# In Search of Perfection *Warning* Not for the faint hearted!!



## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

I would like to start off by saying a massive thank you to Nick (slrestoration) for all his support, advice and help, couldn't have done it without you mate :thumb:

*Warning... not for the faint hearted... :lol:*

As many of you who have spoken to me before, I am always in the search of perfection, that little bit more shine... and I was never going to be happy until I took the paintwork to the maximum I possibly could...

So with the advice of Nick, multiple watching's of YouTube videos, and the right tools at hand... I set to work.

This is where the faint of heart should click off now :lol:

Armed with my pd8 to measure removal rates, mirka discs in 2000 and 4000 grade, 2000 and 3000 grit wet and dry sheets, the dodo buff daddy, plenty of 3m 3434 tape, 4 drying towels, a megs mitt, bucket of soapy water(for washing, maxi suds II) the advice of Nick and a crazy need for perfection, I set to work :doublesho

*Sunday *
So first off, the discs and papers went into a bucket filled with water and a touch of shampoo, and left to soak for 4 hours. (And then kept in the bucket while i worked) 
During this soaking time, i took a quick trip to the DIY store, to get a new hose connector (mine had broken) and picked up a nozzle multi setting spray gun as well. 
returned home, washed the car using the normal process, then used Tardis to remove the supernatural wax I applied 12 hours before this, (car had been iron x'd 4 days before) i clayed the car (very little to nothing came off,) then took tons of paint thickness readings with the pd8, noting them on an outline of my car I got from a website for making 3d paper models.

On with my work...
After around 30-40 minutes masking all panel gaps, handles, lenses, window edges, badges etc. i was left with this. 









The car was entirely wet sanded using 2000 grit mirka discs, followed by 4000 grit mirka discs, with the DAS6/Dodo Buff Daddy and where the machine couldn't reach, hand sanded with 3000 grit wet and dry paper.
Keep your paper/discs submerged in the water when you are not using them,
After every pass, rinse off the clear coat/water sanding mix, and dry the panel to check if you have removed enough/flatted the area and re check the paint thickness for removal rates.
you will need a few drying towels for this, as they get wet quickly, and keep cycling them through the tumble drier, do not use your best towels for this, i plan on throwing them away after sanding, the clear coat removed in the water you dry with these, may cause some of the fibers to harden, making them unsafe for your paint..
After 14 hours of sanding, the car was entirely wet flatted, and finished in a lovely matt black and i was left with the entire car looking like this...(not many pics sadly... didn't think of it, done one panel and thought ill get pics, then after that got caught up in the work :wall 
The entire car looked like so
























by the time the sanding was done it was getting dark, so i washed the entire car using maxi suds II and a mf wash mitt(megs one, it's now a wheel mitt thanks to this lol) and I decided to call it a night, at 10pm

*Monday, *
Monday, was the first stage of my machine polish to remove the haze of wet sanding (with yet more advice from nick :lol

Out with the new 3m Rotary, its seen one machine correction so far, (well about half a machine correction, as i was working with two other members from here) and it's a great machine, some people have said they are a bit loud... but they were nothing compared to the DAS6Pro martin and calum were using.
I'm very happy with the purchase.

First up the combo of Menz 3.02 on an orange hex logic pad, this required 2 sets to remove the haze... 
Seeing as i was planning a 3 stage polish, I thought maybe up the combo,

First off i tested 3M Fast cut plus on the orange hex pad, found it to be drying too quickly... 
for extra working time i added a dot of ultrafina, but still found it to be a bit dry, not for me on this occasion.

