VX Restoration Begins!

So as some of you know, my VX sustained some pretty nasty tree rash during a camping trip in 2009 (yeah, that long ago). I've toyed with the idea of getting a complete repaint, but I wanted to see how much I could polish out myself. So I bought this kit:

http://www.autogeek.net/griots-rando...al-buffer.html

I watched the DVD and went at it Sunday. I am pleased to say that almost ALL of the scratches came out, including some of the really nasty ones. I think if I step up to the next level polish I should be able to get the scratches out completely.

I still need to get the hood and tailgate fixed up, because the hood is COVERED with small rock chips and the tailgate has had a dent in it since I bought the VX back in '06. Anyway, I highly recommend this kit to anyone who wants to bring their paint job back to looking awesome, especially for you out there who have not played as hard as I have.

Before: Heavy tree scratches on passenger side:
http://www.nofuture.com/lj/2011/06-05-11/01.jpg

http://www.nofuture.com/lj/2011/06-05-11/02.jpg

Before: Heavy damage on passenger side in front of mirror:
http://www.nofuture.com/lj/2011/06-05-11/03.jpg

Before: Door scratches:
http://www.nofuture.com/lj/2011/06-05-11/04.jpg

After: Good washing, full clay bar on entire paint job, and polishing:
http://www.nofuture.com/lj/2011/06-05-11/05.jpg

Here, you can see the same areas, almost completely scratch free!!!
http://www.nofuture.com/lj/2011/06-05-11/06.jpg

http://www.nofuture.com/lj/2011/06-05-11/07.jpg

http://www.nofuture.com/lj/2011/06-05-11/08.jpg

Next step, will be to get the leaks fixed and the hood and tailgate resprayed. Then she will get a new hood insert and headlights installed, and become a full time garage queen....

:D Bart

Awesome Bart! Having done a ton of severe rash removal on Dave's FJ, and some on mine, that is absolutely fantastic results...especially on black! :thumbup: I might look into some of these products to re-do his FJ, as I know it can be improved.
Since doing the FJ about 2 yrs ago, I've discovered Mequiar's Medium Cut and some 3M rubbing compound and another 3M product which are more aggressive. Worked great on my VX, but always willing to try new stuff. Have never done a clay bar....I should try that too.

Yeah, it looks even better in person.

The clay bar is pretty amazing actually. It will make your paint feel like a new piece of glass. Griot's Garage sells this stuff called "Speed Shine" that you use with the cleaning clay. It works really well and if you decide to try a clay bar, I definitely recommend the Griot's Garage clay and the Speed Shine. It worked really well. I'd say the whole process only took me about 3-4 hours.

I just order a bunch more of their stuff including the #2 polish. :D

I can't wait to polish and wax the Impulse. The paint on it is in really good shape so I bet the car will look amazing when done.

Bart

DAMN! That looks worlds different! And you thought you were going to have to repaint the whole thing... good work!

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Originally Posted by ZEUS

DAMN! That looks worlds different! And you thought you were going to have to repaint the whole thing... good work!

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What he said. I've contemplated getting that setup several times in the past but always talk myself out of it. I've seen it done and it doesn't look that difficult. Now that you've done it, is it much simpler and less imitating than it seemed before you started?

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Originally Posted by ZEUS

DAMN! That looks worlds different! And you thought you were going to have to repaint the whole thing... good work!

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Thanks!!! And iirc, you have seen the tree rash first hand, so you know how BAD it was.

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Originally Posted by samneil2000

What he said. I've contemplated getting that setup several times in the past but always talk myself out of it. I've seen it done and it doesn't look that difficult. Now that you've done it, is it much simpler and less imitating than it seemed before you started?

