1999 Black Cobra Paint Correction

danponjican

danponjican

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To start we have a 1999 Ford Mustang Cobra with pretty neglected paint. (This owner must be too busy in life to keep this car nice - shame shame). Plenty of scratches, water etching, oxidation and swirlies. This is really my first time attempting something at this level so I have been trying several different methods, tools, chemicals and techniques to get this car looking hopefully 80-90%. I welcome your comments and/or suggestion as I go through this project; and that is exactly what this will be, a project. I am not anticipating finishing this in a day or even in a couple of days. I live a very busy lifestyle and will probably tackle this car in pieces.

Here what I started with...

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After a quick wash we see what exactly we are dealing with...

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Next step will be clay.
 
Looks like you have some work to do heheh cant wait to see the finshed product
 
I agree, you got your work cut out. The car should look amazing when your done with it, just take your time don't rush it and enjoy it.

Looking forward to the final product and pictures, don't forget the pictures.
 
I've heard decent reviews of the Mother's Clay Bar system so I decided to give it a shot.

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Does this look on par for the condition of the paint? (i.e. residue on the clay)

Ready to compound.

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I started with Optimum compound with a Speedy Foam yellow pad running on a Ryobi DA.

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Looking back, I'm not sure if I allowed the OC to break down enough... what do you think?

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At this point I realized this was going to take some serious work! So I tried a pass with 3M Perfet-It compound. I could right away tell that this stuff was much more abrassive than the OC. Although it didn't have the workability of the OC. It dried out faster and started to dust. It also left more hazing than the OC (probably because it had more cutting power).

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Results after the 3M compound (yes the fender is a differnet shade... it was replaced from another black mustang. Apparently, not the exact same black).
 
ouch, youre starting off as the underdog! good luck, with time your ride will be looking greatr, then all youve got to do is keep it up.

In all honesty, you need a buffer that has adjustable speeds, or least high speeds. That ryobi is not going to get fast enough to make enough heat to properly break the polishes down. I can speak for sure, but you are going to see a lot more swirls and holograms than you started with.
 
Next step was a pass with SSR1 with a black Speedy Foam pad on the Ryobi DA.

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To the left is the un-polished area.

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(In case you are wondering - yes this is the next day) Sorry for all the different lighting. It definitely is difficult to compare with these pictures when the lighting changes so drastically. Imperfections definitely are more visible in low light with a halogen (I wish I had a garage!).
 
So after doing the hood and one fender (passenger side) I wasn't too thrilled with my results thus far.

bambo2888, yes you are right to a point. The Ryobi is a great little tool, but it's in over its head for this project. Honestly, I think a PC would be at this point as well. I'm sure it would help but ultimately, the rotary gets comissioned for this car (read on).

I still had some deeper imperfections so out comes the 2000 grit paper!
(I know, I've got balls! Im the MAN)

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I was actually almost happier with this result than everything else! I was suprised to see how easy the OC got rid of the 2000 grit sanding scratches.
 
So as some may have read in my other posts, I picked up a rotary for a great deal at Harbor Freight.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/65687-post28.html

So I tried it yesteryday (yeah I know, I should have practiced on that spare fender I have... but like I said before, I was feeling brave!)

Overall, I am very pleased. I didn't burn anything, I didn't swirl anything and the results were better than I was getting with the DA. I can definitely see how it is going to take a lot of practice to get it down, but I don't think I am in danger of damaging the paint. I will say, I can see how it would be easy for someone to do some serious damage with a rotary. I count myself as above average in my mechanical appitude (I am a Mechanical Engineer by trade and a car enthuisist for years) which helps me. But you definitely have to pay much more attention to what you are doing with a rotary compared to using a DA. With the DA, just turn it on and whistle while you work. For me, the rotary took all my concentration to keep the pad level and not the splatter polish everywhere!

Okay on with the pictures!

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I started using it with the same pad/compound combo that I was using with the DA. Later I discovered that the power of the rotary allowed me to use a white pad with the SSR1 and acheive almost the same results as yellow pad/OC followed with black pad/SSR1. I reverted to using the yellow pad with the OC only in problem areas and polished the better areas with just a white pad and the SSR1 on the rotary.

Next step... major problem areas!
 
You do have some balls to pull that thing out w/o pratice and to wetsand it right off the bat!
 
This is the area under the fuel fill door. I didn't even realize how many scratches were here until I approached it with the polish.

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Out comes the 2000 gritty!

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Everbody say hello to my wife :)

Same as before, except now with the rotary. OC with a black pad...

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Then polish with SSR1 and the white pad.

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Not bad for a rookie.
 
Nuke33 said:
You do have some balls to pull that thing out w/o pratice and to wetsand it right off the bat!
Click to expand...

:iagree: I'll wetsand on my beater bofore I try it on any other vehicle.

Good job buddy :applause:
 
Not bad at all hehe looks great! great write up!
 
I think this is where my abilities runs out... WATER ETCHING! That stuff is harder to deal with than scratches! So here's where it is REALLY bad.

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I think the culprit here is the shape of the rear spoiler. It is concave and holds water in it longer than anywhere else on the car. Bad news for the finish!

To be honest I'm not sure exactly what steps are done in the following pictures, but the bottom line is in the fight of Water Etching vs. Dan... lets just say I didn't end the night with my hand raised. :mad:

I first just tried the SSR1 with a white pad on the rotary.

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Not very good.

Then I threw the OC with the yellow pad on there and even tried to sand in a small spot.

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When I was sanding I can literally see the depth of the etching. I could see the progress as I slowly removed clear coat. I was approaching the bottom of the etching, but my balls expired and I got afraid to remove too much clear coat and quit. I'm tempted to come back again and sand her properly, but I don't know. This car is certainly not in showroom condition. I've already decided that she'll get repainted in the next couple years, so maybe it's worth the try. I'll see how I feel later this week :D.

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That's as far as i got.


Comments
I really like the white pad with the SSR1 on the rotary. Decent cutting power and it leaves a finished gloss. The only problem I had was that the SSR1 would gum up sometimes. I think this is because I would apply uneven pressure at some points and leave a thick streak on the polish. I was very careful to monitor the surface temperature as I used the rotary. It never got past luke-warm.

The OC with the yellow pad was a little difficult to work with on the rotary at times. Mostly due to the fact that it was more liquidy than the SSR1. My SSR1 was the consistency of tooth paste where the OC was more like ranch dressing. The OC was more prone to splattering. Plus I felt like I was never using enough because it would disappear/breakdown what seemed like way too quickly. I need to experiment more with this to judge it properly.

I love the Lake Country 6.5" Curved Edge Variable Contact Pads on the rotary. The crevice in the middle definitely helped prevent splatter. I held the polish in the middle and distributed it properly. Unfortunately I only have a blue LC pad that I was using for the glaze (ClearKote Red Moose Machine Glaze). I think I will invest in a orange and maybe a white pad in this variety.

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bambo2888 said:
the car looks 100% better than when you started. nice job.
Click to expand...

You're very kind. Maybe not 100%, but a lot pretty indeed. Hopefully as I learn, I'll get her looking 100%.
 
Looking good. Reminds me of the AC/DC song, "Ive got big balls, youve got big balls, weve got the biggest balls of them all". :applause:
 
Looks really good, you are sure making a difference on the vehicle.

Thanks for sharing the process and the pictures...didn't see your wife properly...so can't comment on how cute she is hahaha joking.
 
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