zmcgovern45
New member
This Mustang was recently purchased, and the new owner was looking to have it cleaned up and properly protected. He could tell it was 'dull' and just didn't look quite right. He has many plans for this vehicle, and wanted it to look its best, so we decided on our highest level of service to bring this gorgeous red paint back to life and add an incredible layer of protection to help maintain the finish afterwards. The owner requested a lot of photos, so I was happy to deliver 
Process
Exterior
Tires: Tuf Shine Tire Cleaner and Tire Brush
Wheels: Meguiar's D103 (10:1) and various tools and brushes
Foam Presoak: CarPro Iron X Snow Soap
Wash: CarPro Iron X Snow Soap
Iron/Fallout Removal: CarPro Iron X
Tar Removal: Stoner Tarminator (a lot of it!)
Road Paint Removal: Tarminator and Plastic Razor Blade
Surface Decontamination: Medium Grade Speedy Prep Towel
Paint Thickness Readings Taken
Taped trim and areas of concern
Compound/Cut: Meguiar's M101 on 5.5" Orange LC pad via Rupes LHR21ES and 3" pads via Rupes LHR75e
Polish: Meguiar's M205 on White LC Polishing Pads via GG 3rd Gen
Coating Prep Wash: IPA Presoak, then washed with ONR
Further Coating Prep: CarPro Eraser Wipe down
Ceramic Paint Coating: CarPro CQuartz Finest (2 coats)
Other Protection: CarPro Reload
Wheels: CarPro Reload
Tires: Optimum Opti-Bond Tire Gel
Exhaust: CG Metal Polish + Protection
Glass: Meguiar's D120
Trim: Solution Finish
Interior
Blow Out Cracks & Crevices
Vacuum
Dust Dash and Trim
Dress Dash and Trim: 303
Glass: Meguiar's D120
Engine
Rinse
Degrease/Clean: Meguiar's D103, agitated with various brushes.
Rinse
Blown Dry: Master Blaster
Plastic: Dressed with 303
Rubber: Dressed with CG Black on Black
Before
The engine was not in bad shape. Just your normal light dirt and dust.
Bug guts
The wheels and tires were looking quite dull.
Heavy buildup behind the wheels
During
As usual, we started with cleaning the wheels and tires. You can see the amount of grime being removed from the tires even before I started scrubbing them.
Tires getting cleaner
I continue to scrub, rinse, apply cleaner and repeat until the cleaner remains white. This indicates there is no more dirt or old tire dressing to be removed from the surface.
The car was then foamed and hand washed.
After washing, a lot of time was taken to remove bonded contaminates such as Iron particles, road tar, etc. This ensures the vehicle is completely clean prior to polishing.
Dealership sticker was removed from the rear.
Adhesive remaining
Adhesive easily removed with Tarminator, but faint ghosting still remains... this was removed during the correction process.
Once the paint was completely clean, it was inspected under LED lighting. The surface was covered in defects ranging from light swirls to heavier scratches. All of these defects contribute to the duller appearance of the finish, and properly removing them and refining the surface will bring back a great amount of clarity and gloss.
My test spot showed very promising results. The vast majority of the defects were removed, and the red was MUCH deeper.
Checking my work in the sun... looking very nice!
Hood before correction
Hood after compounding
Matt began working on the more intricate areas with the Rupes Mini polisher while I started compounding the larger panels.
Fender before correction
After compounding
Door before correction
After compounding
50/50 shot on the door after compounding. look at the incredible color difference between the original side and the corrected side.
Process
Exterior
Tires: Tuf Shine Tire Cleaner and Tire Brush
Wheels: Meguiar's D103 (10:1) and various tools and brushes
Foam Presoak: CarPro Iron X Snow Soap
Wash: CarPro Iron X Snow Soap
Iron/Fallout Removal: CarPro Iron X
Tar Removal: Stoner Tarminator (a lot of it!)
Road Paint Removal: Tarminator and Plastic Razor Blade
Surface Decontamination: Medium Grade Speedy Prep Towel
Paint Thickness Readings Taken
Taped trim and areas of concern
Compound/Cut: Meguiar's M101 on 5.5" Orange LC pad via Rupes LHR21ES and 3" pads via Rupes LHR75e
Polish: Meguiar's M205 on White LC Polishing Pads via GG 3rd Gen
Coating Prep Wash: IPA Presoak, then washed with ONR
Further Coating Prep: CarPro Eraser Wipe down
Ceramic Paint Coating: CarPro CQuartz Finest (2 coats)
Other Protection: CarPro Reload
Wheels: CarPro Reload
Tires: Optimum Opti-Bond Tire Gel
Exhaust: CG Metal Polish + Protection
Glass: Meguiar's D120
Trim: Solution Finish
Interior
Blow Out Cracks & Crevices
Vacuum
Dust Dash and Trim
Dress Dash and Trim: 303
Glass: Meguiar's D120
Engine
Rinse
Degrease/Clean: Meguiar's D103, agitated with various brushes.
Rinse
Blown Dry: Master Blaster
Plastic: Dressed with 303
Rubber: Dressed with CG Black on Black
Before
The engine was not in bad shape. Just your normal light dirt and dust.
Bug guts
The wheels and tires were looking quite dull.
Heavy buildup behind the wheels
During
As usual, we started with cleaning the wheels and tires. You can see the amount of grime being removed from the tires even before I started scrubbing them.
Tires getting cleaner
I continue to scrub, rinse, apply cleaner and repeat until the cleaner remains white. This indicates there is no more dirt or old tire dressing to be removed from the surface.
The car was then foamed and hand washed.
After washing, a lot of time was taken to remove bonded contaminates such as Iron particles, road tar, etc. This ensures the vehicle is completely clean prior to polishing.
Dealership sticker was removed from the rear.
Adhesive remaining
Adhesive easily removed with Tarminator, but faint ghosting still remains... this was removed during the correction process.
Once the paint was completely clean, it was inspected under LED lighting. The surface was covered in defects ranging from light swirls to heavier scratches. All of these defects contribute to the duller appearance of the finish, and properly removing them and refining the surface will bring back a great amount of clarity and gloss.
My test spot showed very promising results. The vast majority of the defects were removed, and the red was MUCH deeper.
Checking my work in the sun... looking very nice!
Hood before correction
Hood after compounding
Matt began working on the more intricate areas with the Rupes Mini polisher while I started compounding the larger panels.
Fender before correction
After compounding
Door before correction
After compounding
50/50 shot on the door after compounding. look at the incredible color difference between the original side and the corrected side.