Deciding on the next combo had a few in mind... but went for Gtechniq P1, with a yellow hex logic pad. This worked fantastically, with a water spritz to keep the p1 activated, it removed all the haze, and the yellow hex pad left very little in the way of marks.
So the entire car was polished with this combo, using a green 3m spot pad for the areas i was unable to get the larger pad into, the green pad being quiet firm left some hologramming as i expected.
the bonnet due to being a strange shape was sanded mostly by hand, starting with 2000 grit, refined with 3000 grit, and to polish the bonnet I took the opportunity to use p1 with the Gtechniq 200mm wool pad, to great effect.
Once stage one was complete i washed the car down with maxi suds II, rinsed and dried,
Make sure you have plenty of microfibers, and pads, I've gone through roughly 15 microfibers on stage one, and 8 pads of different colours/sizes.
As i was finishing up, it started to rain, so was not able to start stage 2 polishing, decided to call it a night, gathered my pads from the days polishing, and microfibers and got them in the washing machine, and then drier ready for the next day.
_Hologramming left by the 3m compounding green spot pad. (Using my new CREE LED torch... £6 and a great swirl spotter... as good as lenser p7)_









*Tuesday. *
so up at 8am, started on the car at 8.30am, it had rained overnight, leaving water spotting on the car, so the car was washed again with bilt hamber auto wash. Rinsed and dried.

So this time, there was no polish selection problems... went straight for the p1, with a 3m yellow pad and matching spot pad, 
Armed with my trusty sun gun and new CREE LED torch, i checked for areas of heavy buffer trails etc. left by the compounding pads... (Only the 3m spot pad left buffer trails with the p1) 
So spot pad first, and started with p1 doing all the areas where i know the 6" 3m pad won't fit,

Working p1 at around 900-1000 rpm, with one spray of water, worked until hazed. Pad wiped with a microfiber and worked until clear (another tip from nick :lol and it worked fantastically well. Removed all buffer trails with ease, leaving behind very slight marks from the combo on my soft paint.

Once this was finished i washed the car once again with BH Auto wash. Dried, and break time, took 30 minutes off to have a quick early dinner so i could spend the rest of the day with the car :lol:
_here's the finish left by p1 and the yellow 3m pads, _

























**WARNING** _if your brother in law is watching you work, do not ask him to hand you the rotary at any point, unless it is unplugged..... He pressed the trigger as he handed it to me, it jumped, and the plastic on the backing plate got my hand and arm. _









Back to the car, so next up "burnishing the finish" or as i like to call it, tickling it to a gloss :lol: :lol:
Keeping it "in the family" there was no other way to finish 2 stages with p1, than p2 on a 3m blue pad and matching spot pad. Spreading at 600, stepping up to 800rpm working for a few minutes and back down to 600rpm to finish down.

I was a bit hesitant of how needed this stage actually was... but after the first set of p2, there was a noticeable difference in the gloss levels where the p2 was used.
Finish was checked regularly with sun gun and the new led torch, also paint depth readings taken regularly throughout each polishing stage.
_*here's the finish *_

















Car was once again washed with auto wash, rinsed and dried.
Swissvax cleaner fluid applied with cleaner fluid applicator and buffed with microfibers.
1 coat of shield applied, left to cure for 30 minutes, buffed off.
By this time it was 9.30pm, and i decided that was it for today.
Here is the car with one coat of shield, light fading sadly.

























































*Wednesday *,
Apc'd all badges, grilles, plastics and panel gaps to insure full removal of residues left over
Washed the car with auto wash, to remove water spotting and dust. Rinsed with open hose (the sheeting of shield is amazing!!) dried with the wooly mammoth.

Left 30 minutes to ensure the water that drips out the mirror housing etc. was all out while i went on to;
All door shuts and bonnet/boot shuts cleaned and sealed with ultima paint guard. 
Wheels cleaned with auto wash, and wheel mitt.
Boot tidied up, everything removed, and vacuumed.

Back to bodywork, to dry off the water that had come from the gaps,

One coat of Swissvax Best of Show applied with a SV black applicator, left 30 minutes to cure

While I waited on the wax cure I dusted the interior with a Megs slide lock brush and a microfiber, vacuumed the mats (and dry foam cleaned drivers mat) and cleaned the screen on the Nissan connect and drivers info center as well as the gauges,

Cleaned all the glass inside with turtle wax clear vue glass cleaner... i stand by this as a good glass cleaner even if it's not a fancy brand name, half spray on a window buffed with a microfibre and no streaking left.

