Worn out

[Pete]

Now that The Beloved has safely returned back from having a new sill fitted I took the opportunity today to see how good I could get the paintwork. I've been steadily building up a collection of potions and other devices and today was the day to try them out. The wash really rammed home to me the amount of rubbish still present in the paintwork even after a good deep celan, with tree sap spots and light scratching everywhere, and the finish felt gritty and bumpy with the colour dulled and flat under a greying sky .

So, in order of useage, here's what I got through:

• Meguiar's shampoo with cotton tog mit and two buckets - one soapy warm water, the other clean warm water to rinse out with
• Squeegee and microfibre cloth to dry
• T-Cut (good old fashioned stuff!) in two applications - the second using a blue medium sponge on a rotary polisher
• Meguiar's Quik Clay lubricated with detailer misted on before rubbing over
• Autoglym Super Resin polish
• Poorboy's EX
• Poorboy's Natty Blue Finishing Wax - 3 coats buffed between layers with two microfibre cloths

The finish now is incredible, really deep lustre to the Midnight Blue paint and not a swirl in sight. The T-Cut was hard work as I took it very gently to prevent further scratching or accidentally going through to the primer but it paid off with everything else going on and off just as it should. The Autoglym polish didn't dust up anything like as badly as it used to either, although this could also be down to using better quality cloths. I also should give a mention to the clay stuff, as it worked wonders in ridding the car of the stubborn sap very quickly indeed. But anyway, nearly two hours effort and I'm very impressed indeed with how well the original paint came up. The items I got flattered my ham-fistedness very well I think, and it looks fantastic now.

Now for the bad news. I only did the bootlid.........

[mykl]

Pete

C'mon you should know by now, we want to see a photo.

Even if it is just the bootlid!

_________

mykl

[Pete]

Oops.....

Okay, here's a quick snap.



The Beloved gets all the love and care I can heap on her.

The Omega just gets a wash. If it's lucky.

[Jules]

I can see 2 scratches Pete on Boot and rear window!! Sorry couldn't resist

I Agree Pete, T cut is very hard work and leaves even harder marks if you don't polish off within half hour.

Lately I've started using water based products like:

Varying compounds from Farecla:
G3 For deep scratches
G10 finer compound
Machine Glaze for final finish

Also 3M Finesse-it, very nice to work with by hand or buffer.

Autoglym Extra Gloss Protection

Think I binned the T-cut after dicovering all the above,as recommended by 2 local bodyshops.

[Pete]

Funnily enough I had heard the products you mentioned on some other websites concerning detailing, but haven't had a good look for them yet. I've got some Autoglym Extra Gloss Protection from a while back but I found it a bit of a pig to use - probably doing it all wrong as per usual though! I'll see about trying them out as well. Just a quick mention about the Poorboy's stuff. I got it from a web site called www.detailedobsession.co.uk. Gareth the owner was most helpful with my muppet questions and the items arrived next day.

[Ken]

Originally Posted by Pete

Oops.....

Okay, here's a quick snap.



The Beloved gets all the love and care I can heap on her.

The Omega just gets a wash. If it's lucky.

Pete if you are dumping the car I will have the spoiler and the badge please

Looks good mate :lol:

[Pete]

I've got to say Ken, if I manage to finish the rest of The Beloved the Best Car Award at the next meet is mine I tell you!

Oh I forgot. Directors are banned from the competition........Damn!

[GreyGhost]

Originally Posted by Pete

I've got to say Ken, if I manage to finish the rest of The Beloved the Best Car Award at the next meet is mine I tell you!

Oh I forgot. Directors are banned from the competition........Damn!

Might as well leave the rest as is then Pete, wouldn't want a director turning into a detail freak now would we.

[baxlin]

Originally Posted by Pete

So, in order of useage, here's what I got through:

• Meguiar's shampoo with cotton tog mit and two buckets - one soapy warm water, the other clean warm water to rinse out with
• Squeegee and microfibre cloth to dry
• T-Cut (good old fashioned stuff!) in two applications - the second using a blue medium sponge on a rotary polisher
• Meguiar's Quik Clay lubricated with detailer misted on before rubbing over
• Autoglym Super Resin polish
• Poorboy's EX
• Poorboy's Natty Blue Finishing Wax - 3 coats buffed between layers with two microfibre cloths

.........

Looks really good, Pete, but, on the excellent detailing "How-To", using a sponge for washing is a No-no, and I note you used a sponge for the T-cut, and this was before the clay.

I thought the reason for the clay was to pull out the grit-n-grot, before polishing.

Weren't you worried the T-cut would (a) go through the laquer and (b) cause more swirl marks?

Have to say the result seems to justify the means, though, but I might have missed out the T-cut altogether.

(afterthought, did you use original T-cut, or the one for metallic/laquered finishes?)

Malcolm

[Pete]

Thing is Malcom, I didn't read the post on detailing, just dived in as per usual and made it hard work for myself. So lesson no.1 learned there - listen to an expert!

I should take a pic for the sponge I have just so it makes it a bit clear how it looks. I must admit when I first looked at it the slight abrasive feel of the surface got me a touch worried, but apart from it lifting the dirt and muck up it was pretty kind to the surface. It got all but the worst of the swirls out as well, but you do need care as higher speeds will cause the pad to wander and fly off. Best to stick to lower speeds and tread lightly until the confidence is a bit higher. The sponge however is very different to the yellow ones we all know and love - and I wash it out completely after each use so it's dirt-free when it gets used. It's beginning to feather nicely which may reduce its impact a bit but also means I have a bit more control over the degree of abrasion I can inflict on the paint surface.

My car is in Midnight blue, which means it is clear over base and I used normal old 'red' T-Cut. The cutting and polishing therefore don't hit the colour but the clear topcoat. It does mean you should take a bit of care when detailing but apart from that it's pretty straightforward.

My main reason for using T-Cut was almost purely down to it being there! I think you are right, claying the bootlid did bring a few bits out but apart from that I did wonder if I was wasting my time. The end result though said to me that the extra step with the cutter and then clay was worth it; the surface was incredible. Interestingly, and I hope we get some light shed on this, I have quite a lot of Autoglym colour restorer but I felt too afraid to use it as it just feels very coarse to me. Can anyone help on this?

If I will make one comment though it's this: I'm no expert and I know people like Aurora will have a wealth of knowledge on this far in excess of me! I just seem to get a really lovely result and thought I'd write a few words.