Old paint restoration: with pics; explanation of process

ben1973

Sunday Drivers
Right, I'll give this a go-try to give something back to isdc members, maybe save someone a few euros.
First ,- A WARNING........
A rotary polisher in the wrong hands is lethal for your paintwork. It can absolutely destroy your clear coat.if your I'm any doubt- don't use one. Use a DA polisher instead.the results won't be as good but you can't damage your paintwork any more than it is already with one.
In work we have had a shitload of ex hiredrive cars (all less than a year old) in for restoration as they all were pretty severely paint defected from hire,brush washes etc.its pretty amazing how paint damaged a less than one year old car can get.
The car I've chosen to demonstrate on is a Land Rover evoque .it's a 17-1-D and it's in sh*t.heres a few pics.....
 

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Old paint restoration continued

Here is some of the equipment I'll be using.
4 different polishes
2 different polishers
4 Different polishing heads
4 different cloths.
There are tons of polishes and compounds available.doyour research.not all polishes are created equally.
Im using 3M and Merzema.
This job is going to take four different steps.
Most polishing systems are 3 step but as this evoque is so bad I'll be adding a very aggressive first step- a wool polishing head.
 

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My mate does bodywork says the lacquer used on new stuff ain't near as good as older paint based products water based lacquer stays softer leaving it to swirls and car wash scratching can't beat a few chemicals in your paint [emoji51]


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Paint restoration

My mate does bodywork says the lacquer used on new stuff ain't near as good as older paint based products water based lacquer stays softer leaving it to swirls and car wash scratching can't beat a few chemicals in your paint [emoji51]ok

Right- I'm not being smart here at all Gary.. but the new laquerer is still solvent based - it's only the base coat that's water based.
Good job that ,coz ya be ****ed the first time ya tried to wash your car if the laquer was water based:icon_grin:
Or the first rain shower ya encounter:Falldownlaugh:
Sorry- couldn't help myself..
Na - the new laquer is mostly high solids to cut down on the VOC emissions. It's also shite. Have a look at most of the new cars out now.all the finishes are very " orange peel" finish.the laquer is designed to match this and doesn't "flow" the way it used to for that "glass" look.

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Right- I'm not being smart here at all Gary.. but the new laquerer is still solvent based - it's only the base coat that's water based.
Good job that ,coz ya be ****ed the first time ya tried to wash your car if the laquer was water based:icon_grin:
Or the first rain shower ya encounter:Falldownlaugh:
Sorry- couldn't help myself..
Na - the new laquer is mostly high solids to cut down on the VOC emissions. It's also shite. Have a look at most of the new cars out now.all the finishes are very " orange peel" finish.the laquer is designed to match this and doesn't "flow" the way it used to for that "glass" look.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk[/QUOTE]

Right- I'm not being smart here at all Gary.. but the new laquerer is still solvent based - it's only the base coat that's water based.
Good job that ,coz ya be ****ed the first time ya tried to wash your car if the laquer was water based:icon_grin:
Or the first rain shower ya encounter:Falldownlaugh:
Sorry- couldn't help myself..
Na - the new laquer is mostly high solids to cut down on the VOC emissions. It's also shite. Have a look at most of the new cars out now.all the finishes are very " orange peel" finish.the laquer is designed to match this and doesn't "flow" the way it used to for that "glass" look.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk[/QUOTE]
 
Lacquer is still solvent based. It's the paint underneath that's waterbased. But the modern day finishes are very soft and easily marked.
 
Paint restoration continued

OK. So step 1.
The wool head.
Not to be taken lightly.this is making a huge comeback.this used to be used back In the day when I was an apprentice.it disappeared in favour of foam pads but because some of the new laquers are very hard the foam pads don't really cut it anymore.
Like the foam pads there are different grades of wool heads.be very careful.these heat up very quickly and can burn through very easily.DO NOT use on any plastic parts.
This one is a twisted wool head and I'm using a Merzema heavy cut compound with it.
 

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Paint restoration continued

OK so I'm trying to figure out whats the best way to do this and having looked at the photos I have I'm going to show the photos below in sequence of wool head first, then compound head with a Merzema 400 compound, then a Waffle foam head with 3M yellow machine polish to demonstrate the effect each stage has on the paintwork.
I'll then try to explain the method and process that is required.
 

