Hard Camaro paint

**Don M** · 03-18-2016, 08:17 AM

I HAD a nice detailed write-up about my first encounter between my Camaro, my PC and Megs Ultimate Compound, but due to the wonders of technology, I lost the whole thing, and I am NOT typing it all over again. Suffice it to say that the previous owner of my car did great with mechanical maintenance, but on cosmetic upkeep, not so much. There are plenty of RIDS, bird etchings (that are not going to come out) etc as well as paint chips on the edges here and there. All in all though, not bad for a 3 year old, non detailer car.

Using a Megs maroon cutting pad w/Megs Ult Compound & speed 5 on the PC, I was able to get the hood and roof to about 95%. THEN it started getting colder and windier, so I skimped a bit on the sides and got them to maybe 75-80% and the front and rear ends, I cheated entirely and just used Megs A-12 Cleaner wax on them for the present time.

Now despite using the most aggressive pad/compound combination that I have, I left NO haze or other "side effect" defects on the car. There are still plenty of RIDS left as well as a few bird etchings, but for now, it's 100% better. I'm going to TRY not to get too ... uptight ... about minor defects seeing as how a black car shows them all, but we all know how that goes ...

I DID manage to (sort of) figure out my wife's phone and get a few pics. They're not the best and PLEASE ignore the dew and frost on the tops of the car, but here she is after UC and a coat of Collinite Insulator Wax ... you can REALLY put the Insulator on THIN, THIN, THIN when you have a black car.

**Setec Astronomy** · 03-18-2016, 08:21 AM

Looks good, Don!

**Don M** · 03-18-2016, 08:28 AM

Originally Posted by Setec Astronomy

Looks good, Don!

Thanks! It was nice working with "real" paint again after 10 year of that Suzuki mess.

**trashmanssd** · 03-18-2016, 08:49 AM

What color is that? I have a black Camaro that I have not done any correction on yet but at 2 years old (only 6k miles) it now could use a light polish this spring just to clean it up some micro marring and lots chips on the gill area. I was assuming it was pretty soft where I am very careful but still ended up with some marring

**Don M** · 03-18-2016, 09:15 AM

Originally Posted by trashmanssd

What color is that? I have a black Camaro that I have not done any correction on yet but at 2 years old (only 6k miles) it now could use a light polish this spring just to clean it up some micro marring and lots chips on the gill area. I was assuming it was pretty soft where I am very careful but still ended up with some marring

It's straight black, no pearl, no metal flake, just black. I too thought sure I was going to get some buffer haze using a cutting pad with Ultimate Compound on a black car, but there's not a bit to be seen, just remaining defects that I didn't work long enough to remove.

A good rub with Ult Comp. a LIGHT coat of Insulator and what you see is what I got.

**guess23959** · 04-01-2016, 06:33 PM

i didnt think new cars still came with straight black anymore. that's my favorite black because it looks the best when done right.

**Paul A.** · 04-01-2016, 09:26 PM

Nice work Don! Looks beautiful now.

**Don M** · 04-02-2016, 07:23 AM

Originally Posted by Puckman

Nice work Don! Looks beautiful now.

THANKS! But pics can be deceiving, it still has a long way to go. The level of shine and gloss I was able to bring out with one (1) application of Ultimate Compound kind of hides the defects if you're more than 5 feet away or the light isn't at JUST the right angle