Dryed the car with my waffle weave towel.




The sun popped out for a little bit with enough for me to catch a glimpse of what I was in for.




Clayed the car with good old canadian brand Riccardo Clay.


Meguairs Last Touch was my lubricant.

Clayed the paint


and the windows.


Would have clayed the rims too, but they were new and did not need it.



So after one more rinse and drying I took measurements of the paint.
I have it set to microns which I believe is .0001 of a millimeter.

The average was 90-120 microns


but..

there were some highs


and lows.




So with an idea of what I was working with I began to tape up. The reason you mask up certain parts of the car is because around the edges paint is very thin and it is easy to burn through. Also emblems, rubber parts, etc don't get damaged either. I used 3M blue tape, there's two types the 2090 which can stay on for 16 days and leave no residue at all and the even more sensitive 2080 which can stay on for 60 days. The one used here is the 2090.




Inside clean and under the halogens I finally got a full view of what I was in for.






Out came the boys.


Generally you should start with the least abrasive and work your way up but since this isn't my first time and I know that anything lighter then a meduim polish is not going to do anything to those kind of swirls I started out with the Makita, 5.5" orange Lake Country pad, and Meguairs #83 at around 1500-1800rpm.


Tested it out on the hood and here is 50/50 pic of the results. Please forgive the stone chips and dust.


And a bigger view.


Me in action.


Also polished the headlights.

Passenger not polished.


Drivers polished.




The car was left with me overnight and so with all the swirl removal out of the way I put some tiger balm on my back and called it a night.

Day 2



Got up the next morning and washed the car with Hi Temp Prep Wash. Mixed it about 4:1 with water in a spray bottle, sprayed the car let it sit for a bit then washed like I would naturally do. Rinsed and dryed. The reason I wash with this stuff is because I have learnt that this stuff eats up the polish residue and is great for getting the stuff in the cracks and stone chips too. Touched up the left over stuff and the car was ready for the refining polish. (sorry no pics of this whole step)



On this soft Honda paint I finished with the Porter Cable, 5.5"white Lake County pad, and Menzerna Final Polish 2 at speed 5. Now the reason you finish with a finishing polish and finishing pad is because this burnishes the paint and refines it to provide that deep gloss.

Here I am at work cold on a June morning.


After finishing the whole car I check over my work for anything I might have missed with a 3M Sun Gun which omits the same spectrum light as the sun. I find this tool pretty handy because some days the sun is just not out like this morning and if it is depending on the time of day it does not shine at the angle you want it to.


Here is the only decent before and after I was able to get.

before


after



I wiped and dusted the car down and applied Danase Wet Glaze by Porter Cable and a grey 5.5" Lake Country pad at speed 2. Sorry no pics I just wanted to get the car done as the customer was coming in the next couple hours.



Put the exterior on hold and on to the interior.

Started off by dusting the crevices and build up areas




The vents too.