corvette clear coat sucks! help!!

ltoman said:
:mad:
You are braver than I!!! No way I would try it. :o
But I can make the old (it's not really old, it is a 98- its just his new on is an 06) anyway I could make the nappy green van look great, but overpriced vette is hopeless...lol :confused: I guess I will have to work on it every week for the rest of its life...a this rate I will sell it. j/k Well, good luck in your endeavors as well.:cheers: I am a bit scared of a rotary. I mean how can killerwheels/scott do it with the pc, you know?
Click to expand...

Well since your car is newer than my 01 and so is his I can say that you may have a better chance and I have seen several guys here and other sites use PC and work magic, but the fact is that he has way more detailing experience and frankly the best products in the world wont help you if you dont know EXACTLY how they should be used. He also probably never allowed his car to get to the shape that mine or yours is in. My car has sat in performance shops for 10.5 months out of the last year and it shows. Still beads like nobodies business (thanks Zaino and EXP)

And like I said you could spend hours working one panel and it could turn into days of detailing. The consensus is that with time you can get the same or nearly the same finish with a PC that you can with a Rotary but not nearly as fast and that's what the world is built around today, speed, fast food, fast lane, 60 sec abs etc etc etc, but not all things follow those rules.

I guess it helps to really know your car and what it takes to get it to where you want it to be and I would be willing to bet that even killrwheels can polish his car better now that he could when he first started detailing, or even when he first got the car, time is the best teacher. Take your time and absorb the processes until they are second nature. I am dedicating all this time to a stinkin hood because I want to have not only the products but the process down to a tee when that polisher touches my car, I want the chance for damage to be little to none and the chance for flawelessness to be very high. I have changed my process preferences at least 10 times over the last four days and still havent found the best or fastest one. I want to polish my car like no tommorrow so I wont be wanting to try it again in a month or two and end up over polishing. Until I get this STINKIN HOOD Just about right it's not gonna touch my car.

I would like to see some of the shots that are on here in person because I feel if I looked at them as close as I look at my car I would be able to see more than the pics show. Dont be fooled pics may look perfect but many times they can be far from it if you look close enough. Many cameras adjust to sunlight to block glare and with it some of the finer details (swirls) of the pictures. The money shot is in the garage with a good flash, flash always brings out the nasty stuff. I took my hood out in the sun for the first time today and couldnt manage to find any flaws on much of the hood that I knew were there on parts I had not finished or partly finished, taking it back in the garage brought me back to reality. even with hot, bright halogens I couldnt see the flaws until I put a flashlight about 3 inches from the paint or took a pic with the flash.


Sorry for the long post but there are many people who look at these seemingly perfect pics and wonder "why cant I do that" and in the end you may not be as bad as you think.
 
some very sound comments above ...

1. Put a process in place to stop swirls in the first place, washing and drying are two biggest culprits

2. Nobody is going to be a pro overnight ....you want a machine that is safe (PC) well in that the tradeoff is you need to work longer with more patience to get it done right. This is why everybody does not jump to a circular, pump on that puppy once, and have perfect finish. Learn, adapt or pay a professional to do it !!!

3. Most people are hardest on themselves, ever wondered the two times I found my car to look the best. The first day I got it .... and the day I watched someone else drive away in it. You see, I noticed every flaw and chip and could recite them in my sleep. Stand 10 feet back and look at the car, this is about as close as most will ever see. Lighten up !!
 
killrwheels@autogeek said:
some very sound comments above ...

1. Put a process in place to stop swirls in the first place, washing and drying are two biggest culprits

2. Nobody is going to be a pro overnight ....you want a machine that is safe (PC) well in that the tradeoff is you need to work longer with more patience to get it done right. This is why everybody does not jump to a circular, pump on that puppy once, and have perfect finish. Learn, adapt or pay a professional to do it !!!

3. Most people are hardest on themselves, ever wondered the two times I found my car to look the best. The first day I got it .... and the day I watched someone else drive away in it. You see, I noticed every flaw and chip and could recite them in my sleep. Stand 10 feet back and look at the car, this is about as close as most will ever see. Lighten up !!
Click to expand...

cheers to that.

nothing like the first time......i mean day ;)
 
heavychevy said:
cheers to that.

nothing like the first time......i mean day ;)
Click to expand...
You are very right. Seeing them in person is not the same as a photo. And my vette has improved from the beginning.
Many thanks!
Lauren:)
 
:)
killrwheels@autogeek said:
some very sound comments above ...

1. Put a process in place to stop swirls in the first place, washing and drying are two biggest culprits

2. Nobody is going to be a pro overnight ....you want a machine that is safe (PC) well in that the tradeoff is you need to work longer with more patience to get it done right. This is why everybody does not jump to a circular, pump on that puppy once, and have perfect finish. Learn, adapt or pay a professional to do it !!!

3. Most people are hardest on themselves, ever wondered the two times I found my car to look the best. The first day I got it .... and the day I watched someone else drive away in it. You see, I noticed every flaw and chip and could recite them in my sleep. Stand 10 feet back and look at the car, this is about as close as most will ever see. Lighten up !!
Click to expand...

