Presidential Detailed: 2009 Nissan 370Z

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presidential_detail

New member
I have to tell you, after working on this car for a couple days and a wonderful test ride(yes I was lucky enough to have the owner let me take it out and get a feel for how the car drives :D) I have really come to respect these new 370Z cars! This one was equipped with the automatic with paddles, these things are the real deal with very quick shift changes as well as rev-matching on each downshift, it was very fun to drive! Aside from that the car needed some love, the dealership of course left some nice swirls in it from when the owner bought it new. He couldnt live with the swirls any longer and was recommended my way, so we performed a full paint correction on the car.

Wash and Decontamination Process:
ONR Two-Bucket Wash
Meguiars "Mild" Clay Bar with ONR as clay solution
TWO Cobra Blue Micro-Chenille Wash Mitts
Adams Metal Polish #2 on Exhaust Tips
Blow Dried/Cobra Guzzler WW Drying Towel

Wheels:
P21S Wheel Gel
One Cobra Blue Micro-Chenille Wash Mitts(dedicated to wheels only)
E-Z Detail Brush
Swissvax Autobahn Wheel Wax

Interior:
1Z Einszett Cockpit Premium
Meguairs APC+
Craftsman Vacuum
Invisible Glass Glass Cleaner

Front Compartment/Engine Bay:
ONR Wipe Down
Meguiars APC+
Various Brushes
Zaino AIO On All Painted Surfaces
Meguiars HyperDressing On All Hoses and Plastic Surfaces

Paint Correction:
3M Automotive Performance "Green" Tape
M105/ProperAutoCare.Com version PFW via Makita Rotary
M105/Orange via Meguiars G110(Yes, I said M105!)
Zaino AIO On All Door Shuts
50/50 of 91% IPA/Distilled Water
Dragon Fibre Microfiber Towels

LSP:
TWO coats of Blackfire Wet Diamond Paint Sealant

Befores:
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After performing an ONR wash on the entire vehicle and claying, I began testing which products I will be using. I tried M205/Orange and while it removed SOME swirling, it wasnt cutting enough to remove the RIDS the dealership left behind.

I ended up using M105/PAC PFW for the initial correction work. Some areas requiring a 2-3 passes to fully remove all RIDS at 1500rpm on the rotary.

Before.
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50/50
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After M105/PAC PFW via rotary followed by M105/Orange via DA.
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The engine bay was fairly clean, however there was some accumulation of dirt here and there. I opted to wash the engine bay with ONR to remove any dirt and wiped down the plastics with Megs APC+ before applying Megs hyperdressing(matte finish).

Finished.
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The exhaust tips were also quite dirty, coverd in sut from the exhaust. I used Adams Metal Polish #2 with some #0000 Steel Wool to clean them up.

This is the best before picture I took..
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After.
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Closer.
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The end of day 1, all rotary work complete. Now were getting somewhere! :D
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Day 2. I spent the next morning final polishing the car. I typicaly use M205 for this process and it was giving me problems for some reason, and for some reason a name popped into my head..Kevin Brown. What does Kevin always claim to use and get great finishes with? Thats right! M105! So I decided to give it a shot, on a orange pad no less, using the G110 DA. Well, some may be skeptic, but Ill let you guys decide this further in the write-up. ;)

Some in garage shots before pulling outside into the sun for the true results. Pre-LSP.
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Getting there..had to wait like 20 minutes for the full sun to peak out of the clouds..so I snapped a few real nice reflection shots while I waited.
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Still behind the clouds..
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Is that..what I think it is? :D
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So after inspecting the entire car for several minutes in full sunlight, I was happy with the results. I pulled the car back inside and had lunch before applying the first coat of Blackfire.

Cant beat a Publix Sub with M105 sauce and a nice cold water! You could say I live, eat and breath M105 :lol:
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While eating, I noticed this...maybe this is why M205 was acting up. :crack:
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I then removed any tape, polishing residues from crevices, applied Z-AIO to the door shuts and worked on the interior which didnt need too much work besides a good wipedown and a vacuum while the first coat of Blackfire was let to cure.
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I let the first coat of Blackfire cure for about 3 hours before applying the second coat, this was all the time I had.
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I pulled the car back outside to do a final inspection..
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Off topic question for you Billy....

What did you think of those floor tiles? I've though about getting them for my garage but don't know how they would be when wet, or if they are a pain to clean with compound dust. I would think that water would get trapped under them?

Thanks,
Rasky
 
Hey Billy.... NICE RIDE! That's the first one I've seen. Excellent work as usual and very nice pics!!!

Don't you just love HEAT?!!!!! (I do!):D
 
RaskyR1 said:
That car is teh sex!

Nice work Billy! Crazy that M105 can finish down so well! I take it that the paint was pretty hard?
Click to expand...

I was very surprised that M105 finished down that well, even on an orange pad! Believe it or not, the paint was not realy hard at all. You could get about 95% out of it in one quick pass with m105/pfw on the rotary.

RaskyR1 said:
Off topic question for you Billy....

What did you think of those floor tiles? I've though about getting them for my garage but don't know how they would be when wet, or if they are a pain to clean with compound dust. I would think that water would get trapped under them?

Thanks,
Rasky
Click to expand...

The floors were actually really nice to work on. I purposely did not get them wet as they were brand new and didnt want to mess up his new floor, haha, but im sure they would be fine. They did show the polishing dust like crazy and needed to be mopped afterwards, but they were easily cleaned by wiping them down with some APC on a rag. They were also kind of nice for rolling around on, they have the little diamonds which stop you from rolling too much but not enough to stop you from easily wheeling around using only your legs while sitting. Hope this helps!
 
