Open Invitation - Extreme Makeover on a 1975 Corvette

[Mike Phillips]

Open Invitation - Extreme Makeover on a 1975 Corvette


Hi all,

First of all, I asked Dwayne for permission to post this first and he gave me his OK.

Second of all, the tools and techniques we share during these extreme makeovers can be used with any company`s products, you don`t have to use Meguiar`s.

That said,

I know this is short notice, but tomorrow night at Meguiar`s Garage, starting at 5:00pm sharp, we will be performing an extreme makeover. Here`s the information from the thread on MOL.


1975 Corvette Extreme Makeover - The importance of a Paint Cleaner

Tuesday night, starting at 5:00pm, we will be conducting an extreme makeover on this 1975 one-owner Corvette.



This car was brought to the CorvetteForum at Meguiar`s! detailing clinic this last Saturday and because of the extreme Dirt in paint condition of the finish, we used it to demonstrate the purpose of a Meguiar`s paint cleaner.

You see, over time, without proper maintenance, paint can become dirty, not as in dirt on the car, but as in dirt in the paint, also known by the acronym, DIP. Dirt in paint is also referred to as road stain, or just stained paint. The point is, dirt can build up below the surface of a car`s paint in the microscopic surface imperfections, which normal washing will not remove.

When this car pulled in, we inspected it closely to find out that while the owners were washing and waxing the car regularly, the wax they were using did not have any cleaning ability and thus would merely coat over the dirt in the paint, and not remove it.

Also, two portions of the car have been repainted, the front valance, and the rear valance. Extraordinarily enough, the body shop that repainted these portions did not afterwards buff out the rest of the car so that the old, stained and oxidized paint would match the new paint in color and gloss.

Often times, a body shop will buff the entire car out as a courtesy to the customer and so that there isn`t such a dramatic difference between new and old paint. Because a lot of times these types of buff-outs are done quickly, the quality of the work and the chemicals used can be questionable. In a way, the owners of this Corvette are lucky that the rest of the panels were not buffed out, as we`re going to do it the right way using premium quality products and professional techniques which will takes this Corvettes finish to its maximum potential!

Below are some before pictures. Note the car was washed before it was driven to Saturday`s detailing clinic. The dirt, or staining you see in the paint, not on the paint.

[b]Here is a close-up of the finish. The black or grayish looking area is actually dirt that has built-up in the paint.





While the above photo`s show some areas where the dirt is concentrated, the entire finish is stained with dirt in paint.

The below picture shows a circular area where we applied some ScratchX, an advanced Meguiar`s paint cleaner for use by hand.



Later, towards the end of the class, we polished out one half of the hood using some #83 Dual Action Cleaner Polish on a W-8006 foam polishing pad on Meguiar’s G-100. The results between before and after are dramatic. The results also help to demonstrate the concept of dirt in paint and the importance of choosing the correct product for maintaining your car`s finish.





Below you can see the new paint on the front valance, versus the old paint on the hood. Note how the old paint is dull and lifeless with no gloss whereas the new paint is vibrant in color with high gloss.



We will be using and demonstrating a wide variety of products for the extreme makeover of this one-owner 1975 Corvette. If you would like to be a part of the team that performs the dramatic transformation, the come on down to Meguiar’s Garage this coming Tuesday night.

Here`s the address,

Meguiar’s address for Mapquest Driving Directions
Meguiar’s Inc
17991 Mitchell South
Irvine, CA 92614

The transformation begins at 5:00pm, see you here!

Mike
mphillips@meguiars.com


Note: The acronym DIP and the term dirt in paint is also used in the refinishing industry to describe dirt and dust that lands in fresh paint and becomes embedded in the top surface as the paint continues to dry. After the paint has dried, professional body shops will remove the dirt specs usually by sanding and buffing.

[EBPcivicsi]

That`s it! I am moving!!! You guys on the west have all the fun.

Do you need an assistant Mike? How about in the warehouse? I could work my up. I can sweep floors really well!

[CharlesW]

From Ankeny, Iowa to Irvine, California just isn`t going to happen, but........
Is there any chance that some of the procedure could be videoed and then made accesible to those of us that won`t be there?

Charles

[Mike Phillips]

I have a video camera, and shooting the video is no problem, it`s the editing and post production work that will take forever. We are going to install some web cams into both the Training Garage and the Training Room in the future. We will be looking at doing some video`s of some other cars in the future... perhaps this Calloway Corvette



Mike

[groebuck]

DACP is great! - can you use scratch x by PC?

[CharlesW]

Originally posted by Mike Phillips
I have a video camera, and shooting the video is no problem, it`s the editing and post production work that will take forever.

Mike

While it might not meet your standards, just show what you get. You know, kinda like run what ya brung. Post a dislaimer that anyone that doesn`t appreciate the quality or lack thereof can bug off. Had another phrase that I kind of wanted to put in there. Not Cheney`s either.

Charles

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by groebuck
DACP is great! - can you use scratch x by PC?

ScratchX contains a polymer that gets gummy when it gets hot, as such, it doesn`t work well when applied by machine and Meguiar`s does not recommend its use by machine. It is for hand use only.

Mike

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by CharlesW
While it might not meet your standards, just show what you get. You know, kinda like run what ya brung.

Charles

I`m a real, "Run what you brung" kind of guy, I also do a lot of "Work with what I get kind of guy too...

But it is more complicated than that. Not too complicated, but if you don`t have a person dedicated to the video camera, then it tends to run out of tape and no one notices for sometimes long periods of time, things like that.

Mike

[Boss_429]

I`m with EBP............ time to move the west coast! Sure would be great to go to some of those clinics! Then, after that, it would be great to go up to Venus beach and look at some other "nice" things!

Anyhow Mike, it should be a great clinic. I`ve always been an advocate of a good paint cleaner as the first step in paint prep. In my mind, it does a few things.......... it cleans the paint, in some cases removes some minor imperfections, and allows me to get a true idea of the remaining imperfections, which allows me to better select the next product needed.

Good luck with the clinic.

[rollman]

Oh man I`ll never make it even if I leave right now :notpossib



Web cams setup with a live fed would be a great idea to reach those of that live in other parts of the county .

[JeffBruce]

Mike:
Is there anyway to get a schedule of your clinics?? ...maybe you will be on the East coast sometime..and we all can pencil you in.....

thks
jeff

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by JeffBruce
Mike:
Is there anyway to get a schedule of your clinics?? ...maybe you will be on the East coast sometime..and we all can pencil you in.....

thks
jeff

I try to post any clinic I`m involved with on the Meguiar`s Online Calendar, you can click to it from the main MOL page.

Hopefully, there are more clinics in the works.

Mike