Mike Phillips
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Ceramic Coating & Paint Correction 1932 Ford Roadster
- Thread starter Mike Phillips
- Start date
Mike Phillips
Active member
- Dec 5, 2022
- 51,004
- 7
- Thread starter
- #2
Continued....
How to remove painted on pinstripes
This is not for the faint-of-heart or anyone with a shaky hand.
It also helps a LOT to have new, fresh blades. A super sharp blade will more easily slice the pinstripe paint off than a dull blade. It's the dull blade that will tend to want to dig-into the base layer of paint.
Here's a video on my Facebook page that shows the painted pinstripes being removed.
Mike Phillips - These are PAINTED ON PINSTRIPES - NOT...
Most of the paint on the radiator cowl came off via the razor blade.
For some stubborn areas I softened the pinstripe paint with some Nail Polish Remover.
Tops of hood and radiator shroud done.
Next up - removing the painted pinstripes off the louvers on the side of the hood and the body and door.
The video link I shared above walks you through how to do this. Just be careful - especially if it's someone else's streetrod.
Done. All painted-on pinstripes removed.
Next - Remove the pinstripes off of the body panel under the Rumble Seat.
(I removed the pinstripes off the Rumble Seat before taking any pictures of the process)
This was some fairly thick paint.
I had to soften some of it with some Nail Polish Remover.
Using a paint touch-up brush I carefully paint some Nail Polish Remover onto the pinstripe paint.
The Nail Polish Remover softens the paint and makes it easier to scrape off the body panel paint. (you still have to be very careful)
I don't know Mackie, but he's very talented. Apologies sir for removing your art work.
BOOM! Done.
If you look carefully, you can see where I compounded JUST the paint on the Rumble Seat where I removed the pinstripes. The paint was not only contaminated with some type of overspray or other bonded contaminants but it was also STAINED. Before buffing out the car there was a brownish color over the paint. After buffing the car out the dirt staining was removed to reveal a much brighter color of blue.
This is after removing all the painted-on pinstripes but before paint correction and ceramic coating.
I saved a portion of the pinstripes removed off the car.
How to remove painted on pinstripes
This is not for the faint-of-heart or anyone with a shaky hand.
It also helps a LOT to have new, fresh blades. A super sharp blade will more easily slice the pinstripe paint off than a dull blade. It's the dull blade that will tend to want to dig-into the base layer of paint.
Here's a video on my Facebook page that shows the painted pinstripes being removed.
Mike Phillips - These are PAINTED ON PINSTRIPES - NOT...
Most of the paint on the radiator cowl came off via the razor blade.
For some stubborn areas I softened the pinstripe paint with some Nail Polish Remover.
Tops of hood and radiator shroud done.
Next up - removing the painted pinstripes off the louvers on the side of the hood and the body and door.
The video link I shared above walks you through how to do this. Just be careful - especially if it's someone else's streetrod.
Done. All painted-on pinstripes removed.
Next - Remove the pinstripes off of the body panel under the Rumble Seat.
(I removed the pinstripes off the Rumble Seat before taking any pictures of the process)
This was some fairly thick paint.
I had to soften some of it with some Nail Polish Remover.
Using a paint touch-up brush I carefully paint some Nail Polish Remover onto the pinstripe paint.
The Nail Polish Remover softens the paint and makes it easier to scrape off the body panel paint. (you still have to be very careful)
I don't know Mackie, but he's very talented. Apologies sir for removing your art work.
BOOM! Done.
If you look carefully, you can see where I compounded JUST the paint on the Rumble Seat where I removed the pinstripes. The paint was not only contaminated with some type of overspray or other bonded contaminants but it was also STAINED. Before buffing out the car there was a brownish color over the paint. After buffing the car out the dirt staining was removed to reveal a much brighter color of blue.
This is after removing all the painted-on pinstripes but before paint correction and ceramic coating.
I saved a portion of the pinstripes removed off the car.
Mike Phillips
Active member
- Dec 5, 2022
- 51,004
- 7
- Thread starter
- #3
Continued....
Test Spot
I'm always preaching and teaching how important it is to do a Test Spot BEFORE buffing out the entire car and I practice what I preach.
Process
For this I tested the Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover. This is a MEDIUM CUT polish. Not quite a compound but a lot more correction ability than a Fine Cut Polish.
