find a system that worked for you! :dblthumb2:

[swami]

Looks great, nice turnaround. The XLR is such a cool car and I'm a Ford guy.:props:

[Grifftech]

Looks like a professional job! Way to stick with it and find a system that worked for you! :dblthumb2:

Thanks a bunch!

[Grifftech]

Looks great, nice turnaround. The XLR is such a cool car and I'm a Ford guy.:props:


Ford guy here also :)

[Grifftech]

Wish I would have ordered the Fuzion deal sooner as I would have used that, but I will be testing it on my car soon enough :)

[LF911PCR]

Mustang,
What did you use on the tail lights and method?
Nice work!

[Grifftech]

Mustang,
What did you use on the tail lights and method?
Nice work!

LF9 I treated it just as I did the paint to be honest. I tried a small section first. I used M105/205 the first time I corrected the trunk area, and when I got the DA MF system I went over with that. But the first time it cleaned right up. I also did a little hand polishing as I dont yet have any 3" pads or BP to work with.

[CheckeredFlag]

Awesome results

[Hunter09]

Great work!!! Looks like a diff car. I just pick up a new car in black. The dealer was so they thru in some nice buffing marks and scratch the hell of it. Looks like I'll be putting 30 hrs of my own time! Thanks for posting this makes want to run to my car now a start