Taking a week to get everything done

[Murr1525]

Re: Taking a week to get everything done

Black Towels? Fancy....

But you will want the similar soft foam pads for the other steps as well.

[zobie02]

Re: Taking a week to get everything done

A lot of pictures! I am posting a bunch of pictures here so you guys have an idea what I am dealing with. I also might have possibly messed something up while experimenting so I want to get some opinions on this as well.

I had some paint transfer or something on my front bumper



So I read on here, and I washed the area, used some clay bar, used some Ultimate compound, polished it, and then waxed it. The paint transfer came off, but it is not shiny anymore, and is hazy. I was expecting it to do away after polish and wax (NXT Tech paste) but it didn't. Pic are below.



Higher resolution pic



I also have this on my rear bumper that I want to get rid of





And this one the side of my car that just appeared in the past few days, that I also want to get rid of.



Below are some overall pictures of my car so you can see the mess that I have

















The above picture is a picture from the top on to my trunk area

Something is happening to my paint in this below picture, and I need to fix that bumper as well by putting it up properly.



I did recently restore my headlights and I think they look pretty good, what do you guys think, picture is below.



I also have some interior pictures below







And finally, these are the products I currently have. Some of that mothers stuff is stuff I bought a long time ago, but I still intend on using it. The only thing that is new is the clay bar and that's because when I typed in clay bar in the search bar on the advance auto parts website, that's the only thing that came up :P



How do you guys think I need to proceed. How to I fix my front bumper area that has lost it's shine after Ultimate Compound, how do I fix some of the other area's with the issues, and overall fix my paint on my car. Any comments and suggestions would be awesome. Thanks a lot!

[Murr1525]

Re: Taking a week to get everything done

What did you use to apply the UC with in the 2 & 3 pic?

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Taking a week to get everything done

OK, quite a few different things going on here.

First off, it looks as though you've got a few areas that are beyond repair with what you have on hand, and probably beyond repair without some spot sanding and maybe even painting. Those are things you probably don't even want to consider at this point. Instead, concentrate on correcting the vast majority of the swirls, fine scratches, etc rather than those couple of nasty gouges on the bumper and side. Both of those look like they're deep enough to have removed a substantial amount of paint. And the cracking on the portion of the bumper that's hanging a bit loose can only be fixed by sanding it down and repainting. Again, probably not something you want to tackle at this point.

As for the paint transfer you removed, it would seem you did an outstanding job of getting the actual transferred material off your car, but maybe got a bit too aggressive in the process. It is very likely that this car has what we would call "delicate" paint and that Ultimate Compound is maybe a bit more aggressive than you need. Before we accept that as fact, however, let's look at your application method:

• What kind of applicator did you use? Terry cloth is very aggressive and that material itself can cause the kind of hazing you're seeing.
• How aggressively did you work the Ultimate Compound? If you were scrubbing pretty hard to get that paint transfer off, you could inflict a lot of marring too, almost regardless of the pad. If you used a foam wax applicator pad, go over the area again with UC but go easy, and work it for several minutes. Really ease up on the pressure toward the end of the process.
• Since you have that sample bottle of Cleaner Wax, try applying that with a foam applicator to the hazed area and see what, if any, improvement you get.

If you find that even with a foam applicator and light pressure you still have marring, then UC may indeed be too aggressive for this paint. That's not common, but it does happen. And sometimes hand application can exacerbate the situation, too. Read through The Challenge of Delicate Paint to get an idea how to approach this paint when working by hand. You may need a two step process here since those swirls look pretty heavy - that means you may need the punch of Ultimate Compound to remove them, even though it will haze the paint, and then something like SwirlX or ColorX to clean up the hazing. That's what we did on the Honda in the article on delicate paint, and it came up great. You can use the NXT Tech Wax 2.0 after the ColorX to gain some gloss, protection and durability.

Whatever you do, don't let that M01 Medium Cut Cleaner touch that paint, especially when working by hand!

[Tuck91]

Re: Taking a week to get everything done

That car needs a lot of work.

Have you thought about paying to have someone else do it?

[zobie02]

Re: Taking a week to get everything done

What did you use to apply the UC with in the 2 & 3 pic?

A green microfiber cloth

[zobie02]

Re: Taking a week to get everything done

That car needs a lot of work.

Have you thought about paying to have someone else do it?

I have thought about it, but I do not have the money to do so. College student here!

[zobie02]

Re: Taking a week to get everything done

OK, quite a few different things going on here.

First off, it looks as though you've got a few areas that are beyond repair with what you have on hand, and probably beyond repair without some spot sanding and maybe even painting. Those are things you probably don't even want to consider at this point. Instead, concentrate on correcting the vast majority of the swirls, fine scratches, etc rather than those couple of nasty gouges on the bumper and side. Both of those look like they're deep enough to have removed a substantial amount of paint. And the cracking on the portion of the bumper that's hanging a bit loose can only be fixed by sanding it down and repainting. Again, probably not something you want to tackle at this point.

