Saving a Dealer Demo GTR

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Billnsandi

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Hey folks,

I've been a long time lurker, but new member to this forum and I have a project that needs some professional advice.

I recently purchased a 2012 Nissan GTR. It was a dealer demo for months and has the most awefully taken car of paint job you can imagine. Just picture in your mind the dealership manager having the teenage wash boy at the dealership "washing" the car every weekend for months.

I had to buy the car sight unseen, and on delivery realized that the paint was one giant swirl with a few good scratches thrown in.

I've had the car at the local enthusiast detailing guru who said he could deswirl it, but sadly it looks exactly the same now except the swirls are glossier.

I've been unable to find anyone here in Albuquerque that does a real enthusiast paint correction (If anyone can point me in the right direction to someone with evidence they can do the job please do).

So, long story short, I've decided to take this on myself. Get the proper tools, materials and absorb as much of the expertise on this site that I can. I have several beater project cars/trucks I can practice on.

Here are some picts of the car and some detail of the paint problems. My digital SLR is on the blink, so bear with me on the iphone picts. The scratches on the trunk are much more pronounced than the picts would indicate. I can upload some better picts as soon as my SLR is back up and operational.

I'd like to invest some time and money in equipment and products to do this right. Any input would be appreciated.
 
there are a few show and shines for GTR's on here. Make note of the process/products used. That's how I got started...

read lots and have fun
 
Sounds like the guy you took it to just used a glaze.

Sounds like you may be a candidate for the MF system my friend...
 
Surely some members here have worked on GTR's. Search the show and shine section. I bet there are some in there.

Best of luck to you.
 
Don't those cars have that "self-healing" paint? I know Todd Helme did one when they first came out. Wow, I tried a member search to see if there were any pro detailers in NM, not many members at all. Here's the GTR threads I found that seemed relevant:

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...lly-s-detailing-nissan-gtr.html?highlight=GTR
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...black-nissan-gtr-tru-shine.html?highlight=GTR
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/36585-alpina-b7-gtr-cayennes.html?highlight=GTR
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...ged-performance-nissan-gtr.html?highlight=GTR
 
You can do it! The one GTR I have worked on had REALLY soft paint so I would finish off with something like Menzerna P085RD. Good luck!
 
Its sad that they did that to such a new and beautiful ride!

You made the right first step- do your research and you'll see you won't need a ton of materials to get the paint looking like you want it.

That being said, like most of us, you'll likely get bitten by the bug, and want to try out ALL the different products, too ;)

Best of luck!
 
Thanks for the input so far. I'm always a bit nervous about asking for help on a new forum. So many enthusiast forums are filled with folks that are out to prove how much they know, and how ignorant you and your questions are. I can already tell this forum has a different "tone". Thanks
 
Did a black infiniti with self healing paint during summer. I used power finish on a white ccs pad. I varied pressure, machine speed and arm speed until I liked what i was seeing. Paint was not as bad as your's is to begin with though. But each car is different. Cover as much as you can with your purchase and jump in head first
 
First of all Welcome to AGO!

Second of all Nice car!

Third of all go take your money back from the so called "detailing enthusiast" or beat the ever living s*** out of him.

Fourth of all their are some nice Porter Cable kits you can start out with for great prices. I posted links below.

Meguiars Kit - Meguiars Porter Cable Ultra Polish Kit with 5.5 Inch Pads, Meguiar's Mirror Glaze Polishing Kit, Meguiars polishes, Porter Cable 7424 Mirror Glaze
You would use Mequiars 105 with the Orange pads taking the majority of the swirls out and Mequiars 205 with the Gray/Black pads to take the majority of the very fine swirls.

Videos of how-to's with Mike Phillips- Dual Action Orbital Polisher Guide: how to remove swirls, scratches, & oxidation with an orbital buffer. Porter Cable 7424, foam pads, backing plate,

Fifth of all post the results in the Show N' Shine section. Make sure you clay the car after you wash it before you hit the polishing part. Good Luck :xyxthumbs:
 
Thanks for all the great advice and PM's. This is quite a surprise to have so much positive input. I was pretty down on the purchase overall when the car arrived.

Looks like I'll start out with the Porter Cable Meg. "kit" with 105 and 205 and the included pads. It looks like from several of the GTR threads, this combo works well.

The paint is purported to be exceptionally soft.

Any thoughts on the process after deswirling for this car? There was mention of a particular Menzerna product, and some very good reviews of several Pinnacle products as well.

Also, I plan to clear vinyl wrap the entire front of the car (I live out in the boonies on a gravel road and commute on a rural highway covered in said gravel). I would guess I'd stop on the car finish after 205 and clean up?
 
if you go with porter cable xp, make sure you install the washer on the backing plate and use 5.5 inch pads with a 5 inch backing plate.

I'd go with the Megs or Griots machine though. Too many threads about the PC breaking down lately.

Might just be the law of averages at work since there seem to be a lot out there in use but it's enough to get me wondering if there is a quality issue at play, mostly for the latest models.
 
Products ordered.

Any thoughts on pre - 3m clear vinyl wrap prep? I was planning just to hit it with Meg 105/205 then clean it up a bit and wrap. I think they usually pre clean it with a mild solvent.
 
first welcome aboard. i have done 2 08 g37"s with the "soft" paint. i did some homework before i touched them. this paint is very diffucult to work with until you learn what you can & can"t do to it. the dealers that i talked to said that the paint dosen't completely dry for upto 5 years. so be careful with it. putting a plastic bra on it i wouldn't but thats your choice. just some insite on this paint.
 
Billnsandi said:
Also, I plan to clear vinyl wrap the entire front of the car (I live out in the boonies on a gravel road and commute on a rural highway covered in said gravel). I would guess I'd stop on the car finish after 205 and clean up?
Click to expand...
Nice car. I understand the dedire to make it perfect. If you live and drive on gravel with it daily, it will be a costant battle to keep it clean. Frequent washes are going to reintall the swirls rapidly. If you plan to keep it nice, you better learn how yourself and develop a routine for care.
 
if your anywhere close maybe i could help you get the paint corrected.
 
Finally had some over freezing temps here in New Mexico this weekend, so I washed up the GTR and got started. Did a test area on the hood that turned out quite good after Megs 105/Orange pad and Megs 205/Black pad. Now the whole hood is swirl free. :buffing:
 
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