I used the TSR with a 7" RUPES yellow foam polishing pad on the FLEX Supa Beast on Speed 6 for about 8 section passes.
You can EASILY see how this restored clarity to the paint.
Here's a swirl finder light showing BEFORE condition.
Here's the after results.
How to tape off a convertible top
Before buffing out the body panels, I first used some 3M painter's tape to tape-off and protect the black CANVAS i.e. CLOTH top. If you don't do this and accidentally get compound or polish splatter onto the top and it's going to be a real pain in the butt to get it out of the WEAVE of the cloth.
Ready for Paint Correction
Sorry no pictures of me doing the work but I was the only guy behind the buffer.
Supa BEAST = 8mm Gear-Driven Orbital Polisher
NOTE: The black marks on the side of the pads are for when I use these pads on FREE SPINNING random orbital polishers. The Supa BEAST is an 8mm gear-driven orbital polisher and there is ZERO pad stalling so for a gear-driven tool you don't need to mark your pads. It does help though when using free spinning tool to make it easier for your eyeballs to see and monitor pad rotation or pad stalling.
This is the right amount of product when starting out with a clean, DRY pad. I don't prime foam pads, and just goop-n-go.
Test Spot
I'm always preaching and teaching how important it is to do a Test Spot BEFORE buffing out the entire car and I practice what I preach.
Process
For this I tested the Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover. This is a MEDIUM CUT polish. Not quite a compound but a lot more correction ability than a Fine Cut Polish.
I used the TSR with a 7" RUPES yellow foam polishing pad on the FLEX Supa Beast on Speed 6 for about 8 section passes.
You can EASILY see how this restored clarity to the paint.
Here's a swirl finder light showing BEFORE condition.
Here's the after results.
How to tape off a convertible top
Before buffing out the body panels, I first used some 3M painter's tape to tape-off and protect the black CANVAS i.e. CLOTH top. If you don't do this and accidentally get compound or polish splatter onto the top and it's going to be a real pain in the butt to get it out of the WEAVE of the cloth.
Ready for Paint Correction
Sorry no pictures of me doing the work but I was the only guy behind the buffer.
Supa BEAST = 8mm Gear-Driven Orbital Polisher
NOTE: The black marks on the side of the pads are for when I use these pads on FREE SPINNING random orbital polishers. The Supa BEAST is an 8mm gear-driven orbital polisher and there is ZERO pad stalling so for a gear-driven tool you don't need to mark your pads. It does help though when using free spinning tool to make it easier for your eyeballs to see and monitor pad rotation or pad stalling.
This is the right amount of product when starting out with a clean, DRY pad. I don't prime foam pads, and just goop-n-go.
Mike Phillips
Active member
- Dec 5, 2022
- 51,004
- 7
- Thread starter
- #4
Continued....
How to do paint correction to louvers
This is a real pain in the rear but - it has to be done. Basically there are 2 ways to do this and neither are fast and easy but if you take your time you can get great results either way.
1: Work by hand.
2: Work by machine
Either approach is still risky as the paint on the EDGE of the louvers is THIN and if you rub too hard by hand or run the buffing pad over the edge you can easily buff through or BURN through the paint.
This is a folding hood holder, it holds the hood up for when you need to work on the engine.
While the hood holder does hold up the hood, when working on these types of cars I also stack up a few microfiber towels between the hood and the body panel just in-case.
Here's the sharp, thin edge you have to be careful of when working on louvers.
Besides the louvers there are 2 latch fittings to clean-up.
And each side of the hood panel has a handle.
Autogeek's Cover-up Towels
Because I'll be using a rotary polisher and rotary polishers do tend to sling a little product due to centrifugal force, before starting I placed some Autogeek Cover-up Towels over the front of the canvas top just to ensure no "splatter dots" of compound or cleaner/wax sling onto the top. This not only protects the top from the splatter dots, it also protects the top from me having to SCRUB on the top with a toothbrush because there won't be anything to scrub. Scrubbing on canvas tops tends to make the top fuzzy. Not good. Also I'm lazy by nature thus you see me use these cover-up towels for a lot of my detailing projects.
Finger Painting Technique
I use the finger painting technique for all types of detailing. Here's a video I made that walks you through the process.
Mike Phillips - How to compound and seal louvers!
Here's how I use the finger painting technique for louvers.
