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2003 Pontiac Grand Prix Paint Correction Detail


The Guz
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I posted this on the detailing forums but figured I would post it here for you guys to enjoy. I detailed it 3/28/2015 and completed it on 4/3/15 doing things throughout the wee,

 

My brother left me with his car while he went on vacation for a week. I took the opportunity to correct it. I kept putting it off until my MT300 showed up so that I can try it with the new thin foam discs.

 

Some time last year he had this aftermarket hood painted and I have no idea what the body shop did to it. Other than scratching it and swirling up the paint very bad. After working on the car I am starting to suspect that they took a rotary to the car. There is still some deep sanding marks that I was not able to get out of the hood. These would need to be wet sanded with a higher grit and polished out. The goal of this was to remove as much of the defects as possible. Not 100% since this is his daily driver. We just wanted the red color to pop.

 

This is how he got it back last year. Ouch.

 

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I took this sun shot after I got home from taking him to the airport.

 

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First thing I did was decon the paint with ironx. I followed this write up by Mike Phillips which indicates to apply ironx to the paint prior to washing. Saves a little time this way instead of washing, decon and rinsing. I gave it a go and it worked out great.

 

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...shing-car.html

I ended up using Hyper Wash in an MTM foam cannon. I used a little over 2 oz's. I also used 1 oz in a bucket and did a 2 bucket wash as well while the foam was still on the paint.

 

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I then clayed the car using a clay magic clay bar and M34 as clay lube. Ironx removed a lot of the surface contaminants so claying was effortless.

 

This one was going to need a good compounding with these deep defects. Prepped a new burgundy cutting disc with some D300 and preoceeded onto a test spot on the hood. Here's the 50/50.

 

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50/50 on the trunk with D300 + foam cutting disc.

 

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The worst parts of the car were the front fenders and the rear bumper. The driver side fender needed M101 on a microfiber cutting disc. There are still some RIDS but it looks much better.

 

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I used M101 on a foam cutting disc on the passenger side fender. Here's the 50/50

 

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Here's the passenger side rear quarter. Used D300 on a foam cutting disc. This gives a good view of how bad the rear bumper was. I had to use M101 on a MF cutting disc.

 

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He had some water spots from his sprinklers. D300 + foam cutting disc took care of them with no problem.

 

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I took it outside and D300 on a foam cutting disc finished LSP ready. There was still some deeper defects but I went ahead to polishing to refine the finish more and gloss up the car even more. Looks so much better.

 

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I typically use M205 but the polish of choice was Americana Car Care's Ameridepth. Used it on a Lake Country flat finishing pad. I then used Americana Car Care Ameriseal as the sealant of choice. This is how the car looked after I pulled it out. Very good sealant. Easy to apply and easy to remove. Gives a great look.

 

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A week later I topped it off with a carnauba. This time with Americana Car Care Ameriwax 33. It just added that warm glow to his red paint. There is no metal flake in the paint but his car is deep red. I took these photos prior to picking him up from the airport.

 

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His car came out great. I just like how his red paint looks. It looked dripping wet. A nice deep red color. I did smaller things during the week since I had to go back to work. Worked out pretty well spreading it out over a few days. It was a lot of work but the end results were worth it. He had tat wowed look in his eyes when I picked him up from the airport.

 

The MT300 with the new foam discs are awesome.

 

Here's a product break down.

 

Friday: Interior work

Vaccum

Meguiar's D102 Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner on the carpets

Meguiar's Quik Interior wipe down on all rubber and plastics.

Meguiar's New Car Scent Protectant on all rubber and plastics.

Meguiar's Leather & Vinyl Cleaner on the leather seats and door panels

Wolfgang Leather Conditioner on the leather seats and door panels

Meguiar's D120 on all glass

 

Saturday: Wash, decon & compound

Ironx

Hyper Wash

Clay with a clay magic clay bar and M34 as clay lube (paint and glass)

Compounds - D300 on 95% of the car, M101 on the rest

Pads - Meguiar's burgundy cutting disc, Meguiar's microfiber cutting disc

Tires - Cleaned with D143, dressed with Ultimate Black Tire Coating

Wheels - DUB wheel cleaner

Wheel Wells - Cleaned with APC+, dressed with D4510 Plastic & Vinyl Coating

Meguiar's MT300

Porter Cable PC7424XP

 

Sunday: Polish & Seal

Polish - Ameridepth

Pads - Lake Country Flat Black Finishing pad

Sealant - Ameriseal

Meguiar's MT300

Porter Cable PC7424XP

 

Wednesday: Wheel Coating

Detailer's Pro Coating Prep Polish

Pinnacle Black Label Diamond Wheel Coating

 

Thursday: Glass Coating & Trim

Glass :

Detailer's Pro High Performance Glass Restorer. Windshield only.

Detailer's Pro Coating Prep Polish to prep the glass for the coating. Used on all glass and side mirrors

Detailer's Pro Glass Coating on all glass and side mirrors.