As for the paint transfer you removed, it would seem you did an outstanding job of getting the actual transferred material off your car, but maybe got a bit too aggressive in the process. It is very likely that this car has what we would call "delicate" paint and that Ultimate Compound is maybe a bit more aggressive than you need. Before we accept that as fact, however, let's look at your application method:

• What kind of applicator did you use? Terry cloth is very aggressive and that material itself can cause the kind of hazing you're seeing.
• How aggressively did you work the Ultimate Compound? If you were scrubbing pretty hard to get that paint transfer off, you could inflict a lot of marring too, almost regardless of the pad. If you used a foam wax applicator pad, go over the area again with UC but go easy, and work it for several minutes. Really ease up on the pressure toward the end of the process.
• Since you have that sample bottle of Cleaner Wax, try applying that with a foam applicator to the hazed area and see what, if any, improvement you get.

If you find that even with a foam applicator and light pressure you still have marring, then UC may indeed be too aggressive for this paint. That's not common, but it does happen. And sometimes hand application can exacerbate the situation, too. Read through The Challenge of Delicate Paint to get an idea how to approach this paint when working by hand. You may need a two step process here since those swirls look pretty heavy - that means you may need the punch of Ultimate Compound to remove them, even though it will haze the paint, and then something like SwirlX or ColorX to clean up the hazing. That's what we did on the Honda in the article on delicate paint, and it came up great. You can use the NXT Tech Wax 2.0 after the ColorX to gain some gloss, protection and durability.

Whatever you do, don't let that M01 Medium Cut Cleaner touch that paint, especially when working by hand!

So I used a microfiber, but I did get pretty aggressive with it, it wasn't coming off so I used enough force and pressure to cause the entire car to shake, oops.

So you think for that, I should use a foam applicator with UC and go easy for a few minutes and then use the cleaner wax. I'll read that article and ask any questions.

If you guys think a DA will help I may be able to get my hands on one.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Taking a week to get everything done

If you guys think a DA will help I may be able to get my hands on one.

"Help", in this context, is a gross understatement. Use of a quality D/A and the correct pads will make all the difference in the world here - with regards to both time spent and results achieved. To quote Ferris Bueller: "If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up."

[zobie02]

Re: Taking a week to get everything done

"Help", in this context, is a gross understatement. Use of a quality D/A and the correct pads will make all the difference in the world here - with regards to both time spent and results achieved. To quote Ferris Bueller: "If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up."

OK, so first I was really excited after being on these forums about making my paint perfect, then I send you guys those pictures and was really bummed that my paint is a piece of ****. But, you know, I'm going to figure it out, and make my paint significantly better, maybe not perfect, but for now, I want to fix it as much as possible. I saw a porter cable one at Lowe's the other day that was very similar to the 7424XP you guys really like, it was this one

http://www.lowes.com/pd_137715-70-7346SP_4294857558+4294962151_40_?productId=3280062&Ns=p_product_price|1&pl=1&currentURL=/pl_Power%2BTools_4294857558%2B4294962151_40_%3FNs%3Dp_product_price|1%26page%3D1&facetInfo=PORTER-CABLE

This should be fine right? What are the correct pads that I need?

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Taking a week to get everything done

Please don't let any of our comments discourage you. Yes, from the pictures you posted the paint obviously is in need of a lot of work, but that doesn't mean you can't accomplish the task. Nobody will deny that doing all that work by hand is going to be hard work, but it absolutely can be done.

Still, use of a D/A (the one you linked to is perfectly fine and will do a great job) will make your life a whole lot easier, let you get the job done faster with more consistent results, and better results over all. Best of all, the learning curve is pretty shallow with that tool and the odds of you really messing anything up are slim to none. Usually the worst case scenario involves poor technique and then you just don't quite get the results you want.

Two articles you should read through:

D/A Buffing 101 – An Introduction to the G110v2 and similar tools - This will spell out what pads you need and how to properly go about the whole correction process.

A noob + D/A + Ultimate Compound + hard paint = Success!! - We're giving you this link for inspiration. The car in this thread has crazy hard paint; it's like granite with a diamond coating, meaning it's quite a challenge, especially for a novice. And the guy who did the work was just that, a total novice. We gave him some pointers on another forum and he dove into the project, with fantastic results.

[zobie02]

Re: Taking a week to get everything done

And as for the white spots, what can I do about those. I don't really care if those spots are perfect, but I would rather have them less noticeable. Any ideas?

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Taking a week to get everything done

If those white spots are gouged down to the primer, or the paint is pulled up and wrinkled, the very least you can do to minimize their appearance is to apply a bit of touch up paint over them. You can pick this up for a few bucks from any auto parts store, but skip the built in brush and apply a small amount with a toothpick so as not to create a big blob. Ideally, some wetsanding and buffing would go a long way to concealing them further, but that's getting into some pretty advanced work and it's easy to make things even worse if you don't know what you're doing.

There's something else to consider here - this car is how many years old (that body style of the Integra was introduced in '85 and ran until '06 so it's hard to tell here)? And it's been somewhat neglected, or at the very least it hasn't been babied since day one. Fair statement? It's really unrealistic to expect to make it look like it's brand spanking new again, but you can do amazing things with it. In fact, you can transform the finish to the point that only you will even notice the couple of little spots. Everyone else will either think you've had the car repainted (friends who are familiar with the car) or they'll ask how you managed to keep a car that age looking so good (complete strangers).

