A new member on the Toronto Protégé board recently contacted me to see if it was possible to restore 7 year old paint. What was once black from factory, now looked very dull, and lacked that gloss and shine. The owner had mentioned that the car was rarely washed, and was waxed maybe 5 times since owning it brand new. As this is a daily driver, it was agreed upon that my one-step correction package would be sufficient, as this would remove approximately 95% of the paint defects. It was cloudy and raining for majority of the day, so there are no sun shots. Here is what it looked like upon arrival.

















There is quite a bit of dust and dirt on the exterior as the car sits outside. A few visible door dings that left some marks and scratches on the paint. After the initial photos, I hosed it down and then presoaked it to loosen up all the debris, and then moved on to the wheels and rubber. It was scheduled to rain all day, and it didn’t start to pour until around noon. At this point, washing was done and I was claying the car but it began to rain heavily so we moved it inside the garage. I didn’t take a picture of the clay, but let me tell you – it was dirty. Try to imagine 7 years worth of contaminants on the paint surface! As I was claying, I also educated the owner on why it was important to have a smooth surface before any polishing can take place. Contaminants are also very difficult to capture on camera (especially on a dark coloured vehicle), and can really only be felt with your hands. I clayed a small area and then asked the owner to feel that area vs. an area that was untouched. He was blown away at the difference.

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After claying, a quick rinse of the exterior and then dried with a waffle weave towel. Car then moved back inside the garage to be examined under the halogens. Hello swirl city









































The paint sure looks nice when there’s no halogen lighting around :P

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Before fully polishing the entire vehicle, I always do a test spot. A test spot is used to determine whether or not the product chosen is the right one for the job. Some paints are more difficult to work with, and different products are tested on the test spot to achieve a certain desired level of correction. In this case, I chose to do a test spot on the rear passenger door as I felt it is fairly representative of the overall condition of the rest of the car. I taped off a part of the door and here’s how it looked after polishing. The right side is polished, and the left side is untouched.



A few more 50/50s under the halogens to illustrate the differences polishing can make in terms of removing oxidation, removing paint defects, and adding gloss. The flake in the paint is very evident after the oxidation is removed. Again, this is not a perfect finish by any means as a few of the deeper scratches can still be seen in certain angles, but this level of correction was good enough for the owner’s daily driver.







I complete the rest of the rear passenger door, and move my way up to front door, and then the fender. Here are the completed pictures.







Moving on to the hood, I noticed a big etching in the clear coat in the shape of a bird dropping. I could easily feel the etching, which tells me it likely would’ve sat on there for a while, eating away and right through the clear. I was unable to remove this completely, but was able to lessen it slightly. I did not want to polish too far risking burning the clear. You can still see the shadow of it under the light in the second pic.

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Driver’s side next, starting with the fender, and then moving my way to the rear. Included a 50/50 to show fender being polished, and the drivers door untouched in the second pic.

















The side skirts also needed some attention.

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Next is the hatch area. The pillars? make a good 50/50 as the paint was very dull. I’m sure you are able to tell which area is polished.











The final walkaround with the halogens to ensure the defects were removed and that I didn’t miss any panels, before applying any wax.

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And now, the afters.

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Here's the testimonial I received from the client:

Hope you enjoyed the pictures

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Meticulous Detail - mobile detailing service for the Iron Piston community

 

Very nice work. Getting something out of a 7 year old car is one thing but a 7 year old BLACK car is just amazing. Although your customer was certainly lucky too because I only saw 1 rust spot I think it's the front right fender. Not washing the car can have certain other, more permanent affects too.

Very well done and of course as always very detailed documentation of the job. You sure are dedicated.

Now only if you can provide me with a small 88x31 web banner so I can put your link up on the forums and get you some more potential business, that'd be great

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which product do you use to get the swirl and surface scratches out with?

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Thanks dude. The paint was pretty trashed so I did what I could. I always tend to document the entire job so that I can share and educate those that don't really understand what polishing means. I'm working on the banner...will provide soon!


Depending on the severity of the swirls and scratches, I use Meguiar's 83 Dual Action Cleaner Polish. For the heavier defects, usually go with the 105.

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Meticulous Detail - mobile detailing service for the Iron Piston community