TORCHD 02 TA's Detail
 

As many of you know, Jonas has been seeking that perfect finish and sadly hasn't had much luck. I offered to help out, free of charge, in hopes of being recognized in the Midwestern section as a professional detailer. If funds provide so, I hope in becoming a sponsor.

Now, Jonas' car is very clean with some light swirling followed by some deeper random, non-directional cuts. The car came in pretty much clean, but I still performed a wash-down and clayed the car. The clay bar removed almost nothing, except for a few particles from the front, (most likely from the drive). I noticed his hood's clearcoat was slightly lacking from depth and clarity. This is due to an aftermarket hood with a different paint job. The sail panels and side mirrors were repainted as well but oddly, they have much more clarity and depth.

I began using Mezerna Intensive Polish/Orange Pad and slowly but surely, swirls were being removed and some added clarity. Once the swirls were removed I noticed the random, non-directional cuts to be more prominent. This happens quite often because deeper scratches are masked behind swirls. Once the swirls are removed, the deeper embedded scratches stick out like a sore thumb. The Mezerna IP was able to round off the cuts making these deeper scratches less noticeable though.

Here is the first pass. http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i8...s/IMG_3378.jpg

Now, I knew what kind of work I was in for. I did a second pass, spread the polish around on 3-4 and worked up to 5 on the speed setting.

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i8...s/IMG_3382.jpg

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i8...s/IMG_3383.jpg

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i8...s/IMG_3380.jpg


Afterwards, I saw little-to-no micro-marring inflicted by the IP/Orange combo. I used a 50/50 IA/Water mix to remove the oil residue and saw some micro-marring. I followed up with the TC-8 on a white pad.

I am not 100% happy with the results. I was thinking, from Jonas' description of the paint, that all that was really needed was some IP to remove the light swirls but his paint is inflicted with some deeper scratches that are not within the cutting ability of the Mezerna. I am thinking I will have to purchase some more M105 to address the deeper scratches.

I was hoping for a more powerful before-and-after transformation but my efforts were minimal because he jus' had a professional detail. I was secretly hoping it was in worse shape so the transition would be even more eye-catching. Oh man, I feel like a bad person for saying that. :emb:

Hahah James thanks again for your help!!!

I keep telling everyone that my car is excellent shape... But I guess those little tiny "scratches" are a PITA... You can't even fill them with a finger nail.. Although you did mention you were able to feel a couple...

I jsut want my paint to be clear, look wet and have depth...

Hey my wheels look like they have water spots on them.. I hope you clean those before I pick up my car :P :engarde: :lol:

I am sure that I will be happy.... Would and SIP be better than an IP??? Is there anyway to get those "scratches" that aren't to noticable out?

Thanks again for your efforts

After I get the car back. What products do you recommend to up keep the paint? What should I do to the car after I come back from the driving the car? How and what should I use to wipe it down? Wash mitts you recommend?

That's what I wanted to talk with you about. Before I go and finish the car, I wanted to ask you if you want to post pone 'til I purchase some M105. This will address the deeper scratches.

This is from the top of my head, can't recall the exact figures but:

M105 removes 1200-1400 grit scratches
M IP removes 2000 grit scratches

The Mezerna SIP is only SLIGHTLY more aggresive than the original IP. As an added bonus to me it works faster and as I've learned here, it also spreads easier.

I also wanted to ask, what was your wash/dry methods? Not jus' now but before as well?

Post pone what? Did you want to keep the car and finish when you get the other products? It would be nice to have those pesky "scratches" out of my paint.. Like you said.. The paint is clean.. Again I jsut want it to be deep, wet and look vibrant
Before I would use NXT car wash soap, last year I swithced to Meguiars Gold soap.. And as for drying, I used to use a water blade or chamois. But now that I bought a leaf blower I always use that...

Help me out. I want to maintain your work.. I want it to be clear and look flawless

If you want to talk, gimme a call. I am up all night. I am working till 5 am

Did you make any more progress to other panels of the car?

I PMd you back.. I trust ya man, I will let you hold onto the car.. No joy rides though :P

Do you think the M105 will get the vibrant, shiny, wet and deep look that I want after you clean up the paint?

let me know

Wow Great work!..Hey man, maybe you could help out another Chi-town guy with my Black Z28. The person I bought this car from looks like he tryed detailing the car by himself and put swirls all over the car. Any chance I you could look at it or help would be awsome. Please PM me ASAP if you are interested.

Doing all this work for free...he at least deserves a couple joy rides! Good looking works, anxious to see some full finsiehd shots.

Yeah I cannot wait for the end result as well!! I am excited.. I know James is going to make my paint pop and look amazing!!

So he's really doing this for free? Wow....thats pretty stand-up. This is too labor intensive for me to do for free, at least right now when its 100 degrees out!

M105 is a lot better then the SIP, espically with the hard clearcoats we have on our cars.

+1 on that.....to this day, granted I've only done 20-25 cars, there has been NOTHING that required something other than 105/205. That combo, with the right pads, will do work on anything out there!

James said he is. I, however am going to toss a couple bucks his way b.c of his time and he is going to be buying some products!

I can't wait to see the car after the M105 is done.. Hopefully that will clear up the paint nicely

Sorry guys, detail is post-poned for the time being. I am currently waiting for some M105 to arrive.


Your car in it's current state is pretty-well maintained and has a deep, wet shine already. Only real issue is some faint swirls. The IP, while removing the swirls, added some more clarity though. I'm jus' trying to be realistic. The before-and-after isn't going to be as big of a transformation compared to one that has oxidation, heavy swirling, and heavy scratches.

Again, I'm kinda bummed that your car wasn't in worse condition! :emb:

You shouldn't be that bummed that it is in good shape.. Just means that you don't have to work that hard on the paint...

Well glad you think the paint is deep and wet looking. I want wetter, deeper lol...

So how do you keep the car in the garage from getting dust on it? Do you cover it up? B/C I'm sure you wipe it down before you work on it again

Yep, I work a section of about 2' x 2' of an area and wipe down before compounding/polishing.

I cant wait to see the before and after pics..:cheers:

Hey James, if your sitting looking out the front window of the car, you know how you can see the back of the hood?? Remember on the thicker portions of the hood I pointed out some spots that the paint that looked rough and wasn't clear? Is there anyway that you can make that clearer?

Yea, I remember. I usually work from rear to the front so I haven't messed with the front yet. I will see what I could do but when I glanced over at it, it seems to be more of an issue with the painting process. The clear coat wasn't applied as nicely as your sail panel or side mirrors and there isn't much depth. I'm guessing that they didn't spray an even coat of clear around the edges of the hood.

Here is an example:

https://ls1tech.com/forums/appearanc...pic-heavy.html

http://i70.photobucket.com/albums/i8...tails/2156.jpg

This image is from GoFast90's Detail of a car that was repainted and the clear coat lacked clarity.

James your phone dead again?? Or did you leave the state with my car and disconnect your phone :P :lol: