hey there guys and gals. my first post here on the site. a little about myself : 28 year old in the IT field from TN. love a clean, freshly detailed ride. owner of a 98 EB explorer and a 2000 GT.
originally posted this over on stangnet, copied and pasted here...
let me start off by saying that this is by no means a professional grade detail. this is my first attempt of minor paint correction. i have even never used a dual action or orbital before. i have learned there is a huge learning curve with this (as expected) and all sorts of options from pad choices, to products and the machine itself. this is something i have wanted to learn how to do for a long time. the only way to figure it out is try it. with no experience, i wanted a machine that was forgiving. i chose the porter cable 7424xp. the last thing i wanted to do was burn the paint. the test mule for this was my 98 explorer. with nearly 200,000 miles on the clock and LOTS of neglect from previous ownership ( and myself ), this made a good candidate for a practice vehicle. however, along with all that neglect comes severe paint damage - especially on the hood. i was able to remove a good amount of the swirls and some scratches but there is ALOT of imperfections left. the hood is terrible. water etchinng, clear coat damage, outlined bird droppings, bug splatters...its bad. i have a decent camera but not good enough to pick up all the damage still left behind. i did not have the correct lighting to properly show the befores and afters. even as a novice, the job turned out pretty decent. after all the work, the paint is far from perfect but def an improvement. quite a bit of depth and color was restored to the finish. it needed to be clayed but time wasn't an advocate. overall, i think it looks ok.
inside and outside were detailed with minimal time spent on the interior and alot more could have been spent on the exterior. 8 hours total.
interior
simple green 50/50 mix
CG silk shine
magnum power fabric refresher
wheels
eagle one a-z wheel & tire
wash
initial wash : CG citruswash & gloss (1oz to 1gal)
simple green 50/50 mix
turtle wax bug & tar remover
microfiber mitt
finish wash : CG citruswash clear
microfiber mitt
paint correction
porter cable 7424xp
CG scratch & swirl bgone / ccs orange light cutting pad
CG all-in-1 polish / ccs gray finishing pad
protection
CG liquid carnuba extreme depth + x seal / ccs blue finessing pad
glass
vinegar & newspaper
tires & trim
black magic tire wet
jax wax super blue
dusty and dirty
less dusty and less dirty
pre wash
wash&gloss at work
hood after wash . NO beading.
my attempt of showing some of the swirls
scratch&swirl bgone at work
1 pass
post detail with CG citruswas clear
all finished
my arsenal / collection
props to my girlfriend for helping me with the detail. she used the PC just as much as i did and done an excellent job. her first time as well.
originally posted this over on stangnet, copied and pasted here...
let me start off by saying that this is by no means a professional grade detail. this is my first attempt of minor paint correction. i have even never used a dual action or orbital before. i have learned there is a huge learning curve with this (as expected) and all sorts of options from pad choices, to products and the machine itself. this is something i have wanted to learn how to do for a long time. the only way to figure it out is try it. with no experience, i wanted a machine that was forgiving. i chose the porter cable 7424xp. the last thing i wanted to do was burn the paint. the test mule for this was my 98 explorer. with nearly 200,000 miles on the clock and LOTS of neglect from previous ownership ( and myself ), this made a good candidate for a practice vehicle. however, along with all that neglect comes severe paint damage - especially on the hood. i was able to remove a good amount of the swirls and some scratches but there is ALOT of imperfections left. the hood is terrible. water etchinng, clear coat damage, outlined bird droppings, bug splatters...its bad. i have a decent camera but not good enough to pick up all the damage still left behind. i did not have the correct lighting to properly show the befores and afters. even as a novice, the job turned out pretty decent. after all the work, the paint is far from perfect but def an improvement. quite a bit of depth and color was restored to the finish. it needed to be clayed but time wasn't an advocate. overall, i think it looks ok.
inside and outside were detailed with minimal time spent on the interior and alot more could have been spent on the exterior. 8 hours total.
interior
simple green 50/50 mix
CG silk shine
magnum power fabric refresher
wheels
eagle one a-z wheel & tire
wash
initial wash : CG citruswash & gloss (1oz to 1gal)
simple green 50/50 mix
turtle wax bug & tar remover
microfiber mitt
finish wash : CG citruswash clear
microfiber mitt
paint correction
porter cable 7424xp
CG scratch & swirl bgone / ccs orange light cutting pad
CG all-in-1 polish / ccs gray finishing pad
protection
CG liquid carnuba extreme depth + x seal / ccs blue finessing pad
glass
vinegar & newspaper
tires & trim
black magic tire wet
jax wax super blue
dusty and dirty
less dusty and less dirty
pre wash
wash&gloss at work
hood after wash . NO beading.
my attempt of showing some of the swirls
scratch&swirl bgone at work
1 pass
post detail with CG citruswas clear
all finished
my arsenal / collection
props to my girlfriend for helping me with the detail. she used the PC just as much as i did and done an excellent job. her first time as well.
