1972 Challenger - Foam Pads - Meguiar's Microfiber Compound & Polish/Wax - Single Stage Black Paint

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Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.

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1972 Challenger - Foam Pads - Meguiar's Microfiber Compound & Polish/Wax - Single Stage Black Paint

After shooting the features for our new TV show I had some shiny spots on this 1972 Challenger so I needed to finish the car and give it a uniform appearance. This meant removing the swirls.

I read some posts with forum members wondering how the new Compound and Polish/Wax in Meguiar's DA Microfiber System would work with foam pads and also on single stage paint...

Since I had the perfect candidate... here you go...

Before
The first few were taken with my iphone... the others with my Rebel

iPhone Pictures
1972Challenger003.jpg


1972Challenger005.jpg


1972Challenger006.jpg


1972Challenger007.jpg



The rest of the pictures are all from the Canon Rebel
1972Challenger008.jpg



Lake Country 5.5" Foam Polishing Pad on Griot's Garage DA Polisher with D300 Compound
1972Challenger009.jpg



Here you can see black pigment building up on the face of the foam pad...
1972Challenger010.jpg



Fast forward... D301 Polish/Wax drying... I used a Lake Country Crimson Finishing Pad to apply it. Microfiber Gloves and Microfiber Towel ready to go...
1972Challenger011.jpg


1972Challenger012.jpg



Finished Results...
1972Challenger013.jpg


1972Challenger014.jpg


1972Challenger015.jpg



It actually worked very good but black single stage paint is usually the softest paint there is to work on so keep that in context of the pads I used.


:)
 
Mike, that is one of the clearest/cleanest reflections I have ever seen!!! Ever!


I definitely want to pick up a 16oz size of that compound.
 
It's always nice when you can see the reflection of things in the background...through the reflection of the paint. Nice work! I would love to get some of those pretty cars you get! You're spoiled Mike! :dblthumb2:
 
Woooow. Now I'm regretting that I only ordered 16 oz. of each of the "Double D's" in my pre-order.
 
Looks great, Mike! On the areas that you had to hand polish, did you use the 300/301 and how did you apply if so? And thoughts on hand worked areas if applicable! Thanks
 
wow it's so wet!!!!!

That looks amazing Mike
 
That car is one sweet ride, I walked by it several times thinking of a quick spin in it!! Paint looks amazing now!
 
Dude! That really is one of the most awesome reflections I have ever seen.

Now I am going to have to try this when I buy this stuff.
 
Vehicle looks awesome! Glad to see that you are playing with the compounds seperate from the pads. If there is any part of this kit that I will pick up with will be the compound. good work.
 
Took me about 6 hours not including washing the car plus the wheels and tires. The wheels and tires were pretty grungy when it arrived. Nick helped with that, thanks Nick! :xyxthumbs:


This car belongs to my friend Mario who has a number of muscle cars and this one is usually parked outside all the time and sometimes parked at different locations around Stuart with a for sale sign on it. So it's not going to go back into a covered parking area or garage.

When it comes to detailing a car, the first thing most detailing classes or instructors, or polish manufacturers teach people to do is to evaluate the finish to determine what is needed to correct the paint.

What I always teach people is to evaluate the customer and match your services to their needs and wants, in other words, don't put a show car finish on a daily driver grocery getter or on a car that the owner cannot or will not be able to maintain properly. See this article,

A few tips on starting a part-time detailing business


Knowing this car is not kept under cover and is for sale I didn't aim for a show car finish but instead just a very good finish. It came to us filled with car wash scratches, toweling marks and swirls instilled by a wool pad on a rotary buffer.

It's leaving with about 90% to 95% correction and a very clear, high gloss finish. The paint is incredibly soft, just wiping too hard inflicts scratches, so it's my guestimation that after it leaves here, it will probably be wiped down with spray detailers occasionally and perhaps washed once in a while till a new owner takes possession.

So while all the shallow swirls, scratches and water spots have been removed, there are still some RIDS here and there and that's okay because the thickness of this paint job is suspect.

It was a fun car to buff out, working on single stage paints is so much easier than working on clear coats and of course muscle cars from the 1960's and 1970's don't really have much cursed pebble textured black plastic trim, just beautiful chrome and/or stainless steel trim.

The panels are large and easy to buff out and the only real challenging areas were the read deck spoiler and the scoops and fresh air intake grill on the hood There was already TOGW down inside the fresh air grill, see this article,

Tape it off and avoid a lifetime of ugly...


Sometime today I'll dress the tires and give the car a final wipe and then call Mario and thank him for letting us use his Challenger for our TV Features and let him know he can come get it anytime.

