Recently a new customer hired Concours Auto Salon to polish the exterior of their 2010 Chevrolet Z71. This article will highlight the key process used to achieve a nearly flawless finish. To truly correct a paint finish (remove swirls and scratches) you have to level the paint. This means that your compounding and polishing the paint to a point that it’s level with the bottom of the scratches. The first steps we take after the hand wash and decontamination process is to inspect the paint. We use high-intensity LED lights to do this. LEDs show so much more than a regular fluorescent or incandescent bulb can. This fender pictured shows the scratches and swirling in the paint. Some areas have more damage and some less. The top panels like hoods, roofs, and trunks show and have the most damage.
After the evaluation we will do test spots with different polishing/compounding pads and different liquid and cream polishes and compounds. This picture represents the products, pads, and machines used for the Chevrolet.
We started by using the Optimum compound and a wool pad to level the paint. This process will remove the heavy scratches in the paint from abrasions and improper washing. This process will also leave swirls behind. To remove the swirls we use an Optimum compound and a blue foam pad this process eliminates the heavy swirls but leaves behind light fine swirls.
Our third step we used the Makita rotary with the Menzerna Power Finish with a white lake country polishing pad. With this step you can really start to see the shine come out in the paint. This step removes all of the light swirls left behind by the compounding. The last and final step in our paint correction process is the final polish. This is done with the Flex polisher. This polisher had a random orbit and when used properly will not induce swirling. Out of the 4 steps this takes the longest. We take our time moving the buffer at a slower rate. This gives the black paint that deep deep gloss that people love to look at. We used the white Lake country polishing pad and Menzerna Finishing polish.
We finish by removing all tape and residue from the exterior of the vehicle. We then wash the exterior one more time removing all of the compounds and polishing dust and oils from the truck. A long-lasting paint sealant was then applied to help lock in the shine.
The End Result is an extremely shiny finish with lots of depth and gloss.
