2018 Ford Mustang GT - A Miracle Detailing - CQuartz Professional

[Merlinii]

2018 Ford Mustang GT - A Miracle Detailing - CQuartz Professional

Interesting story on this car...
The previous owner only had it 1 year and put 30,000 miles on it.
Tons of swirls marks, Hologram - buffer trails, scratches, etc. It was a mess.

The new owner brought it to me to see if I could "fix" it.
If not, he was planning on doing a complete 5-10 thousand dollar paint job.
I did a small test spot on the trunk and lo and behold the paint was metallic!

Now on to the technical...

Machines:
My weapons of choice are the Rupes Mark II 21 Bigfoot 5"BP and iBrid Nano

Compounds/Polishes:
Recently I've been using Megs M110 and M210 for correction and polishing.
In this case, M110 with microfiber pads barely made a dent in correction.
I had to switch to M101 and the paint now corrected with minimal issues.
Although, M101 had some dusting and left a micro-marring fog. M110 did not.
Even then, the fogging easily cleared up with a quick two-step polishing process.

In short, M101 for correction and M210 with a 5" Rupes Yellow pad for polishing.
I followed M210 with Scholl's S30 on a Carpro Gloss pad for brilliance and clarity.

Convertible top:
Completely masked off with a plastic drop cloth during the compounding/polishing.
Ragg Topp Fabric Cleaner with a flat brush and aerosol spray protectant to seal.

Tires:
Coated with OBSSSSD Matte Tire Dressing - for a nice, clean, dark subtle look.

Wheels:
Iron-X, followed with Iron-X snow soap & wheel brushes in a Detailing Outlaws bucket.

Engine Bay:
Cleaned with Multi-X APC followed with Sonus Trim and Motor Kote
This is a favorite of mine. No greasy shine. Just a factory fresh matte finish.

LSP:
Cleaned paint with Eraser and applied two thick coats of Cquartz Professional.

Now on to the pictures...

Please watch in 1080p with sound. (feedback appreciated)

Swirl marks

Holograms

The Merlin Shot

The End

Thanks for looking...
Please reply to this thread with any feedback.

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[Norton]

Great job resurrecting that paint, and saving your client thousands!

 

[oldstv]

I love your outcome, but I have a dumb question. With the paint already so scratched is there a benefit to using the foam? I thought foam was a scratch deterrent or for very dirty paint?

 

[Merlinii]

Great job resurrecting that paint, and saving your client thousands!

Thank you.
He was very happy.
IMHO It looked "better than showroom new", he saved $$$, and it's all still factory OEM paint.

 

[Merlinii]

I love your outcome, but I have a dumb question.
With the paint already so scratched is there a benefit to using the foam?
I thought foam was a scratch deterrent or for very dirty paint?

Thank you!

There are no dumb questions...I have a process I have developed over the years for deep cleaning.
As a rule, there may already be existing scratches and swirl marks etc. but I do not want to add any.
In short: Safely clean, strip and see what ya' got.

First Steps - Wheels/Tires:
The wheels are scrubbed with IronX to clean and decontaminate them. Then they are pH neutralized.
The tires are cleaned with a tire cleaner to remove prior dressings and leave a very flat looking tire.

Pre-Wash foam cannon:
The bottom paint areas/panels are then sprayed with a pH neutral citrus degreaser. (for road film)
Then the vehicle gets a pre-wash foam cannon shampoo with IronX Snow foam soap and DI rinse.
* This is to clean off surface dirt and it helps to remove loose embedded contaminants in the paint.

Decontamination:
Then a full IronX spray on the paint (rubbed and rinsed). Then "clayed" (polymerized rubber mitt)

Deep Wash:
This is followed with a deep two bucket wash to clean the paint and remove any IronX/clay residue.
During theTwo Bucket Wash if I find any issues on the paint they are removed (Tarx, APC, IPA etc.)

Now when the paint is clean and dry it is ready for a full documented inspection (PTG, visual, etc.)

In short:
There are a few reasons to use a pre-wash foam cannon and yes, very dirty paint is on the list.

 

[NastyGT500]

Well that was the 'cheapest' new paint job he will ever get! Looks great Merl!!!

 

[oldstv]

Thanks for that explanation. Lots of prep results in fantastic clarity for sure.

 

[GT500_012308]

Holy Moly!

 

[Chancey]

2018 Ford Mustang GT - A Miracle Detailing - CQuartz Professional

Interesting story on this car...
The previous owner only had it 1 year and put 30,000 miles on it.
Tons of swirls marks, Hologram - buffer trails, scratches, etc. It was a mess.

The new owner brought it to me to see if I could "fix" it.
If not, he was planning on doing a complete 5-10 thousand dollar paint job.
I did a small test spot on the trunk and lo and behold the paint was metallic!

Now on to the technical...

Machines:
My weapons of choice are the Rupes Mark II 21 Bigfoot 5"BP and iBrid Nano

Compounds/Polishes:
Recently I've been using Megs M110 and M210 for correction and polishing.
In this case, M110 with microfiber pads barely made a dent in correction.
I had to switch to M101 and the paint now corrected with minimal issues.
Although, M101 had some dusting and left a micro-marring fog. M110 did not.
Even then, the fogging easily cleared up with a quick two-step polishing process.

