EXPLORER : PAINT CORRECTION & DETAIL - Chemical Guys Products LOTS Of Pics

fiveoho

15 Year Member
Apr 28, 2005
1,958
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TN
let me start off by saying that this is by no means a professional grade detail. this is my first attempt of minor paint correction. i have even never used a dual action or orbital before. i have learned there is a huge learning curve with this (as expected) and all sorts of options from pad choices, to products and the machine itself. this is something i have wanted to learn how to do for a long time. the only way to figure it out is try it. with no experience, i wanted a machine that was forgiving. i chose the porter cable 7424xp. the last thing i wanted to do was burn the paint. the test mule for this was my 98 explorer. with nearly 200,000 miles on the clock and LOTS of neglect from previous ownership ( and myself ), this made a good candidate for a practice vehicle. however, along with all that neglect comes severe paint damage - especially on the hood. i was able to remove a good amount of the swirls and some scratches but there is ALOT of imperfections left. the hood is terrible. water etchinng, clear coat damage, outlined bird droppings, bug splatters...its bad. i have a decent camera but not good enough to pick up all the damage still left behind. i did not have the correct lighting to properly show the befores and afters. even as a novice, the job turned out pretty decent. after all the work, the paint is far from perfect but def an improvement. quite a bit of depth and color was restored to the finish. it needed to be clayed but time wasn't an advocate. overall, i think it looks ok.

inside and outside were detailed with minimal time spent on the interior and alot more could have been spent on the exterior. 8 hours total.

interior

simple green 50/50 mix
CG silk shine
magnum power fabric refresher


wheels

eagle one a-z wheel & tire


wash

initial wash : CG citruswash & gloss (1oz to 1gal)
simple green 50/50 mix
turtle wax bug & tar remover
microfiber mitt

finish wash : CG citruswash clear
microfiber mitt


paint correction

porter cable 7424xp
CG scratch & swirl bgone / ccs orange light cutting pad
CG all-in-1 polish / ccs gray finishing pad


protection

CG liquid carnuba extreme depth + x seal / ccs blue finessing pad


glass

vinegar & newspaper


tires & trim

black magic tire wet
jax wax super blue


dusty and dirty
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less dusty and less dirty
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pre wash
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wash&gloss at work
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hood after wash . NO beading.
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my attempt of showing some of the swirls
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scratch&swirl bgone at work
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1 pass
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post detail with CG citruswas clear
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all finished
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my arsenal / collection
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props to my girlfriend for helping me with the detail. she used the PC just as much as i did and done an excellent job. her first time as well.
 
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Nice first detail! Porter cable is a great choice for a nice safe buffer. You can ask me any questions you like regarding detailing. I have been running my detail business for almost 10 years now. Check out Poorboysworld.com. They have superb products. Very easy to use in the sun and smell great 2! Customer service is alot top notch.
 
I'm no expert, but it looks damn good.:nice: I have been also wanting to get some of the better detailing supplies/products for my mustang. I've just been reading these forums, and educating myself before i spend the cash.
 
Nice first detail! Porter cable is a great choice for a nice safe buffer. You can ask me any questions you like regarding detailing. I have been running my detail business for almost 10 years now. Check out Poorboysworld.com. They have superb products. Very easy to use in the sun and smell great 2! Customer service is alot top notch.

thanks mang :) keep trying to tell myself its 200,000 mile / 13 year old paint and its going to be hard to get all the imperfections out. im curious if a yellow or wool pad would have made much difference. a friend of mine whose is an actual pro at detailing ( has his own shop and has been using a orbital for well over 10 years ) told me that even he could not have gotten alot of the imperfections out, even with wet sanding. made me feel better but was hoping i could still do a better job.

would like to try the PB SSR lineup. been reading good reviews about it.
 
SSR2.5, and SSR1 are a Great combo for moderate swirls and marrying. In order to achieve best results, it will requier a rotary buffer. Orbital is good for Moderate swirls. If the swirls are severe you will need a rotary. You can still get great results with a porter cable thou. I highly recommend Poorboys Natural look dressing. I use it for my Interior, tires and trim. Also get some Nattys blue :).
 
i knew rotary would would do a much better job but no way was i going to try one of those. i would be posting up pics of a explorer with no paint. i def have lots of practice and learning ahead of me. that PB combo you listed was actually what i was looking at.

which cirtruswash was it you wanted to try? the citrusgloss or the clear? both are very good. VERY foamy. and rinse clean. but i have to say, my fav is the maxi suds.
 
i always want to make mention that the porter cable and the pads came from autogeek.net, along with some wolfgang products. it was a package deal. i want to say that the customer service there is AWESOME. my contact person was Meghan and she was very helpful and super nice. very pleased with my products. the wolfgang stuff will be used either on my silver gt or my girlfriends red gt, havent decided yet.

the CG products obviously came straight from chemicalguys.com. again, great customer service and great products. plenty of variety and very descriptive. if more info is needed, email responses are quick and informative.


both of these companies have excellent customer service and great products.

THANK YOU AUTOGEEK.NET AND CHEMICALGUYS.COM !!!!
 
^ thanks :nice:

which product line are you thinking about going with?

I'm a pretty big Meguiar's fan because of my great results with their OTC products. I'm probably going to go with the M105/M205 combo for the correction, as I've heard great things about that combo for the beginner detailer. As of right now, I'm using the Meguiar's NXT 2.0 Tech Wax as a sealant, and them topping it off with the Meguiar's #16 wax. I'm very happy with the #16 on top, as it really makes the silver pop, but I wouldn't mind to have a more professional quality glaze and sealant combo to replace the NXT wax. I'm not sure what sealant/glaze to go with. I've also got some Autoglym HD Wax to use as a finishing wax that I haven't used yet.
 
I'm a pretty big Meguiar's fan because of my great results with their OTC products. I'm probably going to go with the M105/M205 combo for the correction, as I've heard great things about that combo for the beginner detailer. As of right now, I'm using the Meguiar's NXT 2.0 Tech Wax as a sealant, and them topping it off with the Meguiar's #16 wax. I'm very happy with the #16 on top, as it really makes the silver pop, but I wouldn't mind to have a more professional quality glaze and sealant combo to replace the NXT wax. I'm not sure what sealant/glaze to go with. I've also got some Autoglym HD Wax to use as a finishing wax that I haven't used yet.

I love my M105/205 combo! I've tried many compounds such as Menzerna, Pinnacle, 3M, and Meguiars but none of them are as good as the Meguiars M105/205 IMO. Megs just released a new 2 step compound specifically designed for the DA using microfiber buffing pads (D300 and D301). They've received rave reviews on autopia and meguiars online, so I may have to try them out some time. For now though, the M105/205 is my go-to product for detailing. I don't detail for money yet, but have been correcting my own vehicles and doing some correction for family members as well trying to get the hang of it.