 

Trim - APC+, Wolfgang Exterior Trim Sealant

 

Friday: Wax & Exhaust tips

Wax - Ameriwax 33

 

Exhaust tips - Meguiar's Medium Cut, Meguiar's Final Cut, Wolfgang Metal Sealant

 

Saturday: New Car Scent Air-Refresher Odor Eliminator

 

Sunday: M34 Wipe down prior to delivery

 

 

This is a teaser for now. These are custom made black mirror stainless steel letters from Emblem Pros. I'm working with them to get these on his site. I have to install mine on my 99 and then I can send him some hi res photos.

 

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That is some awesome work!:thumbsup:I`d love to do that to my car once I get the damage repaired. Paint can still shine up like that on top of some Bondo right?

 

Is that your Camaro?

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No, but that might be his Regal... LOL

 

IN all seriousness, what wheels are those? They look awesome. Well the whole car does, but still!

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Stunning! That shine is incredible!

 

Thanks. Red sure does look great all cleaned up.

 

That is some awesome work!:thumbsup:I`d love to do that to my car once I get the damage repaired. Paint can still shine up like that on top of some Bondo right?

 

Is that your Camaro?

 

If the paint is base/clear coat it can be. And yes the white camaro is mine. It's an 02 SS with 14k miles on it. That's the garage queen while I daily drive my 99 Grand Prix.

 

No, but that might be his Regal... LOL

 

IN all seriousness, what wheels are those? They look awesome. Well the whole car does, but still!

 

I hate to disappoint but the Camaro is mine. The 96 regal is my mom's lol.

 

The wheels on my brothers car are Bonneville GXP's. I agree his car looks great.

 

 

 

Here's another. My 99 Grand Prix in the back, my bros 03 and the rear of my 02 SS.

 

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I hate to disappoint but the Camaro is mine. The 96 regal is my mom's lol.

 

The wheels on my brothers car are Bonneville GXP's. I agree his car looks great.

 

 

 

Here's another. My 99 Grand Prix in the back, my bros 03 and the rear of my 02 SS.

 

 

 

Hahah it's okay, I was just messing around with Rich_e777

 

Is your SS a 35th anniversary edition?

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Hahah it's okay, I was just messing around with Rich_e777

 

Is your SS a 35th anniversary edition?

 

Oh you`re just showing off your ability to remember every member`s family's cars. I never knew there was a Regal involved. Wait you live in D.C.... and the website has been having issues lately...Hmmmm:think:

 

At Guz: If you don't have a thread in the member ride section(have not checked yet) you ought to post more pics of both your cars, I always enjoy checking out what others show off. Ive never made one but suppose I might one day.

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Oh you`re just showing off your ability to remember every member`s family's cars. I never knew there was a Regal involved. Wait you live in D.C.... and the website has been having issues lately...Hmmmm:think:

 

At Guz: If you don't have a thread in the member ride section(have not checked yet) you ought to post more pics of both your cars, I always enjoy checking out what others show off. Ive never made one but suppose I might one day.

 

Hmmm... Perhaps I'll take that 5th now. :lol:

 

And you should make your own build thread. Would be cool to see what you've done to yours. My build thread is full of pics.. not sure if you've seen the updates.

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Hahah it's okay, I was just messing around with Rich_e777

 

Is your SS a 35th anniversary edition?

 

All 02's are 35th anniversary. The red one is the actual 35th anniversary with the two tone interior. I was going to make mine a clone but in white. But I changed my mine on the graphics. I did just get 35th anniversary wheels on mine.

 

camaro_30_large.jpg

 

Oh you`re just showing off your ability to remember every member`s family's cars. I never knew there was a Regal involved. Wait you live in D.C.... and the website has been having issues lately...Hmmmm:think:

 

At Guz: If you don't have a thread in the member ride section(have not checked yet) you ought to post more pics of both your cars, I always enjoy checking out what others show off. Ive never made one but suppose I might one day.

 

I have one for my grand prix. I will get one of my camaro one of these days.

 

http://www.w-body.com/showthread.php/80714-My-1999-Silvermist-Grand-Prix

 

Damn that looks good. I need to do something with mine. To get that deeper "wet" looking shine to it.

 

You should. It's a lot of work but the end result is worth it.

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All 02's are 35th anniversary. The red one is the actual 35th anniversary with the two tone interior. I was going to make mine a clone but in white. But I changed my mine on the graphics. I did just get 35th anniversary wheels on mine.

 

Yeah I know, I have a 3800 2002 Camaro and its badged as a 35th Anny. However it didn't get the wheels, the stripes, or anything like that.

 

That's why I asked if you made it as such (35th anniversary). I would get the wheels too and the interior.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T989 using Tapatalk

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Only the red one came with the graphics and the interior. The center mount exhaust, the SLP blackwing lid among other things could be added to any SS as options. I added the SLP center valence on mine and converted the magnaflow cat back to center mount style. I won't be adding the graphics to mine. I much rather have the paint not be covered by them.

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I've been waiting for the right 35th SS vert to pop up so I can jump on it. I've wanted that car for a long time.

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