RaysWay
Autopia Specialist
Volkswagen CC Hologram/Deep Scratch Removal with 3D AAT
The owner of this Volkswagen CC noticed specks of white paint on her vehicle and did what most people would do - she took her car to a local detail shop. According to her, they inspected the vehicle and promised that they would be able to return her Volkswagen to its former glory. After a few hours, she returned to retrieve her car in the evening and was nothing short of impressed with the results. The car looked great. All of the overspray had been removed and the paint was slick and glossy. She happily handed over her credit card to pay for their services.
Fun Fact: According to Volkswagen, the suffix CC stands for Comfort Coupé.
Fast forward a few days later.....a few Florida thunderstorms later......and this story takes a turn for the worse. As the thick commercial glaze began to wear off, she started to notice scratches. First on her roof, then on her hood....the doors....bumpers.....EVERYWHERE. Hard evidence of someone simply using an aggressive scouring pad had revealed themselves all over the exterior of her prized possession, along with the tell-tale signs of improper use of a rotary polisher; holograms.
Feeling betrayed, she started to ask her closest friends for advice. She was referred to me by a local mechanic who she trusted and ended up arranging to bring her car over for an inspection and estimate. As I walked around the vehicle, she told me how much she loved her Volkswagen and how hard she worked to be able to purchase it. She enjoyed keeping her car clean which was evident from her pristine interior, but now felt embarrassed with her car. This is what I saw...
Besides the obvious swirl marks and holograms, my biggest concern were the deep scratches the "detail" shop left behind. They might as well used a grinder to remove the overspray.
Water spots.
There were deep scratches ALL OVER the car.
It's not a good sign when the paint looks dull.
After inspecting the paint in clear sunlight I was confident I would be able to remove the majority of the scratches, I've removed plenty of holograms and scratches in the past; but my biggest concern was to leave her with enough clearcoat. This is her factory OEM clear by the way and it had already been polished with a wool cutting pad on a rotary polisher, then aggressively scrubbed with a scouring pad. If the clearcoat was already compromised, polishing the area would only make the dull spots larger.
This detail came to me at the perfect time since I had a new HighLine Paint Thickness Gauge on my desk pending a review. This is their 2nd Generation Paint Thickness Gauge and was improved from the 1st Generation by the following improvements:
After confirming the PTG was properly calibrated with their included shims, I started using the HighLine Paint Thickness Gauge on the entire vehicle with my primary focus on the areas of the car with deep scratches.
Luckily for me, there was enough clear left on the paint to work with. Most of the readings on the heavily damaged areas ranged from 4.5 - 5.5 mils.
For reference, the door jambs averaged 3.0 mils.
My FLEX Swirl Finder Light allowed me to view the holograms while having the car indoors. I knew if I wasn't able to see holograms in the paint with my Flex light, I wouldn't be able to see them in direct sunlight.
Looks like the previous "detailer" left me more stuff to clean up between every panel. :wall
After performing multiple test spots on this VW paint, I ended up using three different polishers for this detail, a FLEX 3401, a Griots Garage G15, and a Makita 9227c. I credit the unique properties of each of these polishers for helping me maximize my efficiency. Could I have gotten the same results using only one of these polishers? Maybe. But I don't think I could've achieved these results as quickly.
Ultimately I ended up using a Lake Country 5 inch Orange Hybrid Power Finish Pad on the FLEX 3401 to compound the entire car. I used 5 of these pads in total. For areas with deeper scratches and imperfection, I came back with the Makita 9227c with a white 6.5 inch CCS pad. Then I polished the paint with the Griots Garage G15 with a Meguiar's 5 inch DA Foam Polishing Disc. 4 of those pads were used in total to polish the entire car with the G15.
This is the 3rd detail I've now used 3D AAT Compound and AAT Finishing Polish and I'm sold. This compound and polish combination is :10: AMAZING. Both do not dust and are super easy to wipe off the paint. They're not as oily as other high end polishes, so after a few quick swipes with a Supreme 530 microfiber towel; all of the polish residue is removed. I always end up having to do multiple IPA wipe downs before applying a coating when I'm using oily polishes, so using the 3D AAT polishes has saved me a lot of time. If you're looking for "top shelf" abrasives, I highly recommend giving 3D's AAT Compound and Polish a shot.
Here's an example of a deep scratch that was left behind using a DA. This section of the hood has already been compounded with the Flex 3401/Orange Hybrid/3D AAT Compound combination. I don't think the average person would notice this faint imperfection, but it was on the drivers side of the car on the hood and I wanted to get the paint as close to perfect as possible.
Source: Autopia Instagram
Hasta la vista, baby. B)
All of the following scratches on the car were removed. I was moving pretty quickly at this point and didn't take any after pictures after correcting the panels. But at least I documented the original damage. You can see in the final "after" pics that all of these scratches have been removed.
Btw I saw a thread on here recently asking if anyone wears an apron while detailing and YES I do! I wear the Nanoskin wash mitt I got for free in one of the Nanoskin Starter Kits. I usually detail inside a used car dealership during business hours and it makes me look more professional while keeping my clothes clean. I have a long way to reach "Todd Helme" level of skill using a rotary polisher, so I do occasionally sling polish all over the place. :yikes:
Here you can see the difference in gloss between the far side of the roof which has been polished, compared to the other half of the hood that still have deep scratches.
This was one of the biggest eye sores on the paint. This was located on the passenger side roof, close to the windshield. Your eye seemed to gravitate towards the dull, lifeless spot on the paint while looking at the vehicle.
After compounding with the Flex 3401.
After compounding with the Makita 9227c.
