DIY Paint Correction Project

[steve2006]

Given the age of my 2004 Celsior the paint wasn’t in bad condition at all but I had noticed weird marks in the paint when washed, dried and hand polished in certain sunlit conditions.

After asking my local paint shop 3 times for a machine polish and never getting it in I began to look into DIY.

Many YouTube videos later I was more confused and hesitant by the various stages of polishing, which polishing pads to use, which cutting compounds to use, which polishing machine to use and what speed plus all the methods involved in applying the compound, amount of pressure to apply etc.

I ended up buying a £50.00 DA machine, 2 Chemical Guys pads (green for the cutting and red for polishing), a bottle of Chemical Guys VSS scratch and swirl remover and a tub of Armor All polish.

Over 3 days I rinsed, snowfoamed, rinsed, clay bared, cut the paint and then machine polished.

After reading all the horror stories about paint thickness, hard/soft paint and panel edges I took my time. I wasn’t looking for absolute perfection but an improvement.

I think it came out pretty good, the weird marks have gone which was my main concern. OK there are still scratches in the paint if you look closely but overall I’m satisfied with the results.

 

 

[graham8370]

Looks cracking Steve, saved yourself  £1k there.

Next time you're down South   (you know what everyone's going to ask)

[hockeyedwards]

Fair play to you, it can be a bit of a minefield when starting out and does take some bravery.

I have been in that position when first starting out on car care, luckily youtube really is a great place if you pick up the right videos.

'Perfect' paint is hard to come by so if you have to look hard for any marks etc (especially on an aged vehicle) then you've done a good job. Just don't buy a detailing light/ torch, that is a real can of worms haha 😆

Looks great and of course, glad you are happy too!

[Howplum]

That looks excellent Steve. A DA polisher is safer than a rotary one because it usually operates at a lower speed and oscillates in more than one direction. I must admit I was a bit apprehensive the first time I used one, but the results were good, eventually.

[Malc1]

Fine looking specimen   10 outta 10 

Malc

[BigBoomer]

Very nice 
Makes mine look shabby by comparison, but then I've never been a cleaner/polisher.