Ask a Professional Detailer
On The Tree
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 184
Likes: 1
Thanks for the compliment, Cheetoh.
Short Answer= forgettaboutit!
Long Answer= look me up in 2039 (I'll be 78 yrs old and have owned it for the first 50 yrs)
Only way to realize my investment is to drive it! I love taking long trips with it. How should you take care/clean a car on cross-country trips? I'm not into lugging cleaning supplies along. Is there a national registry of detailers for just a wash along the journey?
Here's a few pics of some: when new I drove out to CA from Mpls and drove up and down PCH top to bottom (2 from Santa Barbara and 1 from No. CA), Zion Ntl Park, Key West (couldn't drive any further). The factory paint made it until last year.
Short Answer= forgettaboutit!
Long Answer= look me up in 2039 (I'll be 78 yrs old and have owned it for the first 50 yrs)
Only way to realize my investment is to drive it! I love taking long trips with it. How should you take care/clean a car on cross-country trips? I'm not into lugging cleaning supplies along. Is there a national registry of detailers for just a wash along the journey?
Here's a few pics of some: when new I drove out to CA from Mpls and drove up and down PCH top to bottom (2 from Santa Barbara and 1 from No. CA), Zion Ntl Park, Key West (couldn't drive any further). The factory paint made it until last year.
Last edited by TEDSgrad; Aug 10, 2013 at 08:25 PM. Reason: spelling
Thanks for the compliment, Cheetoh.
Short Answer= forgettaboutit!
Long Answer= look me up in 2039 (I'll be 78 yrs old and have owned it for the first 50 yrs)
Only way to realize my investment is to drive it! I love taking long trips with it. How should you take care/clean a car on cross-country trips? I'm not into lugging cleaning supplies along. Is there a national registry of detailers for just a wash along the journey?
Here's a few pics of some: when new I drove out to CA from Mpls and drove up and down PCH top to bottom (2 from Santa Barbara and 1 from No. CA), Zion Ntl Park, Key West (couldn't drive any further). The factory paint made it until last year.
Short Answer= forgettaboutit!
Long Answer= look me up in 2039 (I'll be 78 yrs old and have owned it for the first 50 yrs)
Only way to realize my investment is to drive it! I love taking long trips with it. How should you take care/clean a car on cross-country trips? I'm not into lugging cleaning supplies along. Is there a national registry of detailers for just a wash along the journey?
Here's a few pics of some: when new I drove out to CA from Mpls and drove up and down PCH top to bottom (2 from Santa Barbara and 1 from No. CA), Zion Ntl Park, Key West (couldn't drive any further). The factory paint made it until last year.
Jeff, thanks for all your time and info!
Questions on caring for new paint: 0-2 yr plan.
Car was painted late Feb '13, brought back to heated shop to cure & brought out May 1. No mechanical sanding used on my car! I'm the original owner. Used Spies Hecker - the solvent (81 WA8774) and 3 coats of clear. How hard is this clear?
My body guy advised against buffing for a driver and said that there is enough clear for that in the future, "learn first." I use the two bucket wash, MF, jetseal 109 (mid-May), and wax.
I'm having a hard time keeping up with the birds. I usually catch them, but one or two slight etches have occurred (nobody else sees them, even when I point them out, they think I'm paranoid). For a driver, will I just have to live with this? What's a reasonable expectation for a driver?
I'm beginning to see the value of learning first, before taking away any mil thickness.
I drove out of the dealership in '89, and I know I have better paint now!
Questions on caring for new paint: 0-2 yr plan.
Car was painted late Feb '13, brought back to heated shop to cure & brought out May 1. No mechanical sanding used on my car! I'm the original owner. Used Spies Hecker - the solvent (81 WA8774) and 3 coats of clear. How hard is this clear?
My body guy advised against buffing for a driver and said that there is enough clear for that in the future, "learn first." I use the two bucket wash, MF, jetseal 109 (mid-May), and wax.