The owner of this Volkswagen CC noticed specks of white paint on her vehicle and did what most people would do - she took her car to a local detail shop. According to her, they inspected the vehicle and promised that they would be able to return her Volkswagen to its former glory. After a few hours, she returned to retrieve her car in the evening and was nothing short of impressed with the results. The car looked great. All of the overspray had been removed and the paint was slick and glossy. She happily handed over her credit card to pay for their services.
Fun Fact: According to Volkswagen, the suffix CC stands for Comfort Coupé.
Fast forward a few days later.....a few Florida thunderstorms later......and this story takes a turn for the worse. As the thick commercial glaze began to wear off, she started to notice scratches. First on her roof, then on her hood....the doors....bumpers.....EVERYWHERE. Hard evidence of someone simply using an aggressive scouring pad had revealed themselves all over the exterior of her prized possession, along with the tell-tale signs of improper use of a rotary polisher; holograms.
Feeling betrayed, she started to ask her closest friends for advice. She was referred to me by a local mechanic who she trusted and ended up arranging to bring her car over for an inspection and estimate. As I walked around the vehicle, she told me how much she loved her Volkswagen and how hard she worked to be able to purchase it. She enjoyed keeping her car clean which was evident from her pristine interior, but now felt embarrassed with her car. This is what I saw...
Besides the obvious swirl marks and holograms, my biggest concern were the deep scratches the "detail" shop left behind. They might as well used a grinder to remove the overspray.
Water spots.
There were deep scratches ALL OVER the car.
It's not a good sign when the paint looks dull.
After inspecting the paint in clear sunlight I was confident I would be able to remove the majority of the scratches, I've removed plenty of holograms and scratches in the past; but my biggest concern was to leave her with enough clearcoat. This is her factory OEM clear by the way and it had already been polished with a wool cutting pad on a rotary polisher, then aggressively scrubbed with a scouring pad. If the clearcoat was already compromised, polishing the area would only make the dull spots larger.
This detail came to me at the perfect time since I had a new HighLine Paint Thickness Gauge on my desk pending a review. This is their 2nd Generation Paint Thickness Gauge and was improved from the 1st Generation by the following improvements:
- A smaller compact size
- Larger LCD display with button activated 180 degree screen rotation
- Only requires 1AAA battery
- Small and durable "sunglasses" style case now included
After confirming the PTG was properly calibrated with their included shims, I started using the HighLine Paint Thickness Gauge on the entire vehicle with my primary focus on the areas of the car with deep scratches.
Luckily for me, there was enough clear left on the paint to work with. Most of the readings on the heavily damaged areas ranged from 4.5 - 5.5 mils.
For reference, the door jambs averaged 3.0 mils.
My FLEX Swirl Finder Light allowed me to view the holograms while having the car indoors. I knew if I wasn't able to see holograms in the paint with my Flex light, I wouldn't be able to see them in direct sunlight.
Looks like the previous "detailer" left me more stuff to clean up between every panel. :wall
After performing multiple test spots on this VW paint, I ended up using three different polishers for this detail, a FLEX 3401, a Griots Garage G15, and a Makita 9227c. I credit the unique properties of each of these polishers for helping me maximize my efficiency. Could I have gotten the same results using only one of these polishers? Maybe. But I don't think I could've achieved these results as quickly.
Ultimately I ended up using a Lake Country 5 inch Orange Hybrid Power Finish Pad on the FLEX 3401 to compound the entire car. I used 5 of these pads in total. For areas with deeper scratches and imperfection, I came back with the Makita 9227c with a white 6.5 inch CCS pad. Then I polished the paint with the Griots Garage G15 with a Meguiar's 5 inch DA Foam Polishing Disc. 4 of those pads were used in total to polish the entire car with the G15.
This is the 3rd detail I've now used 3D AAT Compound and AAT Finishing Polish and I'm sold. This compound and polish combination is :10: AMAZING. Both do not dust and are super easy to wipe off the paint. They're not as oily as other high end polishes, so after a few quick swipes with a Supreme 530 microfiber towel; all of the polish residue is removed. I always end up having to do multiple IPA wipe downs before applying a coating when I'm using oily polishes, so using the 3D AAT polishes has saved me a lot of time. If you're looking for "top shelf" abrasives, I highly recommend giving 3D's AAT Compound and Polish a shot.
Here's an example of a deep scratch that was left behind using a DA. This section of the hood has already been compounded with the Flex 3401/Orange Hybrid/3D AAT Compound combination. I don't think the average person would notice this faint imperfection, but it was on the drivers side of the car on the hood and I wanted to get the paint as close to perfect as possible.
Source: Autopia Instagram
Hasta la vista, baby. B)
All of the following scratches on the car were removed. I was moving pretty quickly at this point and didn't take any after pictures after correcting the panels. But at least I documented the original damage. You can see in the final "after" pics that all of these scratches have been removed.
Btw I saw a thread on here recently asking if anyone wears an apron while detailing and YES I do! I wear the Nanoskin wash mitt I got for free in one of the Nanoskin Starter Kits. I usually detail inside a used car dealership during business hours and it makes me look more professional while keeping my clothes clean. I have a long way to reach "Todd Helme" level of skill using a rotary polisher, so I do occasionally sling polish all over the place. :yikes:
Here you can see the difference in gloss between the far side of the roof which has been polished, compared to the other half of the hood that still have deep scratches.
This was one of the biggest eye sores on the paint. This was located on the passenger side roof, close to the windshield. Your eye seemed to gravitate towards the dull, lifeless spot on the paint while looking at the vehicle.
After compounding with the Flex 3401.
After compounding with the Makita 9227c.