Then I'll see if he wants to bring his 1969 Camaro in for a little jeweling... I'll post a picture of his Camaro sometime today as it's bad to the bone.


:)
 
Spicy McHaggis said:
Vehicle looks awesome! Glad to see that you are playing with the compounds seperate from the pads. If there is any part of this kit that I will pick up with will be the compound. good work.
Click to expand...

The compound, at least in my work environment, has a long long buffing cycle or play time and for the most part very easy wipe-off after applying via foam pads.

The Polish/Wax wipes off as easy as a summer breeze and that's a really nice feature for any product because usually by the time you're done buffing out an entire car you can start to become tired and a wax or sealant that wipes off easy is a real blessing.

:)
 
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
The compound, at least in my work environment, has a long long buffing cycle or play time and for the most part very easy wipe-off after applying via foam pads.

The Polish/Wax wipes off as easy as a summer breeze and that's a really nice feature for any product because usually by the time you're done buffing out an entire car you can start to become tired and a wax or sealant that wipes off easy is a real blessing.

:)
Click to expand...
I am looking forward to the compound so I can have something in between 105 and 205. M105 can just be overkill for some projects and SIP can be a pain to deal with sometimes.

As for the polish wax, I really don't feel I have a use for it since I wipe down with IPA after every correction step. therefore I would be negating, or at least hurting the protection part of that product. Also I am very happy with my current finishing polishes PO85, 106fa, and Ultrafina. :xyxthumbs:
 
Hey Mike, glad to see the experiment ... On the next car do a 50/50 using a Surbuf and the MF pad and compare!
We've all read and I have seen first hand some of the dusting issue with the Surbuf and really anxious to see or hear if the new Compound formula that raves about zero dusting will not dust on the Surbufs
 
Dr Oldz said:
Looks great, Mike! On the areas that you had to hand polish, did you use the 300/301 and how did you apply if so? And thoughts on hand worked areas if applicable! Thanks
Click to expand...

This was a "Big Picture" detail project, that is I focused on the "Big Picture" or in other words the major panels. I call this majoring on the majors and minoring on the minors. So at least at this time I have not polished any of the paint surrounding the license plate or the painted trim around the bumpers, you know the small stuff. I arrived here yesterday at 6:30 am to set up for video work and left last night after midnight so I could have tackled the small stuff but instead called it a day...

How far you go with any detail project goes back to evaluating the customer and matching your services to their needs.


Good question though and I'm pretty sure that the D300 and the D301 would work fine by hand for small tight areas especially if that's all you have. Something's better than nothing...


:)
 
fredcandetail said:
Hey Mike, glad to see the experiment ... On the next car do a 50/50 using a Surbuf and the MF pad and compare!
We've all read and I have seen first hand some of the dusting issue with the Surbuf and really anxious to see or hear if the new Compound formula that raves about zero dusting will not dust on the Surbufs
Click to expand...

I've experienced zero dusting with either of these products. This is the second single stage car I've buffed out using this new Tag Team, the first was this 1959 Cadillac 2-door Coupe de Ville and the paint really reacted well to these two products.

If you look closely, the paint on the passenger side fender is clear and glossy, that's because it was repainted with a basecoat/clearcoat system, the rest of the car has an older single stage paint that has dulled from oxidation and lack of any regular maintenance.

One of my goals was to maximize the gloss and clarity of the single stage paint surrounding the passenger fender so the car would have a uniform, clear, high gloss appearance.

I'll try to do the write-up for this car in the near future, this belonged to the Caddy King and I've heard he's since sold it.


Before
CaddyBeforeAfter01.jpg


After
CaddyBeforeAfter02.jpg




:)
 
Fantastic reflection. I can't wait to try D300.
 
In looking at the first few photos the first thing that popped into my mind was; Brillo Pad! There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to any of the surface defects but one thing I can say for sure is it's in the best finish restoration hospital there is!

Single stage paint can be allot of fun to work with. Single stage paints were all there was back in the day, unless of course the painter, ME, clear coated the color with clear lacquer or DuPont Centari clear enamel.

Several times I sprayed DuPont Centari clear enamel over lacquer because I added a 793 Gloss Hardener which in 24 hours rendered this clear virtually bullet proof. This also allowed me to wet sand the finish in 48 hours and buff to a brilliant shine.

If I remember correctly, while I never tested it, DuPont claimed that once cured battery acid wouldn't even effect the finish.

Great photos of another classic restored to it's proper place in time.

What a nice stroll down memory lane Mike, thank you...:props:
 
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