Improving a 600 dollar paint job (featuring BLACKFIRE Paint Coating)

[haris300]

So this weekend I had an odd job to work on. A friend of mine had his Scion tC repainted a few months ago for 600 dollars and the paint was an absolute mess. Yes, you read that right. 600 dollars. It was riddled with prep defects, scratches, orange peel, overspray, and was seriously lacking in clarity. Unfortunately there were some defects under the paint caused by dirt particles that had settled on the surface during spraying. Honestly though, for the price paid for the respray, you really can't expect too much.

I offered my services with hopes of making his car less of an eyesore. Neither of us were expecting perfection, but I figured I could at least get a little bit of gloss out for him and make the car more presentable.

It was extremely dirty when he brought it in. I don't blame him for not washing it. It wouldn't have made it look much better honestly. :laughing:

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/lookitsharis007/IMG_6662_zpsqbsdwsar.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/lookitsharis007/IMG_6662_zpsqbsdwsar.jpg.html)

I gave it a 2 bucket wash, Iron X and Nanoskin decontamination, and brought back it in for correction.

I was in for a fun night of polishing.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/lookitsharis007/IMG_6729_zpsohoc8wcn.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/lookitsharis007/IMG_6729_zpsohoc8wcn.jpg.html)

Most of the paint I corrected with my Flex 3401, orange Lake Country Hybrids, and Wolfgang Uber Compound. I used my Griot's Garage G21 and a CarPro denim pad to knock out the areas with very noticeable orange peel.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/lookitsharis007/IMG_6710_zpsdsj6d5vx.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/lookitsharis007/IMG_6710_zpsdsj6d5vx.jpg.html)

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/lookitsharis007/IMG_6726_zpsmokqktih.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/lookitsharis007/IMG_6726_zpsmokqktih.jpg.html)

You can see the lack of clarity on the uncorrected side of this 50/50.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/lookitsharis008/IMG_0722_zpsl2fiagnk.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/lookitsharis008/IMG_0722_zpsl2fiagnk.jpg.html)

I taped up half the hood to better capture the transformation this car was going through.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/lookitsharis007/IMG_6671_zpsis0pqltz.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/lookitsharis007/IMG_6671_zpsis0pqltz.jpg.html)

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/lookitsharis007/IMG_6696_zpspygekpm0.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/lookitsharis007/IMG_6696_zpspygekpm0.jpg.html)

I took a break and finished up the polishing the next day. I'd say I worked my way around the car for a good 8 hours.

The daylight really helped show the gloss that was hiding underneath all that nasty paint.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/lookitsharis007/IMG_6732_zps97l2hz4r.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/lookitsharis007/IMG_6732_zps97l2hz4r.jpg.html)

A lot of the glass was covered in overspray which I removed with a razor blade scraper.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/lookitsharis008/IMG_0763_zpskesgmcgn.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/lookitsharis008/IMG_0763_zpskesgmcgn.jpg.html)

Of course I couldn't get the paint to a show car finish, but it wasn't looking too bad for a daily driver. Uber Compound finished down nice enough for him to get by paying for a single step correction.

I finished up by protecting the car with BLACKFIRE Crystal Coat Paint Coating. This was my first time using the coating.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/lookitsharis007/IMG_6736_zpst5y4jjxy.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/lookitsharis007/IMG_6736_zpst5y4jjxy.jpg.html)

The BLACKFIRE paint prep was a breeze to use. No issues with streaking at all.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/lookitsharis007/IMG_6744_zpsi9q2hpqv.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/lookitsharis007/IMG_6744_zpsi9q2hpqv.jpg.html)

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/lookitsharis007/IMG_6746_zpsbgtdn8q0.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/lookitsharis007/IMG_6746_zpsbgtdn8q0.jpg.html)

I applied the coating thin with a Lake Country coating applicator. I quickly wiped away after application. I will admit it took a little effort to wipe away the product and eliminate high spots, but it wasn't too bad for a veteran of paint coatings like myself.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/lookitsharis007/IMG_6752_zpsx8gm5dhk.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/lookitsharis007/IMG_6752_zpsx8gm5dhk.jpg.html)

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/lookitsharis007/IMG_6753_zpsmx52m2m8.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/lookitsharis007/IMG_6753_zpsmx52m2m8.jpg.html)

Overall I'd say it was a big improvement. Customer was extremely happy and I was satisfied with the coating.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/lookitsharis007/IMG_6771_zpspsdrqbbb.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/lookitsharis007/IMG_6771_zpspsdrqbbb.jpg.html)

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/lookitsharis007/IMG_6784_zps8v4ss3ct.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/lookitsharis007/IMG_6784_zps8v4ss3ct.jpg.html)

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/lookitsharis007/IMG_6785_zpsggeoh63v.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/lookitsharis007/IMG_6785_zpsggeoh63v.jpg.html)

The sun was setting when I finished so I didn't get too many photos. I'll try to update later with some daylight shots.

Well, that's all I've got. Thanks for looking!

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

Are you kidding me Harris!? You were supposed to fix the paint, not repaint it!!!! Lolz

Man, what a monumental transformation to that Scion. That really does look incredible. I also see you were able to get your aggressive one step choice to finish near LSP ready. No surprise there. The new BlackFire coating looks incredible as well.

