butters

I use All Free & Clear, but it's a matter of time before I switch to microfiber revitalizer.

+1

I work in an industrial environment and use ear plugs daily, and my hearing is monitored as part of my employer's health & safety protocols.

I bring plugs home and use them for pressure washing and foaming, and then keep them around my neck. I'll put them back in for using my sidekick (blowing out cracks can be CRAZY loud!), any polishing, and even vacuuming the interior.

Protection aside, it really reduces overall fatigue, greatly improving general comfort.

I did this with my dad about 3 years ago.It was for pinstriping that was painted on. We talked to a few professional automotive car painters and they said use easy off oven cleaner. We sprayed it in the bottom of a cup and then we applied it directly to the pinstripe with q-tips. Let it sit until the pinstripe softens and then just wipe it off. I was very worried that it would damage the paint or the clearcoat so I've kept an eye on it and I haven't noticed any damage.

Lol! I used to work in the detail center at a BMW dealership, many lessons learned on what not to do... but anyway we used Easy Off for painted pinstripes and shocking though it may be, it does work. Really nasty stuff so use great care.

Now if your situation is the same as mine, I don't think compounding or polishing will take it out, because when I was paint correcting, I ran my polisher over it for a bit and there was minimal change. I asked Larry Kosilla through e-mail and he told me it would most likely need to be repainted. I've sort of avoided that route only cause I don't think it's worth it to me, especially because it's not a main visual part of the car in my opinion. Mine also feels different than most of the car which makes me feel like the painter didn't put a clear coat or didn't know how to paint at all.

I also though that perhaps it was orange peel that was not fully buffed out but as I mentioned about polishing didn't take it out...I hope you find a good solution...Good luck but know you're not alone

Thanks for the insight, I was actually thinking of emailing Larry too but I figure the recommendation would be to re-paint. I'm going to seek input from my body shop and give it a try with DIY. It has been 5 years since the repair so it has at least held up and not peeled, maybe it's salvageable. I just want to get it to the point of being worthy of my Adam's arsenal, which it currently is not.

If you end up going the way of the reshoot, give the wet-sanding and polishing a try yourself.  It may come out good enough to leave, but either way you have gained experience in wet-sanding!

 

Yea I think this is the way to go, just a matter of properly gearing up. With the car being almost 12 years old I can accept a detectable color difference, but I gotta have that gloss!

As stated above, tough to tell from the pics. If it is a poor paint job, I'd try the wet sanding if it were mine.

http://www.adamsforums.com/topic/30938-chrysler-nationals-at-carlisle-july-15-17/?p=485286

If it's not something you're comfortable doing yourself, check with local body shops or detailers in your area.

Great job on your car, that looks awesome. I'll have to look around and make sure I have the tools required to remove 3000 grit sanding marks.

Hi Stephen, sorry for the loss, and on your new car, hopefully you stole it! From the pictures, looks like a poor color match, bad paint job, and a lack of sanding and buffing. Is the color a closer match in person than it appears in the photo? Notice the difference between the bumper and trunk?

 

To have that sanded, re-shot, sanded, and buffed should cost about $1-$1.5K...

 

You can sand the existing panel and buff it, however, the color match will require a re-shoot!

Thanks Adam, and great to have your response! While I wouldn't say I stole it, I got a very good price for a car I've had an exceedingly difficult time finding (RWD manual sedan). I went into it knowing that this might require body shop work to be perfect.

Attached is another photo with my markup around the offending surface for clarification. The bumper and trunk appear original and in a condition I can work with using my 7424xp, but this repainted area definitely needs sanding at minimum. The color match might be a little better in person, but it's not great in its current state. The metallic makes it look worse with the different angles of the various panels reflecting slightly differently. I suppose I can give wet sanding a shot myself before going to the pros, I'll have to brush up on those tutorial videos... it's possible with a lowly porter cable?

Long story short I lost my beloved daily driver 3 series last week when I got rear-ended by an FJ Cruiser, and smashed into a Suburban. Everyone was okay and insurance worked out fine. In my view the car was a unicorn of options, and this time around I decided to forego a monthly payment and get a 3 series I could pay for with the cash rather than rush out and end up in an expensive car that isn't as much a unicorn. 

I would venture to guess that after 2 years the coating will erode to the point of becoming spotty and noticeably less effective, at which point you would polish (or compound?) the vehicle to get back to naked paint and go from there with another application.

I have another coating question: Dan, you recommended Boost every 4-6 months. I haven't worked with coated paint but will be coating my car before summer, and I'm wondering how the paint will feel during that 4-6 month timeframe.

