Paint Correction driving between parts/stages

[Jedee]

Hi all

New to this forum from Sydney Australia Apologies if this has been discussed before, i tried to search but I think it was hard to use the correct phrases to get a close result.

I recently sold my MY12 wrx and bought a 1.5 year old black Mazda CX-5. With a larger car and busier life now, I struggle to find a large chunk of time to do detailing, especially paint correction. I hope based on what I have seen so far that a two stage will be sufficient but even still I cant foresee a full weekend I can dedicate to it.

So it seems I will have to do the stages separately whilst driving the car in between. Possibly even breaking up the stages into various parts e.g. roof one time, bonnet another etc.

Does anyone have any guidance on whether its better to get through the whole car with stage 1 first, then whole car stage 2 or do one whole section/panels stage 1 then stage 2 before moving on. In between the only thing ai can think of to protect the paint is a wax or something until I have done all parts, after which I intend to seal with Duragloss bonding agent and polish combo and then wax over that (which is what I did with my wrx).

Also since I am time poor does anyone have recommendation on what pads/compounds work well on black Mazda 2017 paint? I curently have lake country ccs orange yellow white and black and lake country smart pads of the same colour. In terms of compunds I have Menzerna fg400, pf2500 and whatever the finishing one is, 3m Ultrafino, meguairs UC and HD Uno. I intend to do a test patch but if anyone's had good experience with particular combos I would be all ears.

Thanks guys!
Jd

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[dlc95]

I've heard of people doing what they could when they had time.

Start with a door or a fender (maybe both), complete the process, and continue as time allows.

 

[TTQ B4U]

I've heard of people doing what they could when they had time.

Start with a door or a fender (maybe both), complete the process, and continue as time allows.

^^ this. When my wife had a minivan I would detail it in stages. Couple panels every few days with Rinseless washing them to get them clean, etc. I do this a lot with my own personal vehicles as I find it hard to nail-down a full day to do one. Ironically I thought about beginning my own vehicle this weekend but didn't since we had so much going on.

 

[gspam1]

Yes, I've done two vehicles this way. A couple of panels at a time, correction and then apply a coating.

 

[Jedee]

Thanks for the responses guys! Much appreciated.

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[hmardown]

jeedee
I just did my car in stages because of weather here in the northeast. and I'll tell you never again(and I left it in the garage). part of my problem was taping off the rubber & plastic trim. after a while the tape either peels off or it won't come off when you're done. and then I had to try & remember where I left off with which product. and if it sits a couple of days you'll want to waterless wash your next panel. this of course will leave some kind of mess. and if you're going to polish glass that going sling product over all your work(unless you cover up). so at the very least I wouldn't do one panel at a time. you could do the entire vehicle one step at a time. if you're going to compound then compound the whole vehicle. then when you're ready to polish you can waterless or rinseless wash(if necessary) the entire vehicle. then you can polish the entire vehicle. next time you'll need to do the same step before applying your lsp (wax or sealant). so by now you can see doing it in stages adds a lot more work & effort. at least it did for me, I didn't like. I could of skipped the tapping part but I know better. I don't care how careful I am some product is going transfer on to the trim. applying product by hand would give you better control, but also take longer. so this is JMO, good luck & hope this helped.
hmardown

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Does anyone have any guidance on whether its better to get through the whole car with stage 1 first, then whole car stage 2 or do one whole section/panels stage 1 then stage 2 before moving on. In between the only thing ai can think of to protect the paint is a wax or something until I have done all parts, after which I intend to seal with Duragloss bonding agent and polish combo and then wax over that (which is what I did with my wrx).

If you don't have time to do the entire car at once, then work panel by panel. For example, wash the entire car and include mechanical decontamination/claying, chemical decontamination and then dry.

Now tackle one panel at a time, for example start at the highest point the roof. Do your paint correction/polishing followed by sealing the paint with a wax, sealant or paint coating. Next time you have opportunity do the hood or trunk lid. Then move to vertical panels. It may take you a few weekends but you can work through the entire car panel by panel. If some level of time goes by, then inspect panels not already work on for contaminants and if needed clay.

I actually included this approach in either the first edition of my how-to book or the second edition.


This book,

Or this book,

Also since I am time poor does anyone have recommendation on what pads/compounds work well on black Mazda 2017 paint? I curently have lake country ccs orange yellow white and black and lake country smart pads of the same colour. In terms of compunds I have Menzerna fg400, pf2500 and whatever the finishing one is, 3m Ultrafino, meguairs UC and HD Uno. I intend to do a test patch but if anyone's had good experience with particular combos I would be all ears.

Thanks guys!
Jd

Those are all good products that use good abrasive technology. If this is your daily driver, then maybe just get some BLACKFIRE One Step and do ONE THING to the paint and be done with it. This also makes maintenance fast and easy. Once in a while just hit the car with BF One Step again, or just the high wear panels like the hood, roof and trunk lid. Use a topper like Optimum Car Wax for max UV protection or SONAX PNS for longer protection.


Million ways to skin a cat, (sorry PETA no harm meant), find a way that's fast and easy and also fast and easy to repeat over time.

 

[Jedee]

Thanks hmardown and Mike for the additiona input.

I will have to remove any tape between work as I will be driving and especially now I know the risk of it sticking and causing a mess. Unfortunately I don't have a choice although it will add more work in between, it is either that or never get it done.

Thanks for all the info Mike I will look into those things.

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