A pair of Hellcats---soft, med or hard paint?

**TMQ** · 12-02-2017, 07:26 PM

Today I applied Blackfire sealant and McKee`s Matte Finish Cleaner and Protectant.
Still need to coat tires and wheels. Owner wasn`t at shop today to pull the wheels off.
Turned out very very well. Paint became smooth like butter and slick as snot! Very happy with the results.

Pics:

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**Eldorado2k** · 12-02-2017, 07:59 PM

@TMQ. That looks top notch!

A pair of Hellcats---soft, med or hard paint?

**TMQ** · 12-02-2017, 08:18 PM

Thanks Eldo!
I'm really happy how it turned out. Was planning to polish/slight cut and coat. After the wash and clay---was very surprised how nice the paint was. I just could not cut it.
I did not polish this at all. Clayed and went straight to sealant. That's how good the paint was!
Told the owner just to leave it alone for now and go with the sealant. Coat later when we need to polish out swirls.

I lost $$$ by not coating this but felt it was the right thing to do. As of now---the car hasn't been buffed out and is 100 % paint original from factory.

Tom

**PaulMys** · 12-02-2017, 08:23 PM

Holy Moly, Tom. What beautiful work my man!! Those things look amazing!

**TMQ** · 12-02-2017, 08:27 PM

Originally Posted by PaulMys

Holy Moly, Tom. What beautiful work my man!! Those things look amazing!

Thank You. Really enjoyed sealing this. The paint was so nice to work with and so pretty to look at too. The day went by in a snap. Was bummed out that I was done. Grin...

Tom

**Eldorado2k** · 12-02-2017, 08:28 PM

IMO if the paint is already perfect, then there’s no need to polish it prior to applying any lsp including a coating.

**TMQ** · 12-02-2017, 08:32 PM

Originally Posted by Eldorado2k

IMO if the paint is already perfect, then there’s no need to polish it prior to applying any lsp including a coating.

Correct and that's just what I did...

Tom

**Eldorado2k** · 12-02-2017, 08:39 PM

Originally Posted by TMQ

Told the owner just to leave it alone for now and go with the sealant. Coat later when we need to polish out swirls.

I thought you said you passed up on coating it?

**TMQ** · 12-02-2017, 09:46 PM

Sorry for the confusion---

Original plan was to coat it. To do that I would need to use a fine or med fine polish to "cut" the paint to correct swirls and to remove whatever product was on the car.

Well once I got the car nice and clean, chem. decontaminated and clayed---Lo and behold, I could not fine any swirls nor scratches! Looked everywhere---under lights, outside, inside with lights out and using led light---nada! Hummm....Ok. As I was drying the car, noticed paint was factory perfect. It had the "factory" new car paint look. With it's slight orange peel etc. It also had that full look as well. As if it wasn't wet sanded. It was really neat to look at and very beautiful as it is. Then I decided at that point---no polish nor any abrasives of any kind. In order to coat---one needs to at least polish just to remove whatever product that was on there. Since I wasn't going to polish, coating idea was tossed out.

Next best thing was to go with a sealant.

I love sealant, nice to work with, not abrasive and it gives the paint a nice look, a bit of a wax and a bit of a coating look with a touch of buttery feel. Slick as heck too...

So once the car gives me a reason to cut the paint with a polish, we'll coat the car at that point. It could be next year or could be five years out.

As of now, the car has never been cut with a polish. (I checked with the owner) It is 100 % factory paint. Best to leave it alone for now.

Sorry for long post! Hope I made some sense here.

Tom

**Eldorado2k** · 12-02-2017, 09:59 PM

Makes sense... Except what could've been on the paint? Especially after decon & clay? I'd bet nothing. I mean it's not like they hook up some protection unless they brag/charge/or offer to upsell it to you? But protection from the dealer just cuz without you knowing about it? I dunno about that..

To me, it sounded like the perfect virgin canvas. No swirls, smooth, new and ready to accept protection for the 1st time.