2006 Monterey Red Corvette Restoration - It all started with a "scratch"

[Wills.WindowsAndWheels]

As the title reads, It all started with a scratch...




http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040674_zpsa5731857.jpg


A bit of background on how this detail came about.

We had done a polish out on a beefed up Camaro SS (aka Blue Monster) that had been over sprayed at one of our bigger Chevy dealerships in Az. The owner worked in the performance division of this Chevy Dealership, called his detailer back in Cali and asked if he knew of anyone in Arizona who could help get his ride back into shape. His Cali detailer came up with our name :) Well, we did our thing on it and he was very impressed to say the least...so impressed in fact, that the DAY AFTER we did his Camaro, he was doing service for a certain Corvette...and to put it in his terms, he told the owner that his car was "Hammered!" and that he needed to call us lol. He had noticed especially a certain eye sore of a scratch on the upper part of the drivers door and then went into the rear quarter panel.

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040673_zps54ebafe6.jpg


The owner called us the same day and we eventually set up a time for us to run out to take a look at the damage in person. Well, it wasn't pretty, that was for sure lol, but we thought we could save his paint...because the other option he was considering was repainting the whole car...a costly venture to say the least!

We booked a date...got out there early the morning of the detail and looked at the mess we had to try to correct.

Here she was, not looking too horribly bad from this angle!

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040660_zpsf9632343.jpg


But when we swung around to look at it right in the sun...i swore it looked worse than i remembered when we bid it lol.

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040661_zpse53fde3c.jpg


While we were hoping it was mostly just ground in dirt, we had a lurking feeling that the paint was just THAT bad. And if you look at this, you'll know why:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040662_zps0fcad171.jpg


Painful, i know. Had a few bugs splattered along the front as well:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040663_zps38bb0f2b.jpg

....and rock chips:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040664_zps5cd6e84b.jpg


The hood just killed us with the condition it was in....the roof and trunk were the same...the horizontal panels had REALLY taken a beating:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040665_zps43abeab6.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040666_zps22ba115f.jpg


http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040669_zps8bd06018.jpg


The tires and rims were filthy, coated with a good one or two hundred layers of Arizona clay and dirt lol:


http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040670_zps52672ec3.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040671_zps9b083112.jpg




Nasty stuff here....

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040672_zpsc28e4f60.jpg


So naturally, thats where we began:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040675_zps53a4aaaf.jpg


Next it was onto cleaning the dirty and dull paint:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040676_zpsbc4da2a4.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040677_zps58b276a7.jpg




http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040682_zpsb8b9be10.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040683_zpsbe9240e6.jpg


Foam er' up!




The bad thing was, after cleaning...the paint looked just as dull...many of the spots remained, as they were etched in (not horribly deep but still there nevertheless), very bad oxidation was apparent and now that the swirls weren't being FILLED with the dirt lol...they were very visible:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040679_zpse78ddc77.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040680_zps92879e22.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040681_zps737d921d.jpg



We pulled it into the garage and went on to decontaminate the car with the Auto Scrub:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040684_zps2f7d0568.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040685_zps8b8ee767.jpg


This helped to get rid of the horrible textured feel that the paint had to it, but it was still EXTREMELY dry and 'grabby'. The paint still looked horrible and we were, in all honesty, a bit concerned. While we were hoping it was bad oxidation, the thought of possible clear coat failure was plaguing the back of our minds...

After cleaning the layers of dirt off it became more and more apparent that this wasn't just baked on dirt by any means. The owner had come out and asked how things were looking, we told him our concerns but let him know we wouldn't know for sure one way or the other how it would turn out until we did our test spot.


So, we taped down the middle of the hood, set up our pads, polishes and polishers and went at it.


The results were apparent even in the shade of the garage:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040686_zps223bf2dc.jpg


Dani was taping off some things on the passengers side after I had finished my test spot...she looked up at me and asked how it came out....i just had a big stupid grin on my face...she replied "THATS what i wanted to hear!" The owner came back into the garage a few minutes later and asked what the verdict was....I just had him stand where i was at so he could see exactly what i was seeing...he was very pleased to say the least!

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040687_zps225bc45b.jpg


Knowing all was good in the world again, we continued on. This wasn't a speedy restoration by any means (what proper one is?), but it was going relatively well, all things considered. Just the compounding step using a mix of D300 and 105 on a Megs MF Cutting pad was giving massive improvements. I found myself leaning more towards the D300 than the 105, because with paint this dry, the D300 compound removed easiER, but still not easy lol.

