Completed my first full paint correction (93 SC300)

[FinishingTouchA]

Bought this car 2 months ago, Paint was in fairly good condition. 140,000 miles but it was outdoor kept and probably didn't see too much wax in those 20 years so the cc is showing beginning signs of failure. Started out with plenty of swirls to remove and some deeper scratches.

Products used:
Rupes Bigfoot 21
Rupes Green, Blue, and White pads
Rupes Green compound
Rupes White polish
PB Natty's Blue liquid wax
Lots of Microfibers
Autoscrub Medium mitt
ONR to lube mitt
Meg's APC+ and OCW to remove previous wax
GG 3 inch orbital polisher (3k grit and foam pads)
Snap-on 6 inch air da sander with 3k grit
Grit Guard pad washer


To start I mixed 1 ounce OCW and 3 ounces APC+ in 3.5 gallons water. (Grit guard 2 bucket method with grout sponge) Before washing each panel I sprayed with 5:1 concentration of APC+

Once I finished washing I Mixed 4 ounces ONR with 2 gallons water and clayed using the Nanoskin Autoscrub mitt. I can't say if it left any micro marring because the paint already had its share of swirls. But I do like the mitt for its ease of use and large contact patch.

Then I dried her off and drove inside the shop. Next I analyzed the paint and noted all the areas with heavier scratches. Front bumper has tons of rock chips and the clear has nearly no life in it from all the bugs impaling it. Roof had what looked like sandpaper scratches from left to right behind the sunroof. And various other areas of the car had some that needed to be wet sanded. So I got to work on all these areas with my GG 3 inch and Snap-on 6 inch da with 3k grit.

Next I moved on to the Rupes, and wow this thing's a beast. I attached the green pad and primed it with a good amount of the green compound. Turned it up to 4 and boom sling! haha So I took a microfiber and soaked up some compound from the pad. All went well from here, between each panel I would add 3 pea sized drops of compound. Then 3 panels down I started noticing the pad drying out really quickly, after just the first pass it was done. So I went over to the Grit-Guard pad washer and cleaned the pad. (the 21mm throw of the Rupes makes the pad washer a lot harder to use) The next 2 panels cut like butter then the pad started drying out again, I guess I went too long and started chewing up the pad. So I moved to the blue pad with green compound and had the same issue. Is it normal to have to clean the pad every 2 panels with the heavier cut foams?

Finished up that then moved on to polishing with the Rupes white pad and white polish, this really made the paint come alive. Didn't have to wash the pad once and it really glided over the surface without drying out or slinging. This is when I started to love the Rupes because I finished up polishing really quick.

Then I moved on to waxing with Natty's Blue and a white Finishing pad, Waxing was insanely quick and final results were great. I love how easy the Natty's is to apply and remove, hopefully it doesn't wear off too fast because this is my daily driver and it was raining outside when I finished.

Before this job, my experience with paint correction consisted of the rear bumper of a black 350z with harbor freight 6 inch orbital with cheap pads and Meg's ultimate compound and polish. I learned a lot from the Lexus but I'm definitely still a beginner and have a few questions:

Is it normal to need to wash the pads every other panel?
Can anyone recommend a compound that has long working times and is easy to remove? (The Rupes compound was hell to remove once it dried even slightly)
Should I try Microfiber pads for cutting? (Even with regular washing, it doesn't seem that these foam pads with last more than 3-4 cars without getting eaten alive)

Sorry I don't have a nice camera, just a crappy ol' iPhone 4

Before Pictures:



Half n Half Shots:





All Finished Up:

[FinishingTouchA]

Can someone please move this to "Show n Shine"? Thanks!

[Chris@AutoCleanse]

Looks good, nice work with great results. Thanks for sharing and posting the pictures and write up.

[HD.Detailing]

ocw to remove wax? I'm cornfused

[FinishingTouchA]

OCW for lubricity and APC+ to remove everything I could before clay barring. Old thread haha but thanks for asking.

[Zelfiris]

Bought this car 2 months ago, Paint was in fairly good condition. 140,000 miles but it was outdoor kept and probably didn't see too much wax in those 20 years so the cc is showing beginning signs of failure. Started out with plenty of swirls to remove and some deeper scratches.

Products used:
Rupes Bigfoot 21
Rupes Green, Blue, and White pads
Rupes Green compound
Rupes White polish
PB Natty's Blue liquid wax
Lots of Microfibers
Autoscrub Medium mitt
ONR to lube mitt
Meg's APC+ and OCW to remove previous wax
GG 3 inch orbital polisher (3k grit and foam pads)
Snap-on 6 inch air da sander with 3k grit
Grit Guard pad washer


To start I mixed 1 ounce OCW and 3 ounces APC+ in 3.5 gallons water. (Grit guard 2 bucket method with grout sponge) Before washing each panel I sprayed with 5:1 concentration of APC+

Once I finished washing I Mixed 4 ounces ONR with 2 gallons water and clayed using the Nanoskin Autoscrub mitt. I can't say if it left any micro marring because the paint already had its share of swirls. But I do like the mitt for its ease of use and large contact patch.

Then I dried her off and drove inside the shop. Next I analyzed the paint and noted all the areas with heavier scratches. Front bumper has tons of rock chips and the clear has nearly no life in it from all the bugs impaling it. Roof had what looked like sandpaper scratches from left to right behind the sunroof. And various other areas of the car had some that needed to be wet sanded. So I got to work on all these areas with my GG 3 inch and Snap-on 6 inch da with 3k grit.

Next I moved on to the Rupes, and wow this thing's a beast. I attached the green pad and primed it with a good amount of the green compound. Turned it up to 4 and boom sling! haha So I took a microfiber and soaked up some compound from the pad. All went well from here, between each panel I would add 3 pea sized drops of compound. Then 3 panels down I started noticing the pad drying out really quickly, after just the first pass it was done. So I went over to the Grit-Guard pad washer and cleaned the pad. (the 21mm throw of the Rupes makes the pad washer a lot harder to use) The next 2 panels cut like butter then the pad started drying out again, I guess I went too long and started chewing up the pad. So I moved to the blue pad with green compound and had the same issue. Is it normal to have to clean the pad every 2 panels with the heavier cut foams?

Finished up that then moved on to polishing with the Rupes white pad and white polish, this really made the paint come alive. Didn't have to wash the pad once and it really glided over the surface without drying out or slinging. This is when I started to love the Rupes because I finished up polishing really quick.

Then I moved on to waxing with Natty's Blue and a white Finishing pad, Waxing was insanely quick and final results were great. I love how easy the Natty's is to apply and remove, hopefully it doesn't wear off too fast because this is my daily driver and it was raining outside when I finished.

Before this job, my experience with paint correction consisted of the rear bumper of a black 350z with harbor freight 6 inch orbital with cheap pads and Meg's ultimate compound and polish. I learned a lot from the Lexus but I'm definitely still a beginner and have a few questions:

Is it normal to need to wash the pads every other panel?
Can anyone recommend a compound that has long working times and is easy to remove? (The Rupes compound was hell to remove once it dried even slightly)
Should I try Microfiber pads for cutting? (Even with regular washing, it doesn't seem that these foam pads with last more than 3-4 cars without getting eaten alive)

+1 I would really like to know too.

I'm thinking about picking up Rupes Blue Compound + Blue foam Pad and Rupes White Polish + White foam pad to work on soft paint (hyundai and lexus)