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Honestly, it is SUPER, DUPER, UBER easy. The worst part is that the vibration of the buffer will get to your hands after a while. You need to hold on to that sucker tight. And if you watch the DVD (I watched it once after work and then again right before I started just to make sure I had it right) you will have no problem at all. IMO, this kit is well worth the money, and even someone with no power tool experience can do this. The results are immediate. For some of the really bad scratches I had to make multiple passes and press into the paint a little more than normal but it really makes a huge difference. You just have to make sure you have the pad against the paint when the buffer is on, if you lift the buffer off the paint while it is on, you will certainly spray polish everywhere, and then you need to use some elbow grease and more Speed Shine to clean it off. Anyway, apply a good coating of Stoner Trim Shine on the cladding, and you will have a sick lookin' VX again!

I also ordered the 3" buffer today, because the 6" buffer is a little too big for the pillars and the area above the windows on the side and a few other spots. Plus I ordered the glass polish so I can do my windsheild. I don't know why it took me so long to invest in this stuff, because it really is worth the result. I'll be doing the wife's 911 soon and the Impulse as well. :thumbup:

Bart

Speaking as a detailer, you did a damn good job. Black is absolutely the hardest color to get looking good. Excellent work!

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Originally Posted by RabidPony

Speaking as a detailer, you did a damn good job. Black is absolutely the hardest color to get looking good. Excellent work!

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Thanks!!! I'll be honest, it was really nothing!! I think detailing the interior is harder work than this polishing!!!

Bart

I concur with regard to the Griot's system and had posted some results a few years ago: http://www.vehicross.info/forums/sho...ghlight=griots

A bit of an investment up front, but great results, particularly on harder to maintain darker paint colors.

Wow, what a difference. You can't even tell it was covered in scratches.

Those "before" pictures made my heart sink. :_crying: I'm completely amazed by the results - never would have thought those scratches would come out!

Those results look amazing, especially on difficult Black. Griot's Garage (www.GriotsGarage.com) is just up the street from my house here in Tacoma, WA. They have been in the business for many years and their products are all top-notch quality recognized throughout the industry. They have routine seminar class'es and teach detailing and Cars-N-Caffeine car shows on a regular basis. Griot's Garage just recently purchased their new building a few years ago, which was an old vintage Coca-Cola Bottling Plant. It is now a show piece museum of some very fine automobiles. Check-out their website, and request a catalog.

:bgwb:

Thats just amazing Bart.. congrats! Very nice work.

I must assume your cladding was damaged as well. Use anything on it?

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Originally Posted by nfpgasmask

Anyway, apply a good coating of Stoner Trim Shine on the cladding, and you will have a sick lookin' VX again!

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Here ya' go, Grif.

:bgwb:

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Originally Posted by Grif

Thats just amazing Bart.. congrats! Very nice work.

I must assume your cladding was damaged as well. Use anything on it?

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Thanks, guys. Actually, for some reason, the cladding didn't get as scratched up as the paint did going through that overgrown trail. That said, the cladding is scratched in some spots, but those scratches disappear when coated with Trim Shine. As you can see in the pic above, the cladding looks dark and clean. That's the beauty of our cladding. Its pretty durable stuff!!!

Bart

Well that why I asked, I had some paint probs with trail rash but my cladding after a few go-arounds with brush looked pretty bad. Very similar to the level of scratches you had on your paint. I buffed my paint out no prob, but the cladding probs were addressed with the "Showroom New" dye very well.

Great works Bart! My friend's VX had almost as bad of scratches and I was able to get most of them out polishing it by hand, but after seeing your results I'm certainly getting a good orbital buffer soon for when I do my families cars. It was way to much work to do by hand again when I know I can get it all done at once with a proper buffer.

Do it!!! It was so easy I damn near think about doing it on the side for a fee!!!

;) Bart

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Originally Posted by Etfren

Great works Bart! My friend's VX had almost as bad of scratches and I was able to get most of them out polishing it by hand, but after seeing your results I'm certainly getting a good orbital buffer soon for when I do my families cars. It was way to much work to do by hand again when I know I can get it all done at once with a proper buffer.

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Before you buy, check around town to see what size bonnets are being stocked. EVERY store here stocked a wide variety of 7-8" bonnets for at least a decade, then one day - as if someone flipped a switch - they all dropped that size and changed to 5-6" and 9-10" bonnets. :upsetgray Coincidentally, they also started selling buffers to match. :rolleyes: Of course, if you're good at planning ahead, you can buy bonnets of any size online cheap enough that you pay less even after shipping.

