DFB's Garage
- Thread starter DFB
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Tasmania
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- Jan 12, 2017
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I'm telling my mum on you Dave!
DFB
Well-known member
- Aug 12, 2019
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XR8 Paint Enhancement!
Back in on the 5th of November 2014, my FG-X Falcon XR8 drove off the production line, one of the first built. As of December 11th, I will have owned the car for 10-years. I can’t believe it’s been that long!
Straight off the truck, December 2014.................
Delivery day, December 11th, 2014. That same showroom housed my new Ranger in 2016, my S550 Mustang in 2017 and almost 10 years later, my new S650 Mustang........................
So, to celebrate the cars anniversary and to put some of my newly honed skills into practice, I’ve decided to give the car a light polish and reapply an old favorite.
Decontamination and Prep Work -
For a car that spends most of its time sitting under a fleecy car cover, the level of contamination would be minimal here. For that reason, I decided I wouldn’t be dousing this car in acidic shampoo’s and iron removers. But I did feel it worthwhile giving the car a wash using a high-pH soap to help remove previously used drying aids. In this case I decided upon ADS Decon Soap.
After the wash, I inspected the paint with my hands and determined a clay step wasn’t necessary. So, a wash with an alkaline soap, then dried using Carpro Eraser was the only decontamination needed. From here, I went around the car taping up the trims. I'm slowly getting better at taping, and smarter too, why tape something that doesn't need to be? For example, on an FG-series Falcon, the upper door seal trims are on the door and not the door frame, so why tape them when you can simply open the door. Don't know why I didn't think of that sooner.
Products Used -
Armour Detail Supply Decon Soap
Microfiber Madness DeliPad Wash Pad
Carpro Eraser Prep Spray
The Rag Company Platinum Pluffle Drying Towel
Carpro Red Masking Tape
Gyeon Q2M Wheel Covers
Polishing -
With only a few minor wash induced love marks, there wasn’t a need for extensive correction on this car. Nor did I want to be hammering down on the paint, the goal with this car from the very beginning has been preservation. In other words, a light jeweling polish to boost gloss.
With that in mind, I knew what product I was going to use, the delightful Carpro Reflect. However, I needed to check which pad would give me the desired result without removing too much clearcoat. Remember, preservation here. I started with the ShineMate red foam finishing pad, but I found that I needed just a little more as it left behind a couple of isolated fine scratches on the test spot. So, I switched to the orange ShineMate foam polishing pad, and bingo, combination sorted.
After the Mustang back in October, and that Subaru last week, the FGX Falcon is so simple to polish, the byproduct of the swathes of flat, simple panel contouring. Even the masking process is simple.
One of the things I learnt at the polishing workshop last week was regarding edge work, as in, polishing up to edges safely. One of the first things Sandro guided me with was placing a towel behind the latch to prop the door open. With the front door opened as well, this makes it safer for the adjacent edges. For front door, you can then tape the front quarter panel edge in addition to the towel trick to protect both edges. This might sound obvious to some, but it was news to me. That's why I went to the class, to fine tune my process, and in this case, make it safer too.
Product, Pad & Machines Used -
Carpro Reflect Finishing Polish
ShineMate Orange Foam Polishing Pad (4-inch & 6-inch)
Rupes Yellow Fine Polishing Pad (2.5-inch)
The Rag Company Creature Edgeless Polish Removal Towel
Carpro Eraser Prep Spray
Rupes iBrid Nano Long Neck (2-inch)
Rupes HLR15 (5-inch machine)
ShineMate EB351-3/12 (3-inch machine)
Rupes Claw Pad Tool
And that's where I leave it for today. The car was wiped down with Eraser and covered up, ready for another session tomorrow.
Back in on the 5th of November 2014, my FG-X Falcon XR8 drove off the production line, one of the first built. As of December 11th, I will have owned the car for 10-years. I can’t believe it’s been that long!
Straight off the truck, December 2014.................
Delivery day, December 11th, 2014. That same showroom housed my new Ranger in 2016, my S550 Mustang in 2017 and almost 10 years later, my new S650 Mustang........................
So, to celebrate the cars anniversary and to put some of my newly honed skills into practice, I’ve decided to give the car a light polish and reapply an old favorite.
Decontamination and Prep Work -
For a car that spends most of its time sitting under a fleecy car cover, the level of contamination would be minimal here. For that reason, I decided I wouldn’t be dousing this car in acidic shampoo’s and iron removers. But I did feel it worthwhile giving the car a wash using a high-pH soap to help remove previously used drying aids. In this case I decided upon ADS Decon Soap.
After the wash, I inspected the paint with my hands and determined a clay step wasn’t necessary. So, a wash with an alkaline soap, then dried using Carpro Eraser was the only decontamination needed. From here, I went around the car taping up the trims. I'm slowly getting better at taping, and smarter too, why tape something that doesn't need to be? For example, on an FG-series Falcon, the upper door seal trims are on the door and not the door frame, so why tape them when you can simply open the door. Don't know why I didn't think of that sooner.
Products Used -
Armour Detail Supply Decon Soap
Microfiber Madness DeliPad Wash Pad
Carpro Eraser Prep Spray
The Rag Company Platinum Pluffle Drying Towel
Carpro Red Masking Tape
Gyeon Q2M Wheel Covers
Polishing -
With only a few minor wash induced love marks, there wasn’t a need for extensive correction on this car. Nor did I want to be hammering down on the paint, the goal with this car from the very beginning has been preservation. In other words, a light jeweling polish to boost gloss.
With that in mind, I knew what product I was going to use, the delightful Carpro Reflect. However, I needed to check which pad would give me the desired result without removing too much clearcoat. Remember, preservation here. I started with the ShineMate red foam finishing pad, but I found that I needed just a little more as it left behind a couple of isolated fine scratches on the test spot. So, I switched to the orange ShineMate foam polishing pad, and bingo, combination sorted.
After the Mustang back in October, and that Subaru last week, the FGX Falcon is so simple to polish, the byproduct of the swathes of flat, simple panel contouring. Even the masking process is simple.
One of the things I learnt at the polishing workshop last week was regarding edge work, as in, polishing up to edges safely. One of the first things Sandro guided me with was placing a towel behind the latch to prop the door open. With the front door opened as well, this makes it safer for the adjacent edges. For front door, you can then tape the front quarter panel edge in addition to the towel trick to protect both edges. This might sound obvious to some, but it was news to me. That's why I went to the class, to fine tune my process, and in this case, make it safer too.
Product, Pad & Machines Used -
Carpro Reflect Finishing Polish
ShineMate Orange Foam Polishing Pad (4-inch & 6-inch)
Rupes Yellow Fine Polishing Pad (2.5-inch)
The Rag Company Creature Edgeless Polish Removal Towel
Carpro Eraser Prep Spray
Rupes iBrid Nano Long Neck (2-inch)
Rupes HLR15 (5-inch machine)
ShineMate EB351-3/12 (3-inch machine)
Rupes Claw Pad Tool
And that's where I leave it for today. The car was wiped down with Eraser and covered up, ready for another session tomorrow.