CDNZ

In a past BeadMaker thread, I said I’d start a paint correction thread once I got my engine work done. Well, heads are back on the car and I’ve started the paint correction process. This is most of my materials/supplies:




I washed the car with the Adam’s Shampoo and some APC. Next, I clayed the car with the Meguiar’s clay in the pic (made in Japan)...the clay was great to work with and did an excellent job. I hadn’t used this clay before, very happy with it and the results. This is the rear passenger quarter above the marker light after wash and clay:



These swirls are quite “fine” and typical to the entire car. Other than the leading edge of the rear flares (which are mildly pitted from road trash being flung at them by the front tires), this is pretty much what I had on the rest of the car’s clear coat.

Edit: I'm pretty sure some of what we see is marring from the clay.

ssg10587

What'd you end up using for the swirls? Cutting pad and the correcting cream? Just curious with this tough C6 clearcoat. I ended up using M105 and Lake Country Force grey heavy cutting pad and seemed to work well.

FYRARMS

I started mild, but ended up using 3D HD Cut+ compound and Buff & Shine MF cutting pads.

CDNZ

I have to say here that I have limited experience correcting paint. A couple of years ago, I had a Ford Raptor that I used for work in the oil patch in Alberta. After three plus years of lease roads, the paint on the truck needed serious help, like really serious help. I watched a few Junkman videos on YouTube and went out and bought a PC 7424 and some Meguiar's 105 and 205. After practicing on my wife's Jeep I tore into the Raptor and got pretty good results going to maybe an 8.5/10 from more like a 2-3. That is all I have ever really done.

Now I have this Z06 I bought in October and want to polish 'er up and get some protection on this clear coat

The next step I took was to Iron-X the car to dissolve the iron particles bonded to the clear coat. Pretty nasty smelling, but a fair amount of purple colour came off the car, so I'm saying it was worth it.

I dried the car completely and (to answer your question above ssg10587 ) started on the swirl and scratch removal with the PC, a Lake Country Hybrid Force orange foam pad and Griot's Garage BOSS Correcting Cream. I started at the rear portion of the passenger rear quarter so my "test" area was kind of out of sight, rather than starting in the middle of the hood or something. I have heard how hard the Corvette clear coat is, so I was expecting it to be pretty tough to polish. I'd say it is definitely harder than the Raptor's clear coat, but not that bad really. I used slow passes, initially on speed 5 to see what I was achieving. I found it was not too bad to polish, just had to be patient and over the course of Sunday, I got once around the car, taking my time, checking with a bright LED flashlight and touching up any misses. I used the PC on speed 6 for some of the large flat areas but was very careful to keep the PC moving at all times and monitor the panel temperature to ensure I was not generating any heat. At most, I would say there were a couple of times where a part of a panel was slightly warm, but only very slightly.

The only other compound I had ever used was Meg's 105 and I have to say I way prefer the Griot's product. It has way more working time, produced great results, cut reasonably quickly with very little dusting and was so easy to wipe off after, no streaking or dust or trouble, just wiped off clean, lickety-split.

CDNZ

This is the same area on the other side of the car after the Correcting Cream:

CDNZ

I have started on lap 2 around the car using the Griot’s Perfecting Cream and a Lake Country Hybrid Force white foam pad. I started at the same place on the passenger rear quarter and on much lower speed (3-4 max) and very little pressure. I’m not sure if the pic will show any difference, but it is pretty easy to see in real life on the car. The Griot’s BOSS creams are super nice to work with, I can polish away for a long time with no issues, very good product (this, coming from a guy that has used two polish lines, so take it for what you want, hehe) and would definitely recommend it to anyone.

Here is a pic after a bit of work with the Perfecting Cream:



The shine is coming together pretty nicely, not sure if pics are showing well.

FYRARMS

Impressive!

ssg10587

Perfecting cream doing much? Seems like you got it all perfectly sorted with the correcting cream. And Meg's 105 can definitely be a pain. Glad to hear about Griots!

CDNZ

For sure the Correcting Cream is doing the brunt of the work, the Perfecting Cream is pretty much enhancing gloss/shine. It is noticeable, but not as dramatic a change as the first step. The Griot’s is a pleasure to use.