Via Kevin Brown's advice that he gave me a few months back, i still had my trusty exact fit PAD (not plate lol). When i told him how many backing plates i already owned, he said if i didn't want to mess around with buying another one (his exact fit), that i could just careful cut a Megs cutting disc down to size to fit my backing plate i already had...thus increasing my cutting power and making 'edging' much more efficient as well:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040689_zps8fdf492e.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040690_zps5dac64ef.jpg



Gloss was coming back!

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040691_zps2aa0f53e.jpg



IPA wipe downs were VERY important on this job. While the paint would appear to be in tip-top shape after compounding and then polishing with Megs 205, some spots...especially the edges..revealed they were still oxidized and very dull looking when an IPA wipe down was done. We had to be as careful as possible to make sure we didn't miss a lingering dull spot that appeared to be ok, but was really just holding onto some of the polish. Just a quick bit of info i thought i'd share.

We were working front to back...after finally making it to the back....we had some serious water spots to deal with behind the license plate:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040692_zpsabbab61b.jpg

[Wills.WindowsAndWheels]

Note that this is AFTER washing and decontaminating (claying if you will).

But, this is why we carry small pads! It took going over 2 or 3 times slowly, but eventually...they gave in and just went away (excuse the residue):

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040693_zps7bdd551f.jpg


Heres a side by side, not a perfect 50/50 but, you get the idea:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040694_zpsbefd3cc6.jpg


As for Dani well...she was all smiles!

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040695_zps1b057f39.jpg



Workin away giving the paint a final polish....we had taped down the middle of the back hatch as well...we'll show you how that turned out shortly

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040696_zpsabb124ef.jpg


Concentrating, probably wishing i'd go away with the damn camera:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040697_zps2af45084.jpg



Now for the fun part...it was time to pull it out in the sun. Oh yeah, i know all of the paint junkies out there are excited now lol!


http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040700_zpsa2173fb6.jpg


Yeahhhhh it was nice...looked even better from this angle:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040701_zps2f1e3057.jpg


Close up:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040702_zpsce75de33.jpg


A reminder of what we were dealing with:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040704_zpsa1346071.jpg


Had a few small issues to go back over and touch up, but nothing that was too serious:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040705_zps272d171e.jpg


As for the back hatch area we had tapped off...

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040707_zps80ebfa84.jpg



Yeah it was freakin' awesome too. We were even able to restore the black plastic piece pretty decently:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040708_zps1aa25953.jpg


The UNfinished side:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040710_zps36dd86b1.jpg

And the FINISHED side:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040709_zps18845e9c.jpg


Seriously doesn't even look like the same paint. We knocked on the door and had the owner come out and take a looksie, he LITERALLY said that he did NOT know that his paint was metallic....He told us he could tell the difference in the garage but, seeing it outside in the sun REALLY showed the difference. Pretty cool if you can show someone who's had their car for quite a few years that their paint is actually a different color than they thought!


Oh, and as for that scratch, it took some work and some 3" pads and some going over a few times...but we fixed that as well:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040711_zps2fad7952.jpg

No mas:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040712_zps691124cc.jpg


Here is a shaded look at the back hatch, you can still see, even in the shade...the difference in gloss, depth and clarity:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040713_zpsba5b00f9.jpg


After our mini-photo shoot we continued around to finish up the passenger side...making it match the beautified drivers side. A few hours later the paint was looking in tip top condition. We did a rinseless wash on it and then applied Blackfire Wet Diamond sealant to it. While i was doing that, Dani was giving it the finishing touches.

Polishing the tips:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040714_zps30673767.jpg


Dressing the tires and wheel wells (no more grimy brake dust and red clay all over the wheels and barrels now)

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040715_zpsbd6d2cdd.jpg


Tips turned out very nice when she finished:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040716_zpsa9375cee.jpg


After the sealant was removed we did the windows, wiped down the door jambs, inside the trunk lip and under the lip of the hood. Also treated all the plastic pieces and then did a few sun gun photos:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040717_zps4c7035f8.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040720_zps2c65de9e.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040721_zpsbfc025a6.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040722_zpsd29ddfa6.jpg

[Wills.WindowsAndWheels]

Then we pulled it out to get a few finished photos. The sun was setting but i was able to get some pretty good indirect light shots...the paint looked slick, glossy and deep ... like it should:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040724_zps1865002b.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040725_zps0ae31641.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040726_zpse8e23ed0.jpg


http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040728_zpsa2f29cd9.jpg


Hey look, reflections!!

