This car is from a repeat customer (boy I love it when I say that!) and he had warned me it was a bit rough. The real issue with this car was quite thin clear coat, especially on the hood. There were parts that were in the 80's and 90's. I had to be very careful with what compounds I used and I kept checking and re-checking to make sure I was ok. I actually was able to do the correction and either not remove anything or like only 1 micron. Thankfully it was not the sticky clear. I was very happy how it came out. The after shots were done on a cloudy day but you can still see the results. I specifically shot the same locations before and after where the marks used to be. the process: Wheels/Barrels/Wells/Tires: Wheels got cleaned with Megs WB for faces and barrels. Tires were cleaned with Zep purple Wells were cleaned with Zep citrus. Wash: Foamed with DG 901 Washed with DG 901 and 2bm Clayed with Riccardo yellow (microwaved to make more pliable) Dried with ww Paint: Compounded with UCCL and orange pad (105 by hand where needed) Polished with Menz Micro polish and blue pad (All polishing and compounding done by Dynabrade rotary) Cleaned/polished with DG 501 by hand Sealed with 601/105 combo by hand Spritzed with AW the following day Head/Tail Lights: Compounded with UCCL and mini yellow pad Polished with DG Track Claw plastic polish Tail Pipe: Polished with Autosol using 0000 steel wool Polished again using Autosol and mf Glass: Cleaned with Zep glass and 2 mf method sealed with DG rain repel Wheels/Tires: Wheels hand polished with DG 501 Wheels sealed with DG 105 Tires dressed with DP gel Wells dressed with Adams Interior: Rubber mats cleaned wiht Zep and treated with Simonize tire spray Carpeting vacuumed and steam cleaned Plastic cleaned wiht Zep glass Plastic treated with 303 Aerospace Leather treated with 303 Aerospace BEFORES: CHEMICALS WORKING AWAY: MY THICKEST READING ON THE HOOD: HOOD AFTER MICRO POLISH (NO LSP) HAD TO MANUALLY FOCUS TO GET THE LIGHT INSIDE AFTERS: OUTSIDE AFTERS:
Looks great Richy. Take any PTG readings from the roof? All three of the G35s I've done had readings lower than 70 over the entire roof. Absolute crap!
Ken, yes, absolutely...I remembered you saying that several times so I made sure of it! In this case, the roof was fine but it was the hood that was particularly problematic. Thanks very much!
Awesome work as usual. I am curious as well as to how you polished under the handles because most cars seem to have that problem with those kind of handles. Again, great work!
Thanks Billy..I appreciate it man! Thank you p1et. I was quite happy with how it came out. Thanks for the compliment. Yes, it works fine. play with the times, you don't want to turn it to mush obviously. If it's quite hard and not pliable, I have found between 25 and 30 seconds on HIGH works well. You still need to knead it b/c like all microwaves, the middle will be more spongy than hte outsides. Kei..thanks a bunch. Thanks gentlemen. I put some 105 if they're bad like they were here on an older mf or you can use a terry towel too and massage it in. I use my thumb to get a bit more pressure on it. I follow up 105 with a Menz polish like 85rd, micro, 106ff or the like. Actually, ANY light compound/polish like X3, UCCL or similar could work as a follow up using the same technique. If they're not too bad, just use the 2nd step. If you want to get really fancy, you can follow it up with DG 501. DG 501 gets put on about every car I do now, but that's just me, but by no means is it mandatory. Follow up with your wax or sealant and Bob's your uncle!
Thanks for sharing the useful tip. I am going to do on my clients car tomorrow :worship2::worship2::worship2::worship2::applause2::applause2::applause2::applause2:
Great job!! Is that orange peel in that second to last picture? I have the same car , but a 2008 in graphite. I noticed orange peel on mine. Mostly on the front quarter panels and right on the bend under the mirrors. I can see it in that picture.
hey Wil..it's my pleasure....I have learned so much from the folks here that I am happy to pass along any little tidbit I may have. Yes it is..you can see it under the mirror in that pic as well. I own an '04 black FX35 and it has a bit of OP as well. I don't mind it unless it's ridiculously heavy.
Hey, Richy, I see you have been doing quite a few Infiniti vehicles...I guess next time I'll need an advice I'll be working on Infiniti, I'll ask you...No sticky paint on this one, huh? That's something I'd hate - sticky paint, because it means going back to DA...
It's funny, of all the Infi's I've done to date, not one has had the sticky clear yet. (I know it's coming, LOL). I do some work for the Nissan/Infiniti dealer as well as get a fair # of referrals from them too. I was there today working on an Altima with bad bug damage that had eaten into the clear all over the top surfaces. I gotta finish it Mon or Tues. As far as the sticky goes, yes, from what I've seen on here, the RO will be the best tool to use.
I've heard that newer Inifiniti and Porsche use this type of sticky clear...but why??? Why not just use what Mercedes Benz uses - ceramiclear...
Infiniti's application is unique to themselves as it is described as a self-curing paint. A mild scratch is supposed to heal itself over a few days if left in the sun.
