Hi Guys

Jarrad aka Mr PSF has dropped off his lovely EL XR8 in navy blue to my shop as an R&D vehicle
This is a free refinish for him as I do need cars to test new processes and techniques that I am developing

Anyhow, the whole car needs sanding but I will not have time to do that so only the worst sections will receive some TLC with the sanding papers
Now the rear spoiler has suffered from acid rain damage for some time and it is loaded with washing scratches, cob webs and swirl marks

This first photo shows the damage, though it looks way worse in real life as a camera never captures what the human eye can see



Okay there we are, some ugly marks
The second shot here shows the diffusion of the light by those marks and how the reflection of the Prima Swirl 1 litre bottle and the style magic bottle are distorted and have poor clarity



The section to the left of that has been sanded with 2000 then 2500 grit paper by hand
Following that was Prima Swirl with an orange foam pad (foamed wool not quite needed) and my brand new rotary machine at 1600 rpm then slowed down to 1250, 1000, 850 and 700



Much better clarity afterwards

Hey Matt. Loving the vids.

A while ago I asked you about keeping polished Simmons in good nick and you said to clay and polish them followed by a good sealer. What is the best sealer you have for keeping these looking their best?

Hey matey

Sure, the beast sealant is Glare Advanced
second best - toughseal

however the best protection product overall is a lacquer, not a sealant and it is called G Techniq C1 and also C4

about 1 to 2 ml per wheel and the results are mega hydrophobic and at least two years of grime repellancy.

it's extremely expensive for a 500 ml and 1 litre bottle but I could sell a 5 to 10 ml bottle of it

That sounds like the go. What prices could you do for some of the G techiq? That's also the stuff you use on exterior plastics correct?

hey there

so sorry that I have not replied til now. I have been so fruitful lately. car after car and some very expensive ones too
Have had no time for anything else until now, having a week or two off

Anyhow I will let you know how much for the G Techniq on tuesday when I next speak to my supplier. We just finished a brand new Ford GT Mustang yesterday with C1 after an extensive paint rectification process. (it was scratched to hell)

Due to concentrating on the detailing shop, I haven't been a regular here for some time
However I have lots of free tips and info for you

Tip 1 - paintwork polishing

when using a DA or orbital such as meguiars G220, do not use the G220 at anything above speed 4 as it will slowly rattle itself to pieces as it is not designed to run at speed 5 to 6 even on occasional use

I have had two G220's fail on me and have switched to Makita BO6030 orbital and soon a Flex XC 3401 VRG 8mm orbit machine

2. The new FG falcons have PPG waterborne colour coats and possibly waterborne clear coats
dealing with these requires a great deal of skill via rotary and orbital sometimes as they are a totally different monster to solvent based paints

make sure you do plenty of preparation before beginning your polishing

wash the car via either waterless, semi waterless (recommended) or two bucket wash or self serve car wash with no brush

follow that with a complete dewaxing of the paint with prepsol or isopropyl alcohol wipedown (prepsol is cheaper and recommended) and either glare dewaxer or driven to perfection multi surface solvent free degreaser at 5:1 or 7:1
then clay the paint and glass with your preferred clay and one of either the following products, in no particular order of quality

Meguiars Final Inspection #34
Dodo Juice Born Slippy (what I'm using)
Prima Glyde

or at the very least, a top quality car wash and water solution

to help with claying, driven to perfection multi surface finish restorer diluted 5:1 or 7:1 will lightly clean the clay bar as you work it and prevents them from falling to bits

You want a product with a long dwelling time and that makes claying more effective
Dodo juice is hard to find at the moment but is economical and extremely effective at helping the clay bar achieve the results and without marring

3. Once claying is done, do an IPA or prepsol wipedown
FOR BEST RESULTS USE De-beer silicone remover to remove silicone based products which will make polishing less effective and more difficult

4. now the paint is totally clean and your hand or machine paint correction and polishing work will be much more effective and easier on the body.

other tips

products such as Prima Amigo, Blackfire gloss enhancing polish, Meguiars Show car glaze, Prima Banana Gloss, GLARE products and any finishing polishes except meguiars need to be left on the paint after application so they can dry thus adding extra gloss to the finish and to guarantee that your sealant or waxes will bond better or at all.

I leave Amigo and Blackfire on the paint for 30 mins to five hours. 30 to 60 mins is plenty though

FROM A PAINT COMPANY EMPLOYEE

Many if not all car manufacturers are buying the cheapest paints they can find via tenders and thus, they are periodically changing their paints and thus two identically coloured cars of the same model that were made in different months could have two completely different paint brands on them

Thus treat every car differently. each car has unique characteristics

Teflon based car care products can change the characteristics of a paint finish.
remove this as best as possible before polishing it

more to come,

Awsome thread

Gona make some notes as im going to do help my brother do his van soon and might do my car as well

very much appreciated, lots more information to come including new videos on my detailing process

hi matt,shoot me a pm.

