CH.Detailing
What's a detail?
Teaser! Started this car today, in for a 2-step correction and exterior detail only.
Hopefully it will be done tomorrow!
Hopefully it will be done tomorrow!
2003 Nissan 350Z
- Thread starter CH.Detailing
- Start date
Iomcamaro
New member
I'll be waiting for the finished pics. I just love these cars. I was looking into getting one if the new Camaro didn't come out.
Pats300zx
Super Moderator
Subscribed...Can't wait to see how this 350 comes out 
Brian_Brice
New member
Subscribed as well, I really enjoy the before and afters in tight area's, so yeah this is definitely a teaser.
vitalcarcare
Detailing the Gulf Coast
Does it have the "HARD CLEAR COAT" haha
cant wait to see the final results. it looks like it needs some love!
cant wait to see the final results. it looks like it needs some love!
CH.Detailing
What's a detail?
Teaser #2, taken not but 30 minutes ago. Long day, late night, early morning, not fun.
CH.Detailing
What's a detail?
[FONT="]Hokay, time to get some work done on this write-up.
The car wasn't really excessively dirty, it had a fine layer of grime on it, some light bug residue, and had been rained on a few times. I've seen worse.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The wheels weren't terrible either, the rears barely had any brake dust on them and fronts were only lightly coated.
Rear,[/FONT]
[FONT="]
Front,[/FONT]
[FONT="]The wheels probably would have cleaned up just fine with regular soap and water, but I had an almost empty bottle of Sonax that was begging to get used up.
Sonax dwelling,[/FONT]
[FONT="]
Really starting to 'bleed',[/FONT]
[FONT="]
Agitated and left to dwell a little while longer,[/FONT]
[FONT="]
Tires, wheel wells, and backs of wheels were cleaned with a mixture of Meg's Super Degreaser and APC+[/FONT]
[FONT="]
The tips on the Borla dual exhaust were a bit crusty and asking for some shine.[/FONT]
[FONT="]
Cleaned up and lighted polished with P21S polishing soap,[/FONT]
[FONT="]
Work up a light lather with the supplied applicator, give it a little rubbin'...[/FONT]
[FONT="]
...and 'Voila!'[/FONT]
[FONT="]
The car was washed under a big shade tree, giving me plenty of time to get everything clean without having the suds dry out on the paint. This was especially helpful on this sunny 90+ degree day.[/FONT]
[FONT="]
Initially it was foamed with a mixture of Dawn and Megs Shampoo Plus.[/FONT]
[FONT="] [/FONT]
[FONT="]
While the foam was dwelling I went around the car with a bottle of APC+ and brush, removing dried wax and dirt from all the cracks.[/FONT]
[FONT="]
The rest of the car was washed with a standard 2-bucket wash using the same soap mixture as the foaming. (there is a grit guard in the right bucket, trust me, I seem to have mis-placed one of them.
)[/FONT]
[FONT="]
After washing the car it was time to clean up the door jambs, filthy![/FONT]
[FONT="]
Normally I will wipe down the jambs with a solution of ONR when I clean the interior, but these were extra dirty and needed to be cleaned the same way as the rest of the car.[/FONT]
[FONT="]
Clean![/FONT]
The car wasn't really excessively dirty, it had a fine layer of grime on it, some light bug residue, and had been rained on a few times. I've seen worse.[/FONT]
[FONT="]
[/FONT]
Rear,[/FONT]
[FONT="]
[/FONT]
Front,[/FONT]
[FONT="]
[/FONT]
Sonax dwelling,[/FONT]
[FONT="]
[/FONT]
Really starting to 'bleed',[/FONT]
[FONT="]
[/FONT]
Agitated and left to dwell a little while longer,[/FONT]
[FONT="]
[/FONT]
Tires, wheel wells, and backs of wheels were cleaned with a mixture of Meg's Super Degreaser and APC+[/FONT]
[FONT="]
[/FONT]
The tips on the Borla dual exhaust were a bit crusty and asking for some shine.[/FONT]
[FONT="]
[/FONT]
Cleaned up and lighted polished with P21S polishing soap,[/FONT]
[FONT="]
[/FONT]
Work up a light lather with the supplied applicator, give it a little rubbin'...[/FONT]
[FONT="]
[/FONT]
...and 'Voila!'[/FONT]
[FONT="]
[/FONT]
The car was washed under a big shade tree, giving me plenty of time to get everything clean without having the suds dry out on the paint. This was especially helpful on this sunny 90+ degree day.[/FONT]
[FONT="]
[/FONT]
Initially it was foamed with a mixture of Dawn and Megs Shampoo Plus.[/FONT]
[FONT="]
[/FONT]
[FONT="]
[/FONT]
While the foam was dwelling I went around the car with a bottle of APC+ and brush, removing dried wax and dirt from all the cracks.[/FONT]
[FONT="]
[/FONT]
The rest of the car was washed with a standard 2-bucket wash using the same soap mixture as the foaming. (there is a grit guard in the right bucket, trust me, I seem to have mis-placed one of them.