Looks great!! thought you had a shop you just moved into not long ago? with the nice painted logo on the wall. Anyway I am spoiled with my shop have to do a mobile tomorrow over an hour away(ugh) but don't get me wrong I am happy to stay booked.
 
SUH-WEEETTT !!! :drool5:
Billy, you always seem to make things work, and you never doubt that a product or method COULD work.

You make it look easy even though it could not possibly be working in 90+ degrees with a 90%+ humidity.
The hottest I have ever been was in Florida, 98 degrees & 98% humidity.
And I wasn't even working!

I am happy to hear you gave the M105 a try to final polish... I still do this often.
It does take a bit of finessing, patience, and desire.

This has been mentioned many times before... Use the following as a starting point to final polish using M105:

  • Use a suitable pad that is compatible with the paint type (it should not mar the surface)
  • Prime the pad thoroughly rubbing the M105 into the pores with your hand
  • Let the pad sit for a few minutes so the liquid can permeate the foam
  • Minimize the amount of product by running the pad into a microfiber towel until most of the visible liquid is removed
  • Add a 4-6 small dots of M105 to the pad
  • Polish using FIRM pressure, (not heavy- the goal is to make sure the entire pad is in contact with the paint surface, and the machine movement is efficiently transferred to the pad face)
  • Use a low speed setting (just enough to allow the pad to spin)
  • Polish moving the machine slowly, and clean the pad OFTEN to removed the abraded paint residue
  • Add M105 as needed, and blow the pad clean with compressed air OFTEN (if available)

I don't know if you used this procedure or a similar one, but the car looks outstanding! :notworthy:
 
Stunning paint. Mortified that a dealer would let a car leave with that kind of damage to the paint. I would have bought it back recommended they bring it to you and let them foot the bill.
Stunning paint. The owner is now spoiled.
 
Auto Concierge said:
Looks great!! thought you had a shop you just moved into not long ago? with the nice painted logo on the wall. Anyway I am spoiled with my shop have to do a mobile tomorrow over an hour away(ugh) but don't get me wrong I am happy to stay booked.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I was in a shop for a little while, space wasnt big enough and things didnt work out. I have some other things in the works possibly though.. :smile:

Kevin Brown said:
SUH-WEEETTT !!! :drool5:
Billy, you always seem to make things work, and you never doubt that a product or method COULD work.

You make it look easy even though it could not possibly be working in 90+ degrees with a 90%+ humidity.
The hottest I have ever been was in Florida, 98 degrees & 98% humidity.
And I wasn't even working!

I am happy to hear you gave the M105 a try to final polish... I still do this often.
It does take a bit of finessing, patience, and desire.

This has been mentioned many times before... Use the following as a starting point to final polish using M105:

  • Use a suitable pad that is compatible with the paint type (it should not mar the surface)
  • Prime the pad thoroughly rubbing the M105 into the pores with your hand
  • Let the pad sit for a few minutes so the liquid can permeate the foam
  • Minimize the amount of product by running the pad into a microfiber towel until most of the visible liquid is removed
  • Add a 4-6 small dots of M105 to the pad
  • Polish using FIRM pressure, (not heavy- the goal is to make sure the entire pad is in contact with the paint surface, and the machine movement is efficiently transferred to the pad face)
  • Use a low speed setting (just enough to allow the pad to spin)
  • Polish moving the machine slowly, and clean the pad OFTEN to removed the abraded paint residue
  • Add M105 as needed, and blow the pad clean with compressed air OFTEN (if available)

I don't know if you used this procedure or a similar one, but the car looks outstanding! :notworthy:
Click to expand...

Once again, Kevin I couldnt have gotten to the point I am today without you man! Youve basically taught me everything I know about these products and techniques! :thumbup:

Walterb said:
Do you think it would doing M105 with just a DA back-to-back would have similar results?
Click to expand...

The DA was not strong enough for a full paint correction in a decent amount of time anyways..I prefer to use my rotary to remove swirls and DA to finish most of the time.

jastg said:
Stunning paint. Mortified that a dealer would let a car leave with that kind of damage to the paint. I would have bought it back recommended they bring it to you and let them foot the bill.
Stunning paint. The owner is now spoiled.
Click to expand...

Yeah, its sad but MOST cars are leaving the lots this way. thanks!
 
presidential_detail said:
I was very surprised that M105 finished down that well, even on an orange pad! Believe it or not, the paint was not realy hard at all. You could get about 95% out of it in one quick pass with m105/pfw on the rotary.



The floors were actually really nice to work on. I purposely did not get them wet as they were brand new and didnt want to mess up his new floor, haha, but im sure they would be fine. They did show the polishing dust like crazy and needed to be mopped afterwards, but they were easily cleaned by wiping them down with some APC on a rag. They were also kind of nice for rolling around on, they have the little diamonds which stop you from rolling too much but not enough to stop you from easily wheeling around using only your legs while sitting. Hope this helps!
Click to expand...


Thanks man. :smile:

That was another concern as I will need to be able to move a car around on dollies too and the diamond plate texture may make that difficult.
 
Splendid work. Outstanding reflections. :wink:

the more I read about 105/205, the more excited I get about using it. I just got a quart of each. :thumbup:
 
Slik560 said:
Splendid work. Outstanding reflections. :wink:

the more I read about 105/205, the more excited I get about using it. I just got a quart of each. :thumbup:
Click to expand...

thanks! You will be VERY happy with them! It does take some time to really get used to how they work, so dont give up immediately. ;)

michakaveli said:
Great Job Billy! That Z is lookin' STRONG :thumbup:
Click to expand...

Thanks! It was pretty stout. ;)

zoomzoom mazda5 said:
Great work Billy on the 370Z, looks a new car should after a real detail.
Click to expand...

Thanks Angelo! It was a fun car to work on!
 
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