Appearance & Detailing Interior & Exterior Appearance Modifications

97 Corvette repaint and full paint correction

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Old Jan 24, 2012 | 02:33 AM
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Default 97 Corvette repaint and full paint correction

A couple years ago I did a full detail on my dad's C5. Came out nice and he and my mom took it to So-cal for a vacation. Unfortunately on their way back it got hit by several large chunks of broken up cement that came falling out of a big semi truck.

Fast forward to a month ago.....the corvette underwent a full repaint. I asked the bodyshop to take it easy with the buffing after they did the wetsanding to leave as much clear coat material as possible. To the guys doing the work this translated into "oh we don't have to really do much at all..." Hack work ensued and left a severely scratched, swirled, and deeply scored surface. The paintwork itself was good, it was just the finishing work that was poor.

As this car belongs to my father, the job had to be exceptional. So the task was to tackle all the defects, and there were many. Sanding scratches, heavy swirls, DA sander pigtails, overspray, random isolated deep scratches (RIDS), holograms/buffer trails, etc....

35 hours was what it took to do a full correction on this car. Upon completion, the paint was above 98%+ flawless.






The pre-wash rinsing showcases strong water beading. This indicates the presence of a heavy glaze filler applied by the bodyshop. This will hide swirls, scratches, and other imperfections. Also explains why many cars look great after a bodyshop buffs them but look quite poor after a week or two.






Foaming the car to get it ready for washing...







Initial test spot on the hood. After compounding with a wool pad, serious correction resulted, but wasn't quite good enough. More extreme measures were needed.









Compounding finished and starting to look better, but still a long way to go.







Some of the paint issues around the car....













DEEP scratches




















Some deep sand scratches








Making more progress....















After...









Ok.....it gets kinda bad here.


















After heavy compounding with wool and rotary, the heavy defects were leveled out. Final polishing will remove the rotary holograms and restore even more gloss.



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Old Jan 24, 2012 | 02:34 AM
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All paint correction work is now finished and the paint is ready for protection.


















Since the paint is only a few weeks old it needs to be able to breathe and out-gas. Applying wax or sealant is not advised during this 30-90 day process. Luckily Chemical Guys Blacklight is a new product that protects the paint but allows it to continue the out-gassing process.






















Gotta have the sun pictures to show the full correction.



























Remember that trashed passenger door?.......










Looking better now!




























Reflecting.....everything












Thanks for looking! I hope you enjoyed the read!
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Old Jan 24, 2012 | 03:07 AM
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That looks amazing. How long did the process take you from beginning to end out of curiosity?
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Old Jan 24, 2012 | 03:48 AM
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Great work man, so if i'm reading this correctly that's how it left the body shop? If so thats really shitty even if you did ask them to take it easy on the buffing.

Have you used the blacklight product before? Did you have any problems with it? I'm in the process of painting some of my body panels i may have to try out a bottle. Also had another question for you what do you use to remove your compunds/polishes? What's your favorite towel for removal? Thanks

Last edited by HOTROD98Z; Jan 24, 2012 at 03:54 AM.
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Old Jan 24, 2012 | 06:03 AM
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You are my hero......seriously. Amazing!
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Old Jan 24, 2012 | 06:32 AM
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That looks amazing. How long did the process take you from beginning to end out of curiosity?
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read the post it says 35 hours lol, nice work man,
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Old Jan 24, 2012 | 07:14 AM
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awesome work man? What were the thickness readings? Have plenty of clear to work with?
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Old Jan 24, 2012 | 07:39 AM
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I can't believe this car just came out of a fresh paint and you had to correct it. Great job as always.
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Old Jan 24, 2012 | 09:26 AM
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I hope your sending a bill to that body shop !!!
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Old Jan 24, 2012 | 11:19 AM
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Originally Posted by 95cam86roc
That looks amazing. How long did the process take you from beginning to end out of curiosity?
Thank you. But you didn't read the intro did you? Its posted in there.....35hrs
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Old Jan 24, 2012 | 11:30 AM
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Originally Posted by HOTROD98Z
Great work man, so if i'm reading this correctly that's how it left the body shop? If so thats really shitty even if you did ask them to take it easy on the buffing.

Have you used the blacklight product before? Did you have any problems with it? I'm in the process of painting some of my body panels i may have to try out a bottle. Also had another question for you what do you use to remove your compunds/polishes? What's your favorite towel for removal? Thanks
Yes you read that correctly, that is how it left the bodyshop.

Yes, I've used it before. Its a great product. I have Cobra microfibers but will be switching to detailing.com microfibers soon. Both are good but the detailing.com ones are even better.

Originally Posted by ncsu602
You are my hero......seriously. Amazing!
Haha thanks!

Originally Posted by jbridwelltransam
awesome work man? What were the thickness readings? Have plenty of clear to work with?
Awesome work? Did you mean for the question mark on that? Yes reading were taken and there were over 70 microns of clear to work with, plenty.


Originally Posted by bene
I can't believe this car just came out of a fresh paint and you had to correct it. Great job as always.
Thank you! I was shocked when I saw its condition...
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Old Jan 24, 2012 | 11:31 AM
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What's it cost to have a job like this done? I may need something similar done to my Camaro.
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Old Jan 24, 2012 | 11:33 AM
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Originally Posted by WhiteKnight '01
What's it cost to have a job like this done? I may need something similar done to my Camaro.
35 hours.............. it was a lot.
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Old Jan 24, 2012 | 11:41 AM
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I'm a little confused. Did you repaint the car? Or just buff out the scratches?
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Old Jan 24, 2012 | 12:01 PM
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The body shop repainted it...he buffed out the scratches they left behind.
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Old Jan 24, 2012 | 12:10 PM
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Absolutely amazing work...as always.
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Old Jan 24, 2012 | 12:15 PM
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Originally Posted by WhiteKnight '01
I'm a little confused. Did you repaint the car? Or just buff out the scratches?


Its right here....


Originally Posted by GoFast908Z
I asked the bodyshop to take it easy with the buffing after they did the wetsanding to leave as much clear coat material as possible. To the guys doing the work this translated into "oh we don't have to really do much at all..." Hack work ensued and left a severely scratched, swirled, and deeply scored surface. The paintwork itself was good, it was just the finishing work that was poor.
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Old Jan 24, 2012 | 12:16 PM
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Originally Posted by Super-Bat
Absolutely amazing work...as always.
Thanks Super-Bat!
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Old Jan 24, 2012 | 12:24 PM
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Wow, how can you get the car completely repainted and leave it looking like that? I'd be taking those guys to court, that is one **** poor finishing job.
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Old Jan 24, 2012 | 12:26 PM
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Well court was unnecessary....it was handled in a manner that myself and my father were happy with.
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