Z51L9889 Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 I recently purchased a 02 PT Cruiser for my daughter. The car was owned by an elderly lady and is in outstanding shape with only 65K miles. However, the car has been subjected to a steady diet of automatic brush washes its entire life, so a major paint correction was in order. Before: It looks pretty decent from a distance, but the swirls and straight line scratching is pretty severe. I also had a couple of spots that were etched pretty badly by bird bombs plus a spot on the hood where the clear coat had been blistered: Before breaking out the PC, I wet sanded the headlights, the bird bombs, and the rear hatch where the dealer labels were attached. I then got busy with the polisher. Correcting this car was a nightmare! I was using SSR with a PC and I could barely make any progress on the swirls after 3 passes. In desperation, I broke out my drill and green focus pads and found I could get correction with two passes. I then ended up doing the entire car twice with the PC and a focus pad, which cleaned it up pretty well. The heat and humidity weren't helping matters any either. The dusting was severe even with tons of DS and the absolute bare minimum of product. This shot is of the front clip after the SSR steps and a pass with SHR: The car was looking really good after the SHR pass. As I started the FMP pass, disaster struck. The spindle in my PC decided to separate from the bearing as I was just starting on the roof. The pad and spindle got spit out of the machine and left a dent and deep scratch on the roof: I tried using my drill at slow speed with a focus pad to polish, but in the end I did the polish step by hand using the focus pad. I then finished up with a coat of Americana. In spite of the heat, frustration, and about 20 hours (!!) of hard work, I think the results were worth it. The moral of the story is (repeat after me): "I need a Flex ...", "I need a Flex ...", "I need a Flex ...", :D:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randyfox Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 Holy crap! Looks practically new! Sorry about your PC. *runs out to the garage to check mine* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill-V8V Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 Great job Todd Did you get the PC from Adam's ??? They offer the lifetime warranty on them :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z51L9889 Posted July 8, 2011 Author Share Posted July 8, 2011 Yes, I did. Thanks for letting me know about the warranty, I'll call tomorrow. BTW -- Porter Cable sells the spindle and bearing assembly as a service part for approximately $45. The service center near me has them in stock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris@Adams Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 Nice work on the car & bummer on your PC! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stryker Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 Great job! That must have been a nightmare with the drill. Sorry about the PC. You made me nervous with the multiple passes with SSR and getting nowhere. Now you just made me want to get a FLEX even more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StormChaser Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 Amazing work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAYBEN Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 nice job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Osok Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 Great save! Bummer about the PC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nordgrey Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 As everyone has said, great save and a bummer about the PC! On the plus side, this car was obviously not trying to hide the swirls from you like some colours do! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sizzle Chest Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 Excellent job! Car looks great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1anonly Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 Very nice job. That paint was in some sad shape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawson4450 Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 Dont spend money on the repair send it back to adam and they will take care of it for you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lawson4450 Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 oh yeah the car came out great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mc2hill Posted July 8, 2011 Share Posted July 8, 2011 Fantastic turnaround Todd! That paint was in horrible shape, but it looks better than new now. K8E got a nice ride! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marylander Posted July 9, 2011 Share Posted July 9, 2011 Looks terrific! Cute license plate too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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