Tru_Shine

This client sent me a message on my Facebook asking me if I could help him out with a little problem he was having with his paint. The Client had mentioned to me that he had someone wetsand and buff his entire Lexus IS350 a few weeks prior. This car was fully repainted by a Lexus Dealership a couple years ago due to a warranty issue with factory paint, So at least we weren't working with the thin factory clear coat. The complaints were swirl marks and sanding scratches were still visible. At this point I had no idea what I was getting my self into but I knew that I could help him out in some way or another. Once I met up the the client to see his car, I had two different types of emotion going on. First, I was in awe. I had never seen a paint surface this JAcked up? I asked the owner if the car was used for a science experiment to see if monkey's could mimic humans buffing on cars, but he answered no? A Local guy (no names are going to be used) gave the owner of the Lexus an offer he couldn't refuse for a Full Wet Sand and Buff for $250. After all of the WOW factor faded away, I started to get excited as I love getting a car like this, it opens an opportunity for me to save a car and show what detailing and paint correction is really about.


Here is a quick video of what the car looked like when I started.

http://youtu.be/wLUNn1HBkas?hd=1

The whole car was like this from top to bottom and front to back.

Here is my process of recovery.













First you want to cleanse the surface stripping the paint of any glazes or waxes and other dirt like substances.



After the wash I brought the car in and began my correction process.

Some of these defects were very deep and required me to pull out the rotary buffer to help level out the previous buffer marks.





In this picture, I have only used the Rotary buffer with a LC purple foamed wool pad and M105 to level out the defects




How does one mess up the paint so badly you ask? (*WARNING*-This is going to step on a few toes here, so if you are a soft hearted little gurly man please skip over this part) #HatersGonnaHate

The Typical "Detailer" or "Body Shop guy" will usually grab a Rotary buffer and wool pad with a some "Rocks in a bottle" to buff out a car. In most cases they will have the rotary buffer turned up to a couple thousand rpm's, and the wool pad turned up on its side getting the most aggressive cut you could ask for. While doing this, they are eating through that clear coat like I was eating through YOUR MOMS home cooked meal she made me last night.

After that cutting stage is complete, They use a "GLAZE" which is a Filler product that helps hide and mask the swirls and makes the customer think that the paint looks great until they go to wash it a few days later. *Which reveals what I am showing you in these pics*

I cut and polished half of the hood and brought it out under the sun to show what Black is really suppose to look like.





here is a video of the 50/50 hood shot

http://youtu.be/3DiMmNoPu14?hd=1














Tools & Products

Buffers:
Rotary buffer with Megs w66 BP
Flex 3401
Griot's 6in DA

Pads:
Lake country PFW
LC Cyan
LC Tangerine

Compounds & Polish
Meguiars M105 for cutting
Meguiars M205 for polishing

LSP(Last step Protection)
Black Fire Wet Diamond

Here are a few pictures after pulling it out and checking it













Here is a video of the final outcome!

http://youtu.be/STVXVFJzZtI?hd=1


And the final outcome.














Thanks for viewing and have a great day

-Eric

Wyatt87

Thanks for posting your work. You did an amazing job, that's a night and day difference. i want to learn how to detail a car but i always thought you needed expensive buffers and i dont want to mess up my paint too bad.

TsujenDB1

I would have asked for my $ back from that horrible job before. You do AMAZING work.

julious88

Wow!! I'm speechless on how this came out!! Looks more reflective than mirrors.

CB

Hot damn! I was wondering if there was anything you would recommend to help remove factory orange peel?

Tru_Shine

well, starting out you definitely shouldn't go for the rotary buffer, you can do a lot of damage to the paint and it's very difficult to finish down properly. Just get a PC7424 or Griots DA or somting, and get the basic start up kit with pads and compounds that you need.
Thanks guys

Factory paint doesn't have enough clear coat to be safely removed, you can wet sand it some, but if you take to much off, there will be premature failure and the clear coat will degrade quicker.

RSXJDK

Great job wheeling that paint back! I've got the same Megs 105/205 combo and it works pretty damn good. (I'm just not such a fan of the 105 dusting so much, and it's short working time.) I usually skip the 205 and goto an AIO (Griots One-step right now) and get very similar results. Since it was a re-paint, did you take any measurements of the paint, or run into any thin spots?

RSXJDK

As Pandaman stated, factory clear is pretty thin. If you can measure the paint in various areas of the panels and get a decent amount there, then you can begin the long process. Wet-sanding/compounding/polishing is a lengthy process, but it will give you mirror like results if done properly.

CB

^^^ Alright thanks for the heads up

chet

Pandaman,

I was fortunate enough to visit detailedimage.com early on in the learning curve...and I like to think I've learned to correct paint the right way.

Do you have a few links to a product that fills scratches? It'd be nice to know what other guys are using so I can make future clients aware of the competition.

Great work btw, always love seeing pics of a well executed paint correction.

neroazul

Second to last shot is sick! I've been playing with the same mets combo. So far so good.

cadwiese

wow