Sneak Peak of My Soon to Be Mustang

[5.4 Shelby]

I am waiting to buy a 2003 Mustang from my bro-in-law. He is getting a new Explorer built. Apparently it is built and awaiting shipment. As soon as it gets here, the Mustang is mine. As soon as the Mustang is mine, it will get detailed.

It was already my first DA MF test vehicle. About a month ago, I borrowed it and did the hood and roof when I had a few hours with it. I was amazed at the change in appearance of the car.

I am not a very good photographer, but, I did take a couple of pics. The befores did not turn out well at all. He took decent care of it. Moderate to heavy swirls and moderate RIDS. There are a few unfixable scratches and dings.

Process in Brief:
ONR wash
Griots Clay with Speedshine lube
Megs DA MF Cutting Disc and D300
Megs DA MF Finishing Disc and D301 (smells like blueberry muffin batter)
Final wipedown with Speedshine.

50:50 after just D300

Finished Hood:

I hope to get it this weekend or next and finish the whole car. I want to do some more experimenting with the DA MF discs and other polishes. I tried M105. I had a little trouble with caking. I prob just need to adjust the "dose" of 105.

 

[jamores23]

that came out looking real good! nice on the new mustang you going to build it? I got the mf kit as well but i have yet to use it.

 

[Matt575]

I am waiting to buy a 2003 Mustang from my bro-in-law. He is getting a new Explorer built. Apparently it is built and awaiting shipment. As soon as it gets here, the Mustang is mine. As soon as the Mustang is mine, it will get detailed.

It was already my first DA MF test vehicle. About a month ago, I borrowed it and did the hood and roof when I had a few hours with it. I was amazed at the change in appearance of the car.

I am not a very good photographer, but, I did take a couple of pics. The befores did not turn out well at all. He took decent care of it. Moderate to heavy swirls and moderate RIDS. There are a few unfixable scratches and dings.

Process in Brief:
ONR wash
Griots Clay with Speedshine lube
Megs DA MF Cutting Disc and D300
Megs DA MF Finishing Disc and D301 (smells like blueberry muffin batter)
Final wipedown with Speedshine.

50:50 after just D300

Finished Hood:

I hope to get it this weekend or next and finish the whole car. I want to do some more experimenting with the DA MF discs and other polishes. I tried M105. I had a little trouble with caking. I prob just need to adjust the "dose" of 105.

What are you using to take photos with? I might be able to help get a better picture. It's mostly in the settings that will fix this

 

[5.4 Shelby]

that came out looking real good! nice on the new mustang you going to build it? I got the mf kit as well but i have yet to use it.

Thanks. It is a V6 for my daughter to drive. No plans to build it up. Someday I do want to buy a GT or Cobra and build it. At this point I am not planning to build my GT500.

 

[5.4 Shelby]

What are you using to take photos with? I might be able to help get a better picture. It's mostly in the settings that will fix this

I have an older Canon Digital Rebel. I have tried things like manual focus. I think lighting is my biggest problem. The superbright overhead lights seem to make it hard to photograph the swirls. The can lights I use for normal lighting are not bright enough. My dual halogen worklight does a better job. I will use it when I do the sides. Of course any tips would be appreciated.

 

[DarkShadow04]

i have a black 99 cobra with the same hood (99 -01 cobras same with the same 03-04 v6 hoods) and i am scared to try buffing my car. i know i need to just man up and do it. but i am dreading the 15-16 hours i know its going to take.

 

[Matt575]

I have an older Canon Digital Rebel. I have tried things like manual focus. I think lighting is my biggest problem. The superbright overhead lights seem to make it hard to photograph the swirls. The can lights I use for normal lighting are not bright enough. My dual halogen worklight does a better job. I will use it when I do the sides. Of course any tips would be appreciated.

Its more than likely not the focus. It has to do with the aperture and shutter speed. If you put the camera in a manual mode you can adjust those and you'll be able to get good photos. That camera is pretty nice and takes nice photos, it's just a matter of the right settings and with a light on like you got it is messing up those settings. Pull out the manual and read about it or look up online. It will change how you take photos. I have a Nikon otherwise I would walk you through it more.

 

[cutter]

Good job on the 50/50, even with the lighting messed up you can still tell a major difference.

 

[BobbyG]

From the sample photos I thin that Mustang will clean up nicely!