First pour out the product you're going to use onto a clean place on a nearby panel that you can draw from. Then poke your finger into the pile of product and gather some up.
Then PAINT the product onto the area you're going to work on.
Technique Tip
Coat all the louvers with product using the finger painting technique. This way it will be easy to see which louvers you've worked and which lovers still need paint correction.
Working by hand
First apply some product to the edge of a microfiber applicator product.
Then using your fingertips press the microfiber applicator pad against the flat spot of the louver and rub like a mad-man. Be careful NOT to press against the edges.
Working by machine
The only safe way I know how to do this via a 1" buffing pad on the RUPES Nano. I prefer the long neck but feel free to use the short neck - they will both work.
Angry Nano!
IMPORTANT
Always use both hands to hold and guide the Nano when working on intricate panels like louvers. I'm only using one hand because the other hand is taking the picture.
Tools used for louvers
In the shot below you can see the tools, products and pad I used.
2-step approach - No coating
After compounding the louvers with the 1" yellow pads I went back over them using the BLACKFIRE One Step and the soft RUPES 1" white foam pads. When doing this, the BF One Step acts like a "polish" to refine the results from the compound and becase it has a "sealant" in it also - it seals the paint to protect it and make cleaning easier and faster plus amps-up the gloss and shine.
Breaking all the rules
Now read this and follow the rules.
DON'T USE PADS LARGER THAN 1" ON THE NANO OR THE PiXiE WHEN THE TOOL IS IN ROTARY MODE
Why?
Because the larger size of the pad means the outer edge of the pad will be spinning incredibly fast and you can EASILY burn through paint. Yours truly has been there and done that and then had a side mirror on a Porsche repainted. Ouch.
That said, I'm going to break this rule and use a 2" Griot's BOSS black foam finishing pad to do some machine work using the BLACKFIRE One Step cleaner/sealant on SPEED 1 on the Nano. Using this tool with this pad and this product will be safe with a little help from experience and a careful touch.
Done.
While the hood is up and did a little clean-up here and there on the frame rails.
To start out with the RUPES Nano you really need to get the full kit and that's just a tick under $600.00 - there are some minimal kits available but I don't see one with the rotary drive unit and the 1" backing plate and that's about the only way I use this tool.
Louver Paint Correction - Passenger Side
Just repeat the process to the other side.
Done!
In my opinion, this car and this color of paint look so much better without the pinstripe flames.
How to do paint correction to louvers
This is a real pain in the rear but - it has to be done. Basically there are 2 ways to do this and neither are fast and easy but if you take your time you can get great results either way.
1: Work by hand.
2: Work by machine
Either approach is still risky as the paint on the EDGE of the louvers is THIN and if you rub too hard by hand or run the buffing pad over the edge you can easily buff through or BURN through the paint.
This is a folding hood holder, it holds the hood up for when you need to work on the engine.
While the hood holder does hold up the hood, when working on these types of cars I also stack up a few microfiber towels between the hood and the body panel just in-case.
Here's the sharp, thin edge you have to be careful of when working on louvers.
Besides the louvers there are 2 latch fittings to clean-up.
And each side of the hood panel has a handle.
Autogeek's Cover-up Towels
Because I'll be using a rotary polisher and rotary polishers do tend to sling a little product due to centrifugal force, before starting I placed some Autogeek Cover-up Towels over the front of the canvas top just to ensure no "splatter dots" of compound or cleaner/wax sling onto the top. This not only protects the top from the splatter dots, it also protects the top from me having to SCRUB on the top with a toothbrush because there won't be anything to scrub. Scrubbing on canvas tops tends to make the top fuzzy. Not good. Also I'm lazy by nature thus you see me use these cover-up towels for a lot of my detailing projects.
Finger Painting Technique
I use the finger painting technique for all types of detailing. Here's a video I made that walks you through the process.
Mike Phillips - How to compound and seal louvers!
Here's how I use the finger painting technique for louvers.
First pour out the product you're going to use onto a clean place on a nearby panel that you can draw from. Then poke your finger into the pile of product and gather some up.
Then PAINT the product onto the area you're going to work on.
Technique Tip
Coat all the louvers with product using the finger painting technique. This way it will be easy to see which louvers you've worked and which lovers still need paint correction.
Working by hand
First apply some product to the edge of a microfiber applicator product.
Then using your fingertips press the microfiber applicator pad against the flat spot of the louver and rub like a mad-man. Be careful NOT to press against the edges.