[FONT="]
[/FONT]
After washing the car it was time to clean up the door jambs, filthy![/FONT]
[FONT="]
[/FONT]
Normally I will wipe down the jambs with a solution of ONR when I clean the interior, but these were extra dirty and needed to be cleaned the same way as the rest of the car.[/FONT]
[FONT="]
[/FONT]
Clean![/FONT]
[FONT="]
[/FONT]
CH.Detailing
What's a detail?
All clean and dry, time to inspect it in the sun to know what I'm working with!
Not what I like to see, tons of defects, of all types. Swirling from minor to major with many scuffs, scratches, and deeper marring.
I brought the car inside and let it cool down before I began polishing. While waiting for it to cool I check the car over using my dual xenon Brinkmann.
The Brinkmann didn't show me anything good. In order to further along my growing sense of depression surrounding this car, I decided to check the paint a third time using a 1000w work light.
Add significant water etching to the aforementioned list of defects.
After getting the lay of the land it was time to clay. Blackfire Polyclay was used with ONR as lube.
After doing half the roof it became apparent that this was well overdue.
The hood was worse, and this was only a quarter of it.
Now that the car was cleaned, clayed, and inspected it was time to lay down some tape.
I usually add and remove tape as I go, but these were the lines that could stay put throughout the correction.
Even under the low output fluorescent lights the sorry state of this clear coat was easily apparent.
Not what I like to see, tons of defects, of all types. Swirling from minor to major with many scuffs, scratches, and deeper marring.
I brought the car inside and let it cool down before I began polishing. While waiting for it to cool I check the car over using my dual xenon Brinkmann.
The Brinkmann didn't show me anything good. In order to further along my growing sense of depression surrounding this car, I decided to check the paint a third time using a 1000w work light.
Add significant water etching to the aforementioned list of defects.
After getting the lay of the land it was time to clay. Blackfire Polyclay was used with ONR as lube.
After doing half the roof it became apparent that this was well overdue.
The hood was worse, and this was only a quarter of it.
Now that the car was cleaned, clayed, and inspected it was time to lay down some tape.
I usually add and remove tape as I go, but these were the lines that could stay put throughout the correction.
Even under the low output fluorescent lights the sorry state of this clear coat was easily apparent.
CH.Detailing
What's a detail?
I haven't had a lot of time to try out the new Megs microfiber system, so I was eager to see what it could against paint as bad as this. I've seen a few people mixing D300 with M105 and yielding a bit more cut than D300 by itself, without all the dusting of M105, so I jumped to that from the start.
A few blobs of each polish and a light mist of M34,
After doing a section I was quick to check my work.
Here is the left side of the roof, uncorrected.
And the right side, after buffing with M105/D300.
All of the swirling was gone, although there were still many deeper scratches that didn't show well in this photo.
After doing a second section, this happened,
This is the second MF cutting pad I've had this happen to, and I believe I know why. I've been using these pads at speed 6, on what you can see is a too small backing plate, with a moderate amount of pressure. After they separate from the backing the foam is incredibly hot. I believe the biggest contributions to this failure is too much pressure and too small of backing plate. The too small plate transfers too much force to too small of an area, heating up and over stressing the adhesive that holds the backing material to the pad.
I didn't want to risk destroying another MF pad, or wasting more time getting that system to work, so I switched to something a little more tried and true. I did the rest of the car using my Flex rotary with Menz SIP and an LC orange pad at a little over speed 2 (sorry, I can't remember the correlation to RPMs).
The rear bumper was the worst area on the car, covered with a myriad of swirls and wetsanding marks.
SIP made quick work of the scratches.
As the day went on I started to realize I had underestimated how long it would take to tackle this car, I called up my appointment for the next day and moved him to later in the week. With that squared away I could continue to polish into the wee hours of the morning and be free to sleep the next day away.
After SIP I finished down with M205 on a LC crimson pad via PC. Tight areas were finished with M205 on a LC tangerine pad via rotary.
Here are some post polishing shots,
At this point it was somewhere after midnight, can't remember exactly. With the polishing complete I was desperate to get some sleep, but I knew I had to get a coat of BFWD on the car that night, so I could put a coat of Midnight Sun on it the next day. I proceeded to give the car a wipe down with IPA, followed by the BFWD.
Before leaving for the night I hit the trim by the side mirrors with some 303 Aerospace Protectant, so it could soak in overnight.
