Detailed: 1996 Chevy Corvette Convertible - Black

[Marc08EX]

Wheels/Tires:
Meguiar's Multi-piece Wheel Cleaner and Cleaner Wax on wheels
Meguiar's APC on tires
Meguiar's Hyper Dressing on tires
Swissvax Wheel Brush

Wash:
Gilmour Foam Gun
Chemical Guys Citrus Wash and Gloss via Foam Gun and 2BM
Meguiar's Microfiber Wash Mitt
Meguiar's Interior Brush for the convertible top

Clay:
Meguiar's OTC Clay
Meguiar's Last Touch

Paint Correction:
Flex 3401 VRG
Meguiar's G100 / 3.5" and 5" LC Backing Plates
Meguiar's M105 / LC Orange Pads / Meg's Polishing Pads
Meguiar's M205 / LC White Pads
Craftsman 500W Halogen Lights

LSP:
Menzerna Powerlock / LC Blue Pad (left 12 hours to cure)
Autoglym HD Wax

Interior:
Meguiar's Quik Interior Detailer
Meguiar's APC+

This car was brought in to have the multi-step detail process. The owner basically wanted the paint to look its best. I was excited to get my hands on this car because it's a CORVETTE!!! In addition, the paint color's black so the difference will be noticable.

The car came in worse shape than originally anticipated. It's ok since it's a chance for me to showcase my detailing skills. This car presented 2 challenges. First, the car had different paint jobs throughout the car therefore different techniques were used to attack each section. Second, the car originally had a leather bra in the front bumper and as a result of this, it scuffed up the bumper pretty bad. I will let the pictures do the talking.

Before:

As you can see, the leather bra left the paint looking bad. You can see the scuff marks underneath the turn/park lights. Also, the brand of the leather bra indented itself to the paint through the accumulated dirt in between the bra and bumper.

Wash:

Dirty Wheels

Clean Wheels

 

[Marc08EX]

This is from claying 1/4 of the hood. The paint wasn't as contaminated. The rear section was the worst part.

After claying the car, I performed an IPA wipe down to see the true condition of the paint. The paint had a ton of swirls...

Before:

Passenger Side Door

Passenger Side Front Fender

I always start with the least aggressive method to get the job done. The car being more than 10 years old, I wanted to be as fragile as possible. This was the result after hitting a panel with M205.

This method was still leaving some swirl marks behind. I wasn't happy with the results because I promised the customer a "swirl-free show car finish". I stepped it up to the M105 and finishing it up with M205 after. Here are some 50/50s.

Above is the passenger side rear quarter panel after finishing it with the M105/M205 combo. The paint's reflection and depth were amazing. Not to mention it being swirl free. There were still a ton of RIDS that are too deep for me to remove.

Driver Side Rear Quarter Panel:

Before

After

Before

After

 

[Marc08EX]

Driver Side Door:

Trunk:

Those 2 RIDS were pissing me off...

Rear Bumper:

Front Bumper:

 

[Marc08EX]

After applying Menzerna Powerlock left to cure overnight and applying a coat of Autoglym Hi-Def Carnauba Wax the next morning. I couldn't believe how wet and slick the paint looked after. You be the judge...

Sorry I didn't have the garage pictures to show how wet the paint looked.


Approximate time: 18 Hours. I need to learn how to become more efficient.

What do you guys think? Opinions, comments and criticisms are welcome!

 

[Rob T]

Wow, very big improvement! How long did this job take? (edit, I see it took 18 hours, I was posting while you were still adding pictures and another post)

How did you remove those scratches from the bottom of the front bumper?

 

[Marc08EX]

Wow, very big improvement! How long did this job take? (edit, I see it took 18 hours, I was posting while you were still adding pictures and another post)

How did you remove those scratches from the bottom of the front bumper?

Thanks Rob! I used M105. I wish I sanded it down but didn't want to mess with it too much since it's single stage paint.

 

[Rob T]

My first thought was that you may have wet sanded that area. I am impressed that the M105 removed as much of those scratches as it did.

 

[WRAPT C5Z06]

I think the C4 body style is ugly, but you did a great job!

What ratio did you dilute hyper dressing on the tires?

 

[Marc08EX]

My first thought was that you may have wet sanded that area. I am impressed that the M105 removed as much of those scratches as it did.

Yeah I was blown away. It wasn't perfect but it was a whole lot better!

I think the C4 body style is ugly, but you did a great job!

What ratio did you dilute hyper dressing on the tires?

I agree, the C4 isn't the best body style but hey it's still a vette. Its every kid's dream. The C5 esp the C6 like yours is just phenomenal.

Actually, the owner said it was a '97 so I researched what body style it would be and sure enough it was the first year the C5s were made. I was really excited at the time. When the car pulled up, my excitement turned to disappointment because it was just a C4.

I always use 2:1 ratio in hyper dressing.

 

[Shane731]

That's some yummy looking black paint! Great job! :dblthumb2:

 

[Marc08EX]

That's some yummy looking black paint! Great job! :dblthumb2:

Thanks Shane!

 

[C. Charles Hahn]

Very nice work! I wasn't aware C4s had single stage paint, though.... interesting.

 

[Marc08EX]

Very nice work! I wasn't aware C4s had single stage paint, though.... interesting.

Thanks! Well I don't think it was the original paint job. It was only the hood and front bumper that had single stage paint. Weird.

 

[jpegs13]

Great job, I'm sure the owner was thrilled.

 

[J Z06]

Man! that looked like the car from hell! I am sure the owner did a double take when He saw it re-conditioned!:dblthumb2:

 

[WRAPT C5Z06]

I agree, the C4 isn't the best body style but hey it's still a vette. Its every kid's dream. The C5 esp the C6 like yours is just phenomenal.

Thank you, bud. :xyxthumbs: You did a great job on the C4. rops:

 

[glenn14]

Great job..that car came out great..looks much much better !!!!!

Glenn

 

[summers]

Nice job on a nice car!

 

[Harleyguy]

Nice turnaround for sure.I wouldn't think it would be a single stage paint even if it was a repaint .Did any color come off the car onto your pads ??

 

[BobbyG]

OH man that Vette was a mess! Your before and after shots truly show what was needed to achieve the level of perfection shown.

Some folks just don't realize that moderate care can preserve a factory finish almost indefinitely. You'd think with a sizable investment of hard earned cash some would try just a little bit harder to protect it.