I'm having a hard time keeping up with the birds. I usually catch them, but one or two slight etches have occurred (nobody else sees them, even when I point them out, they think I'm paranoid). For a driver, will I just have to live with this? What's a reasonable expectation for a driver?
I'm beginning to see the value of learning first, before taking away any mil thickness.
I drove out of the dealership in '89, and I know I have better paint now!
I have a pretty good idea how you feel about your car. I feel the same way about every car I correct. I want it to look great and stay that way.
If you do decided to have your car corrected I would seriously consider a permanent coating like Opti coat. It basically gives you another layer of clear coat. It's rock hard, doesn't attract dust and makes your car a lot easier to wash. You also don't have to wax the car for three years.
On The Tree
Joined: Mar 2011
Posts: 184
Likes: 1
Yeah, I don't exist to serve my car's needs, it serves me! Admitting that I just can't do everything that I should for it (being a driver), is an essential starting point. 24 - 36 hrs can go by before I notice something, just the truth. That's just the nature of life that doesn't revolve around serving my car 
. That doesn't mean that I give up, however.
I would still like to know the hardness of the H.S. clear. With three coats, I do have some leeway. I know that paint correction should be once, but it would be nice (if I have enough) to do it year 8 and again year 16. Do opti after each and I could last 25 years.
Realistic expectations are huge as satisfaction is a measurement against those expectations.
. That doesn't mean that I give up, however.I would still like to know the hardness of the H.S. clear. With three coats, I do have some leeway. I know that paint correction should be once, but it would be nice (if I have enough) to do it year 8 and again year 16. Do opti after each and I could last 25 years.
Realistic expectations are huge as satisfaction is a measurement against those expectations.
Yeah, I don't exist to serve my car's needs, it serves me! Admitting that I just can't do everything that I should for it (being a driver), is an essential starting point. 24 - 36 hrs can go by before I notice something, just the truth. That's just the nature of life that doesn't revolve around serving my car . That doesn't mean that I give up, however.
I would still like to know the hardness of the H.S. clear. With three coats, I do have some leeway. I know that paint correction should be once, but it would be nice (if I have enough) to do it year 8 and again year 16. Do opti after each and I could last 25 years.
Realistic expectations are huge as satisfaction is a measurement against those expectations.
. That doesn't mean that I give up, however.I would still like to know the hardness of the H.S. clear. With three coats, I do have some leeway. I know that paint correction should be once, but it would be nice (if I have enough) to do it year 8 and again year 16. Do opti after each and I could last 25 years.
Realistic expectations are huge as satisfaction is a measurement against those expectations.
Polishing doesn't really remove any clear. You are just burnishing/polishing the clear. A light correction "typically" removes 1 or 2 microns and a heavy correction about 3 microns.
"Most" factory clear coats are around 50 microns. Paint manufacturers suggest no more than 25% removal of the clear before it can cause long term negative side effects. So if you have 50 microns you can safely remove about 12.5 microns. Aftermarket paint jobs typically have a lot thicker clear coats compared to factory.
To give you an idea how thick 50 microns is; a cigarette wrapper is about 25 microns. This shows how little clear coat is being removed even with heavy corrections.
I hope that made sense.
My bumper is rock chipped beyond belief, I'm going to dab touchup paint in the larger chips and then wetsand the entire bumper to level some of the touchup and also hopefully make the millions of nicks less noticeable.
Just how long does it take to burn through the clear if you are wetsanding properly? I'll be using 2000 to 3000 grit. I know it's an impossible question, but just to get an idea if I wetsanded your average paint in a 6" square, would it take 30 seconds? 2 minutes? 5 minutes?
Thanks!
Just how long does it take to burn through the clear if you are wetsanding properly? I'll be using 2000 to 3000 grit. I know it's an impossible question, but just to get an idea if I wetsanded your average paint in a 6" square, would it take 30 seconds? 2 minutes? 5 minutes?