I wiped off the Blackfire and headed home for the night... well, part of it. It was my intention to have finished the car before sundown and to take some good photos of it, since I had missed the sundown I was determined to get some photos during the next day's sunrise.
A few blobs of each polish and a light mist of M34,
After doing a section I was quick to check my work.
Here is the left side of the roof, uncorrected.
And the right side, after buffing with M105/D300.
All of the swirling was gone, although there were still many deeper scratches that didn't show well in this photo.
After doing a second section, this happened,
This is the second MF cutting pad I've had this happen to, and I believe I know why. I've been using these pads at speed 6, on what you can see is a too small backing plate, with a moderate amount of pressure. After they separate from the backing the foam is incredibly hot. I believe the biggest contributions to this failure is too much pressure and too small of backing plate. The too small plate transfers too much force to too small of an area, heating up and over stressing the adhesive that holds the backing material to the pad.
I didn't want to risk destroying another MF pad, or wasting more time getting that system to work, so I switched to something a little more tried and true. I did the rest of the car using my Flex rotary with Menz SIP and an LC orange pad at a little over speed 2 (sorry, I can't remember the correlation to RPMs).
The rear bumper was the worst area on the car, covered with a myriad of swirls and wetsanding marks.
SIP made quick work of the scratches.
As the day went on I started to realize I had underestimated how long it would take to tackle this car, I called up my appointment for the next day and moved him to later in the week. With that squared away I could continue to polish into the wee hours of the morning and be free to sleep the next day away.
After SIP I finished down with M205 on a LC crimson pad via PC. Tight areas were finished with M205 on a LC tangerine pad via rotary.
Here are some post polishing shots,
At this point it was somewhere after midnight, can't remember exactly. With the polishing complete I was desperate to get some sleep, but I knew I had to get a coat of BFWD on the car that night, so I could put a coat of Midnight Sun on it the next day. I proceeded to give the car a wipe down with IPA, followed by the BFWD.
Before leaving for the night I hit the trim by the side mirrors with some 303 Aerospace Protectant, so it could soak in overnight.
I wiped off the Blackfire and headed home for the night... well, part of it. It was my intention to have finished the car before sundown and to take some good photos of it, since I had missed the sundown I was determined to get some photos during the next day's sunrise.
CH.Detailing
What's a detail?
So, after a quick 4 hour nap I headed back to the garage, knocked off any dust that had settled, gave the windows and wheels a quick wipe and headed out.
I had a couple locations in mind, but I had always shot there at sundown, not sunrise. Both spots were open east to west so I didn't think I would have any issues with the reversed lighting...
...And I didn't.
I had a couple locations in mind, but I had always shot there at sundown, not sunrise. Both spots were open east to west so I didn't think I would have any issues with the reversed lighting...
...And I didn't.
CH.Detailing
What's a detail?
[FONT="]After the shoot I foamed then washed the car using Megs Gold Class, both to remove the previous night's polishing dust and to prep the surface before applying the Midnight Sun.[/FONT]
[FONT="]
Last night's Blackfire beading like a champ![/FONT]
[FONT="]
So buttery smooth and easy to use,[/FONT]
[FONT="]
Before giving the car back I further polished the exhaust tips with Optimum Metal Polish v1.0, thoroughly cleaned the rear carbon diffusor, did a light vacuum and wipe down on the interior, cleaned the glass, waxed with Midnight Sun, re-treated trim with 303, applied Gummi Pfledge Stift to the door seals, sealed door jambs with Opti-Seal, sealed wheels, exhaust tips, and carbon with Rejex, applied 303 Aerospace to the tires (I had applied M40 the night before for an even finish)... I think thats it.
Last, but not least, sun shots![/FONT]
[FONT="]
[/FONT]
Last night's Blackfire beading like a champ![/FONT]
[FONT="]
[/FONT]
So buttery smooth and easy to use,[/FONT]
[FONT="]
[/FONT]
Before giving the car back I further polished the exhaust tips with Optimum Metal Polish v1.0, thoroughly cleaned the rear carbon diffusor, did a light vacuum and wipe down on the interior, cleaned the glass, waxed with Midnight Sun, re-treated trim with 303, applied Gummi Pfledge Stift to the door seals, sealed door jambs with Opti-Seal, sealed wheels, exhaust tips, and carbon with Rejex, applied 303 Aerospace to the tires (I had applied M40 the night before for an even finish)... I think thats it.
Last, but not least, sun shots![/FONT]
[FONT="]
[/FONT]
[/FONT]
vitalcarcare
Detailing the Gulf Coast
Gorgeous stuff man. TY for the heads up on the backing plate/mf pad issue you've encountered. The pictures are stunning and I'm certain the owner is thrilled with the results
Iomcamaro
New member
Great turnaround! That car was in rough shape.