Paint correction, cut & polish

[NillerGT]

Evening everyone,
So a key moment of my endeavours is nearing: paint correction.
Magnus is a 1990 ES in original Superwhite. The paint is ok overall, but certainly duller now than 31 years ago. There were 3-4 minor rust points which I have treated (not perfectly, but definitely an improvement) with sanding, primer, and an original-code touch-up pen (found here: https://www.lackstift-shop.de/). There are also a few 1-3 mm chips where the primer seems to be visible, where I reckon the touch-up pen can be used. And I had the dent puller over – same thing, not perfect but a significant improvement.
So I would now like to try paint correction.
I have acquired a simple polishing machine (non orbital…) with foam pads, and also a lot of microfibre cloths. I have not started anything, except for getting a lot of dirt out from the seals and in the semi-hidden places of the body when I got the car in summer.
I understand that, basically, the process is wash > clean tar etc. > clay bar > cut > polish > wax.
Does anyone have any advice about steps to follow, techniques, and what to use? Especially if you have experience with superwhite, or just 90s white paint. Apparently white is easier to treat because it is more optically forgiving, but can also be challenging because white paint can be harder and/or thinner.
Many thanks to all!

[jifflemon]

There's loads of tips you can get from you tube but here's mine

1) The polisher - You're going to have to be a LOT more careful, a Dual action (DA) polisher is better as there's less chance of it remaining stationary and burning through paint.
2) Pads - There are different pads for different needs;
3) Preparation is everything, and you don't want to skimp on ANY stage.
4) Sectioning - when you stage to cut the paint, work in small sections. Dividing a panel up with tape is a good way; I worried you'd get a chequer board effect, but you don't! Be careful how much pressure you put on the polisher, Particularly with heavier cutting compounds. Also make sure you drape the cable for the polisher over your shoulder so there's no chance of it bashing against the car as you work.
5) DON'T rush. I'd estimate you could easily spend 3-4 whole days doing this for the first time.

[100]

Agree with everything Jeff says. As he mentioned, remember when you are 'cutting' and polishing you are removing paint. You only have a certain amount of paint so you want to preserve as much of it as possible (for the next correction and the next correction). Use a bright light to check your progress with regards to removing imperfections, but be aware that it may not be a good idea to go for a 'perfect finish' with no defects in the paint. We would all love a flawless mirror finish and I'm not saying that isn't possible - I don't know the condition of your paint - but in my opinion just getting rid of swirl marks is good enough for me and will make a massive difference aesthetically.

This looks like particularly bad paint but illustrates my point:



An enormous improvement but if you zoom into the image you can see that some deeper scratches have been left, likely because it isn't worth removing the amount of paint required to do so.

Best of luck; it can be a very satisfying process but take it slow!

[NillerGT]

Thanks Jeff and 100 for your comments.
Yes, I bought the polisher before really looking into the subject, now I would buy a DA, also because well-rated ones on Amazon are not necessarily expensive.
As for the result, Pebble Beach is a bit far from Geneva and I am a fan of "good enough" in every situation, so I will not go for mirror finish but just for getting from a quite dull paint to something with a bit of shine and reflectivity.
As this is white paint, apparently swirl marks are less visible (sounds logical).
And regarding the next correction - so far I am quite sure it has never had any. WIth 31-year paint service intervals so far I can afford to take off 3 microns instead of 2. But I will be careful.
It's a big undertaking, right now I am in the planning stage. The biggest questions I am facing are about product choice: which compound, which polish, which wax/sealant, and do I need a polish at all? I am indeed watching quite a few Youtube videos to try to understand, especially given that my car is white.

[100]

I resisted all temptation to suggest products as it is an absolute minefield and you'll find varying opinions all over the internet.

Meguiars generally is highly rates and I used 105 for cutting. 205 for polishing. Wax/Sealant is up to you, perhaps browse detailing world to get an idea of what people rate at the moment.

Gtechniq C4 for black plastic trims (generally considered the best for bring plastics back)

Aerospace 303 for plastics (seriously good stuff - everyone recommends)

I'd also recommend Gtechniq W7 for tar removal and although I've yet to try one, I have heard good things about clay mitts or cloths - but again internet opinions vary massively.

[MisterH]

I use Meguiar's Tech wax for rear lenses treatment, and it is quite good, also worked well on the paint 'pinking' on our Tornado Red ur-quattro. However I am not a detailer so 'quite good' = can't see any downsides to it

[NillerGT]

So I did the job! Here is the result: https://ibb.co/QCWknYn
Not a very eloquent picture, but the car's paint is really refreshed, it looks much newer than before. People I have shown it to are impressed
In the end the whole job took me around 7 hours:
- Close to 2 hours at the high pressure wash, where I did all the preparatory work
- Around 5 hours cut, polish & wax.
I managed to do the cutting, polishing and waxing in just 5 hours (rather than the 2-3 days mentioned, which are not unrealistic) by cheating a bit with an "all-in-one" product, Rupes Uno Protect. On my white exemplar, the results are by far "good enough"; had it been a dark colour, I would probably have had to spend more time, because on close inspection (looking into a light reflected off the car, for instance) you can still see scratches. Anyway - I am a complete beginner to this and, even if I think my technique was probably not so good, I am very satisfied with the result.

Here are the products I used:
- Shampoo: just what came out of the car wash hose, but after a thorough high pressure wash cycle (just shampoo and distilled water) I sprayed the shampoo on and worked it with a Michelin Noodle glove
- Tar decontamination: Michelin tar remover (spray can)
- Iron decontamination: CarPro IronX (horrible smell, by the way... but it does the job well, it did "find" iron particles, especially on the front of the car. By the way, iron decontamination can maybe help locate hidden rust, as there was a huge streak of the characteristic red colour coming out from behind one of the front panel side strips. I was thinking about stripping it to look, but I have been advised by a local expert not to try...)
- Claying: Meguiars Quik Clay Detailing System Starter Kit (comes with detailing spray and a clay bar)
- Cutting, polishing, waxing: Rupes Uno Protect
- Polishing machine: Tectake 710W, dual action (a cheap product, I even bought a returned unused item, so only around 70 GBP with p&p)
- Pads: I took semi firm 15cm foam pads, 3 in total
- Wiping: the Rupes has to be wiped off after a while (20 min at least), I used simple microfibre cloths, 2 large ones were enough.
Of course, the car has to be dried before tar decontamination and then again before iron decontamination. I used a clean old bathing towel and simple kitchen paper where needed.

Once the wax will wear off (apparently in less than 3 months) I will have to think about what to do. If I can find some ceramic coating for a reasonable price, despite the fact that what will be sealed in is not perfect, I may go for that.

[jamescarruthers]

White ones always look great polished up. Nice work!

[dragonflyjewels]

Well done !! That looks really good.

[100]

Excellent work, well done!

[MisterH]

Looks a stunner, very well done!

[NillerGT]

Good morning all, many thanks for your nice comments! And @jifflemon as you can see I followed your advice and got myself a DA polisher. Now I just need to resell my unused non DA polisher.

Next step: I have bought a dose of Armor Shield IX DIY Kit from Avalonking, for my ceramic coating project. They pretend the coating lasts 3-5 years, they ***seem*** to have good (paid?) reviews, and the price is really good (used the PAN25 discount)... Action time once the current wax wears off, temperatures reach near 20°C and I get around to it, sometime in spring.