zmcgovern45
New member
The owner of this car contacted me through my Facebook Page and was interested in cleaning up this gorgeous red G8 GT. This car is driven most of the year, but gets put away for bad weather and in the winter. It is a lower mileage vehicle, with the odometer reading under 30k, and needed a bit of work to restore some lost gloss and depth in the bright red paint.
The majority of the defects were typical swirls that I would assume had been introduced during washing and drying. They were fine scratches, but they covered every square inch of the paint which created a duller appearance. This vehicle is also used to haul the owner's kids to and from various sporting events, so it showed some signs of abuse that comes with carrying passengers and equipment on a regular basis.
Clear coat preservation was a concern of the owner, therefore we decided a one-stage correction would be a great choice to restore the lost gloss and clarity, while also removing a minimal amount of material. I was able to achieve great results with my correction process, the vast majority of the swirls were removed and only the deeper defects remained.
Process
Exterior
Wheels: CG Diablo Gel (4:1) with various brushes and wheel woolies
Tires: Tuf Shine Tire Cleaner
Pre-Wash Foam: CG Citrus Wash via Gilmour Foammaster II Foam Gun
Bug & Tar Removal: Stoner's Tarminator
Wash: CG Citrus Wash
Iron/Fallout Removal: Iron X
Decontamination: Nanoskin Fine Grade Mitt
Dry: DI Waffle Weave Towels
Tape: Automotive Masking Tape
Paint Thickness Readings Taken
Polish: Optimum Hyper Polish on an Orange Light Cutting Pad via Rupes LHR21ES w/ 5.5" Pads and PC7424XP w/ 3" & 4" Pads
IPA Wipe Down: ~15% IPA Solution (diluted with distilled water)
Paint Protection: Sonax Polymer Net Shield
Tire & Trim Dressing: Optimum Opti-Bond Tire Gel
Glass: CarPro Fast Glass Towels
Exhaust Tips: CG Metal Polish + Protection via #0000 Steel Wool
Interior
Thorough Vacuum
Rubber Floor Mats: Scrubbed with Meguiar's D103 (10:1), Rinsed, Then Blown Dry
Trim & Door Jams: Cleaned with Megiar's D103 (10:1) then dressed with 303 Aerospace Protectant
Leather: 303 Aerospace Protectant
Vinyl & Plastic: 303 Aerospace Protectant
Glass: CarPro Fast Glass Towels
Before
The car showed the usual signs of use. The wheels had some brake dust buildup, and many of the faces had small scratches and other imperfections.
There were hard water spots on the entire car - a very common sight.
There was dirt buildup in all of the hard to reach areas.
During
As always, I began by cleaning the wheels. First, I sprayed CG Diablo Gel liberally onto all wheel surfaces and barrels as seen in the photo below. I allowed the Diablo Gel to dwell for a short period of time before beginning to agitate.
After giving the cleaner a couple of minutes to begin breaking apart the dirt and grime, I began by cleaning the barrels of the wheels with my wheel woolies as shown below. This step is particularly important on a vehicle with wide open wheels that allow you to easily see the barrels of the wheels.
I then proceeded to clean the faces of the wheels with my soft wheel brush.
Once the rims were clean, they were thoroughly rinsed and I began cleaning the tires. Notice the brown color on the tires and the large brown stain forming on the ground beneath the tire. This is the grime caused by dirt and buildup of old tire dressings. It is important to remove this buildup from the face of the tire so that your new dressing has a clean surface to soak into.
Notice the dirt and grime being washed away beneath the tire.
All cleaned up... much better! Now time to start working on the paint.
Well, it was getting dark so I have no photos of the washing and decontamination process. The car was foamed with a heavy mixture of Citrus Wash, then hand washed using the proper two bucket washing method, afterwards the car was treated with Iron X and then decontaminated using the Nanoskin Autoscrub Fine Wash Mitt.
The car was then put away for the night, and I started bright and early the next morning with a thorough inspection. You can clearly see that the paint was covered in swirls and scratches. It had a faded and dull appearance instead of the deep, rich color that red should have.
Pulling the car out into the sun gives you a better idea of how the paint looked. The swirls refract light in all different directions which leads to a dull looking finish.
I typically begin by polishing the hood, then work my way to the roof, the trunk, and then around the sides. Here is a section of the hood prior to polishing.
Optimum Hyper Spray Polish on an Orange Lake Country Light Cutting pad proved to be the best choice for removing the majority of the swirls while still producing a nice glossy finish that does not need to be refined with a finishing step.
Nice 50/50 shot of the spot on the hood. The polished area looks deep and rich, exactly how red paint should look.
Here is the trunk before correction.
The trunk after polishing (note, the spoiler was done later with smaller pads).
Here is a shot of the door before correction.
