Hey guys,
I wanted to share some results of the work I've been doing to the finish on the GN. I'm restoring the 24 year-old paint job to as close as I can get it to new, and trying out some new products and tools to get the job done, so I'm gonna post progress on this thread to hopefully help others out.
I AM NOT A PROFESSIONAL DETAILER. I'm like most of you, just been washing/waxing for years in search of the perfect products and finish. Hopefully this will help any other DIY-ers - if I can do this, you can too, because I'm starting completely from scratch here.
So...I'm working with a decent foundation because the car was garaged and not neglected, and it doesn't suffer from many of the problems that GNs do, like flaking clearcoat, checking, fading etc. However, there are pretty obvious hard water spots on the entire car, and a lot of surface scratches/swirling that really show the car's age. First step is to get rid of these.
After washing the car with Dawn dishwashing detergent to remove all traces of old wax and claying the entire surface, I started with an excellent product that I've used before with great results, Zaino ZPC Swirl Remover. A few years ago I did my 2007 GMC Pickup (black) from bumper to bumper after a couple years of crappy car-wash washes covered the truck in swirls. After I was done, the paint was FLAWLESS. The GN's paint is a lot older and has water spots whereas the GMC did not.
Here is a link to the product website for more info. I've used Zaino for over 10 years and swear by their products. They aren't cheap but they are WELL worth the money!
Z-PC Fusion Dual Action Paint Cleaner Swirl Remover: Zaino Store
Here is a BEFORE/AFTER side-by-side shot of one pass with this product BY HAND
And another...you can see a slight amount of hologramming in this one (more on that later)
I managed to finish the whole drivers side by hand (NOT easy!) This pic doesn't show much detail, or what it looked like before, but I will post several before/after pics up later. Its a HUGE difference.
You can clearly see the difference in the clarity of the finish in the side-to-side photos - this product removes the swirls completely, and nearly all surface scratches (some of the deeper ones are diminished but not removed completely.) The ZPC also removed all the water spots and the surface looks much "blacker", like ink, compared to the hazy unfinished side.
Doing this by hand was a B****! Because I have a black truck and another recent addition to the family also in black (see below) I went ahead and pulled the trigger on a rotary buffer. I bought a Metabo PE12-175 with a Lake Country 4 3/4" backing plate, and a set of Lake Country CCS Polishing Pads in Orange (for swirl removal), Green (cleaning/polishing), and Red (high-gloss finishing) that should be here this week.
I have a lot of experience using rotary buffers in the marble industry, but I've never used them on a vehicle, so I'll be practicing on some older cars or possibly a junk hood before I tackle these projects. The GN looks pretty good done by hand especially given that this is the first step, but the rotary will get the job done in 1/10 the time and should get rid of the hologramming effect I was seeing, especially once I move up to glossier non-abrasive polishes.
I plan to follow the ZPC with ZAIO as a base coat, then Z-5 to polish and fill in small scratches, then Z-2 for the highest shine possible (all products by Zaino.) I'll post pics of all my progress and share any info I can. Hope this is helpful to anyone planning to do the same!
This is the most recent addition to the collection...a bone stock 1999 WS6 Trans Am with only 5K on the clock. :biggrin: Its filthy because the previous owner had money problems and had to store it outside for several months, so the Before/After pics for this will be dramatic!
I wanted to share some results of the work I've been doing to the finish on the GN. I'm restoring the 24 year-old paint job to as close as I can get it to new, and trying out some new products and tools to get the job done, so I'm gonna post progress on this thread to hopefully help others out.
I AM NOT A PROFESSIONAL DETAILER. I'm like most of you, just been washing/waxing for years in search of the perfect products and finish. Hopefully this will help any other DIY-ers - if I can do this, you can too, because I'm starting completely from scratch here.
So...I'm working with a decent foundation because the car was garaged and not neglected, and it doesn't suffer from many of the problems that GNs do, like flaking clearcoat, checking, fading etc. However, there are pretty obvious hard water spots on the entire car, and a lot of surface scratches/swirling that really show the car's age. First step is to get rid of these.
After washing the car with Dawn dishwashing detergent to remove all traces of old wax and claying the entire surface, I started with an excellent product that I've used before with great results, Zaino ZPC Swirl Remover. A few years ago I did my 2007 GMC Pickup (black) from bumper to bumper after a couple years of crappy car-wash washes covered the truck in swirls. After I was done, the paint was FLAWLESS. The GN's paint is a lot older and has water spots whereas the GMC did not.
Here is a link to the product website for more info. I've used Zaino for over 10 years and swear by their products. They aren't cheap but they are WELL worth the money!
Z-PC Fusion Dual Action Paint Cleaner Swirl Remover: Zaino Store
Here is a BEFORE/AFTER side-by-side shot of one pass with this product BY HAND
And another...you can see a slight amount of hologramming in this one (more on that later)
I managed to finish the whole drivers side by hand (NOT easy!) This pic doesn't show much detail, or what it looked like before, but I will post several before/after pics up later. Its a HUGE difference.
You can clearly see the difference in the clarity of the finish in the side-to-side photos - this product removes the swirls completely, and nearly all surface scratches (some of the deeper ones are diminished but not removed completely.) The ZPC also removed all the water spots and the surface looks much "blacker", like ink, compared to the hazy unfinished side.
Doing this by hand was a B****! Because I have a black truck and another recent addition to the family also in black (see below) I went ahead and pulled the trigger on a rotary buffer. I bought a Metabo PE12-175 with a Lake Country 4 3/4" backing plate, and a set of Lake Country CCS Polishing Pads in Orange (for swirl removal), Green (cleaning/polishing), and Red (high-gloss finishing) that should be here this week.
I have a lot of experience using rotary buffers in the marble industry, but I've never used them on a vehicle, so I'll be practicing on some older cars or possibly a junk hood before I tackle these projects. The GN looks pretty good done by hand especially given that this is the first step, but the rotary will get the job done in 1/10 the time and should get rid of the hologramming effect I was seeing, especially once I move up to glossier non-abrasive polishes.
I plan to follow the ZPC with ZAIO as a base coat, then Z-5 to polish and fill in small scratches, then Z-2 for the highest shine possible (all products by Zaino.) I'll post pics of all my progress and share any info I can. Hope this is helpful to anyone planning to do the same!
This is the most recent addition to the collection...a bone stock 1999 WS6 Trans Am with only 5K on the clock. :biggrin: Its filthy because the previous owner had money problems and had to store it outside for several months, so the Before/After pics for this will be dramatic!