Working by machine
The only safe way I know how to do this via a 1" buffing pad on the RUPES Nano. I prefer the long neck but feel free to use the short neck - they will both work.
Angry Nano!
IMPORTANT
Always use both hands to hold and guide the Nano when working on intricate panels like louvers. I'm only using one hand because the other hand is taking the picture.
Tools used for louvers
In the shot below you can see the tools, products and pad I used.
2-step approach - No coating
After compounding the louvers with the 1" yellow pads I went back over them using the BLACKFIRE One Step and the soft RUPES 1" white foam pads. When doing this, the BF One Step acts like a "polish" to refine the results from the compound and becase it has a "sealant" in it also - it seals the paint to protect it and make cleaning easier and faster plus amps-up the gloss and shine.
Breaking all the rules
Now read this and follow the rules.
DON'T USE PADS LARGER THAN 1" ON THE NANO OR THE PiXiE WHEN THE TOOL IS IN ROTARY MODE
Why?
Because the larger size of the pad means the outer edge of the pad will be spinning incredibly fast and you can EASILY burn through paint. Yours truly has been there and done that and then had a side mirror on a Porsche repainted. Ouch.
That said, I'm going to break this rule and use a 2" Griot's BOSS black foam finishing pad to do some machine work using the BLACKFIRE One Step cleaner/sealant on SPEED 1 on the Nano. Using this tool with this pad and this product will be safe with a little help from experience and a careful touch.
Done.
While the hood is up and did a little clean-up here and there on the frame rails.
To start out with the RUPES Nano you really need to get the full kit and that's just a tick under $600.00 - there are some minimal kits available but I don't see one with the rotary drive unit and the 1" backing plate and that's about the only way I use this tool.
Louver Paint Correction - Passenger Side
Just repeat the process to the other side.
Done!
In my opinion, this car and this color of paint look so much better without the pinstripe flames.
Mike Phillips
Active member
- Dec 5, 2022
- 51,004
- 7
- Thread starter
- #5
Continued....
Tools, pads and products
Here's everything I used except the Cobra 530 Grey microfiber towels, which I used for the waterless wash and wiping off the clay lube residue.
Gold Plus Jr. 16x16 towels for wiping off compound and polish.
Glass Cleaner used for waterless wash, clay lube, Nail Polish Remover, Uber Compound, Total Swirl Remover and BLACKFIRE One Step plus the Wolfgang clay.
LOTS 'O PADS
You need more than 1 pad to buff out a car -Mike Phillips
I say the above so often I might as well make it a quote and it's true. Looks like I used 7 RUPES 7" yellow foam polishing pads, a couple of FLEX 3.5" foam polishing pads, 2 RUPES 1" yellow pads, 1 RUPES 1" white foam pad and 1 Griot's BOSS 2" black foam finishing pad.
LOTS 'O TOWELS
You need lots of high quality towels to detail a car and especially when dong show car work or installing ceramic coatings.
These are the Grey Legless Microfiber towels. These are like the Forrest Green edgeless towels I often show just grey. The have a flat weave, which in my experience helps to prevent contamination form sharp pokey particulates and I like this in a "paint care" towel.
Tools, pads and products
Here's everything I used except the Cobra 530 Grey microfiber towels, which I used for the waterless wash and wiping off the clay lube residue.
Gold Plus Jr. 16x16 towels for wiping off compound and polish.
Glass Cleaner used for waterless wash, clay lube, Nail Polish Remover, Uber Compound, Total Swirl Remover and BLACKFIRE One Step plus the Wolfgang clay.
LOTS 'O PADS
You need more than 1 pad to buff out a car -Mike Phillips
I say the above so often I might as well make it a quote and it's true. Looks like I used 7 RUPES 7" yellow foam polishing pads, a couple of FLEX 3.5" foam polishing pads, 2 RUPES 1" yellow pads, 1 RUPES 1" white foam pad and 1 Griot's BOSS 2" black foam finishing pad.
LOTS 'O TOWELS
You need lots of high quality towels to detail a car and especially when dong show car work or installing ceramic coatings.
These are the Grey Legless Microfiber towels. These are like the Forrest Green edgeless towels I often show just grey. The have a flat weave, which in my experience helps to prevent contamination form sharp pokey particulates and I like this in a "paint care" towel.