I'm used to the paint sealant regimen, topping with guard & gloss monthly or so, with detail spray after each wash between that. I can't help but think that I'll want to keep using at least detail spray to maintain that slick feeling and as a drying aid. Maybe the slickness will be retained much better after each wash versus the behavior of the acrylic sealants. But with detail spray, am I defeating the excellent properties of the ceramic? Or is there at least still that shell of hardness and chemical resistance, "under" the detail spray?

I figure even if the hydrophobic properties of the coating are masked by DS, the DS will evaporate pretty quickly and then the Boost kicks in as the outermost layer. Or at least this is what I'll tell myself

Since getting a sidekick, I rarely used my GWDT. Typically I use one waterless wash towel, and maybe a plush towel for final buffing. I basically reserve the great white for when I'm doing more than 1 car at the same time.

I just pull the car away from the garage to get one circumferential "wipe" with the brake pads before pulling into the garage after a wash. This greatly reduces the initial dust-out during the first drive.

I'll have to swap the sprayer that came with my rubber cleaner onto my often-used detail spray bottle to try this out, looks and sounds like a solid improvement.

Any tips on how to tell if the setting is mist or stream, aside from testing with a squirt? I suppose after the first go at it, I'll mark the adjuster somehow.

I just got one with my rubber cleaner, interesting. I noticed that the two spray settings are marked the same, I wonder if there is no longer differentiation between spray vs. stream.

Sorry about the damage, I'm sure we can all feel your pain.

Regarding your question about factory touchup, I can't say for sure whether it would work BUT it might be worth a shot. The Langka blob eliminator levels off that OEM touchup by gradually removing it as it's rubbed across the spot, so you could play with it and not risk any bad results since it becomes reversible. I've tried it with very fine scratches and it pulled all the touchup out - bummer, but goes to show how effective it can be. Good luck!

gosh i just use the adam's great white drying towel. I want a sidekick but just use a shop vac blower right now.

You're missing out! Buy it by the gallon and it isn't so expensive. Also, ditch the shop vac blower. I was doing that before I got a sidekick, but stopped once I realized that all the nasty abrasive dirt and dust that you suck into the hose is potentially blown all over the car.

I use detail spray every wash, G&G every 4-6 weeks. I got the Paint Coating kit as a gift and now I'm wondering if Ceramic Boost will replace G&G in my regimen after I use it...

I have one of the Adam's/Colad pressurized spray bottles - love it. There's a note on the top of the trigger with the word "Oil" and an arrow pointing to the pump rod. What kind of oil should be used there, and how often?

I'm very tempted by the new paint coating and I think I'll be giving it a try this spring. I have a metallic black car and my SO has a jet black car, so I'm keen on the added swirl protection in addition to the longevity and strength of protection from environmental fallout. But I've not seen discussion regarding the use of paint sealant on top of the coating.

It seems that with the coating and then periodic Boost applications, there is no longer any need for Liquid Paint Sealant and/or H2O G&G. Would it be unwise to try topping, or should I say "sealing," the paint coating kit (including at least one application of Boost) with either of these products? If I coat my cars, do I no longer have any use for the sealants?

I find it a little nerve wracking, but in a pinch it works. I think most will agree that investing in a big batch of towels is worthwhile for rinseless, not to mention less frequent microfiber laundry loads. You don't need double softs to be successful either, just a quality towel.

Whatever you get, wrap an old microfiber towel around it as added insurance against accidental scrapes on the paint.

I always just rinse the heck out of the pad, wring it dry, then shake to fluff it a bit before putting on the grit guard to air dry.

I did this for a year and I might have thought it still looked like new, except I went and got a new one and it looked like the left/right brushing comparison photo above next to my old one.

I tried a coarse metal dog comb, but got nowhere with it - seems that the pad is far too tangled. Maybe I'm doing it wrong. I'll probably try washing the old pad to see what that does.

Probably a common question will be - is it worthwhile to upgrade from a PC to this? I'm thinking it's a definite yes for smoother operation and the longer throw. I am supposing it's not worth the additional $150+ to jump up to the Rupes 15-II for an amateur detailer like me. Sounds like a winner filling that gap in the market, I'll have to start saving up for the upgrade!

I'll play. Old 3 reflected in a new 3...

I really think I am going over board but I love to wipe my cars everyday. I'm using a diluted Rinseless wash spray and a double soft micro. Anyone else wipe everyday?

I might do it on my white car which is not driven as often. But on my black daily, I resist the urge. More wiping means more chance of marring, even though these products are quite safe.

Good info, thanks Dylan.

It just happens that I polished and applied 2 coats of LPS on Saturday, and it rained Monday. Here's my hood showing off the beads - they're tight, but not perfectly uniform. I topped with G&G after a wash when the rain stopped, and from what I've seen the beading with G&G is even better.