In short, M101 for correction and M210 with a 5" Rupes Yellow pad for polishing.
I followed M210 with Scholl's S30 on a Carpro Gloss pad for brilliance and clarity.

Convertible top:
Completely masked off with a plastic drop cloth during the compounding/polishing.
Ragg Topp Fabric Cleaner with a flat brush and aerosol spray protectant to seal.

Tires:
Coated with OBSSSSD Matte Tire Dressing - for a nice, clean, dark subtle look.

Wheels:
Iron-X, followed with Iron-X snow soap & wheel brushes in a Detailing Outlaws bucket.

Engine Bay:
Cleaned with Multi-X APC followed with Sonus Trim and Motor Kote
This is a favorite of mine. No greasy shine. Just a factory fresh matte finish.

LSP:
Cleaned paint with Eraser and applied two thick coats of Cquartz Professional.

Now on to the pictures...

Please watch in 1080p with sound. (feedback appreciated)

View attachment 1565994
Swirl marks
View attachment 1565995
Holograms
View attachment 1565996
The Merlin Shot
View attachment 1565997

View attachment 1565998

View attachment 1565999

View attachment 1566000
The End
View attachment 1566001

Thanks for looking...
Please reply to this thread with any feedback.

Shameless Plug. Please subscribe to my social channels
A Miracle Detailing (@AMiracleDetail) | Twitter
AMiracleDetailing
A Miracle Detailing
Mike Moore (@amiracledetailing) • Instagram photos and videos

man that looks better than new! Nice work ...

 

[My94GT]

as a GM of a collision repair shop, this is a prime example of why I always refer customers asking about new paint jobs to seek out a reputable detailer. Often times it turns out better and with paint materials less is more in my opinion.

Beautiful work!

 

[gimmie11s]

NICE JOB!

 

[Merlinii]

Well that was the 'cheapest' new paint job he will ever get! Looks great Merl!!!

Thank you!
That is very kind.

 

[Merlinii]

Thanks for that explanation. Lots of prep results in fantastic clarity for sure.

Preparation is the key! That is the part that takes the time.
When you polish the paint to the best it can be even a $3 K-Mart wax will look good.

 

[Merlinii]

Holy Moly!

Thank you!
It is greatly appreciated.

BTW - That's the first "Holy Moly!" I've ever received!

 

[Merlinii]

as a GM of a collision repair shop, this is a prime example of why I always refer customers asking about new paint jobs to seek out a reputable detailer. Often times it turns out better and with paint materials less is more in my opinion.

Beautiful work!

Yepper, most times when I tell folks it will take me 40 hours+ to deep clan, compound, polish, and install a ceramic coating on a car they look at me like I have a third eye in the middle of my forehead.

Many folks think of a detail like a two hours cars wash. I do paint correction and before I can begin I need to deep clean the paint. Paint correction is labor intensive and it's a lot more work than folks think.

Thank you!

 

[Merlinii]

NICE JOB!

Thank you!
That is very kind.

 

[My94GT]

Yepper, most times when I tell folks it will take me 40 hours+ to deep clan, compound, polish, and install a ceramic coating on a car they look at me like I have a third eye in the middle of my forehead.

Many folks think of a detail like a two hours cars wash. I do paint correction and before I can begin I need to deep clean the paint. Paint correction is labor intensive and it's a lot more work than folks think.

Thank you!

I did a quick paint correction on my truck to prep it for ceramic coating and it still took about 8-10 hours all said and done.

If I had better lighting at home I could have easily spent one day buffing everything completely out. Good lighting is so important too.

 

[Merlinii]

man that looks better than new! Nice work ...

Thank you! That is very kind.
Yes, I thought it turned out somewhere between "Better than showroom new" and "Show car".

 

[Merlinii]

I did a quick paint correction on my truck to prep it for ceramic coating and it still took about 8-10 hours all said and done.

If I had better lighting at home I could have easily spent one day buffing everything completely out. Good lighting is so important too.

I usually have 2-4 hours minimum on wheels, engine bay, pre-wash foam, decontamination and 2 bucket wash preparing for the polishing part.
I can have 20-30 hours on compounding to remove imperfections (swirl marks etc.) and and polishing to enhance the gloss and clarity.
It's a lot more work than most folks think when they say "I want to get my car detailed".

Lighting is the key. There is a big difference between lighting up a shop (general bright lighting) and lighting designed to find and highlight swirl marks. Even then the noon sun makes a great light.

I can seen things with my lights that can make a career out of paint correction. There's a big difference between shop lighting and swirls finder lighting. A good place to start is a Scangrip.

 

[CobraBob]

as a GM of a collision repair shop, this is a prime example of why I always refer customers asking about new paint jobs to seek out a reputable detailer. Often times it turns out better and with paint materials less is more in my opinion.

Beautiful work!

I never considered that. Great post.

And awesome detailing work Merl.