Mike Phillips
Active member
- Dec 5, 2022
- 51,004
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- Thread starter
- #6
Continued....
Swirls B Gone!
The below pictures are duplicates of the pictures shown in the first post of this thread to photo-document the swirls be gone.
And the pinstripes be gone too.
Swirls B Gone!
The below pictures are duplicates of the pictures shown in the first post of this thread to photo-document the swirls be gone.
And the pinstripes be gone too.
Mike Phillips
Active member
- Dec 5, 2022
- 51,004
- 7
- Thread starter
- #7
Continued....
Final results...
Ivan Carstuff approves
I used the brand new Wolfgang PROFI Ceramic Coating. This is a really nice Pro-Quality Ceramic Paint Coating that is easy enough to use anyone can get pro results their first time. AND - you can use it on any car or paint.
Now this looks tight. And so much better without the pinstripes.
On Autogeek.com
Wolfgang PROFI Ceramic Coating
Quality Microfiber Towels
You're going to need lots of towels if you're going to detail your own cars. Below is the link to a really nice towel that I personally like and prefer for anytime I'm working on modern clearcoats. The first link takes you to a single towel, the second link takes you to a 12-pack. If your budget allows, I recommend getting two 12-packs. This will get you 24 high quality towels all of the same type. Then you can wash and dry together, (by themselves), store in a clean place and DEDICATE these towels for ONLY working on your car's paint. This is real important.
Cobra Storm Gray Edgeless Microfiber Polishing Cloth - 1 towel
Cobra Storm Gray Edgeless Microfiber Polishing Cloth - 12 Pack
I'll add the links to the rest of the pads, products and tools I used below tomorrow.
Final results...
Ivan Carstuff approves
I used the brand new Wolfgang PROFI Ceramic Coating. This is a really nice Pro-Quality Ceramic Paint Coating that is easy enough to use anyone can get pro results their first time. AND - you can use it on any car or paint.
Now this looks tight. And so much better without the pinstripes.
On Autogeek.com
Wolfgang PROFI Ceramic Coating
Quality Microfiber Towels
You're going to need lots of towels if you're going to detail your own cars. Below is the link to a really nice towel that I personally like and prefer for anytime I'm working on modern clearcoats. The first link takes you to a single towel, the second link takes you to a 12-pack. If your budget allows, I recommend getting two 12-packs. This will get you 24 high quality towels all of the same type. Then you can wash and dry together, (by themselves), store in a clean place and DEDICATE these towels for ONLY working on your car's paint. This is real important.
Cobra Storm Gray Edgeless Microfiber Polishing Cloth - 1 towel
Cobra Storm Gray Edgeless Microfiber Polishing Cloth - 12 Pack
I'll add the links to the rest of the pads, products and tools I used below tomorrow.
Mike Phillips
Active member
- Dec 5, 2022
- 51,004
- 7
- Thread starter
- #8
Here's the link to my review for the new PROFI Ceramic Coating - it walks you through the steps to use this product.
Review: Wolfgang PROFI Ceramic Coating
Wolfgang PROFI Ceramic Coating
Review: Wolfgang PROFI Ceramic Coating
Wolfgang PROFI Ceramic Coating
Mike Phillips
Active member
- Dec 5, 2022
- 51,004
- 7
- Thread starter
- #9
Continued....
This space saved for the AFTER pictures for the wheels and tires
This space saved for the AFTER pictures for the wheels and tires
Wow this is superb work Mike, you and Yvan Lacoix are the only two that I would trust to take a razor blade to my paint (only two that I have seen doing that technique anyway).
Looking just ready to sale the car, the buyer should be happy with the results.
Looking just ready to sale the car, the buyer should be happy with the results.
Mike Phillips
Active member
- Dec 5, 2022
- 51,004
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- Thread starter
- #11
The video of the razor blade slicing over the hood has over 5000 hits on my FB page. Lots of comments.
It's actually pretty easy to do but a new blade works best. Also, as soon as you start using the blade it gets a curve to it. I didn't show it but I put a black mark on the up side so I could easily see which side is the down side. Once the blade gets a curve to it, if you use the wrong side against the paint you can feel the corners catch the paint.
It will look better after I finish polishing the other 3 wheels and we coat the tires. Here's how they look right now.
Mike Phillips
Active member
- Dec 5, 2022
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