Looking forward to seeing the entire car...rops:

 

[5.4 Shelby]

Its more than likely not the focus. It has to do with the aperture and shutter speed. If you put the camera in a manual mode you can adjust those and you'll be able to get good photos. That camera is pretty nice and takes nice photos, it's just a matter of the right settings and with a light on like you got it is messing up those settings. Pull out the manual and read about it or look up online. It will change how you take photos. I have a Nikon otherwise I would walk you through it more.

I understand depth of field and how to manipulate it with aperature. So do I want shallower DOF or deeper? I would think shallow DOF would highlight the imperfections.

Honestly, I am not sure it should have to be that difficult. Other people are getting good pics with point and shoots and even some cell phone cameras.

 

[5.4 Shelby]

From the sample photos I thin that Mustang will clean up nicely!

Looking forward to seeing the entire car...rops:

Yeah, I was wowed and how good the hood looked after finishing.

 

[5.4 Shelby]

i have a black 99 cobra with the same hood (99 -01 cobras same with the same 03-04 v6 hoods) and i am scared to try buffing my car. i know i need to just man up and do it. but i am dreading the 15-16 hours i know its going to take.

Sounds like you have no experience with buffing (I am assuming based on the "try buffing my car"). It should not be as bad as you think if you get the right equipment and some help from the people on here. It took me less than an hour to ONR wash, clay and 2 step the hood. I think the whole car can be done in 6-8 hours. The DA MF system is so much easier to work with. It saves a lot of time.

 

[5.4 Shelby]

Good job on the 50/50, even with the lighting messed up you can still tell a major difference.

Thanks.

 

[lt_1204]

As Matt575 recommended, read the manual if you don't know how to adjust or take pics in manual mode. Raise the ISO, lower the aperture, and get a tripod. All of these will allow you take better pictures in low light situations. Raising the ISO will allow you to take lower light pictures with a faster shutter speed (although raising the ISO make your pics more grainy). Lowering the aperture (lower F number ie F3.5 is likely the lowest F stop for the kit lens) requires less light to get the proper exposure of your pictures. Using a tripod will allow you to take pictures at slower shutter speeds without getting blurry pics due to movement. I do not pretend to be a professional photographer but these tips should net you some better pics for little to no money. I dig the color of your mustang, good work so far.

I have an older Canon Digital Rebel. I have tried things like manual focus. I think lighting is my biggest problem. The superbright overhead lights seem to make it hard to photograph the swirls. The can lights I use for normal lighting are not bright enough. My dual halogen worklight does a better job. I will use it when I do the sides. Of course any tips would be appreciated.

 

[Matt575]

I understand depth of field and how to manipulate it with aperature. So do I want shallower DOF or deeper? I would think shallow DOF would highlight the imperfections.

Honestly, I am not sure it should have to be that difficult. Other people are getting good pics with point and shoots and even some cell phone cameras.

Depth of field is part of aperture. You're on the right path. Most pics on here are taken with lots of light and that's why they work. Yours appear to be in a garage with lower light. Your settings might be a tad messed up too. The camera is taking its light meter from the spot of the reflection and thinking thats the normal case for the entire picture. The light meter is wrong so everything is much darker.

As Matt575 recommended, read the manual if you don't know how to adjust or take pics in manual mode. Raise the ISO, lower the aperture, and get a tripod. All of these will allow you take better pictures in low light situations. Raising the ISO will allow you to take lower light pictures with a faster shutter speed (although raising the ISO make your pics more grainy). Lowering the aperture (lower F number ie F3.5 is likely the lowest F stop for the kit lens) requires less light to get the proper exposure of your pictures. Using a tripod will allow you to take pictures at slower shutter speeds without getting blurry pics due to movement. I do not pretend to be a professional photographer but these tips should net you some better pics for little to no money. I dig the color of your mustang, good work so far.

These are all exactly what you need to do but you'll need to read the manual on these topics and play with it a bit to learn about it. It's a lot like auto detailing to start with. Trial and error and practice, practice, practice...

 

[5.4 Shelby]

Thanks for the help guys. I am familiar with how to make these changes and what they mean. I just dont know what changes make the imperfections more "photogenic". I will just have to play with them and see what result I get. It does not seem like it should be that complicated since people are getting good photos with point and shoot and even cell phone cameras.

I did read Mike Phillips tips and am going to try a coin, finger tip or piece of clay and see if that brings them out.

What Matt is saying about the light meter hitting the reflected light instead of the paint surface make the most sense here. I will play some more with it.

 

[Matt575]

What Matt is saying about the light meter hitting the reflected light instead of the paint surface make the most sense here. I will play some more with it.

You can change the light meter thing so it looks at the picture as a whole and not just the focus area. Playing around is the best bet! Good luck!