Thanks!
My bumper is rock chipped beyond belief, I'm going to dab touchup paint in the larger chips and then wetsand the entire bumper to level some of the touchup and also hopefully make the millions of nicks less noticeable.
Just how long does it take to burn through the clear if you are wetsanding properly? I'll be using 2000 to 3000 grit. I know it's an impossible question, but just to get an idea if I wetsanded your average paint in a 6" square, would it take 30 seconds? 2 minutes? 5 minutes?
Thanks!
Just how long does it take to burn through the clear if you are wetsanding properly? I'll be using 2000 to 3000 grit. I know it's an impossible question, but just to get an idea if I wetsanded your average paint in a 6" square, would it take 30 seconds? 2 minutes? 5 minutes?
Thanks!
LS1 Tech Stories
The Best V8 Stories One Small Block at Time
Gas Monkey Built a 6-Wheel Ferrari Testarossa With a Corvette LT4 Engine
Verdad Gallardo
7 Most Reliable High-Performance Engines GM Has Ever Built
Verdad Gallardo
Amazing '71 Camaro Restomod Is Modern Muscle Car Under the Skin
Verdad Gallardo
6 Common C5 Corvette Failures and What's Involved In Repairing Them
Pouria Savadkouei
Retro Modern Bandit Pontiac Trans AM Comes With Burt Reynolds' Autograph
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Greatest Cadillac V Series Performance Models Ever, Ranked
Pouria Savadkouei
Top 10 Most Powerful Chevy Trucks Ever Made!
Hennessey's New Supercharged Silverado ZR2 Has 700 HP
Verdad Gallardo
Coachbuilt N2A Anteros Is an LS2-Powered C6 Corvette In Italian Clothes
Verdad Gallardo
If anyone is looking for some badass wax that can't be bought anymore...
https://ls1tech.com/forums/parts-cla...-wax-bnib.html
https://ls1tech.com/forums/parts-cla...-wax-bnib.html
The only thing paint-wise on my 2001 Trans Am that is bothering me is my rear hatch. Not the spoiler, that paint looks fine, but the actual hatch. I have milky white spots all over and they get especially bad when it rains. The clear looks like shattered glass as well.
Other than the back hatch the rest of the paint looks like it was cared for. Is this too far gone?
Other than the back hatch the rest of the paint looks like it was cared for. Is this too far gone?
It's weird, the rest of the paint looks fine. It's like the previous owner thought it would be too difficult to reach all the areas of the hatch and just waxed and maintained the spoiler and left the hatch paint to fend for itself. Well, off to the body shop it will go! 
Sorry to hijack this thread. I bought some meguires #16 paste wax from djfury05 on this forum. I opened it up (It was sealed) and found it was hard in the center and soft all the way around the hard spot. Am I supposed to do something to this or do I use it as is.I was hoping that gofast or somebody could answer this.
I studied these pages and used some of the products that jeff talked about and the results were amazing.Thanks guys for such an informative post
I studied these pages and used some of the products that jeff talked about and the results were amazing.Thanks guys for such an informative post
Sorry to hijack this thread. I bought some meguires #16 paste wax from djfury05 on this forum. I opened it up (It was sealed) and found it was hard in the center and soft all the way around the hard spot. Am I supposed to do something to this or do I use it as is.I was hoping that gofast or somebody could answer this.
I studied these pages and used some of the products that jeff talked about and the results were amazing.Thanks guys for such an informative post
I studied these pages and used some of the products that jeff talked about and the results were amazing.Thanks guys for such an informative post
Heat it up. Put it in a glass bowl with water (not above the top obviously), then put that bowl in a large pot on the stove and bring the temp up slowly until the wax melts. Once its fully liquid, remove it from the water and gently stir it thoroughly. Then allow it to cool and solidify for at least 24hrs. If that doesn't do it, I don't know what will.