Damon
King Kong
PeteRS's RS.
A well looked after car now the water blade has been ditched
There were a few deep scratches that needed particular attention as a consequence. I urge anyone using a water blade to stop, unless you are very careful you will scratch your car.
For those who don't know the process....wheels washed first as you need to get the worst of the grime away from the car. Then the car is washed, dried, interior detailed before claybaring the entire car.
Then it is ready for the paint correction stage. Pete wasn't able to be around for the detail so I thought I'd take the opportunity to explain a little about the process here.
Scratches highlighted by the halogen lamps. If you look at the around the lamps reflection you can see the scratch lines.
Good levels of paint correction can only be achieved by machine polishers. Due to the cutting agents in a polish requiring heat, it is extremely difficult to achieve paint correction by hand. Working from the lightest of pad and polish combinations to remove the minimum of clearcoat as possible a section is repeatedly corrected until the appropriate combination is found.
Once settled on the best combo, polish is spread on the panel using the pad at slow speed. Specialist 3M tape is used to mask/protect areas, edges and plastics.
Once evenly spread the machine is turned up to 1200-1500 revs/minute to generate the heat for cutting. In slow controlled passes the section is machined until the polishing crystals have broken down completely. This is visible as the polish starts to go transparent. At this point the polishing is stopped and any residue removed to inspect the correction level.
If necessary a repeat application may be performed. With experience this is rarely needed.
If you now look at the lamps all the scratches have been removed leaving a defect free finish
At all points during the process the thickness of the paint is measured using an electronic paint thickness gauge to ensure the integrity of the paint is never compromised.
Some more examples of the before and after of the same section of car...
Boot: you can see the deep line from the water blade
Finished panels
Once every panel has been corrected all the masking tape is removed, any polish residues removed and the car is then ready for the finishing products.
This detail was to be completed using Swissvax's best wax, Divine. Divine has the highest content and grade of Carnauba available and not only produces a wonderful deep finish but has a longevity that is simply amazing. Two coats will last for months.
To prepare the surface for the wax it is necessary to take the cleaning to another level by use of a paint cleaner. A paint cleaner removes any minute dirt and polish residues leaving the paint literally squeaky clean. Swissvax's Cleaner Fluid also contains bonding agents to help the wax create the toughest of protective layers.
The Cleaner Fluid is applied to the car using the machine polisher and a finishing pad (no cut). The entire car is therefore machined again and residues removed using a microfibre polishing cloth.
The wax is then applied, cured for 10 minutes and buffed off.
The finishing of the detail is all plastic and rubber trims 'fed' and finished with Swissvax Pneu, tyres blackened (matt finish), exhaust polished (if necessary) and glass work cleaned.
Leaving the car in better condition than it has ever been. Better than factory condition.
This level of product quality and preparation provide the car with the best possible protection possible and will help retain its condition longer than an equivalent untreated car. The paint correction will return value to the car against equivalent uncorrected car, and on high value cars I am confident the cost of the detail is more than returned by increasing the cars sale price.
Anyway, enough of the marketing spiel
the finished car....
Thanks for reading and I hope you found it interesting to see the paint correction process.
Damon
A well looked after car now the water blade has been ditched
There were a few deep scratches that needed particular attention as a consequence. I urge anyone using a water blade to stop, unless you are very careful you will scratch your car.
For those who don't know the process....wheels washed first as you need to get the worst of the grime away from the car. Then the car is washed, dried, interior detailed before claybaring the entire car.
Then it is ready for the paint correction stage. Pete wasn't able to be around for the detail so I thought I'd take the opportunity to explain a little about the process here.
Scratches highlighted by the halogen lamps. If you look at the around the lamps reflection you can see the scratch lines.
Good levels of paint correction can only be achieved by machine polishers. Due to the cutting agents in a polish requiring heat, it is extremely difficult to achieve paint correction by hand. Working from the lightest of pad and polish combinations to remove the minimum of clearcoat as possible a section is repeatedly corrected until the appropriate combination is found.
Once settled on the best combo, polish is spread on the panel using the pad at slow speed. Specialist 3M tape is used to mask/protect areas, edges and plastics.
Once evenly spread the machine is turned up to 1200-1500 revs/minute to generate the heat for cutting. In slow controlled passes the section is machined until the polishing crystals have broken down completely. This is visible as the polish starts to go transparent. At this point the polishing is stopped and any residue removed to inspect the correction level.
If necessary a repeat application may be performed. With experience this is rarely needed.
If you now look at the lamps all the scratches have been removed leaving a defect free finish
At all points during the process the thickness of the paint is measured using an electronic paint thickness gauge to ensure the integrity of the paint is never compromised.
Some more examples of the before and after of the same section of car...
Boot: you can see the deep line from the water blade
Finished panels
Once every panel has been corrected all the masking tape is removed, any polish residues removed and the car is then ready for the finishing products.
This detail was to be completed using Swissvax's best wax, Divine. Divine has the highest content and grade of Carnauba available and not only produces a wonderful deep finish but has a longevity that is simply amazing. Two coats will last for months.
To prepare the surface for the wax it is necessary to take the cleaning to another level by use of a paint cleaner. A paint cleaner removes any minute dirt and polish residues leaving the paint literally squeaky clean. Swissvax's Cleaner Fluid also contains bonding agents to help the wax create the toughest of protective layers.
The Cleaner Fluid is applied to the car using the machine polisher and a finishing pad (no cut). The entire car is therefore machined again and residues removed using a microfibre polishing cloth.
The wax is then applied, cured for 10 minutes and buffed off.
The finishing of the detail is all plastic and rubber trims 'fed' and finished with Swissvax Pneu, tyres blackened (matt finish), exhaust polished (if necessary) and glass work cleaned.
Leaving the car in better condition than it has ever been. Better than factory condition.
This level of product quality and preparation provide the car with the best possible protection possible and will help retain its condition longer than an equivalent untreated car. The paint correction will return value to the car against equivalent uncorrected car, and on high value cars I am confident the cost of the detail is more than returned by increasing the cars sale price.
Anyway, enough of the marketing spiel
the finished car....
Thanks for reading and I hope you found it interesting to see the paint correction process.
Damon
:finger