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040729_zps649124fb.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040731_zpsf61877b5.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040732_zpsd54e7426.jpg


C6 tail lights...how Corvette tail lights SHOULD look...The new C7 is cool, but i hate that they got rid of the round Vette lights, that was its signature IMO, a sight many others were familiar with because this would be the only view point they'd ever see a Vette from hehehe

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040733_zpsb3ff1b92.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040736_zps89ca57df.jpg


Ready to hit the road:

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040739_zps7272dfda.jpg

http://i1232.photobucket.com/albums/ff374/Wills_WindowsAndWheels/John%20F%2006%20Corvette/P1040740_zps73f85039.jpg



It took some doing but, where theres a Wills and Dani, theres a way :). I think the owner was as happy with the result of his Vette as he was with the fact that he got to keep several thousand dollars in his pocket rather than having to pay to have his ride repainted. We talked about doing his monster Excursion (seen in some of the before photos). So hopefully we'll be going back out there soon to give it some love...what a chore that will be, those things are monsters.


A few days later he was kind enough to write us a review:

"Wills and Dannie....hope I spelled her name correctly...were awesome. There attention to detail and their no BS approach was refreshing. Friendly and thorough. They performed magic on my corvette and hope they can do the same on my black excursion. They get my vote...for sure

John"


Appreciate you guys taking the time to read the write up, hope you enjoyed it and we will have more coming soon for sure!

[Pureshine]

Looks great nice job. Try FG 400 works great MF pads and wipes off very easy .

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

Incredible work Will and Dani!!

That Vette was in need of some serious work and you guys came through and revitalized the paint.

[UltimateDetail]

Amazing Job and great write up!! I was so excited when I got to the sun pics LOL

[FUNX650]

Thanks Wills...
For posting yet another, (almost beyond description):
'Vehicle-correction'...Nay: "A Perfection" of a vehicle.

You are, as I've stated before: A World-Class Detailer...Indeed!! :dblthumb2:
(BTW: So is Dani!!)


Notes:
-Tell Dani I said Hi...
-Man it would be nice for us to get out to see you guys.

:)

Bob

[basicabe]

nice set up for the reveal... scrolling, scrolling FTW! Nice job!

[CM8 6MT]

Pretty good turnaround, nice work.

[Paul@F.T.D]

Looks GREAT, I hate giving the vehicle back to a client when it came in so neglected lol.

[cartman57]

Great writeup, the photos along with what you and Dani accomplished is amazing.
Beautiful job on a very neglected automobile.......poor thing probably breathed a sigh of relief.

[Caleb@ImpeccableImage]

Another applause for megs d300. Great work!

[Wills.WindowsAndWheels]

Incredible work Will and Dani!!

That Vette was in need of some serious work and you guys came through and revitalized the paint.

Lol thank you, yeah this one had us holdin' our breath until we did the test spot...talk about waiting to exhale! Once we saw it was coming out good with some work, it was a big relief.


Amazing Job and great write up!! I was so excited when I got to the sun pics LOL

Hahaha, yeah see...paint junkies! Glad you took the time to check it out and thanks for the compliments on the write up :)


Thanks Wills...
For posting yet another, (almost beyond description):
'Vehicle-correction'...Nay: "A Perfection" of a vehicle.

You are, as I've stated before: A World-Class Detailer...Indeed!! :dblthumb2:
(BTW: So is Dani!!)


Notes:
-Tell Dani I said Hi...
-Man it would be nice for us to get out to see you guys.

:)

Bob

Bob, now you KNOW i had you in mind when i did this write up...i knew you'd be one of the first ones to reply lol.

I appreciate the compliments and glad you took the time to read. Not sure if we're world class and all that but, we try. Something that has really helped me lately is a group i made on Facebook called Detailer Buddies, got a few hundred people that have joined, from around the world...its like a 24/7 detail fest lol. Its great to have a ton of other high end detailers to be able to ask questions to 24/7.


nice set up for the reveal... scrolling, scrolling FTW! Nice job!

Hahaha, yes you know i had to set it up...show how HORRIBLE it was...and then show the score! Glad you appreciated that.


Looks GREAT, I hate giving the vehicle back to a client when it came in so neglected lol.

Lol well we left him with some good info and good materials to be able to help take care of it. We'll probably be out there in a month or so to do a re-seal on it to make sure it never reaches that oxidized mess that it was again.

[Wills.WindowsAndWheels]

Great writeup, the photos along with what you and Dani accomplished is amazing.
Beautiful job on a very neglected automobile.......poor thing probably breathed a sigh of relief.

Yes i think it was happy to see us :). The funny part, the ORIGINAL owner of the car...worked at the very same Chevy dealership...I think you can put 2 and 2 together and figure out who probably did most of the ''maintenance'' of the car during the original owners time of position... :nomore:


Another applause for megs d300. Great work!

D300 is definitely awesome...ive used it with a mix of 105 and even 101, and its great with both in most circumstances. Only down side is that it gets the pad pretty saturated and it takes time to clean it out if there is no air compressor available. But, its still awesome :)

[AndrewBigA]

nice work guys! nice save!