Perfect Paint

[Icefsh]

Wow! The quest for perfect paint is a hard hard road. When I first got my car, almost 2 years now. I did not know squat about taking care of the paint. Well I paid just paid the price. 12 hours of PC work and still not perfect. Of course learning to use the PC took a little trial and almost error. But since the PC is very friendly and really you can't screw up your paint. If you use some common sense. The spot pads are what you have to be carefull with. And even then the PC covers your tracks. Thanks Junkman for the videos and all the other people who I have learned from on this forum!

Here is the work involved in the entire job.

Wash Camaro 30 min.
Clay 1 hour including wheels
PC work 12 hours excluding wheels
Revive polish 30 min.
Machine wax 45 min.

This does not include set up and clean up time. I did this in a 3 day span.
I have alot of respect for detail guys!
No I don't have perfect paint but it's at least 95% perfect.
Good enough for me at this moment. Looks great!
Thanks all

[bigwayne3000]

Whyd it take you 12 hours to PC the car? I'm looking to purchase Adams' beginner PC kit for $259.

[lets_go_bills]

I'm curious what you did that caused you to spend 12 hours working with the PC.

[Nick10ssrs]

Well over the friday,saturday,sunday, monday night and tuesday morning that just past i put in 43.5 hours of detailing my camaro. Using basically the whole Adams line of products. But i kinda did everything possible. entire exterior, took each tire off and cleaned rubber/polished rims, hand washed entire undercarriage and wheel wells of it, engine bay, trunk, everything. There wasnt a area on this car that wasnt cleaned and dressed. And i was always working hard at it and it still took me 43.5 hours. So take as long as you need because you have to live with the results.

[Icefsh]

Originally Posted by bigwayne3000

Whyd it take you 12 hours to PC the car? I'm looking to purchase Adams' beginner PC kit for $259.

Well I was looking for the best result possible. My car is almost 2 years old and had quite a few small scratches and swrils. There is a small learning curve with the PC. Not that its hard, but knowing how much product to use and what to do when the pad starts dusting, used Detail spray. Also trying not let the pad get clogged up and learned not to let rotating pad touch any 90 degree edges or even seams. Because it could beat up the edges. Pieces of the pad start flying off. I think I need a new orange pad.

Anyway, the method I used might have been the reason it took me a while. I would use SHR remove pad, put in kithen storage bag to keep from drying out. Use FMP, then would wipe off and inspect. If it was not to my liking I would repeat the process.

I like the results. Even though it is not perfect. One thing I will do is use the 2 bucket system and the Adams wash pads!! Don't want to do this again any time soon.

Question: Now that I have sealed the paint with MSW, what type of wax should I put on top? I have Buttery wax and Briliant spray glaze.

[Chobbs11]

You can leave it if you want. The MSW is a great protectant that will last a long time. But if your looking for a deeper "wet" look, apply brilliant glaze then top it off with a coat of Americana. And after I wash each week I add yet another coat of brilliant glaze, that stuff is amazing! It really makes the paint look "wet"

[Junkman2008]

Originally Posted by lets_go_bills

I'm curious what you did that caused you to spend 12 hours working with the PC.

12 hours is chump change. I can easily spend 40 hours on the paint alone, especially with a PC. It is NOT a powerful polisher. It is safe and with a proper technique, effective.

[CamaroDreams07]

Originally Posted by Icefsh

Wow! The quest for perfect paint is a hard hard road. When I first got my car, almost 2 years now. I did not know squat about taking care of the paint. Well I paid just paid the price. 12 hours of PC work and still not perfect. Of course learning to use the PC took a little trial and almost error. But since the PC is very friendly and really you can't screw up your paint. If you use some common sense. The spot pads are what you have to be carefull with. And even then the PC covers your tracks. Thanks Junkman for the videos and all the other people who I have learned from on this forum!

Here is the work involved in the entire job.

Wash Camaro 30 min.
Clay 1 hour including wheels
PC work 12 hours excluding wheels
Revive polish 30 min.
Machine wax 45 min.

This does not include set up and clean up time. I did this in a 3 day span.
I have alot of respect for detail guys!
No I don't have perfect paint but it's at least 95% perfect.
Good enough for me at this moment. Looks great!
Thanks all

One hour to clay seems really quick.

Why did you use Revive following the PC? You should've been fine after FMP.

[Junkman2008]

Originally Posted by CamaroDreams07

One hour to clay seems really quick.

I agree.

Originally Posted by CamaroDreams07

Why did you use Revive following the PC? You should've been fine after FMP.

I will use Revive after FMP with the white pad when working on flat, dark colors. Sorta like what you would find on a 69' Nova. On today's metallic colors, I think that it is a waste of time.

[Adam's Polishes]

The first correction is always the worst... but then once you get it good all it takes is good maintenance and at most you'll be polishing a few times a year, and likely only with Fine Machine Polish to keep it up.

[Chobbs11]

I've also been doing revive polish by hand after the fine machine polish. Not sure, yet, if it's a waste of time, but the car is looking pretty good to me!

[Icefsh]

Originally Posted by CamaroDreams07

One hour to clay seems really quick.

Why did you use Revive following the PC? You should've been fine after FMP.

Might have been a little longer on the claying. But I might have rushed it too. First time I've done it. Felt pretty good with plastic bag, no bumps. Must admit it felt silky smooth after polishing.

Did the Revive because of a post I read from Junkman a while back saying it would really make the paint pop. But I had to rush that also because it was 6:00 and I still had to use MSW before dark. Put it on almost as fast as wax. As you said, it probably did not need it. Could not notice any real difference. Looks real good, but next time I will take things a little slower.

When polishing I had a problem with the tape coming off trying to seperate the clear bra from paint. Used blue painters tape. Did manage to keep most of the polish out of the clear bra line. The rest seemed to wipe off. Speaking of clear bra. How do I get the swrills out of it?

Still learning and thanks for everyone comments.