This car is a new purchase for a regular client, although the car had been looked after by its previous owner, it had only ever had a quick wash every now and then and never been polished, as such the all the exterior surfaces were looking very weathered and dull, there were also a number of light scratches and swirl marks which would need to be removed to be able to release the full gloss and clarity of the paint finish, as well as the unpainted trim which would be restored, as these parts had faded over time.
My usual wash and decontamination process was followed as detailed here
Brand new wheels before
After, there was a fair amount of brake dust build behind the spokes so this was removed
Tar was removed
Clay bar was then used to remove any remaining bonded contaminants from all painted surfaces and glass.
Once the bodywork was perfectly clean, the car was moved indoors to have paint depth readings taken and a thorough inspection done, the paintwork was not only covered in swirl marks, but the because protection in the form of a wax or sealant had never been maintained on the paintwork the clear coat had become oxidised leaving it looking very milky.
Several stages of machine polishing were required to fully remove some of the deeper marks in the finish, including a dedicated refining process to burnish the paintwork to a high gloss, here are some before and after shots.,,
After
Before
After
Before
50/50
Before
After
Before – oxidation and some deep surface scratches.
After
Before
After
Before
After
Before
50/50
After
Before
After
Before
Rear light clusters were also polished – before
After
After all the polishing stages were complete I set about restoring the finish on all the faded exterior trim, Carpro DLUX was applied to all unpainted trim, this brought the colour back to most of the trim except the scuttle panel was really beyond saving, it also is very hardwearing and weathering resistant so the finish should last a good 18months or longer, this was also applied to the alloys, and brand new side steps to help protect them against corrosion, the tyres and arch liners were also dressed at this stage.
Once all the finishing touches were applied the paintwork was given a wipedown with Carpro Eraser to remove all polishing oils ready for the sealant to be applied, Polish Angel Master Sealant for hard wearing protection, as well as being the latest addition to my offerings which I was keen to try.
Total time taken was 4 days.
Thanks for reading
Richard
07500903249