1WILLY1

iTrader: (9)

I finally started my paint restoration on my 08-L

My car mechanically was in amazing shape and the interior as well, but the paint looked like it had never even been waxed or properly cared for , and it needed a lot of help.

Was supposed to do this back in spring time but I have no garage and don't even have an electrical outlet so its been hard

Anyways these clear coats are already wetsanded by the factory ( I think) so be very careful if you decide to go this route

I started wetsanding the worst areas with 1500 , then 2000, then did the whole panel with 2500

Then started the polishing process

The results were very good, but it was a lot of work and I learned a lot as well

When I do the roof and doors I will skip 1500 as it is too aggressive and start with 2000, then 2500 , and then I will finish with 3000 as to make the polishing stage easier.

1WILLY1

iTrader: (9)

After 4 grades of polish and a few coats of wax they look better then ever

1WILLY1

iTrader: (9)

I don't like the wool cutting pads I bought so I'm going to order a new brand , also want to order a stronger polish, I'm thinking meguiars 105 and 205 combo

Will update as I go

If anyone has any tips or products they used to restore their own paint feel free to post with details

comotiger

Looking great! It will be nice to see the fully finished car from different angles. BTW, you will get plenty of tips and feedback if you posted this thread in the "Automotive Care and Detailing" section of the forum.

Junglequac

Hello,
I just did the exact same thing only I had it done by what is considered the finest body shop in the area. As I was getting the back bumper de-scuffed due to the PO throwing luggage on the bumper, there were a number of gauges and scratches.

SW17LS

Isn't it incredible the difference it can make?

Kudos to you for tackling it yourself. I've done a lot of detailing, polishing, etc but I've never attempted wet sanding on any type of large scale.

Junglequac

I actually attempted myself, but was not happy with the results owing to my lack of experience. Of all the colors, Obsidian is the color that most benefits (I am sure Black Opal) is right up there. Just cannot believe just how much better it looks.

Congrats again to the DIY'er!

DavidinCT

WOW, impressive. I don't know enough to attempt this myself but, I don't think my paint is too bad for it's age.

1WILLY1

iTrader: (9)

That's where I learned all the basics a few years ago , I forget the guys name there whos very helpful...Zach I think ?

I bought a random orbital (griots garage 6 inch) with the griots 1 to 4 polishing system, but I'm still a rookie and learning as I go.

Nice, out of curiosity may I ask what you paid for the entire car?

I only ask because its a lot more work then I expected and if I was going to do this as a side job I don't think id do it for less then $600 - $700 for the entire car, and even then it might not be worth it.

Its pretty amazing I agree , ive always wanted to learn this skill but I just don't have a proper space living in a condo so its good to finally get it started.

It is a little scary though, the sanding marks don't just buff out as they make it sound online, it took repeated passes and for a while I thought I may have bit off more then I can chew

But it all worked out well and I learned a lot.... feeling a lot more comfortable doing the rest of the car now

What kind of system did you use? On my first corvette (black) this same polisher and polish did pretty much nothing to the notoriously hard vette clear coat.

I was a little discouraged as well.

Yea if its not too bad I wouldn't bother with the wetsanding at all, you could always just go right to the claybar and polish, that helps a lot and is pretty much harmless if youre using a random orbital.

I only wetsanded mine cause it was getting really bad in some places.

teedub21

The Junkman 2000 on YouTube. buy and do what he says. It works. Plus he's pretty entertaining.

UDel

Did you try compounding it and then polishing before wetsanding your finish?

Junglequac

[QUOTE=1WILLY1;9986670]That's where I learned all the basics a few years ago , I forget the guys name there whos very helpful...Zach I think ?

I bought a random orbital (griots garage 6 inch) with the griots 1 to 4 polishing system, but I'm still a rookie and learning as I go.



Nice, out of curiosity may I ask what you paid for the entire car?

I only ask because its a lot more work then I expected and if I was going to do this as a side job I don't think id do it for less then $600 - $700 for the entire car, and even then it might not be worth it.


About 6 months ago I was talking to the owner who works a good deal with my older brother who works for Allstate. Anyway, he offered to do it for $200. I should have done it then and there.
I ended up having it done when they filled in the scratches on the bumper where the PO hoisted the luggage (VP at Wells Fargo and did not care so much about it being perfect)

They gave me another sweetheart price only at the end they forgot the detailing (not the owner) when giving the quote. They said, it was as good or better than what the employees pay (probably says that to all the girls) Pretty sweet, I have no OCD's every major blemish since I purchased it.


It well might make financial sense to have purchased a 2010 Sport (been spending hours at AT looking at Sports and 2011/2012's. Love the matte wood.

1WILLY1

iTrader: (9)

I did but it wasn't aggressive enough, the hood especially had a lot of blemishes, and I layed some touch up paint as well that needed leveling

[QUOTE=Junglequac;9987196]$200 was a steal, you should of jumped on that forsure

satiger

iTrader: (1)

Kudos to you for tackling it yourself. Even though I have done paint correction for sealant using RO, bit scared to do wet sanding.

The outcome looks very good.