I personally thought flat colours (not metallic) werent lacquered......if its got clear coat on it, then the colour wouldnt rub off onto a polishing clothOriginally Posted by Debo
well the bumpers had just been painted a few weeks before so must be the camera,i usually use T cut then colour magic, did you say a solid 15 hrs?and i think i would need to go on a course to use the polisher as the last 2 cars i done cleaned up ok but when the light hit it you could see swirl marks all over
I thought it looked pink, compared to this, for example..
But that is only my opinion, camera's don't always tell the whole story!
It varies from manufacturer to manufacturer what paint types are used, whether it's 2 or 3 stage. Dans Mitsubishi is 2 stage paint (basecoat and colour) so when he had his car done, the colour came off onto the pads. That's none-metallic red. The EP3 I just showed is also none-metallic red, but has a basecoat, colour, and a clear coat. So you can't make assumptions based only on colour.
What the T-Cut is doing is filling the defects rather than removing them which is why the car changes colour and you need to re-do it every so often. It's the product that gives you the effect rather than the paintwork itself. I'd permanantly remove the problem and restore the paintwork - then ideally you need to keep on top of it with a wax that has strong uv protection ratings, like Naviwax or similar.
ok cheers for that she's not been out since auto italia (brooklands) last year so plenty of fettling needed i think.
No worries mate, hope I helped to shed some light on the situation. If you get stuck with anything, just ask me.
Progress on the Punto has been halted anyway, mainly due to me doing a few other jobs around it. I had intended to do some today as I've been off my full time work, but it's never got above 2deg and I just cba in this weather, especially not when I was out in -5 on saturday morning doing another car!
So today, this was what I got up too (as I couldn't waste a day doing nothing - it was either do this or go the gym)..
and voila..
Bit of an update, as I just haven't had chance to do anything on this car for the past month or so.
Due to time constraints, I've downsized the project from a full wet sand to just a full paint correction. It took me 3 hours just to do the door above the bump strip, and realistically I'd probably never get the whole lot finished! So instead, I've decided to get the rest of the car sorted this weekend.
I forgot my DSLR camera, so had to take these on the compact. There's not alot to look at, but hopefully I'll get some proper HD shots tomorrow, when I'll be finishing the job off
This is a bonnet picture - due to the car being silver, you can't really get good 50/50 pictures (least not because the paintwork is also in quite good condition for the cars age). Half and half, before and after:
Feckin light in the swirl spotter was going flat wasn't it, so we cracked on whilst it was on charge. Stage one was done using the Rotary and Scholl S3 Gold on a light cut pad, the second stage was done using the DA machine and some 3M Ultrafina on a polishing pad.
This is the end result:
Got the roof done too. If you're wondering why there's only about 1/4 -1/3 of it done, that's because you always work in small areas at a time, about 20"x20" - not like some people who try doing it in a job lot
And here's to show some of the marks that were on the car, and how they've now been removed:
After:
Hopefully have more to report tomorrow, weather permitting, and should have it all finished by late afternoon. I might then be able to get some decent shots with a low sun like there was today if the weather stays the same.
Right then guys, I managed to dodge the showers today (feckin raining all morning). Got the rest of the car done from an exterior perspective. On with the pics we go!
So the first stage of machine polishing was to remove the paint damage. This was done by Rotary. One of the draw backs on removing deeper damage, is that the aggressive compounds and harder pads used with them, create damage of their own in the form of "micro marring". This can be seen here:
This is then removed using a finer polish / finishing polish, which increases the gloss level aswell..
See how there's no marks under the light now?
Everything was polished, including the lights - but these were only done using a finishing polish, as the plastic casing is quite soft.. as is the lacquer used to coat them with after smoking
We took this picture whilst the sun was out, as it was a cloudy day with sunny spells, hopefully it shows the brightness of the metallic silver paint. In real life, there is alot of metalflake 'pop'.
Yesterday, after we'd done the front wing, we set about repairing a scratch that was inflicted several years ago from some kid riding past the car and falling onto it. The scratch ran 1/2 the length of the car, but luckily only left a mark that was about 5" long on the wing. We rounded the edges off the scratch yesterday, then painted over it, and left it to cure overnight.. as can be seen here:
Today I set about sanding back the excess paint to leave only that in the scratch..
After various grades of grit paper which left the above, I polished out the sanding marks with some Fast Cut+ compound, and then refined with a finishing polish.
As you can see, it's now more difficult to spot.. and from certain angles nearly invisible..
So after all the machining was done, I gave the car a full IPA wipedown to remove any remaining polish residue, and leave me clean paint on which to apply a wax or sealant. So prior to doing so, all the plastics were dressed..
This shows you the state they'd got themselves into
50/50
Once that was done all round, I started on the sealant. I chose a sealant for this, because like my Abarth, it's a light coloured car and they benefit from a sharper look rather than a load of depth that a wax can create. The weapon of choice was some Zaino Z2..
So here are the final pics for you to enjoy
A quick look at the view from the hot seat..
And then finally put to bed under the car port.
No tricks with that scratch btw..
It's now one damn clean Punto GT. Next on the to do list is a thorough interior clean, the glass desperately needs doing, and wild Bill has a GT interior coming (current front seats are from a Bravo, and the rear is some chequer plate). So all this will be done as and when. I suppose when the seats are out it'd be rude not to do a complete interior detail.
Thanks for reading.
So when the next 'big thing' comes along. Will you do that also?
Tuning Experts....
Detailing Experts...
Fly fishing...
We're a one stop shop James
We now also do "tool baiting". You're our first customer
Good work especially on that scratch!
Looks spanking now!
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