1966 Blown Nova - Extreme Makeover - Pictures & Videos

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

1966 Blown Nova - Extreme Makeover - Pictures & Videos



We had 5 new people come to Autogeek's Show Car Garage for last nights project. Three local car guys and two brothers that purchased,

• Hotel accommodations
• A rental car
• Airline tickets

And flew down from New York for the sole purpose of attending a Thursday night at Autogeek. To me that shows both dedication to the craft and passion for the art of polishing paint.

I know of no other forum or garage like ours where the general public and our forum members are welcome to be part of the AG Show Car Makeover Team where whether they are experienced pros or absolute newbies to machine polishing they get to work on a car like you see below.



Pinnacle Black Label Synergy

Also a comment about the new Synergy Wax... this wax goes on easy, dries to a haze in 5-10 minutes and wipes off incredibly easy while leaving that deep, wet shine everyone loves.


On Autogeek.net

Pinnacle Black Label Synergy

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

You know what's easy?

Taking a finish in really bad condition and showing a dramatic before and after by restoring the finish. When the pictures go from really really bad to really really good everyone is impressed. I know I am.


You know what's really hard?

Taking a show car with what most people would consider a show car finish and then taking it to a higher level. Even more important not making any mistakes during the process.

When I first met Harris I told him the finish on his Nova looked very good but there was still a little room for improvement. I took a few pictures of the condition of the paint during the night at a local car show, the below pictures show the parking lot lights overhead reflecting off the paint on the Nova that night.


The paint on the other hand needs a night at Autogeek's Garage!

The below picture is the full size section cropped out of the resized photo above.

Same here, the below picture is a cropped out full size section of the picture above.

I normally like to take my before pictures with the project car outdoors in full sun with sunlight shining directly down on the paint as this will do a great job of show casing and revealing the true condition of the paint.

Well it was cloudy and raining outside as Harris arrived.

Plan B
I took a few pictures using the overhead florescent lights and then the flash from my camera.

Overhead florescent lights....

The below pictures are the full resolution portions cropped out of the above resized picture.

Camera flash

The below picture is the full resolution portion cropped out of the above resized picture.

As you can see the paint not has the normal wear-n-tear type swirl or cobweb scratches but it also has straight line scratches all running in the same direction.

These straight-line scratches are probably tracers left behind when the car was hand sanded and the compounded and polished.

The word tracer is a term for a straight-line scratch left in the paint when a larger grit particle comes off the sand paper and gets trapped between the sandpaper and the paint. It is then rubbed or ground into the paint in the direction the technician is moving their sanding pad.

My guess is these deeper scratches we found throughout the finish are tracers and tracers are both tricky to remove and bring with them a certain amount of risk.



Diagnosis

The above documents that while looking at this Nova from a few feet a way it looked like it had a really nice, even show car finish, upon closer inspection the paint has a lot of swirls and deeper scratches called tracers that we will need to remove.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Continued....


Contaminated Paint
Yes, even a show car can have contaminated paint!

Besides inspecting the paint for defects like swirls and scratches we also used the Baggie Test to inspect the paint for above surface bonded contaminants like overspray paint, (common problem for "car guys", or tree sap mist, etc.) and we found the entire finish had little tiny bumps all over it.

Since we were going to use the Nanoskin Autoscrub Pads to mechanically decontaminate the paint we had to use a Autogeek Cover-up Towel to cover the scoop and blower from clay lube splatter.

The Baggie Test

Do the Baggie Test to you won car! You might be surprised!
If you want to find out what condition your car's paint is REALLY in then after washing your car or wiping your car's finish clean, simple place your hand inside a clean sandwich baggie and lightly feel the horizontal surfaces of your car's paint. If you feel any type of little bumps or surface texture this is a sing your paint is contaminated.




Detailing Clay
A few of the guys had never used detailing clay and knowing how to use detailing clay is a great skill set to have for taking care of your car's finish. Here's Rob, Harris and Al all using Pinnacle Ultra Poly Detailing Clay and Pinnacle Clay Lube to clay the paint on Harris's Nova.

Nanoskin Autoscrub Pads
An advanced technique to decontaminate paint is to do it by machine using Nanoskin Autoscrub Pads. I teach this technique in all my Detailing Boot Camp Classes which are held three times a year and always fill up.

Just decontaminating the paint actually starts to increase gloss because decontaminating the paint removes surface texture which restores a smooth surface and....

Gloss comes from smoothness....


:xyxthumbs:

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Machine Compounding & Polishing

The prep steps like compounding and polishing, even a little wetsanding for this project, are the most important factors that will determine the end results.

Here's some random shots of the machine work performed. We used a variety of tools, pads and products including,

Tools
Rupes Bigfoot 21
Rupes Bigfoot 15
Rupes Bigfoot Duetto
Rupes Bigfoot Mini
Flex PE14 Rotary Polisher
Griot's Garage 6" DA
Griot's Garage 3" DA
Meguiar's DA
Porter Cable DA

Compounds & Polishes
Pinnacle Advanced Swirl Remover
Pinnacle Advanced Finishing Polish
Rupes Zephir Gloss Coarse Compound
Rupes Diamond Ultra Fine Polish
Meguiar's M100

After the correction step there was a quick lesson on correct technique for how to do the polishing step...

 

[boomer1649]

Re: Sign-up: 1966 Nova Pro Touring - Thursday, March 27th 2014

Mike, another interesting and learning night as always, example: using two different products and pads to accomplish the same result so newer people can work on a show car and not worry about doing any harm. Being new to detailing what was most interesting about new attendees was how many folks who have been around cars for years have not been exposed to your techniques. The upside to that is there's a huge opportunity out there if cloning is possible! Den

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Mike, another interesting and learning night as always, example: using two different products and pads to accomplish the same result so newer people can work on a show car and not worry about doing any harm.