And after correction you can see the clear difference in color.
50/50 shot of the door. The vast majority of swirls have been eliminated, however you can see some of the heavier defects that remain.
50/50 shot between door panels.
The majority of the defects were typical swirls that I would assume had been introduced during washing and drying. They were fine scratches, but they covered every square inch of the paint which created a duller appearance. This vehicle is also used to haul the owner's kids to and from various sporting events, so it showed some signs of abuse that comes with carrying passengers and equipment on a regular basis.
Clear coat preservation was a concern of the owner, therefore we decided a one-stage correction would be a great choice to restore the lost gloss and clarity, while also removing a minimal amount of material. I was able to achieve great results with my correction process, the vast majority of the swirls were removed and only the deeper defects remained.
Process
Exterior
Wheels: CG Diablo Gel (4:1) with various brushes and wheel woolies
Tires: Tuf Shine Tire Cleaner
Pre-Wash Foam: CG Citrus Wash via Gilmour Foammaster II Foam Gun
Bug & Tar Removal: Stoner's Tarminator
Wash: CG Citrus Wash
Iron/Fallout Removal: Iron X
Decontamination: Nanoskin Fine Grade Mitt
Dry: DI Waffle Weave Towels
Tape: Automotive Masking Tape
Paint Thickness Readings Taken
Polish: Optimum Hyper Polish on an Orange Light Cutting Pad via Rupes LHR21ES w/ 5.5" Pads and PC7424XP w/ 3" & 4" Pads
IPA Wipe Down: ~15% IPA Solution (diluted with distilled water)
Paint Protection: Sonax Polymer Net Shield
Tire & Trim Dressing: Optimum Opti-Bond Tire Gel
Glass: CarPro Fast Glass Towels
Exhaust Tips: CG Metal Polish + Protection via #0000 Steel Wool
Interior
Thorough Vacuum
Rubber Floor Mats: Scrubbed with Meguiar's D103 (10:1), Rinsed, Then Blown Dry
Trim & Door Jams: Cleaned with Megiar's D103 (10:1) then dressed with 303 Aerospace Protectant
Leather: 303 Aerospace Protectant
Vinyl & Plastic: 303 Aerospace Protectant
Glass: CarPro Fast Glass Towels
Before
The car showed the usual signs of use. The wheels had some brake dust buildup, and many of the faces had small scratches and other imperfections.
There were hard water spots on the entire car - a very common sight.
There was dirt buildup in all of the hard to reach areas.
During
As always, I began by cleaning the wheels. First, I sprayed CG Diablo Gel liberally onto all wheel surfaces and barrels as seen in the photo below. I allowed the Diablo Gel to dwell for a short period of time before beginning to agitate.
After giving the cleaner a couple of minutes to begin breaking apart the dirt and grime, I began by cleaning the barrels of the wheels with my wheel woolies as shown below. This step is particularly important on a vehicle with wide open wheels that allow you to easily see the barrels of the wheels.
I then proceeded to clean the faces of the wheels with my soft wheel brush.
Once the rims were clean, they were thoroughly rinsed and I began cleaning the tires. Notice the brown color on the tires and the large brown stain forming on the ground beneath the tire. This is the grime caused by dirt and buildup of old tire dressings. It is important to remove this buildup from the face of the tire so that your new dressing has a clean surface to soak into.
Notice the dirt and grime being washed away beneath the tire.
All cleaned up... much better! Now time to start working on the paint.
Well, it was getting dark so I have no photos of the washing and decontamination process. The car was foamed with a heavy mixture of Citrus Wash, then hand washed using the proper two bucket washing method, afterwards the car was treated with Iron X and then decontaminated using the Nanoskin Autoscrub Fine Wash Mitt.
The car was then put away for the night, and I started bright and early the next morning with a thorough inspection. You can clearly see that the paint was covered in swirls and scratches. It had a faded and dull appearance instead of the deep, rich color that red should have.
Pulling the car out into the sun gives you a better idea of how the paint looked. The swirls refract light in all different directions which leads to a dull looking finish.
I typically begin by polishing the hood, then work my way to the roof, the trunk, and then around the sides. Here is a section of the hood prior to polishing.
Optimum Hyper Spray Polish on an Orange Lake Country Light Cutting pad proved to be the best choice for removing the majority of the swirls while still producing a nice glossy finish that does not need to be refined with a finishing step.
Nice 50/50 shot of the spot on the hood. The polished area looks deep and rich, exactly how red paint should look.
Here is the trunk before correction.
The trunk after polishing (note, the spoiler was done later with smaller pads).
Here is a shot of the door before correction.
And after correction you can see the clear difference in color.
50/50 shot of the door. The vast majority of swirls have been eliminated, however you can see some of the heavier defects that remain.
50/50 shot between door panels.
