This client called after he had taken his car in for service and got it back in not such great shape. The client had to drive over an hour to get to my shop, so I wanted to make sure he would be excited about the finished product. Sounds like a perfect first test for Raceglaze Black Label. Over the next 72 hours the car got a single stage polish and two coats of RG Black Label. The interior a quick vac and wipedown as it was very clean already. Engine, jambs, emblems etc were all cleaned with RG Brushes and new APC I'm testing. Entire car was presoaked with same APC, allowed to dwell and rinsed. Washed with CG CWC and RG washmitt. Tires, wheels and inner fenders were cleaned with APC. The barrels were hit a second time with a mild acid solution as they were quite rough and even scrubbing with brushes would not remove the remaining staining. Car was clayed with AE Fine clay and PB Spray & Wipe for lube. Initial polishing was done with B&S Yellow and 105. Although it was removing well over 90% of defects, it was marring the paint like crazy. Switched to Menzerna polishing pad and Menz Power Finish. Got pretty much the same correction and the finish looked fantastic. LSP was RG Black Label x2 over 36 hours. Wheels were sealed with BF All Metal Sealant Tires were dressed with PB Bold n'Bright Engine was dressed with 303 Protectant Exterior glass was polished with AG Glass Polish via PC and B&S Green pad at speed 3. Windshield was treated to a water repellant coating from Wolf Chemicals ( courtesy of Jesse aka aclevernickname) Total time was around 11 hours for the polishing and first coat of Black Label and an extra couple hours the second day. One 2009 supercharged Jag HF Wheels were fairly dirty The jambs were quite clean which was a nice change. Engine was a bit dirty but nothing a little APC couldn't deal with. Grille had a bit of a build up. All those little diamonds There was a disturbing amount of polish residue/ wax residue Presoaking the car in APC to remove any remaining traces of old LSPs The barrels were fairly dirty and would require a mild acid solution after an initial scrub with APC. Of course it had to pour rain while I was washing. Wheels were looking a lot better. The barrels had quite a rough factory finish and so a light acid was used to clean the remaining staining from brake dust. more residue A few swirls, mostly wash induced, were present. These were easily eradicated with Menz Polishing Pad and Power Finish. Some holograms for good measure. Dealership inflicted deep scratches were all over the car. Even more residue! Even the door handle had a holo on it. Now THAT takes talent! Will it ever end? Good god. Some spare screws from something? Yikes! After the engine dried, it was sprayed down with 303 and allowed to air dry. Some 50/50s Todays LSP of choice - Raceglaze Black Label. 66% of carnauba sweetness. More 50/50s Taking PTG readings around all the deeper scratches. After the first coat of RG Exhaust tips before.... and after! Sweeeet! And Ritchy said I'd never have four fingers up the backside of a British hottie! Coat #2 coming up. After one coat had cured overnight, I was so impressed with the look that I called the owner and asked him to leave it for a second night so I could apply a second coat. Turned out to be great decision. Thanks for looking!
damn Ken . . . . . . the Jag came out great. Looked like you were having tons of fun there with that one. The new wax appears to be damn good in terms of looks. Hopefully it has some great durability to go along with it. Did you find that it was difficult at all to work with being that it is 66% carnuba?
I have to say it came out great very nice work. What did you use to remove the only wax/polish residue from the crevices and trim(products and brushes or other accessories)?
so where's the pic of you cleaning all the diamonds individually?? Also, didn't you buy the wash mat from me so you could wash INSIDE if the weather got too cold or in your case, rainy? Car looks slick
Some outstanding work Ken! That paint looks really soft, havent work on a new Jag yet, hows the finish to work on?
Actually, no. I applied the wax to the hood by hand which usually means its going on quite heavy. If I got it off quickly it wasn't an issue. I let one third of it sit for awhile and it didn't come off nearly as easy. When I used a foam applicator and got it on thin, it came off very easy. I used APC diluted 4:1 with RG brushes when I was washing the car. The stuff that was left after washing was removed with a folded MF and straight APC. The mirror casings were cleaned up with DG wax eraser. I thought about that AFTER I did it. Sorry> It was pretty warm out so I just threw on my rain gear. I'll be using the mat soon as its down near 40F here in the mornings now. I hate having water in my shop so I stay outside as long as possible.
Verrrrrrrry soft. As I said, Even using the PC, it was marring and hazing. Crazy soft. I've never seen that happen with a PC. I went from B&S Yellow/105 to Menz polishing /Power Finish and it solved the problem.
car came out awesome! Amazing what dealerships do to cars...even the high end cars! You'd think that if a customer is paying that much for a car when it's taken to the dealership they would take great care of it...
Superb Ken, the finish looks outstanding :thumb: How did you find the BL in terms of application, removal, etc?