Being new to detailing what was most interesting about new attendees was how many folks who have been around cars for years have not been exposed to your techniques. The upside to that is there's a huge opportunity out there if cloning is possible! �� Den

Good observations...

We had 3-4 new people attend last night and three of these people had never used detailing clay nor even seen nor heard of the tools, pads and products we used.

I would call the paint on this Nova on the hard side and there were a lot of deeper scratches like tracers.


:xyxthumbs:

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Machine Waxing

Next step... seal the paint with Pinnacle Black Label Synergy

Most people hand apply their waxes but I'm a machine guy. By this I mean I try to do EVERY step by machine and the reason why is because the human hand cannot compete with a machine when it comes to creating the best results. Period.


First a quick lesson on how to machine apply a wax using the Griot's Garage 3" Mini Polisher with Rupes 4" white foam finishing pads....

Here's the owner machine applying Synergy....

Here's Denis machine applying Synergy while his brother Matt watches.... these two brothers flew to Stuart, Florida from New York just to be a part of this project.

Dry to a haze
These next pictures show a thin machine applied coat of Synergy drying. This wax needs to dry to a haze before removing.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Microfiber towels and microfiber gloves....

The gloves help you to grip the microfiber towels effortlessly and also prevent finger smudges from getting on the car.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

And here are the results....

Here's the after pictures....

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Prep work is the key to any show car finish but just as important is to use a high quality car wax that will not only seal the surface and protect it but build-off the results created in the compounding and polishing processes and then take the paint to its maximum potential.....

To seal this paint and create the deep, wet shine we used Black Label Synergy

On Autogeek.net


Pinnacle Black Label Synergy

Simply amazing is the only way to describe the fluid, shimmering gloss that Black Label Synergy - the first and only paste wax that fuses nano-glass ceramic particles with No. 1 Brazilian Carnauba Wax - imparts on your vehicle. Formulated using the same nano-glass ceramic particles found in Black Label’s line of Diamond Surface Coatings, Synergy combines Pinnacle’s proprietary blend of Carnauba wax with the most advanced synthetic ingredients available. This synthesis of gloss-enhancing ingredients creates an incredibly glassy, reflective finish that shines like a diamond.

Synergy represents the cooperative action of state-of-the-art nano-glass ceramic particles with all-natural Carnauba wax, providing incredible paint protection, a superior water contact angle, and a remarkable shine that will take your breath away. Black Label Synergy is the element of shine.

Pinnacle has been a name that’s synonymous with Carnauba wax since the brand’s inception over twenty years ago. Through years of careful research and development, Pinnacle has pioneered a refining process that creates the purest of Carnauba waxes - ivory Carnauba wax. You’ll recognize this as the main ingredient in Souveran Paste Wax, a wax that has won more awards than any other car wax. Synergy takes ingredients once reserved for only the finest Carnauba waxes and combines them with exclusive nano-glass particles to create unmatched clarity, depth, and protection.

Pinnacle Black Label Synergy​

:dblthumb2:

 

[VISITOR]

hey mike, how do you like the rupes duetto so far?

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

And here's the AG Team that did the magic minus Den,
(Den is the guy that owns the way cool black 1969 GTO that won best of show at this years' Detail Fest)

Here's Den removing swirls and scratches with a Rupes 21

Special thanks to Denis and Matt who flew here all the way from New York just to be a part of this project. Very cool guys!


Here's Denis machine applying Synergy while his brother Matt watches....

Matt, me and Denis...

A couple signed copies of my how-to book as the Long Distance Award.

Any questions, comments?

 

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

That classic Nova looks outstanding! The gloss and reflections are mind blowing!

Beautiful work gentlemen!

 

[Bob57]

Looks beautiful!

 

[alfortuna]

Great result and an excellent training session, Mike. It was a real pleasure to see such a deep and brilliant gloss emerge from that finish. Synergy is on my wish-list. Thanks to Mike and the crew for an enjoyable evening. Thanks for the pizza, Harris. See you next time.

Al Fortuna

 

[Wes Bremec]

Beautiful work Guys!!!!!!

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

hey mike, how do you like the rupes duetto so far?

I like it. I tend to grab it before I grab the Bigfoot 15 or 21 mostly because it's shaped like a Porter Cable and I like that shape design for a paint polisher.

I've had the prototype of the Duetto and the Mini since April of 2013 so I've had a chance to buff out a few cars including my truck.

 

[NIKIGUNZ]

Hey just gotta say that night went perfect, we had a great time learned about some new products and how to apply them. We met some cool people and as always we created a work of art at Autogeek where all the action is at. Always a pleasure to come and help out Mike.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

That classic Nova looks outstanding! The gloss and reflections are mind blowing!

Beautiful work gentlemen!

Check out the video I added to the first post in this thread, for an iPhone video it really does a good job of capturing just how nice the paint came out on this Nova.

Looks beautiful!

On behalf of all the guys.... thank you.

Great result and an excellent training session, Mike. It was a real pleasure to see such a deep and brilliant gloss emerge from that finish.

Synergy is on my wish-list.


Al Fortuna

Thanks for helping out Al and thank you for helping some of the others that were with us that night...


Each one teach one...



:dblthumb2:

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

I always have people ask me to take a video of the cool cars we buff out here so they can hear the engine.

Here you go...

Hear this Blown 1966 Nova detailed at Autogeek ​

[video=youtube_share;wI_a6nQBgGM"]Hear this Blown 1966 Nova detailed at Autogeek[/video]


:xyxthumbs: