83hurstguy
New member
- Jul 1, 2011
- 13
- 0
We’ve detailed several aftermarket base/clear paint jobs that are 10-20 years old; the cars were restored, then severely neglected. In the attached pictures, the subject vehicle has base/clear DuPont paint from the mid-1990’s. As you can see in the “before” picture, there were so many swirls and scratches that the black paint looked gray in the sun.
View attachment 61257
We first attempted paint correction with aggressive foam pads on a rotary, but the clear was hard from age and progress was incredibly slow. We ended up using M105 with wool pads on a rotary, then switched to the FLEX 3401 and finished polishing using Menzerna FG400 and FF3000 with foam pads.
The paint turned out beautiful from this process… nearly all the defects were gone (some were deep in the clear and better left alone), though I forgot to snap an “after” picture with the halogen. While the car looked stunning, we created a challenge - the clear coat transformed from being rock hard to incredibly soft, to the point that it was nearly impossible to wax (BF black ice) without marring the paint, even using super soft finishing towels. We noticed this softness and marring starting after the FG400 process and while we were finishing with the FF3000 (none are noticeable in the picture below).
View attachment 61258
We performed the detailing process in the evening over the course of a week, the temperature in the garage varied… we ran the heater when working and maintained the garage at 60-70F, but it was dropping down into the 40s when we weren’t working, and the car was sitting there for several days. Even one week after detailing, dusting the car with a soft towel and light touch could leave a trail of light scratches in the clear.
Has anybody encountered a similar situation? Are there other techniques for correction that will prevent this, or a proven finishing technique to avoid it? Will the clear harden again over time, and is there a way to accelerate that process?
Thanks in advance for any insight or assistance!
View attachment 61257
We first attempted paint correction with aggressive foam pads on a rotary, but the clear was hard from age and progress was incredibly slow. We ended up using M105 with wool pads on a rotary, then switched to the FLEX 3401 and finished polishing using Menzerna FG400 and FF3000 with foam pads.
The paint turned out beautiful from this process… nearly all the defects were gone (some were deep in the clear and better left alone), though I forgot to snap an “after” picture with the halogen. While the car looked stunning, we created a challenge - the clear coat transformed from being rock hard to incredibly soft, to the point that it was nearly impossible to wax (BF black ice) without marring the paint, even using super soft finishing towels. We noticed this softness and marring starting after the FG400 process and while we were finishing with the FF3000 (none are noticeable in the picture below).
View attachment 61258
We performed the detailing process in the evening over the course of a week, the temperature in the garage varied… we ran the heater when working and maintained the garage at 60-70F, but it was dropping down into the 40s when we weren’t working, and the car was sitting there for several days. Even one week after detailing, dusting the car with a soft towel and light touch could leave a trail of light scratches in the clear.
Has anybody encountered a similar situation? Are there other techniques for correction that will prevent this, or a proven finishing technique to avoid it? Will the clear harden again over time, and is there a way to accelerate that process?
Thanks in advance for any insight or assistance!
