New to the world of paint correction...

I hope this is in the right place. I've been detailing for about a year now, but I have never done anything with paint correction before. My dad recently bought a 2009 BMW 135i, and even though it didn't have that many miles on it the paint was in bad shape. Swirls, some random scratches, and what looks like hard water/acid rain etching. He's been interested in having it corrected, but no one really does that sort of work around here. Since my dad and I tend to like to do stuff ourselves, I've been trying to talk him into buying the materials to do the correction work. If we did buy them, I'd use them on my GTI as well (similar color, minor swirls and a few light scratches). But we will have to start from scratch...we have no paint correction stuff right now. Is there a good starter kit that would have the right materials to get say 80-90% correction on his paint and my paint? We don't want to spend too much money, I think if I came back and told him something really expensive he'd just choose to drive his car as-is. As of right now we will just be doing correction on our two cars and no one else's, so I don't want a ton of products...yet

Here's some shots of his paint. I'm loving the iPhone picture quality.











Thanks,

Clark

 

Hi and welcome.. you know i said the exact same thing limiting buying products etc... it doesn't work.. you will get addicted like most of us in here.. A very good tip... Order from DETAILERS DOMAIN .. As a member from this site you will get a 10% discount and the owner Phil knows his product and he best could recommend the kit your looking for.

Ok to answer your question, this is what i'd do. I'm not an expert but if you saw my cars you would be pretty impressed.

I think you should make your own starter kit with help from the boys and myself in here....

Machine : Porter Cable ... about $100.00 (try and find a used one) as a lot of guys are switching to a Flex model so you may get a Porter Cable for $50.00

Get a few pads ... some guys will chime in to recommend the right ones..

Clay Bar : Pretty much all the same. You will need some clay lub too.
Compound : Either Menzera or Meguirs 105
Polish : Menzerna or Meguirs 205
Sealant: Menzerna Powerlock
Wax : Colinite 845 .. there are tons of waxes but this one lasts ...
Soap : Dish soap to strip the old wax and lets say Adam's soap to for maintenance washes...

and you may want to invest in a good bucket with a grit gaurd.. google to get more info.

Good Luck ! Remember i warned you this is addictive.

 

kdude has thought clark is truly a new member LOL
but yeah, get a PC especially when a bunch of us are changing to flex once we get our finances sorted, you'll find some great deals.
I say you get the Menzerna Super Intensive Polish and a few pads of 2 grades then ugh do the rest like u usually do by hand. You can grab some 805RD as well or 108FF either one works for the final finishing.

 

I just realized with about 300 posts however he's still asking for some imput so i'm imputing ..

 

rusty, i'd highly recommend going with something like this for someone with your experience level:

http://www.detailersdomain.com/theuberportercable7424xpwithmenzernapolishes16ozkit.aspx

 

Beat me to it Billy Rusty thats a good kit because you have a choice of pads to purchase.

I also suggest you invest in at least a 1000 watt halogen tripod stand for lighting so you can see the defects on the paintwork while your trying to remove them. I wouldn't attempt to correct any vehicle without proper lighting. Get some IPA and dilute it with distilled water Dave made a good thread about IPA dilutions do a quick search and you will find it. Also some Automotive 3M masking tape. I pretty sure you already have low nap quality microfibers, clay, quality wash, etc.

I also suggest investing in a smaller backing plate for 4" pads to get into and around tighter areas, but thats up to you when I did my first correction job I did it entirely using 5.5" pads. I would also suggest you get this package for some more pads because the PC XP Menzerna kit only comes with 4 Uber 5.5" pads.

http://www.detailersdomain.com/uberblackpad55inchwaxsealantpad-1.aspx

 

oh and with this kit, i would skip the orange ubers, and get yellows, greens, blues, and blacks.

 

Phil has a really good menzerna package that is mentioned above....... That is what I bought and then expanded on it.

I bought some surbuf pads as well, Im not a fan of the uber orange pads, I find them too hard.

 

Thanks everyone for the tips and suggestions! It will probably be spring before we actually buy anything, but I'll be researching methods and techniques and stuff in the meantime.

 

really a 1000W halogen? i was thinking to get a halogen light on a tri-pod stand but was thinking only 500W...is 1000W over kill or is it necssary?

right now the home depot has a 1000W halogen light on tri-pod for 19.99 CDN

i think that is cheap enuff...is it going to be a drag on my electricity bill though?...:whistle: