If you have read the other pages on auto care and
detailing on this web site, you know that
they are rather, well, detailed! If you do not
want to read yet another description in minute detailing
techniques to our beloved Jaguars and British Cars,
hit "Back" now!
Introduction
This discussion is about getting the maximum luster
out of all paint jobs, but
particularly paint that is old, dull, and/or has minor
surface blemishes like water spots and fine
surface scratches.
Before getting into this, you might want to first read
my previous articles on
Wayne's Exterior Cleaning Tips.
This particular article talks about how to
properly wash, clean, and wax your Jaguar.
It is fairly complete, but if
you want even more detail, or have a car that
still does not look like new after all
of that work, read on!
First, I am not a paint "expert"--just a
fellow car enthusiast like you that has invested
years experimenting with different products,
techniques, reading, and watching and talking to
other people about what works and what does not.
I also do not work for any of the
companies' products that I mention, so the
usual disclaimers apply. These techniques
have worked for me and can work for
you too-if you are willing to put
in a lot of work on your car!
Background of this Project
My Jaguar XJ-S has original, 10-year-old+ paint
that, while well cared for, didn't have
the magnificant sparkle that a friend of mine's
Jag had at a recent concours. It also had some
stubborn water spots on the
trunk/boot that would not come out with any
off-the-shelf product and some very fine pitting in the
lacquer on the hood/bonnet.
Dave Ekrote, past President of the Carolina Jaguar Club,
told me that his prize, also a 1989 XJ-S,
was a real mess when he bought
it, inside and out. But with the steps I've
outlined below, he brought
the car (and exterior) back to a better finish than my
award winning XJ-S! This I had to investigate!
This discussion is for people with older paint
jobs, and finishes where the
usual scratch removers, clay bars, etc. have not
helped 'bring back' the original paint luster
and remove surface blemishes
like water spots and fine scratches. These
techniques are NOT for use on new or nearly new finishes.
See the other article
on detailing first, and if you have problems
that these techniques did not solve, then read on.
Assuming that your car is totally clean (i.e.
no tar specks, wax removed, etc.)
we are ready for phase one. WARNING! This
journey is a bit scary, but the results
are worth the effort, unless you
have the money for a new paint job.
What you'll need for this project (explained in
detail below):
-1500 Grit Sand paper
-a hose attachment capable of controlled water flow
-mild rubbing compound
-a good 2-speed non orbital auto buffer
-a high quality cleaner wax and finishing wax
Step 1--Wet Sanding the Paint
This step is exactly what it sounds like
putting sandpaper on your car's finish! Relax.
There are several different grades or
'grits' of sandpaper. Go down to your local
auto parts store and buy about
three packages of 1500-grit sandpaper. This is
very fine sandpaper, almost like a slightly tacky
chamois. Yes it is abrasive,
like any sandpaper, but with proper application, it
will help us achieve our first goal-removing a very
thin layer of the clear coat.
Extreme caution needs to be
taken here, but it is not hard. On a clean car,
pick one inconspicuous spot (an oxymoron on a
Jaguar!) and do a little test about the size
of a dinner plate. You will need a
hose with spray head that can lock into a fine,
steady spray of water. I got one of those brass
twisty types at a hardware store,
and these work great for this purpose.
Turn the water on to a steady, gentle mist and spray
on your test spot.
Get the 1500 grit sandpaper wet, place on the paint
and gentlystart rubbing back
and forth, but NOT in a circular motion.
Again, the surface MUST be constantly rinsed with
water as you wet sand.
How will you know how much to work each spot?
The outer layer of the finish,
despite your best efforts, will most likely still
have some residue of wax. The wax will grab a
little on the paper.
In fact, you might see if you look carefully a little
white/yellowish coloring in the water running
off the finish as you are rubbing.
This is the wax coming off. Now the delicate
part.
The idea is to remove the surface impurities, NOT the
paint!!! Water spots,
for example, are simple surface etchings on the
clear coat. If, and only if, the scratch or mark is
not down into the paint,
this can and will be removed by careful wet sanding.
You will know when to stop after the grabbyness of the
surface gets smooth to the
feel under your hand with the wet
sandpaper. Again, don't rub hard or fast.
Simple slow, small (no longer than 8-12 inch)
back and forth (not circular)
hand motions are just right. Keep the
water flowing over the spot you sand, grasshopper.
Let the 'force' guide you
and be patient! At this point, take your fingertips
and wipe them across the area you just worked on.
If it 'feels' slick, you're
done wet sanding that spot. Stop and move on to
another adjacent area.
I found that each sheet of sandpaper lasted about
5 minutes. If it starts to look
translucent, toss if and use a new one. Because
your hand is not perfectly flat, parts of the paper
will wear faster than others.
That's OK. Don't use a wooden block, sponge,
or other device between your hand and the sandpaper.
You'll lose touch with the
feel of the surface and will go too far into the
surface. Remember, you can take off as little or
as much as you want.
You can always take off and smooth more, but you can
never put back paint or clear coat that is removed!
I am a living example. On my XJ-S, there
are some creased edges on
the detailing of the boot lid, and not paying attention, I
wore one small spot down to the white primer.
Therefore, be especially
careful on any edge. The flat surfaces should be no
problem.
After compounding, the really shocking part is that
once the water dries, your car will
be a dull, milky white and you'll see all
kinds of scratches in the surface caused by the wet
sanding. 'Good Grief! What Have I Done!',
you'll say! But not to worry. The second step
will start to solve that problem.
Step 2--Compounding the Finish
Eventually, you'll do this over the whole car,
once its entirely been
wet sanded, but for now, practice on your test spot
to get a feel for the process.
Also at the auto parts store, you should find
rubbing compound. Be careful about which one you buy!
Some of these are deadly and can cut through paint in
a snap. Buy a mild
compound--it may even say so on the label. I
bought a DuPont compound and tested it by
taking the cover off in the
store and feeling how slick it was to my touch.
Smoother is better. If your gut tells you it's
not right, it's probably
not the right stuff. Look somewhere else.
I'll mention the non orbital buffer in a minute,
but the directions for that
indicate that rubbing compound can be used to apply it.
Don't do it. To an untrained, but enthusiastic
amateur (like me),
that could be recipe for disaster. I applied mine
(painstakingly) by hand. Go slow,
applying with a foam applicator in small circular
motions. Don't rub hard and be patient.
This step is really
what is doing the fine polishing of the
paint/clearcoat. Again, what
you take off, you can not put back on, so go slow.
The test to see how far you go is that the
scratches created by the
wet sanding will begin to fade. The idea is to
get them gone
completely. In my experience, I did not, because
I was concerned about
going too far. Anyway, the idea is that the surface
will still be mostly dull, but smooth. This takes
us onto the next step.
BTW, I tried skipping this step and used just the
Meguiars Polish (next step)
out of concern for going too far. It did not work.
Even the
Meguiars "Fine Scratch Remover" did not have
enough abrasiveness to
smooth out the scratches created by the wet sanding. A
careful application of compounding was required.
I may even recompound
at some future point to get those last little scratches
out (that no one can see but me)
Step 4--Cleaniing the Surface
My theory is that even though the
water has extensively cleansed the surface
and compounding, there is still some residue left
on the finish. I like Meguiars [brand] Cleaner Wax for
this job.
Apply the cleaner wax like I mentioned in the
previous articles (by hand).
Do the whole car to the same level. This is true
of all steps EXCEPT for your
'inconspicuous test area'. Remember that?
This test area will give
you an idea of how much time is required to do
the entire car and a
good indication of how good the final result will be.
At this point, your test area/entire car should
have a fairly nice shine to it.
To help the process along, take out your orbital
buffer and apply a smudge of the cleaner wax using
the buffer. This will
help smooth out the finish that much more.
I bought my buffer at Sears. They range
in price from about $29-something to
over $100. I paid about $69 for mine. I
thought the fact that it has two speeds and
a lock so you don't have to
keep squeezing the on-button was worth the extra
money. The power switch has two settings--
"apply" and "buffing".
Read the instructions on the buffer (usual disclaimers
apply). Four things are certain regarding using a buffer:
1) Putting too much material on the hood will cause
it to be too grabby and fly off
2) Use the right hood for the product at hand
(for waxing, it's the cotton terry one)
3) Don't use the edges of the wheel to polish
(it can cut too deep into the surface)
4) Let the flat part of the buffer do the work
(i.e. don't press down)
5) Put the buffer on the surface, then turn it on