A daily driver is going to show some wear and age. It's going to get little nicks and scrapes eventually, no matter how hard you try to avoid them. It's never going to be truly "perfect" again. But it can still look amazing.

[zobie02]

Re: Taking a week to get everything done

Please don't let any of our comments discourage you. Yes, from the pictures you posted the paint obviously is in need of a lot of work, but that doesn't mean you can't accomplish the task. Nobody will deny that doing all that work by hand is going to be hard work, but it absolutely can be done.

Still, use of a D/A (the one you linked to is perfectly fine and will do a great job) will make your life a whole lot easier, let you get the job done faster with more consistent results, and better results over all. Best of all, the learning curve is pretty shallow with that tool and the odds of you really messing anything up are slim to none. Usually the worst case scenario involves poor technique and then you just don't quite get the results you want.

Two articles you should read through:

D/A Buffing 101 – An Introduction to the G110v2 and similar tools - This will spell out what pads you need and how to properly go about the whole correction process.

A noob + D/A + Ultimate Compound + hard paint = Success!! - We're giving you this link for inspiration. The car in this thread has crazy hard paint; it's like granite with a diamond coating, meaning it's quite a challenge, especially for a novice. And the guy who did the work was just that, a total novice. We gave him some pointers on another forum and he dove into the project, with fantastic results.

Awesome articles, I just read them both, but paying special attention to the first article. Thanks for sharing those with me. Let me just go over the steps with you here, and please let me know if everything looks good.

Wash car properly, clay the entire car. First you start by taping your lights and other trim pieces up. Get your products and pads ready. Start with pad W8207 at speed 5 with SwirlX. Start in a test spot area, plug device in, throw cord over shoulder, make an X on the pad with product, place firmly on the car, turn on and spread it around quickly, slow down and with moderate pressure move in 50% overlapping strokes, smooth movements, hold device comfortably, keep pad flat with constant pressure, and keeping weight directly on top of pad. Work product in until it is very thin and before it dries. Also be careful of having excess product on the pad, if so, take it off with a towel. Wife it off with a microfiber.

Inspect the changes, if it improved a good amount, use same product again, if it didn't do much, move up to Ultimate Compound, and continue the above steps. After most of the swirls and such are gone, change pad, put on the W9207 pad, and get the polish. Same method for the polish. Finally, get another W9207 pad, and put on some Ultimate Wax, but go a little faster, do the entire car instead of a panel at a time, and let it dry, and then wipe off with a microfiber.

Now I really need to know what I have to order. So far I know I need this:

1. Two 5 gallon buckets
2. Two grit guard
3. Lambswool mitt
4. Gold Class car wash
5. Drying cloth
6. Clay kit
7. A bunch of microfiber cloths
8. Porter Cable D/A
9. Two W8207 Pads
10. Two W9207 Pads
11. SwirlX
12. Ultimate Compound
13. ColorX
14. Ultimate Quik Wax
15. Ultimate Quik Detailer
16. Ultimate Protectant
17. All Purpose Cleaner
18. Ultimate Polish?

Is the Ultimate Polish the polish I should use?

Now my question is. Is this the order I should do the things in

1. Wash
2. Clay
3. ColorX
4. SwirlX
5. Ultimate Compound, if needed
6. Ultimate Polish?
7. Ultimate Wax
8. Ultimate Wax

What pad should I use for the ColorX?

Thank you so much!

[zobie02]

Re: Taking a week to get everything done

If those white spots are gouged down to the primer, or the paint is pulled up and wrinkled, the very least you can do to minimize their appearance is to apply a bit of touch up paint over them. You can pick this up for a few bucks from any auto parts store, but skip the built in brush and apply a small amount with a toothpick so as not to create a big blob. Ideally, some wetsanding and buffing would go a long way to concealing them further, but that's getting into some pretty advanced work and it's easy to make things even worse if you don't know what you're doing.

There's something else to consider here - this car is how many years old (that body style of the Integra was introduced in '85 and ran until '06 so it's hard to tell here)? And it's been somewhat neglected, or at the very least it hasn't been babied since day one. Fair statement? It's really unrealistic to expect to make it look like it's brand spanking new again, but you can do amazing things with it. In fact, you can transform the finish to the point that only you will even notice the couple of little spots. Everyone else will either think you've had the car repainted (friends who are familiar with the car) or they'll ask how you managed to keep a car that age looking so good (complete strangers).

A daily driver is going to show some wear and age. It's going to get little nicks and scrapes eventually, no matter how hard you try to avoid them. It's never going to be truly "perfect" again. But it can still look amazing.

It was actually 93-01, but mine is a '99. Yes, very fair statement. I used to keep it clean and stuff, but until recently I didn't realize that my method of washing the car was horrible. And, yes, there is no such thing as perfection, and I am not trying to get there, but what you are describing above, if the condition I would love to bring it to. Thanks