What's in the future for Dream Machines

We are about to try and develop a paint adding product that actually puts paint back on the finish without spraying it or having to sand the clear down.

If you want more gloss than any polish, sealant, glaze or wax can offer and to cover stone chips and cover the paint in a sheet of glass, this will be the product for you
this hopefully will be a product for professional application and for sale to car owners as well and if the formulation of actual paint and secret raw ingredients works out, this will totally revolutionise the way paint is detailed and treated. no more complete panel resprays because of clear coat failure, no need for polishing faded paint and who knows what else

OTHER PRODUCTS

The Paint Neutralisation system
(darker/brighter finish and no need for dressings or cleaners for two years or more)
liquid clear coating service for wheels, paint, glass, interiors and engine bays

TRIM DREAM V8 - even more gloss, durability and colour.
along with trim dream T1 - a new micron thick permanent colour enhancing coating to go on top of trim dream, paint, interiors, wheels, tyres etc

I cant wait to try the TRIM DREAM V8

POLISHING/GLAZING PAD & PRODUCT COMBINATIONS

Now that you know how to prep your vehicles finish for paint correction or just polishing and glazing, you need to know what type of applicators to use with the products you have purchased
This is a rundown from my own personal experience and discussion with some of the best refinishers in the world and one in Sydney

Abrasives -
Menzerna, Prima, Driven, Gloss it, Meguiars
4 x 6 inch Lake country CCS hand pads
These come in eight different grades, from heavy cut to ultra finessing/glazing pad
they are available from ZAS and Dave Trieu of Reflect Effect, one of our own ford mods members

http://www.reflecteffect.com.au/product ... &prodId=p4
As these abrasive products are water based, these can not and should not be used with GPI contour foam pads which although looking like any typical hand foam pad, are best used totally dry with non water soluble products

Non abrasive polishes and glazes (paint restoration)
GLARE, TOUGHSEAL, PRIMA AMIGO, BLACKFIRE GLOSS ENHANCING POLISH, DRIVEN MARINE

GPI contour foam pads, GLARE Hurricane hand & machine pads and microfibre bonnets and hand pads are what I recommend

The glare hurricane pads and GPI contour hand pads should be used totally dry as any water, quick detailers or pad lube products will cause the product your using to coaggulate or not spread and work at it's best.

these are the hurricane pads for orbitals, DA's and rotary machines
http://www.glare.com/ecart/products.asp?cat=39

available through Paint Protection Direct.com.au, australia's GLARE distributor and co developer of a few of the Glare products

other pads available for hand use include

Surbuf Microfibre pads
surbuf.com
these will give you along with a final finishing polish or a glaze, a better finish than even the softest foam pad

Aquatouch microfibre (available from waxit.com.au)
these should be used with paint cleaners, glazes and final finishing polishes only

I must say Matt, this is the most detailed section I have ever seen on detailing and paint protection (loving).

Been in the motor industry now for 41 years and have NEVER seen so much skill put into the job you do, bloody marvelous.
I have an XR6 AU series I and it is Silhouette in colour, I find that it is SO hard to clean and or polish my baby to my satisfaction. Have used numerous polishes and found most of them to have little or no effect on the beast, maybe you could give me some insights as to what I need to do justice to my baby?

I have some paint work to be attended to like the rear spoiler with it's paint peeling and adding a couple of side rocker panel moulds plus the addon top spoiler for the top of the standard one.

Thanks in advance and more power to you.

[quote="Papa Smurf"]I must say Matt, this is the most detailed section I have ever seen on detailing and paint protection (loving).

Been in the motor industry now for 41 years and have NEVER seen so much skill put into the job you do, bloody marvelous.

Wow what a compliment, one of the best I have been given.

I have an XR6 AU series I and it is Silhouette in colour, I find that it is SO hard to clean and or polish my baby to my satisfaction. Have used numerous polishes and found most of them to have little or no effect on the beast, maybe you could give me some insights as to what I need to do justice to my baby?

Technique is everything sir. if you also detailed it by hand, your results will be lacking
Only DA, Rotary and orbital machines are capable of delivering insane results.
Please tell me the products you have used and what material you applied them with, how fast you worked it and if you could post up some photos of your car, that would be a big help.

I have some paint work to be attended to like the rear spoiler with it's paint peeling and adding a couple of side rocker panel moulds plus the addon top spoiler for the top of the standard one.

Since I've owned two AU's, the current being an AU XR6 Series 1, I know exactly what makes them come alive with a marvelous finish and permanently
To make the paint get to the level that you demand, this is the steps you must take

neutralise paint - my system
clay bar treatment
Silicone remover or prepsol