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Paint restoration continued

The first two pictures show the effect of the wool head and the "super heavy cut compound"(300 by Merzema)
What this does is basically "grind" out all(or most off) the heavy scratches and imperfections in the topcoat/laquer. You need to be very careful here as every time you make a pass with the rotary polisher,you are striping off a very thin layer of laquer.
The method is this.
Mask up any plastic trim.
Put some compound onto the wool head.
Dab a area about half the size of the wing(or about 1/6 the size of a door) with the preloaded wool head.
On the lowest speed setting ,using NO pressure on the polisher, spread the compound onto panel.
Increase the speed to somewhere around 1500 rpm, and very slowly,with no pressure on the polisher,pass it horizontally across the area,each time coming back on 50% off the previous pass.
Do the same vertically.
Do this 3/4 times.
Clean of compound and check panel.you need really good lighting(sunlight is best)
If any scratches remain, day a small amount of compound on scratches and go over again with a tiny bit of pressure on polisher.
Clean a check again.they should be all gone.
What your left with is a really dull,but scratch free panel.
Now the problem is to repair all that damage you've just done to the laquer...
 
Paint restoration continued

The next two pics show a white open cell,foam compound head, on rotary polisher using a medium to heavy cut compound(Merzema 400)this compound again strips laquer,but it's finer.were basically trying to level out the laquer that we more or less left in a kicker with the wool head.
The method is exactly the same as using the wool(outlined above)
A little compound goes a long way..
The second pic below shows the result..
Although it looks a lot better, and you can see some of the clarity coming back to the color, it still has a milky appearance.its lacking depth and clarity.
Important note.: Always use different cloths to wipe down the different compounds and polishes.if you use a "stage one" cloth to wipe down after stage two or three, you will destroy the work you've just done and will have to repeat the step again. Try and not contaminate the cloths and I recommend using different color cloths(microfiber) for each step.most polishing systems come with color coded cloths and polishing heads to avoid this.
 

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Paint restoration continued

These next pics show a yellow Waffle cut 3M foam pad designed for use with the 3M machine polish.
The method is the same.( Outlined above)
This is more of a polish than compound,but it still has a medium to fine grit/cut in it.
Were leveling the laquer further with this and you can really see the clarity and depth of color after this step.this NEEDS to be worked a bit longer than the previous steps.
The next few pics are of the results of machine polishing.
The clarity is definitely there as is the depth of color.
And it looks really shiny.
And on lighter colors you would be finished....
But not on dark colors-especially black.if you look closely at the pic of the bonnet, you can make out a "marring" on the finish.also know as rotary buffer trails or holograms.
These are a ba*tard.
Your finished a job, it looks amazing and you bring it outside to check out and as soon as sunlight hits it it looks like someone dragged an oily rag all over it.the bastards.
What holograms are a very fine scratches left in laquer from steps 1&2.
If you do step three properly you can remove about 70 - 75% of these.but you have to take your time.a lot of time.
The next and final step is a anti-hologram machine polish using a deep dimpled pad.
I'll post up last stage and pics tomorrow night as right now I'm bollixed and need me bed..
 

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OK,so first a correction.the polish used is spelled Menzerna.not Merzema...
Anyhow back to the final stage.
So this is done with a DA polisher or dual action polisher.
We use 3M anti-hologram polish(we refer to it as "blue")
It has a very fine grit in it and is designed to remove the remaining holograms.
We use a deep soft blue foam pad with small dimples cut into it. Again segment the panel,depending on size,into 2,4,6 or 8 parts about 2 foot by 2 foot.
Put 4/5 spots of blue onto pad and on lowest speed setting ,cover area with polish.
Ramp up speed to around 1600-1700 rpm.this time put a small bit of pressure on polisher,and slowly move polisher across area horizontally then vertically as before ,50%back on previous pass. Pass over area 5_-6 times,each time reduce pressure on polisher and absolutely no pressure on last pass. Take a new microfiber cloth and gently remove residue.
When one panel is complete,turn cloth and buff panel,taking your time, constantly turning cloth.this is important as ANY polish left on panel will cause panel to appear to have holograms left in.
I cannot stress this enough- it takes time and patience to do this sufficiently enough to get a flawless finish.good quality microfiber cloths are a must (3 M do color coded microfiber cloths to match the stage you are on)
VERY IMPORTANT- do not mix up cloths.you will not get desired finish if you do.
And that's it.piece of piss.
As I work in a body shop we are unable to use any wax.i strongly recommend using your favorite wax after this last stage,because although your car will look immaculate,it has absolutely no protection. the wax coat is the protection.
Below are pics of the evoque finished ,both inside and outside in the sun.
Note: we use a special type of light to mimic sunlight inside and on dull days.if it's right with this light,its right outside.
Cheers and good luck if your going to undertake this on your own car.take your time and be careful.
Ben.
 

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Heeheeheee.
Pics ,bro ,pics...
Heres a couple of pics of a jag I'm doing tomorrow
 

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