Side bars cleaned, need a quick polish though, might do so tonight.

Wax buffed off, with nothing more than a tickle :lol:

Pictures taken in the street, unfortunately no sunshine to speak off...









































Took a well-deserved break to pop round to my mates for a coffee.

No plans for the rest of the day. Or the rest of the week lol. Back to work on Monday.

Thanks for reading, if you got this far and did not just looked at the pictures :lol:
Hope you enjoyed my first proper write up and an insight into my crazy search for perfection. :thumb:


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

as usual.. my poor camera skills lets the finish down


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## little rich (Oct 2, 2009)

Top work fella, some great results


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## North east Car Care (Jan 14, 2008)

Craigy your are one dedicated man, stunning finish and a top class write up matey


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## Ninja59 (Feb 17, 2009)

madness man but good job following you telling me!


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## kempe (Jan 9, 2011)

Very nice wright up buddy QQ looks great :thumb:


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## SimonBash (Jun 7, 2010)

Well done Craig you nutter! So this was ALL your own work and Nick didnt give you any advice......?:lol:

Only joking, Nick is a top bloke and has clearly supported you here, nice wax combo to, I am very tempted by shield.

Look forward to some sun picks when you can grab some.

Thanks for posting this up:thumb:


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## calum001 (Nov 18, 2010)

bloody hell Craig you've seriously got problems haha

have to say though i'm very impressed mate, the finish looks great, looked good last weekend but thats another level completely ! well done bud and fair play for having the balls to have a go

were you pleased with the finish (to your OCD level), get rid of all the orange peel ?

whats were your removal rates aswell btw ?


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## nickfrog (Nov 29, 2010)

Great job but I can't see any difference between before and after ? Sorry !


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## Keza (Dec 10, 2010)

top work
next time you can hand the rotary to your brother to get even


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

SimonBash said:


> Well done Craig you nutter! So this was ALL your own work and Nick didnt give you any advice......?:lol:
> 
> Only joking, Nick is a top bloke and has clearly supported you here, nice wax combo to, I am very tempted by shield.
> 
> ...


thanks mate, yes i would never have attempted it without his advice :lol:
shield is a great wax, the best of show is very bling.. but i would have been happy with just shield.. (BOS is the show off wax, shield is the connoisseurs wax :lol imo ofcourse :lol:



calum001 said:


> bloody hell Craig you've seriously got problems haha
> 
> have to say though i'm very impressed mate, the finish looks great, looked good last weekend but thats another level completely ! well done bud and fair play for having the balls to have a go
> 
> ...


i don't have the expensive multi layered gauge so i played it safe with around 70-80% orange peel removal. (didnt go too far past the flat clear stage)
but yes im quite pleased with it.
:wall: that should have been part of the write up... 
wet sanding, averaged 8-10 microns across the entire car, then a further 2-4 microns with polishing,
still plenty to play with in future.:thumb:


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## DMH-01 (Mar 29, 2011)

Great write up buddy on a fantastic job, hats off to you sir .


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

nickfrog said:


> Great job but I can't see any difference between before and after ? Sorry !


lol thats mostly my bad camera skills.. but more so the fact that most of the problem with orange peel doesnt show much in pictures.
in person there is a massive difference :thumb:

its more the sort of thing that us serious OCD people let get the better of them :lol:


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## SarahAnn (Apr 6, 2011)

Crikey. I was a bit scared at the wet sanding stage. Gulp. It shows that you really have to know what you are doing.


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

SarahAnn said:


> Crikey. I was a bit scared at the wet sanding stage. Gulp. It shows that you really have to know what you are doing.


 thanks


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## Dohnut (Feb 4, 2011)

Well done mate, it looks as scary as I imagined, fair play to you though attempting it. I wouldn't be doing this to my car though. The main question is, are you happy with the result? I know you said it didn't take off that much clear coat and not all the orange peel has gone, but surely that's enough now to leave it at that? 