That being said... I actually prefer the smaller buffers. A larger one may cover a little more area, but the smaller sizes make it so much easier to get into tight places and concave curved areas.

Dude, if you haven't already, send the before and after pics to Griot's. You deserve to be in the catalog.

I bet it feels good not to have to spend money on getting it repainted!

Oh, and for those wondering about clay bars, I think they are the most cost effective thing you can use to improve the finish on your car. You can get a kit for around $20 and you will be amazed at how much crud it sucks out of your paint. They won't remove scratches though...that's for the polish.

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Originally Posted by RickOKC

Before you buy, check around town to see what size bonnets are being stocked. EVERY store here stocked a wide variety of 7-8" bonnets for at least a decade, then one day - as if someone flipped a switch - they all dropped that size and changed to 5-6" and 9-10" bonnets. :upsetgray Coincidentally, they also started selling buffers to match. :rolleyes: Of course, if you're good at planning ahead, you can buy bonnets of any size online cheap enough that you pay less even after shipping.

That being said... I actually prefer the smaller buffers. A larger one may cover a little more area, but the smaller sizes make it so much easier to get into tight places and concave curved areas.

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Yeah, we have an older buffer that is one of the larger sizes (planned to use it on the motorhome, never did) and I looked for new bonnets for it but after trying to use it on my dad's truck I decided it was way to big for automotive use. I plan on buying everything online when I do get one since I don't know of any stores around here that have that kind of specialty stuff. Looking at getting a kit like this, but haven't decided what polishing compound to go with. Pretty set on the 7424 and the CCS pads.

http://www.autopia-carcare.com/porte...uiars-kit.html

I mostly use Meguairs products right now and have heard good stuff about their 105/205 combo, but I am looking for alternatives if anyone has suggestions.

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Originally Posted by nfpgasmask

Yeah, it looks even better in person.

The clay bar is pretty amazing actually. It will make your paint feel like a new piece of glass. Griot's Garage sells this stuff called "Speed Shine" that you use with the cleaning clay. It works really well and if you decide to try a clay bar, I definitely recommend the Griot's Garage clay and the Speed Shine. It worked really well. I'd say the whole process only took me about 3-4 hours.

I just order a bunch more of their stuff including the #2 polish. :D

Bart

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I just got my Griot's clay bar & Speed Shine today. I didn't buy any of their polishing/rubbing/etc...since I have a bunch of stuff already.

What step was right after the clay bar?

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Originally Posted by VX KAT

I just got my Griot's clay bar & Speed Shine today. I didn't buy any of their polishing/rubbing/etc...since I have a bunch of stuff already.

What step was right after the clay bar?

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After I clayed everything, I did the polishing.

Bart

My typical detailing process is:
1. Wash with Dawn (gets rid of old wax)
2. Clay bar
3. Wash to get rid of clay bar residue
4. Anti-swirl wax (slight abrasive to get rid of swirls in dark paint)
5. Wax (1st coat)
6. Wax (2nd coat)
7. Wax sealer (really locks a deep shine in)
....and that's just for the metal parts of the VX....

After all that Vicki ends up looking like an oil slick.

OMG! :freek::freek::freek:
I finally got around to using the Griot's Garage products that Bart used.
Oh dear Gawd this stuff is simply fantastic! :thumbup:

After the 3 step process, my paint actually looks different than I've EVER seen any paint before.

IF NOTHING ELSE, DO A CLAY BAR ON YOUR PAINT, IT'S THE MOST AMAZING PRODUCT WITH THE BIGGEST IMPACT, IMHO.


I put the detailed info and pics in another thread about Griot's Garage products to keep it all together.
http://www.vehicross.info/forums/sho...943#post248943
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Yeah, it really looks amazing when you are done. I need to give my VX another treatment with the deeper polish to see if I can remove the remains of those tree scratches.

Bart