zmcgovern45
New member
This early C5 Corvette had only 11,500 miles when it was dropped off with me (that's an average of only ~700 miles/year!). The owner wanted the car to be as shiny as possible, and he mentioned that he did not enjoy having to wax it (or have it waxed), so a paint coating was an obvious choice for this job. We decided on my Premium Exterior Enhancement Detail.
The vehicle had just been taken out of storage and was professionally detailed right before it was put away for the winter. It was clear that a decent amount of glaze was used, as my initial inspection of the vehicle showed nearly perfect paint with only the slightest of swirls, but after a very thorough cleaning and decontamination process, I was able to reveal the true condition. Overall the paint was still in fairly good shape (amazing shape for its age!) with the usual swirls throughout, but there were some areas with more severe defects such as sanding marks, bird bomb etchings, and RIDS that were not completely removed with the one-stage polishing process, however it would take a dark room and a carefully focused spotlight to find these defects on this bright white paint. The car turned out great!
Process
Tires: Tuf Shine Tire Cleaner & Tire Brush
Wheels: Meguiar's D103 (10:1) and various tools/brushes
Wash: CG Citrus Wash via Sheepskin Mitt (2BM)
Decon 1 Tar Removal: Stoner Tarminator
Decon 2 Iron/Fallout Removal: CarPro IronX
Decon 3 Bonded Contaminate Removal: Nanoskin Autoscrub Fine Mitt with Glide as Lubrication
Tape Trim and Areas of concern
Polish: Meguiar's M101 on white LC pads via Rupes LHR21ES and Rupes LHR75E
Paint Cleaner/Coating Prep: CarPro Eraser
Ceramic Paint Coating: CarPro CQuartz UK
Wheels: Lightly polished with M205 by hand then sealed with Reload
Tires: Optimum Opti-Bond Tire Gel
Glass: Meguiar's D120
LSP: CarPro Reload
Before
Bug guts on the front bumper
Tar and grime buildup on the inner fender
Dirt and iron buildup on the paint
Light dirt and dust on the wheels.
During
Removing tar deposits on the lower panels of the vehicle. Tarminator helps to quickly and easily loosen tar and begin to dissolve it. This makes it easier to wipe away and eliminates any need to "scrub" the paint, therefore reducing the risk of damaging the paint.
Iron X was used to safely remove bonded iron contaminates. This clear liquid turns purple as it reacts with iron and safely dissolves it from the surface. There was plenty of iron buildup to remove.
After the paint was completely clean, the true condition was revealed. There were common swirls and scratches as well as some other more severe defects.
Sanding Marks
Bird bomb etching
It was quite difficult to capture these defects in the camera, but here is a shot of the door before correction. Notice the swirls.
Door after polishing. The swirls and lighter defects have been removed resulting in a clear, crisp reflection of the light. This is what leads to very glossy paint!
The paint was looking excellent after polishing.
CQuartz UK was applied to the paint and the vehicle was then pulled out into the sun to 'bake' to help accelerate the coating curing time.
After
Wheels were lightly polished by hand and tires were dressed with a water based dressing to help nourish the rubber.
The paint looked great! It had a glassy, wet finish to it.
The engine was already in great shape, so it was simply dusted and dressed.
The paint looked great in the sun (this might be my personal record for # of sun stars in one photo)!
This 16 year old car looks as good as new!
As always, Thanks for looking!
The vehicle had just been taken out of storage and was professionally detailed right before it was put away for the winter. It was clear that a decent amount of glaze was used, as my initial inspection of the vehicle showed nearly perfect paint with only the slightest of swirls, but after a very thorough cleaning and decontamination process, I was able to reveal the true condition. Overall the paint was still in fairly good shape (amazing shape for its age!) with the usual swirls throughout, but there were some areas with more severe defects such as sanding marks, bird bomb etchings, and RIDS that were not completely removed with the one-stage polishing process, however it would take a dark room and a carefully focused spotlight to find these defects on this bright white paint. The car turned out great!
Process
Tires: Tuf Shine Tire Cleaner & Tire Brush
Wheels: Meguiar's D103 (10:1) and various tools/brushes
Wash: CG Citrus Wash via Sheepskin Mitt (2BM)
Decon 1 Tar Removal: Stoner Tarminator
Decon 2 Iron/Fallout Removal: CarPro IronX
Decon 3 Bonded Contaminate Removal: Nanoskin Autoscrub Fine Mitt with Glide as Lubrication
Tape Trim and Areas of concern
Polish: Meguiar's M101 on white LC pads via Rupes LHR21ES and Rupes LHR75E
Paint Cleaner/Coating Prep: CarPro Eraser
Ceramic Paint Coating: CarPro CQuartz UK
Wheels: Lightly polished with M205 by hand then sealed with Reload
Tires: Optimum Opti-Bond Tire Gel
Glass: Meguiar's D120
LSP: CarPro Reload
Before
Bug guts on the front bumper
Tar and grime buildup on the inner fender
Dirt and iron buildup on the paint
Light dirt and dust on the wheels.
During
Removing tar deposits on the lower panels of the vehicle. Tarminator helps to quickly and easily loosen tar and begin to dissolve it. This makes it easier to wipe away and eliminates any need to "scrub" the paint, therefore reducing the risk of damaging the paint.
Iron X was used to safely remove bonded iron contaminates. This clear liquid turns purple as it reacts with iron and safely dissolves it from the surface. There was plenty of iron buildup to remove.
After the paint was completely clean, the true condition was revealed. There were common swirls and scratches as well as some other more severe defects.
Sanding Marks
Bird bomb etching
It was quite difficult to capture these defects in the camera, but here is a shot of the door before correction. Notice the swirls.
Door after polishing. The swirls and lighter defects have been removed resulting in a clear, crisp reflection of the light. This is what leads to very glossy paint!
The paint was looking excellent after polishing.
CQuartz UK was applied to the paint and the vehicle was then pulled out into the sun to 'bake' to help accelerate the coating curing time.
After
Wheels were lightly polished by hand and tires were dressed with a water based dressing to help nourish the rubber.
The paint looked great! It had a glassy, wet finish to it.
The engine was already in great shape, so it was simply dusted and dressed.
The paint looked great in the sun (this might be my personal record for # of sun stars in one photo)!
This 16 year old car looks as good as new!
As always, Thanks for looking!