Amazing work good sir. Will be on the lookout for additional pictures. Thanks for sharing.

[Shark Politur]

Looking at you are so tanned I wonder what is your country of origin or your parents, grandparents?
I myself was born in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (from 13-18th century our small country with only 3 million population now, was so great that to Moscow's border was 60km!) & in 1410 during Battle of Grunwald we defeated German-Prussian Teutonic Knights led by Ulrich von Jungingen, most of their leadership were killed, some taken prisoner.
This battle was one of the largest in Medieval Europe and is regarded as the most important victory in the history of Lithuania.
Note how small Germany, France or Spain look.

http://www.truelithuania.com/Nuotraukos/LithuaniaGrandDuchyMap.jpg

[Green] https://en.wikipedia.org/####/Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania (http://mcaf.ee/eswv1h)

With your friends car everything came out perfect I would say.

[Joe@NextLevelDetail]

I have never tryed uber compound how do you compare it to fg400

Is it a diminishing abrasive?

How is dusting whipeoff and work time

Amazing job by the way if someone asks how much he paid for that paint job you will make the painter look good

[CDot]

What an amazing job! The products you used finished incredibly well

[Sicoupe]

Amazing job for sure my friend!

[Jaretr1]

Very nice work.

[Heisenberg]

Outstanding improvement! Thank you for sharing.

[BrianMcLeod]

Looks great! Also notice you did the headlights?!

[haris300]

Thanks everyone!


Looking at you are so tanned I wonder what is your country of origin or your parents, grandparents?
I myself was born in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (from 13-18th century our small country with only 3 million population now, was so great that to Moscow's border was 60km!) & in 1410 during Battle of Grunwald we defeated German-Prussian Teutonic Knights led by Ulrich von Jungingen, most of their leadership were killed, some taken prisoner.
This battle was one of the largest in Medieval Europe and is regarded as the most important victory in the history of Lithuania.
Note how small Germany, France or Spain look.

http://www.truelithuania.com/Nuotraukos/LithuaniaGrandDuchyMap.jpg

[Green] https://en.wikipedia.org/####/Grand_Duchy_of_Lithuania (http://mcaf.ee/eswv1h)

With your friends car everything came out perfect I would say.

Interesting history lesson Shark! My parents are from Pakistan but I was born and raised in the US. It's easy to stay tan when you have the Texas sun beating on you every day :laughing:


I have never tryed uber compound how do you compare it to fg400

Is it a diminishing abrasive?

How is dusting whipeoff and work time

Amazing job by the way if someone asks how much he paid for that paint job you will make the painter look good

I've found Wolfgang Uber Compound and Menzerna FG400 to be very similar. Dusting and wipe off are about the same from what I've experienced. Uber Compound does contain diminishing abrasives.

Both cut great and finish down nicely.


Looks great! Also notice you did the headlights?!

Yep! Restoring the headlights definitely made the car look newer from the front.

[Kamakaz1961]

Wow!! What beautiful work you do!! You made that $99 Earl Shives Paint job look like a real paint job! Again, excellent work you are a very talented detailer.

[oldmodman]

I wonder how the paint would have looked if he had just gotten the $1800.00 paint job in the first place?

Because it looks like an $1800.00 paint job now :dblthumb2:

[haris300]

Thanks guys!

He sent me some daylight photos today. Good to know there was actually some black paint under all that mess.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/lookitsharis009/IMG_0769_zpsqnw0mxiu.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/lookitsharis009/IMG_0769_zpsqnw0mxiu.jpg.html)

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y179/lookitsharis/lookitsharis009/IMG_0770_zpsc6bgxhmk.jpg (http://s5.photobucket.com/user/lookitsharis/media/lookitsharis009/IMG_0770_zpsc6bgxhmk.jpg.html)

[SKorch630]

Any time you want to drop that 355 off in my garage, feel free to do so :)

What an awesome transformation! Enjoyed reading about it!

[Shark Politur]

Interesting history lesson Shark! My parents are from Pakistan but I was born and raised in the US. It's easy to stay tan when you have the Texas sun beating on you every day :laughing:


I am sure you & your parents are not sorry you left Taliban for Texas :laughing: such examples like yours clearly show that USA is a country where American dream can come true.
In Pakistan I doubt you would ever detail anything, maybe only Al Qaeda's tanks :laughing:
In Israel for example Muslims who live & were born here got a totally different mentality than the Jews & Christians, it's two worlds apart, they speak your language but in their heads is hate...also I lived in Frankfurt am Main for many years & there Muslims also were disconnected from the German society completely, they live in their districts, streets, speak only their language & look at Germans as fools who Must pay them Social Security money, provide housing, free education, medicine etc., I was wondering how can this be we are in the 21st century but they, even young generation, live there like in their countries of origin 2000 years ago.
The only thing that I found common between Muslims & Germans that they both love Mercedes, nice clothing, good life & all this must be given to them for free because they are special civilization that made a favor coming to Europe!
https://www.google.com/search?q=flooding+europe+2015&gbv=1&prmd=ivns&source=lnms&tbm=nws&sa=X&ved=0CAcQ_AVqFQoTCJbNt8-6-McCFWqd2wod4y4LFA