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03-28-2016, 08:32 PM | #1 |
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Polished + Gtechniq EXO v2
The car has 25k miles on it and has opti-coat protecting it for the past 20k miles and it really started to show signs that it wore off end of the summer last year. I still maintained my disciplined car wash techniques and it has paid off these three years as there were minimal amounts of light swirling. I would gauge that the status of the paint was at 90% defect free and after polishing I brought it up to 96.33% (Repeating of course).
I decided to use Gtechniq's coating solution because I am truly impressed with their G1 coating for the windshields as it has withstood the relentless salt barrages for two full winters in upstate NY with my GTI. I figured if the reviews were great for EXO, then I would give it a try! I took my time with this as I had a three day weekend, and Greek Orthodox religion doesn't celebrate Easter until May 1st. Discounted chocolates, major key to success!!! The products I used were: Porter Cable PC7424 3 Polishing Pads 2 Cutting Pads Sonax Perfect Finish 3/6 Polish Gtechniq EXO V2 Optimum No Rinse Wash Meguiars Clay ONR Clay Lube 60/40 Isopropyl Alcohol New MF Towels Blue Painters Tape I began with prepping the car for surgery by giving it a thorough ONR wash and then claying the entire vehicle. After letting it sit overnight to make sure everything was dry, I taped off the exterior trim to protect it from the polishing process. This is important as it keeps the pads clean and the rubber trim damage free. Here are some pictures of the paint as bare it could be at the time: I was satisfied with polishing the car using Kevin Brown's method of prepping the pads. During the polishing process it is good practice to keep the pores of the pads free from clearcoat and polish buildup. The more the pores are open the greater the cutting effect to level the paint. (Note: This is my observation, and I could be wrong since I am a weekend warrior afterall) Here are the afters of the paint inside the garage with the spot light: After each panel that was polished, some needing two rounds, the are was wiped to remove the residue and then cleaned with the isopropyl mix toremove any remaining oils to leave the paint as bare as possible. It was then brought out for the true test of any detailer...the sun test: The car was then coated with Gtechniq EXO v2, and let me just say that the coating process was a breeze. It came with an applicator pad that you could slide your fingers into so that it wouldn't fall off. The process took much longer than expected since it was my first time using the product (2 hours), but it was simple. Dab the product on the pad, horizontally apply it by spreading it evenly, buff off immediately with one towel and finally buff any remaining residue with another towel. I will post better pictures in the sun, but for now here are some post-coating shots: Wheels will be tackled next weekend, along with the exhaust tips and the interior! I am still blown away at how gorgeous and mesmerizing the DSB paint looks when it is defect free. The color spectrum ranges from green to purple depending on how the light hits it. I just wish contaminates didn't fill the air or water so that it would stay immaculate forever, but that defeats the purpose of appreciating it when it is clean!
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2012 BMW 128i 6MT Deep Sea Blue Metallic
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03-29-2016, 04:38 PM | #2 |
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Very nice, Sir. Nothing like a shiny blue BMW.
I'm going to tackle the DSB paint in a month. It's been two years since I did a full paint detail on it; it's not as smooth as it used to be, there are some light swirls and scratches from nails here and there. I have a Soft99 Authentic carnauba wax that I'll put on it this week when I am changing the tires. I've also bought their Fusso Coat sealant that last pretty long so that steered me away from coatings for a while... How much time did you spend polishing the car btw?
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03-29-2016, 04:56 PM | #3 | |
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03-29-2016, 05:32 PM | #6 |
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Those can be buffed out, but stone chips cannot. Fuck, Esteban, you reminded me that I should order a touch up kit and wet sand the two stone chips on the hood. Fucking little stones jumped from the hood on the windshield, leaving damage on both.
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03-29-2016, 06:13 PM | #7 |
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03-30-2016, 11:25 AM | #8 | |
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I definitely need to order more pads. 3 polishing pads barely were enough.
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03-31-2016, 11:00 AM | #9 | |
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03-31-2016, 11:23 AM | #10 | ||
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03-31-2016, 01:46 PM | #11 | |
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-Zach |
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03-31-2016, 07:53 PM | #12 | |
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I definitely need to order more pads. 3 polishing pads barely were enough.
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03-31-2016, 11:24 PM | #13 |
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All that wonderful work on the car, yet you insist on having that Transformers roundel on your trunk...
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04-04-2016, 06:45 AM | #14 |
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Kali anastasi.
Nice work! What makes you continue to use clay bar instead of moving to nanoskin products? I've used clay for years but nano looks pretty interesting. I ask because I already bought it and will be using it soon. |
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04-04-2016, 07:27 AM | #15 | |
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If you do not intend to polish the vehicle, a ultra fine grade clay bar is going to be more gentle and have less of a chance of leaving visible marring on the paint. Zach McGovern Detailed Image Ask-A-Pro Blog Author www.AttentiontoDetailingPeoria.com |
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04-05-2016, 05:50 AM | #16 | |
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I put more trust in my claybar for bi-annual maintenance. Still waiting to take better pictures, but it just snowed hard yesterday!
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04-05-2016, 08:05 AM | #17 | |
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I use the nanoskin sponge every six months or so and I haven't noticed any marring... That said, my car is Alpine White, so maybe the marring isn't as obvious.
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04-05-2016, 08:57 AM | #18 | |
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Zach McGovern Detailed Image Ask-A-Pro Blog Author www.AttentiontoDetailingPeoria.com |
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04-05-2016, 01:41 PM | #19 | |
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04-09-2016, 08:07 AM | #20 | |
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Zach,
Thanks for the info. Why were nano products so widely promoted a few years ago? Was it before anyone realized the damage they were doing? I purchased them but haven't used them yet. I've used clay magic for years with great results, but when Nano came out, it looked like a faster process. I have a Space Grey 135i and Candy White Beetle Turbo. Would you recommend using the Nano only on the beetle? I guess I'm asking what are the instances where you still uses nano products. Thanks in advance, Chris Quote:
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04-11-2016, 07:25 AM | #22 | |
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They still are widely promoted... and should be! They are great products. We use nanoskin mitts/towels on almost every vehicle we work on. It saves an incredible amount of time and money since we can "clay" a car in under 30 minutes and we do not have to buy clay bars all the time. These synthetic clay substitutes are amazing for quick and easy decontamination, but the only stipulation is that you should polish the car after use. The same suggestion is often made even when using traditional clay bars as you can mar the surface, however the marring is typically more visible and more likely with the synthetic clay in my experience. So, if you are prepping a car for polishing/paint correction the nanoskin products are the best choice in my opinion! Otherwise, a fine grade or ultra fine grade clay will do great for routine maintenance when you do not plan to follow up with polishing. Let me know if you've got any other questions. Zach McGovern Detailed Image Ask-A-Pro Blog Author www.AttentiontoDetailingPeoria.com |
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