MartinGT Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 well i started off with having to try and sort my mums new 3 series front bumper after someone decided to do this to it in a car park just wanna say everything i done was with easily available products and equipment, no fancy detailing gear, i wanted to see how it'd go. so i clayed the paint to remove any tar and as much of the white paint scuffs as i could. tried using some autoglym paint renovator by hand but to no avail, so used my silverline rotary and some 3m finnesse-it and a soft farecla pad and got all of it out except some scratches which were through the paint, touched them up as best i could, it'll do for now! so i decided to do a test panel on my azure blue 350z, as the car is MAJORLY swirl marked, the previous owner obviously wasnt the best at looking after it. after megs clay and QD it looked like this. swirl heaven. so again, using my silverline rotary and 3m finesse-it with a good mist of water on the panel i got it looking like this, but it still had some deeper scratches which i wasn't happy about. so to try and get most of the deeper scratches out, i broke out the farecla G3 (don't all cringe at once!). plenty of misted water and a little G3, and light pressure as i knew 350z paint is patchy depth wise, and i was left with usual G3 marks, but less scratches. once again, back over the panel with 3m finesse-it and a soft pad, plenty of misted water, made 2 passes with this and it started to come good. apart from some very small but deep scratches which i didnt want to attempt to remove, it was swirl free and ten times better than at first! finally i used autoglym extra gloss protection glaze, then some megs gold class paste wax, pretty pleased with the result. feel like i'd got the hang of what to do now for the rest of the car, can't wait til i get the time to do it! if anyones got any comments, hints or tips then post away Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GIXXERUK Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 looks very good mate the paint is anorexic on the zed, you would be safer with an orbital than a rotary but i guess you know that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GC350z Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 Nice one. Must learn to go this myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinGT Posted January 3, 2008 Author Share Posted January 3, 2008 indeed gixxer, but the pro's use rotarys, and with plenty of water and slow speed, it won't damage it if you're careful. plus the rotary i have was something like £50 new, a porter cable is what, £200? seen people using them, they seem like hard work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trev-the-Rev Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 Looking You could have washed the rest of your Mum's car while you were at it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinGT Posted January 3, 2008 Author Share Posted January 3, 2008 she said not to bother cos it'll be manky by next week she just wanted to see if the marks would come out as its a lease car from work and wanted to know whether she'd have to send it away to be fixed. its got a crease in the bumper but its not really noticeable so she's happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GIXXERUK Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 you can get a pc for about £120 now mate most pro's do use rotarys but they also use paint depth guages and a lot of experience this is awesome work http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/s ... light=350z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinGT Posted January 3, 2008 Author Share Posted January 3, 2008 yeah i've seen that before, good work i knew the 350z paint depths was dodgy so i was just very gentle and light, done the job don't you think Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GIXXERUK Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 yeah, looks really good , i've got a udm orbital and a i've got a rotary aswell nice work i like poorboys and clearkote stuff and then throw a sealer or wax over for protection i reckon it will look stunning when you have done it all, the swirls will dull the colour on azure, so it will look really vibrant when its finished Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinGT Posted January 3, 2008 Author Share Posted January 3, 2008 yeah i can't wait bud i haven't got into all the poorboys and chem guys stuff etc yet, this is stuff i used when painting so i decided to use the products as best i could, it turned out well on the swirl removal side of it anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nixy Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 job well done on such scary thin paint! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinGT Posted January 3, 2008 Author Share Posted January 3, 2008 you have to remember the paint is 3 years old now, its pretty hard, and it's only done very lightly and carefully, just the weight of the rotary doing the work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nixy Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 my car's quite swirly but it's a more forgiving colour than some. I'd like to get it professionally done but then I know I wouldn't want to take it out and get it dirty again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinGT Posted January 3, 2008 Author Share Posted January 3, 2008 if its done right, it makes it alot easier to keep clean and the finish should last a long time, worth it imo. but then again sunset wouldnt have the best effect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nixy Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 Sunset can look quite dull at times but put it in the sun and it looks amazing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H5 Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 you can get a pc for about £120 now matemost pro's do use rotarys but they also use paint depth guages and a lot of experience this is awesome work http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/s ... light=350z Meguiars have just bought out an orbital that doesn't need a transformer for £150 which seems quite reasonable. Nice job Martin, at one point I thought you'd gone a bit far with the efforts for deeper swirl removal but the result is . Nice choice of products. Ultra Gloss is a great product IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarnie Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 Awesome work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bronzee Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 Very nicely done. Made a good difference. Sunset can look quite dull at times but put it in the sun and it looks amazing! Hehe, pop it on a plane/boat over to NZ, I'll get that Le Mans Sunset looking glorious. Hmm, having said that I must get my act into gear, as have a few major car shows coming up in the next month, and not only my Zed to groom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tere Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 Nice work! She looks great! There's a secret easier way to take out the swirlies, even bad ones. It's called Z-5. Put it on, let it dry, and wipe it off (use microfiber). For really bad swirlies, 2-3 coats usually does it. After that, a couple coats of Z-2 and you've got incredible depth and luster. You can use a random orbital to buff out both Z-5 and Z-2 Z = Zaino, and Zaino is for Z cars. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigelp Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 It's called Z-5. Put it on, let it dry, and wipe it off (use microfiber). For really bad swirlies, 2-3 coats usually does it. I found it didnt make the slightest difference on my Z. I tried 3 coats on a panel before I used the PC to see if the swirls were light enough, but I genuinely couldnt tell any difference at all with the Z-5 regarding swirl removal. I use the Zaino stuff on all my cars, the longevity is amazing, but I think the Z-5 isnt really all it is cracked up to be. Martin, Looks ace, did you get any full car before / after shots?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinGT Posted January 4, 2008 Author Share Posted January 4, 2008 no bud i only did that panel as a test hopefully do the full car at the weekend Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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