CDNZ

I got around the car with the Perfecting Cream, the shine is pretty awesome, for me at least. This might be cringe-worthy for the pros, but I worked at higher speeds with the Perfecting Cream and had no issues at all. I used high speed, low pressure (machine weight only really) and kept the tool moving at all times. I just concentrated on machine angle, body contours, etc and let the polisher do its thing.

I went ahead and put a coat of the Collinite 915 on the car...again no issues at all, apply, wait and wipe off. I followed this up with a final “buff” with a final clean microfibre cloth. I used The Rag Company Creature MF cloths for wiping off the polish and the 915. Honestly, the wax made only a small difference in the shine, I could not see a difference where I had applied wax and had not, really. I did notice a difference in feel and of course, I am sure it will react to water a lot different with the 915 on the clear coat.

Edit: I forgot to mention that I did an isopropyl alcohol wipe down between the polish and the Collinite

CDNZ

A few pics from in the garage:

Hood:

CDNZ

I will let the wax sit and maybe cure/harden for a while, then the only thing left will be the BeadMaker, which I will apply with an Eagle Edgeless MF cloth to the entire car. The BM will be my go-to maintenance topper. I will use it regularly and as a drying aid. I really don't care if it is a long-lasting product as I will be applying it way before it fades/dies/wears off.

FYRARMS

Looks great! I am no chemist, but whatever polymer materials Collinite mixes in with all their carnauba waxes really gives it an amazing amount of durability. Nothing beats the durability and hydrophobicity of a ceramic coating, but for just a few dollars and a couple hours of time per year, Collinite is hard to beat.

Collinite + Bead Maker = good protection and a LOT of gloss! Much like "Frank's Red Hot Sauce", I use that sh*t on everything.

ssg10587

Fyrarms and CDNZ, also give fusso coat a look. Really enjoyed it so far and super durability, sheeting and beading for a cheap price. I've also heard good about collinite so may look into that as a top layer. Too much stuff to try lol.

FYRARMS

I have tried a few different fully-synthetic sealants on my daily driver, but I keep coming back to a couple of hybrid sealant/wax blends that seem to last just as long. Both the Collinite 845 and 3D HD Poxy that I have seem to outlast the Rejex, the Finish Kare 1000P, or anything else I have tried. I was going to try the Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant a lot of people rave about, but it is $40 and the Collinite is under $20. I just can't believe the Wolfgang is going to look or last twice as well as the Collinite.

CDNZ

It has been about 3 weeks since I completed the correction/protection on my Z. I'm just following up with an update on how it looks and has stood up. I have driven the car several times, it has had dozens of bugs on every forward facing part of the car, it has been quite dusty and road grime was splattered up the sides once as I had to go through some nasty wet puddles on a gravel section of some road construction, but each time, just a water hose (no pressure washer) and the mess just rinsed off. I have sprayed the car off 2-3 times with water, pulled it into the garage, got the worst of the water off, used air to blow out marker lights, mirrors, etc and finished drying with BeadMaker as a drying aid. It's kinda crazy, but the gloss seems to be increasing, water beading is excellent and the paint is slick, slick to the touch. The car looks amazing, I couldn't be happier with the outcome. The whole combination of the Griot's Creams, then Collinite and BM has produced exceptional results on my car.

FYRARMS

Excellent! When used as a drying aid, that Bead Maker keeps adding protection and some extra gloss. It is a great topper for waxes and sealants!

CamarosRus

Hello Fellow Detailers/Polishers,

In these above posts, I'm not reading where a SEALANT (i.e. BlackFire SiO2 Spray Sealant, CarPro Reload etc)
is being used after final polishing. Is it this just not thought to be important by the above members ????

Whereas there are other threads at Corvette Forum touting the Use of SiO2 Sealants .....and then use
BeadMaker as a maintenance topper!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chuck S Auburn,WA

FYRARMS

Both my daily driver and my Z06 have machine-applied sealants on them. But then they are both layered with an application of wax. When I use spray sealants and spray waxes, I only use them as "toppers". Either as a drying aid after washing, or before a show or cruise. I don't use spray products as stand-alone means of protection.

CDNZ

I honestly have no answer for this question...like the thread title says, I am seriously an amateur at paint correction and protection. I chose products based on favourable reviews and what made sense to me. All I can do is share my results at this point and this combination gave superb results!