Accord coupe Opti-coat, swirled IS250, piece of cake (comparatively) 944 Turbo

[Scottwax]

2012 Honda Accord Coupe. New enough it still has paper tags. Paint was in pretty good shape to start with, dealer hadn't done anything nasty to it. Had to finish it in the shade since summer is back in full force here. When we apply Opti-Coat on hot days in the shade, we wash with ONR, then follow behind with the coating so the paint doesn't heat back up again. Makes it go on a lot easier when it is in the 90s to 105 or so.



ONR wash, Opti-Raser clay sponge

Optimum Hyper Polish using an Optimum microfiber polishing pad and my PC 7424 XP

ONR wash

Optimum Opti-Coat

Armor All on tires/fenderwells

==============================



1987 Porsche 944 Turbo. Regular customer, although I haven't been out since last fall. He had it repainted at Mister Collision Inc | Auto Body Repair Dallas, TX 75234 | Dallas Auto Collision Repair Shop & Service Center a couple years ago and they did an absolutely superb job. Didn't need a whole lot, did have some light swirls because it had been a while since I took care of it.



ONR wash, Opti-Raser clay sponge

HD Speed using an Optimum microfiber polishing pad and my PC

3D Poxy to seal

Optimum Metal Polish on the exhaust

Armor All on tires/fenderwells

3D Trim Protectant on the spoiler and back bumper rubber



I guess I didn't set the exposure right (still figuring out my new camera) so the red is a bit washed out, took this with my cell phone, shows the true color of the car:

 

[Scottwax]

2007 Lexus IS250. Owned by the sister-in-law of an IS350 customer, after he saw her car, he recommended she call me. She told me she was actually embarrassed how swirled up it was. I could see why someone who cares about their car would not be happy, it was a swirl fest. She wanted it as swirl free as possible within reason. We decided that two polishing steps would make a pretty huge improvement without breaking the bank.



After an ONR wash and Clay Magic Blue clay

Meguairs #105 using an Optimum microfiber cutting pad and my PC on speed 6 (love that I can crank it up with the Optimum MF pads!)



These are after compounding. There was a touch more hazing than the pics show but for the amount of correction it was well within acceptable standards.

I then finished the car off with the following:



HD Speed using an Optimum microfiber polishing pad and my PC

Optimum Opti-Seal (new version is killer on black paint)

Optimum Metal Polish on the tips

Armor All on tires/fenderwells

 

[Underdawg736GTC]

Awesome as always Scott! Do you have any tips on working outside in that kind of heat? I remember while living in Tx that everyone would always tell me "but it's a dry heat." Dry heat my arse! Get the gulf moisture and it's worse then dang near anything we see up in the NE/MidATL.

 

[maxepr1]

Looks great! 911 looks better than new! Aldo does good work! 107 yesterday, 105 today, even the shade doesn't feel good! Drinking like 2 gallons of fluids a day and keeping hydrated is a chore! You were right, humidity is starting to go down slightly but we need more! Opti-Coat still not going on perfectly, yet!

 

[Marj]

Just got my Opti-Coat yesterday and I am doing a G35. Do you think I can go straight from Mequir's 205 to Opti-Coat, or should I use IPA as added insurance before Opti-Coat?

 

[Thomas Dekany]

At least read the directions on the syringe and follow it.



Always do an IPA if you are laying down ANY sealant after polishing.

Just got my Opti-Coat yesterday and I am doing a G35. Do you think I can go straight from Mequir's 205 to Opti-Coat, or should I use IPA as added insurance before Opti-Coat?

 

[Thomas Dekany]

Excellent work on all the cars Scott! It is still pretty "cool" around here.

 

[RaskyR1]

Great work Scott! I still don't know how you guys work in the heat like that...guess I'm just a puss.





What camera did you get? I had issues with red cars on my Canon XSi no matter what I tried. Have a new Nikkon D7000 on it way now.

 

[KC@detailien]

wow...wow..... excellent finish

Optimum Opti-Seal (new version is killer on black paint)

Optimum Metal Polish on the tips

picture worth a thousand words

 

[kakeuter]

Nice work Scott, the Fort Worth summer is truly starting to show it's ugly face. Can't seem to keep enough Gatorade and water in the cooler these days.



-Kody-

 

[Scottwax]

Awesome as always Scott! Do you have any tips on working outside in that kind of heat? I remember while living in Tx that everyone would always tell me "but it's a dry heat." Dry heat my arse! Get the gulf moisture and it's worse then dang near anything we see up in the NE/MidATL.

I grew up in Phoenix, so I got used to 110-120 summer heat living there. More humid here but nothing like down in Houston. Now that the high pressure cap is in place over Texas, it is drying out, humidity isn't too bad.

Looks great! 911 looks better than new! Aldo does good work! 107 yesterday, 105 today, even the shade doesn't feel good! Drinking like 2 gallons of fluids a day and keeping hydrated is a chore! You were right, humidity is starting to go down slightly but we need more! Opti-Coat still not going on perfectly, yet!

I did a metallic blue FR-S yesterday, once my son got a couple panels ahead of me washing it, I followed with Opti-Coat before the paint had a chance to get back up to the ambient temperature, worked pretty good.



And yes, Aldo does amazing work, so hard to find a good body shop these days.

Just got my Opti-Coat yesterday and I am doing a G35. Do you think I can go straight from Mequir's 205 to Opti-Coat, or should I use IPA as added insurance before Opti-Coat?

I would definitely do an IPA wash/wipedown. If you use Optimum's polishes, you can go right to the coating but I still wash with ONR to be safe.

Excellent work on all the cars Scott! It is still pretty "cool" around here.

Rather work in the heat than the cold, that's for sure!

Great work Scott! I still don't know how you guys work in the heat like that...guess I'm just a puss.

We go through all this in about 2 days...

What camera did you get? I had issues with red cars on my Canon XSi no matter what I tried. Have a new Nikkon D7000 on it way now.

I got an Olympus UZ something or other.

wow...wow..... excellent finish







picture worth a thousand words

Thanks!

Nice work Scott, the Fort Worth summer is truly starting to show it's ugly face. Can't seem to keep enough Gatorade and water in the cooler these days.



-Kody-

Yesterday, we were pouring the icy water from the cooler into our empty water bottles!

 

[maxepr1]

Great work Scott! I still don't know how you guys work in the heat like that...guess I'm just a puss.





What camera did you get? I had issues with red cars on my Canon XSi no matter what I tried. Have a new Nikkon D7000 on it way now.

Chad I've been using my D7000 for almost a year now, your going to love it!

 

[Thomas Dekany]

Rather work in the heat than the cold, that's for sure!

- not a cloud in the sky - PERFECT???





photo (2) by thomasdekany, on Flickr

 

[Scottwax]

72 is way too cold unless it is January.

 

[mnewxcv]

just wondering on the lexus, those swirls did look plentiful but they didnt appear that deep. Was it necessary to use the 105 or could you have gotten away with using 205 instead? First post on the forum, just joined.

 

[Scottwax]

The holgrams weren't too deep, the spider swirls were. #205 wouldn't have done squat.