:applause: As always, Scott, you have a very realistic viewpoints. :cheers:
I did not rush through it, but I am going to learn and not give up.:)
So OHC then? For with the pc 7424? Yes? That with an orange pad is safe, for sure?
Lauren
 
ltoman said:
:)

:applause: As always, Scott, you have a very realistic viewpoints. :cheers:
I did not rush through it, but I am going to learn and not give up.:)
So OHC then? For with the pc 7424? Yes? That with an orange pad is safe, for sure?
Lauren
Click to expand...
Just remember to really work OHC, it's very aggressive but will get the job done. You really want to work it, I'm talking an orange pad and pressure on the PC at speed 6, you don't want a lot of micro-marring from not breaking down the abrassives and not working it correctly. Good thing about Optimums' Line is the long working times, seems like you can work a panel forever. Optimum Compound might even cut it for you, but I'd say OHC should be good for your situation and then use your XMT line to follow up with, like OHC, XMT2, XMT1 etc.
 
best part of OHC ... you cannot really overwork it . When you hope to be done, its still plugging away. Great polish for real power and real working time.
 
Surfer said:
Just remember to really work OHC, it's very aggressive but will get the job done. You really want to work it, I'm talking an orange pad and pressure on the PC at speed 6, you don't want a lot of micro-marring from not breaking down the abrassives and not working it correctly. Good thing about Optimums' Line is the long working times, seems like you can work a panel forever. Optimum Compound might even cut it for you, but I'd say OHC should be good for your situation and then use your XMT line to follow up with, like OHC, XMT2, XMT1 etc.
Click to expand...

ok, i will let you all know how it goes!!!! thanks soooo much guys. scott, you too!
laurenIm the MAN
 
killrwheels@autogeek said:
best part of OHC ... you cannot really overwork it . When you hope to be done, its still plugging away. Great polish for real power and real working time.
Click to expand...

Yes, but you can surely underwork it. The finish you should look for is swirls removed and little to ZERO micro marring. If you see micromarring you didnt work it long enough. You will probably have some spider webbing, but you will have to work the PC for one long time to get the OHC to break down so TAKE YOUR TIME. Be careful with that stuff or you can do more damage than good.
 
Also work a minimum of 5-7 minutes each section your doing at a time with pressure on the PC and speeds 6 if you have the Edge pads (backing plate ones don't like speed 6 heat). On my truck it took about 15-20 minutes with PC on speed 6, yellow Edge pad, and Optimum Compound with a nice amount of pressure on it to remove swirls from the hood. The rest of the panels only took about 5 minutes or so. What I do is overlap everything, i.e. go straight across a section and then move the PC down a little bit so part of the pad is still hitting the previous pass or two I do, then just continue doing that up/down.sideways, etc.
 
I am taking note of all of this. Itis me against the vette clearcoat! Thanks so much. I am still at it!! (But I am gone for a 4 day weekend, so while I have internet access, I am not with the vette.)
Happy Thanksgiving, guys and girls!
Lauren
 
Bout the swirls

Have a bodyshop do a light sand and buff. Tell them you want them to foam pad it after the buffing. Then when you get it back, go straight to waxing it with Pinnacle "Liquid Souveran" Wax.

In my 8 years experiences, I have found that paste waxes suck compared to liquid waxes, and actually can be fairly damaging. Paste Waxes tend to not softened up enough, or they are applied way to thick, causing crusty flaking when removing. Plus, more often than not - they harden up leaving left behind wax buildup. Pinnacles liquid waxes are virtually safe from the above occuring. You can get that stuff on anything and I do mean anything, and it wont cause problems for seals, or rubber moldings. It actually protects it!

Try that and I'm pretty sure you'll have the results you are looking for.
 
wild-knight-wolf said:
Have a bodyshop do a light sand and buff. Tell them you want them to foam pad it after the buffing. Then when you get it back, go straight to waxing it with Pinnacle "Liquid Souveran" Wax.

In my 8 years experiences, I have found that paste waxes suck compared to liquid waxes, and actually can be fairly damaging. Paste Waxes tend to not softened up enough, or they are applied way to thick, causing crusty flaking when removing. Plus, more often than not - they harden up leaving left behind wax buildup. Pinnacles liquid waxes are virtually safe from the above occuring. You can get that stuff on anything and I do mean anything, and it wont cause problems for seals, or rubber moldings. It actually protects it!

Try that and I'm pretty sure you'll have the results you are looking for.
Click to expand...

Her car is like an 05 or 06 and it's a bit premature to go sanding the paint already. She should at least have a pro do something with a rotary before stripping of a big chunk of clear on a nearly new car.
 
I have never had a problem with a high quality paste carnauba...like Maxwax, NB, PS, P21S,CG5050, etc, etc. Also, I would try either Menzerna 106 or BF Scratch Resistant Clearcoat polish before I'd do any light sanding. I have to agree with Heavychevy. JMO.
 
Take some pics,would be a great help.Maybe your trying to be too purrrrrrrrrfecttt??!!!Need not worry,we're all obsessed.LOLOLOLOL
 
ltoman said:
you used a lc yellow pad? scott said never to do that. ? (killrwheels)
Click to expand...
Scott said never to use a yellow lc pad on a vette due to resulting micromarring. I used orange.
 
ltoman said:
Scott said never to use a yellow lc pad on a vette due to resulting micromarring. I used orange.
Click to expand...
I thought you were a teacher, what are doing on AG right now, neglecting your class??:D lol, teach them detailing:D
 
heavychevy said:
Her car is like an 05 or 06 and it's a bit premature to go sanding the paint already. She should at least have a pro do something with a rotary before stripping of a big chunk of clear on a nearly new car.
Click to expand...

Nearly new? It is an 07 and almost four months old!!! No sanding....scary!!
 
Surfer said:
I thought you were a teacher, what are doing on AG right now, neglecting your class??:D lol, teach them detailing:D
Click to expand...

You are so bad!! No, I am not neglecting my class! I do not have one this period and it connects up with break and lunch, so there you go!!
;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top