richy
New member
- Mar 27, 2007
- 5,158
- 0
This customer was kind enough to drive his car from 2 hours away to get me to do it. I've been fortunate enough to have that happen a couple of times and always put an inordinate amount of pressure on myself to perform so I make sure they didn't regret their decision. This car is a black 2013 Camaro ZL1 and was to have CQuartz Finest.
When it arrived, the sun was a bit higher and it was showing swirling everywhere. I knew this was going to be a multi-step job. Afterward, when I got it in under the lights and saw a lot of light scratches too, that solidified it. But, I'm getting ahead of myself. I got to drive the car back from the train station and I was excited to drive it but nervous at the same time. I almost refused to take it, but I did want to experience that supercharged engine. Glad I did!
So, here it as after getting back from the train station:
Trying to capture the swirls in less effective light:
The customer said that the wheels really accumulate brake dust quickly and badly. They were actually a real PITA to clean. More on that in a bit.
So, first up was cleaning the wheels. I initially tried Ameririd, which is Americana's answer to IronX. That turned out to be ineffective in getting them as clean as I wanted. Here it is in action however:
What ended up being effective in cleaning these wheels was the big wrench from the tool box, namely Megs WB. That was followed by Tarminator where needed to get rid of tar and then Zep Citrus to neutralize the acid and then washing with Megs HW. I used both my Daytona brushes as well as my large wheel woolie for cleaning them. After they were cleaned to my satisfaction, the barrels were shot with Permanon to aid in cleaning for the near future.
The tires were cleaned with Zep 505.
The wells were cleaned with LATA and then shot with Permanon as well.
The car was then washed with Megs HW and then a second time with IronX paste.
It was brought inside and clayed with my CarPro clay towel and lastly was dried off with my Master Blaster. At this point I was behind schedule, mainly due to the wheels.
Under the lights with naked paint, I was not pleased to see these scratches:
Also there was this pair of chips on the passenger door as well as others that I found and filled:
Now it was time to play with the paint! I had very good success with a black Camaro that was in good shape by using my TB black wool + Reflect and tried this combo again. In this case it was not nearly as aggressive as I needed. I tried Flat Top as well but ended up settling with M105 + TB wool + Flex 3401. I was creating more dust than normal (usually very little) but I was getting very good correction, so I didn't care. That stage was followed up with M205 + white B/S + 3401. Lastly I used DG Squeaky Clean by hand to chemically clean the paint and to ensure proper correction.
On the LR 1/4 panel, I came across a scratch that I couldn't buff out. I had missed it in my initial examination on Friday night, so I had to improvise what I usually do. I filled it with touch up paint but not as aggressively as normal due to not having enough time to let it fully cure. After several hours and some forced air curing, I wet sanded the area with my GG 3" polisher and a Megs 3K disc. That was then followed by the a/m steps. Here's what that procedure looked like:
Better, but far from perfect.
Once I had it all polished out, it was time to coat it with a double coat of CQF. The windshield was first coated with a double coat of Fly-By-30 and then the wheels and paint were double coated with CQF. Saturday night was cut short to go see the Jason Bonham Led Zeppelin experience. GO SEE THIS SHOW IF YOU GET A CHANCE!! (Especially if you're a big Zep fan like me).
Here is the IR lamp in action cooking up some goodness:
Sunday morning saw the completion of the 2nd coat. Here she is all done. Nothing was done to the engine compartment but I shot the engine just to show it off! The tires were shot via my air gun with OB at 100%.
I think the bow tie looks evil in black...
Wheels looking better now:
Oh, yes it is!
Some reflection shots:
Damn, I musta buffed too hard and cut off my lower body...
This is where the scratch was repaired:
Thanks for looking. Comments appreciated.
When it arrived, the sun was a bit higher and it was showing swirling everywhere. I knew this was going to be a multi-step job. Afterward, when I got it in under the lights and saw a lot of light scratches too, that solidified it. But, I'm getting ahead of myself. I got to drive the car back from the train station and I was excited to drive it but nervous at the same time. I almost refused to take it, but I did want to experience that supercharged engine. Glad I did!
So, here it as after getting back from the train station:
Trying to capture the swirls in less effective light:
The customer said that the wheels really accumulate brake dust quickly and badly. They were actually a real PITA to clean. More on that in a bit.
So, first up was cleaning the wheels. I initially tried Ameririd, which is Americana's answer to IronX. That turned out to be ineffective in getting them as clean as I wanted. Here it is in action however:
What ended up being effective in cleaning these wheels was the big wrench from the tool box, namely Megs WB. That was followed by Tarminator where needed to get rid of tar and then Zep Citrus to neutralize the acid and then washing with Megs HW. I used both my Daytona brushes as well as my large wheel woolie for cleaning them. After they were cleaned to my satisfaction, the barrels were shot with Permanon to aid in cleaning for the near future.
The tires were cleaned with Zep 505.
The wells were cleaned with LATA and then shot with Permanon as well.
The car was then washed with Megs HW and then a second time with IronX paste.
It was brought inside and clayed with my CarPro clay towel and lastly was dried off with my Master Blaster. At this point I was behind schedule, mainly due to the wheels.
Under the lights with naked paint, I was not pleased to see these scratches:
Also there was this pair of chips on the passenger door as well as others that I found and filled:
Now it was time to play with the paint! I had very good success with a black Camaro that was in good shape by using my TB black wool + Reflect and tried this combo again. In this case it was not nearly as aggressive as I needed. I tried Flat Top as well but ended up settling with M105 + TB wool + Flex 3401. I was creating more dust than normal (usually very little) but I was getting very good correction, so I didn't care. That stage was followed up with M205 + white B/S + 3401. Lastly I used DG Squeaky Clean by hand to chemically clean the paint and to ensure proper correction.
On the LR 1/4 panel, I came across a scratch that I couldn't buff out. I had missed it in my initial examination on Friday night, so I had to improvise what I usually do. I filled it with touch up paint but not as aggressively as normal due to not having enough time to let it fully cure. After several hours and some forced air curing, I wet sanded the area with my GG 3" polisher and a Megs 3K disc. That was then followed by the a/m steps. Here's what that procedure looked like:
Better, but far from perfect.
Once I had it all polished out, it was time to coat it with a double coat of CQF. The windshield was first coated with a double coat of Fly-By-30 and then the wheels and paint were double coated with CQF. Saturday night was cut short to go see the Jason Bonham Led Zeppelin experience. GO SEE THIS SHOW IF YOU GET A CHANCE!! (Especially if you're a big Zep fan like me).
Here is the IR lamp in action cooking up some goodness:
Sunday morning saw the completion of the 2nd coat. Here she is all done. Nothing was done to the engine compartment but I shot the engine just to show it off! The tires were shot via my air gun with OB at 100%.
I think the bow tie looks evil in black...
Wheels looking better now:
Oh, yes it is!
Some reflection shots:
Damn, I musta buffed too hard and cut off my lower body...
This is where the scratch was repaired:
Thanks for looking. Comments appreciated.