I've always toyed with the idea of buying cheapo cars at the auction, tarting them up a bit - maybe in these situations a bit of wet sanding, correction, a damn good clean and then back to the auction. Not necessarily to make a profit but certainly not to make a loss!


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## calum001 (Nov 18, 2010)

CraigQQ said:


> i don't have the expensive multi layered gauge so i played it safe with around 70-80% orange peel removal. (didnt go too far past the flat clear stage)
> but yes im *quite* pleased with it.
> :wall: that should have been part of the write up...
> wet sanding, averaged 8-10 microns across the entire car, then a further 2-4 microns with polishing,
> still plenty to play with in future.:thumb:


that one word worries me :lol:

10-14 microns for the whole process seems pretty reasonable to me considering what was done and how much a heavy polish/pad combo can take off, not a chance i would attempt that in the near future though !


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

Dohnut said:


> Well done mate, it looks as scary as I imagined, fair play to you though attempting it. I wouldn't be doing this to my car though. The main question is, are you happy with the result? I know you said it didn't take off that much clear coat and not all the orange peel has gone, but surely that's enough now to leave it at that?
> 
> I've always toyed with the idea of buying cheapo cars at the auction, tarting them up a bit - maybe in these situations a bit of wet sanding, correction, a damn good clean and then back to the auction. Not necessarily to make a profit but certainly not to make a loss!


thanks martin,
without the multi layered gauge and a bit more experience using said gauge i don't think i would go much further.. and yes im really happy with it.
and it will be left at that :lol:

lol its a lot of work for that, when most people don't notice orange peel. but definitely correction adds value to the car.:thumb:


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

calum001 said:


> that one word worries me :lol:
> 
> 10-14 microns for the whole process seems pretty reasonable to me considering what was done and how much a heavy polish/pad combo can take off, not a chance i would attempt that in the near future though !


:lol: yes, its slightly worrying :lol:

you know you want to... get that evo sanded  :lol:
do you think nick will let us sand the m3 :lol::lol:


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## Andyb0127 (Jan 16, 2011)

Looks great Craig, fantastic reflection and depth to the paint :thumb:

Best get me backside in gear and do my QQ yours is putting mine to shame :lol:


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## calum001 (Nov 18, 2010)

not a chance mate, theres no clearcoat to sand lol

yeh i'm sure Nick's mrs would love that, a 1 day detail was bad enough.....

oh yeh and your going to wear out that :lol: smilie, another OCD ?


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

Andyb0127 said:


> Looks great Craig, fantastic reflection and depth to the paint :thumb:
> 
> Best get me backside in gear and do my QQ yours is putting mine to shame :lol:


lol thanks andy... get it wet sanded, lol just kidding!! :thumb:



calum001 said:


> not a chance mate, theres no clearcoat to sand lol
> 
> yeh i'm sure Nick's mrs would love that, a 1 day detail was bad enough.....
> 
> oh yeh and your going to wear out that :lol: smilie, another OCD ?


:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:
i don't know what you mean.......


yeah his missus actually would kill him :lol:


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## bentley300 (Apr 16, 2011)

Great write up, rather you than me.
Pure dedication to the cause....well done.


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## Superspec (Feb 25, 2011)

That's stunning mate. I always thought your car looked damned impressive before, would love to see some decent pics in decent light.

Did you use an interface pad with the sanding disks on the DA or just straight onto the backing plate? I really want to wet sand my Merc but I think I need something to practice on first before I have the balls to go for it....


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## SarahAnn (Apr 6, 2011)

It really shocked someone like me who hasn't seen wet sanding before. I need to get out more!


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

Superspec said:


> That's stunning mate. I always thought your car looked damned impressive before, would love to see some decent pics in decent light.
> 
> