Leadfootluke
New member
This is our family car, and my dad's car to drive to and from work. Since I am still a student and living at home, I thought it would be a good vehicle to correct as a thank you for everything he has done for me.
I love the styling of this car and since it was released I had always wanted one. We purchased it in 2007 and have since added 55,000 miles to the clock. It was an early 2004 build and has gone the last 6 years without a paint correction, and without proper wax or protection in 100* swings from Michigan winters to summers.
Last October I decided to invest in a new hobby, detailing. It was my birthday and I pulled the trigger on a PC7424XP DA as well pads and polishes. I have since doubled my initial investment in products [many thanks to PAC!] After some very small practice spots on my personal vehicle, I was up to the spring challenge of working on the Magnum.
My mission statement was to complete the vehicle by Thursday night, return the original color to the paint, and present it to my dad for fathers day :2thumbs:
This past week, starting on Monday, I spend all of my time after work on the car up until 1 am on Thursday morning. A total of probably 30 hours was invested, and due to time constraints, the engine bay and interior were not meticulously detailed. The wheels will be detailed in depth at a later date as well [Lug nuts are stripped from the dealer, waiting for new lugs].
The first step was stripping the prior waxes [that was done a month ago HERE. After a few detergent washes, the waxes still remained on the hood.
A few spots that needed to be cleaned were noted. When I said it had not been regularly protected, I meant it probably was waxed once a year with an over the counter Meguiars paste wax, then subsequently washed with dawn the next week :think:
The paint was covered with scratches, swirls, and RIDS.
Polyclay was used, and after a 6" by 6" square, the clay looked like this
Rail dust on the hatch needed to be addressed as well
Enjoying the time consuming task of taping the vehicle
Meguiars M105 was used on Lake County Hydrotech Cyan 5.5" and 4" pads. Meguiars M205 was then used on Lake County Hydrotech Tangerine 5.5" and 4" pads. I considered following the Tangerine pads with M205 on a black finishing pad, but the Tangerine pads finished down great.
Here is the obligatory 50/50 on the hatch with just M105.
Due to time and lighting, that was the only shot taken during the correction.
After the finishing polish, all of the tape was removed from the molding and they were polished by hand or with the 4" pad. All paint surfaces were wiped down using 50% IPA until all of the oils were removed from the paint.
I love the styling of this car and since it was released I had always wanted one. We purchased it in 2007 and have since added 55,000 miles to the clock. It was an early 2004 build and has gone the last 6 years without a paint correction, and without proper wax or protection in 100* swings from Michigan winters to summers.
Last October I decided to invest in a new hobby, detailing. It was my birthday and I pulled the trigger on a PC7424XP DA as well pads and polishes. I have since doubled my initial investment in products [many thanks to PAC!] After some very small practice spots on my personal vehicle, I was up to the spring challenge of working on the Magnum.
My mission statement was to complete the vehicle by Thursday night, return the original color to the paint, and present it to my dad for fathers day :2thumbs:
This past week, starting on Monday, I spend all of my time after work on the car up until 1 am on Thursday morning. A total of probably 30 hours was invested, and due to time constraints, the engine bay and interior were not meticulously detailed. The wheels will be detailed in depth at a later date as well [Lug nuts are stripped from the dealer, waiting for new lugs].
The first step was stripping the prior waxes [that was done a month ago HERE. After a few detergent washes, the waxes still remained on the hood.

A few spots that needed to be cleaned were noted. When I said it had not been regularly protected, I meant it probably was waxed once a year with an over the counter Meguiars paste wax, then subsequently washed with dawn the next week :think:


The paint was covered with scratches, swirls, and RIDS.









Polyclay was used, and after a 6" by 6" square, the clay looked like this

Rail dust on the hatch needed to be addressed as well

Enjoying the time consuming task of taping the vehicle


Meguiars M105 was used on Lake County Hydrotech Cyan 5.5" and 4" pads. Meguiars M205 was then used on Lake County Hydrotech Tangerine 5.5" and 4" pads. I considered following the Tangerine pads with M205 on a black finishing pad, but the Tangerine pads finished down great.
Here is the obligatory 50/50 on the hatch with just M105.

Due to time and lighting, that was the only shot taken during the correction.
After the finishing polish, all of the tape was removed from the molding and they were polished by hand or with the 4" pad. All paint surfaces were wiped down using 50% IPA until all of the oils were removed from the paint.