The Detailers ShowcaseShow off your detail! If you've taken the time to achieve the ultimate shine and reflection, we want to see it. Before and after shots rule!
Re: 2005 TL: "My son took the snow off with a steel shovel" -
01-09-2006, 06:24 PM
Sean is a gifted detailer, and challenges himself to be the best in all aspect of his life (and he's one of the most humble people you'll ever meet). It was a pleasure to watch him do his magic on the TL.
If there are any areas of improvement in his rotary and detailing skills in general, they are minor at best. Watching him work for a few hours was an education. I’m sure he would have finished much sooner if I wasn’t in the way!
The TL owner and his best friend (my neighbor) were blown away at the improvement Sean made. You had to really look for the areas that he repaired; many could not be seen at all. I didn't think it was remotely possible to achieve his results.
I'm still shaking my head at how he can blot 6-8 globs of Power Gloss on the hood and pick it up using an 8" foam/wool pad, at speed, and not sling a SINGLE drop. Unreal!
Re: 2005 TL: "My son took the snow off with a steel shovel" -
01-09-2006, 08:39 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Anthony A
I have found the opposite. I find silver metallic to be the hardest. Every time I get the chip filled and looking good, as far as color match, I have to wet sand to level the blob and the color is totally off after that
Not to again whore the same pics I've been posting over and over, but IMO silver metallic is the EASIEST color; now metallic green or blue, THOSE are hard (like my old green truck).
Click to enlarge.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Anthony A
I could easily spend an hour or more on one little chip. By the time I prep, apply touch up paint, let it dry and apply some more untill there is a blob, than wet sand or Lanka it would take more than an hour. It takes hours for the paint to dry never mind the sanding step. What am I missing here?
Is it possible you're just making "too much" blob? If you apply the paint a little thicker than it really has to be, it'll take dramatically longer to dry/cure to a point that it can be sanded. I used to have that problem, too; until I found out that the key was remembering the paint doesn't have to be very much thicker than the rest of the surface in order to be leveled off.
Past that, the only other thing I've ever done differently was that I use a hair dryer to "help" the curing process after 15-20 minutes of air drying.
Hopefully Sean will chime in about his own processes, too.... I'm interested to hear his technique.
Re: 2005 TL: "My son took the snow off with a steel shovel" -
01-09-2006, 08:51 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shiny Lil Detlr
Not to again whore the same pics I've been posting over and over, but IMO silver metallic is the EASIEST color; now metallic green or blue, THOSE are hard (like my old green truck).
I've had this conversation about matching paint with a few body shops and have always been told that metalic silver is the hardest paint to match. Also, in the course of these conversations I have been told that dark colors are the easiest to match.
Sean, awesome work!! I should drive down to CT and watch you work.
Re: 2005 TL: "My son took the snow off with a steel shovel" -
01-09-2006, 09:04 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mikeyc
I've had this conversation about matching paint with a few body shops and have always been told that metalic silver is the hardest paint to match. Also, in the course of these conversations I have been told that dark colors are the easiest to match.
I must just be odd, then.... I dunno :w00t: I'm usually the exact opposite with color match problems.
Re: 2005 TL: "My son took the snow off with a steel shovel" -
01-09-2006, 09:06 PM
Yeah silver metallic is brutal to work with. As soon as you attempt to level it you disturb the metallic and the color changes drastically.
Shiny Lil Detlr, I keep the blobs minimal to cut down on the amount of leveling I have to do. It takes some time though to properly fill the chip. I do it in steps because filling it in one attempt usually doesn't work.
Re: 2005 TL: "My son took the snow off with a steel shovel" -
01-09-2006, 11:11 PM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Anthony A
Yeah silver metallic is brutal to work with. As soon as you attempt to level it you disturb the metallic and the color changes drastically.
Do you ever use clear coat when you're doing touch-up work? I don't usually fill a defect to/over the top with color, I'll switch to using clear about halfway up in the chip/scratch. That way when I'm cutting it back down, I'm cutting clear instead of basecoat. That usually minimizes any color/texture change.
Quote:
Shiny Lil Detlr, I keep the blobs minimal to cut down on the amount of leveling I have to do. It takes some time though to properly fill the chip. I do it in steps because filling it in one attempt usually doesn't work.
Yes, I do understand that. However, as I stated above, even one thin application too much in a short period of time can increase your cure time drastically. So between that and the hair dryer trick, I can cut down the wait time. I'm sure there's probably a better/more "proper" way of doing it though.
Re: 2005 TL: "My son took the snow off with a steel shovel" -
01-10-2006, 01:03 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shiny Lil Detlr
Do you ever use clear coat when you're doing touch-up work? I don't usually fill a defect to/over the top with color, I'll switch to using clear about halfway up in the chip/scratch. That way when I'm cutting it back down, I'm cutting clear instead of basecoat. That usually minimizes any color/texture change.
Yes I tried this but it looked like a chip still because the hole wasn't filled all the way with base coat. You can see through the clear and see that the chip is not filled.
Silver metallic is the best for hiding marring but a real challenge for chips. Black is the opposite, terrible for swirls and marring but a breeze for chips.
Re: 2005 TL: "My son took the snow off with a steel shovel" -
01-10-2006, 07:25 AM
Anthony A: In all honesty, I have found paint matching to be a case by case affair. This one thankfully matched rather well but I have had some blacks that were dead off. With silver, I have found it rather easy to match. You may want to try paint from www.paintscratch.com instead.
I dried the paint in an 80* garage for about an hour. 1 hour for touching up, 1 hour for drying, 1 hour for sanding and compounding.
Mikeyc: Every body shop I've ever have spoken too all agreed Pearl White is by far the hardest, but like I said above...a lot depends on the manufacturer mixing the paint.
Re: 2005 TL: "My son took the snow off with a steel shovel" -
01-10-2006, 08:02 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by GSRstilez
Anthony A: In all honesty, I have found paint matching to be a case by case affair. This one thankfully matched rather well but I have had some blacks that were dead off. With silver, I have found it rather easy to match. You may want to try paint from www.paintscratch.com instead.
Re: 2005 TL: "My son took the snow off with a steel shovel" -
01-10-2006, 09:31 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by GSRstilez
Anthony A: In all honesty, I have found paint matching to be a case by case affair. This one thankfully matched rather well but I have had some blacks that were dead off. With silver, I have found it rather easy to match. You may want to try paint from www.paintscratch.com instead.
How do you manage to level a silver metallic touch up blob without changing the color match? As soon as I touch it with either wet sanding or Langka it totally changes color.
Re: 2005 TL: "My son took the snow off with a steel shovel" -
01-10-2006, 09:38 AM
Anthony: I didn't use the Langka kit. I tried it out on this job and was not happy with it. It would be fine for minor chips but for a big job like this, sanding was the only way.
I'm not the only crazy one!
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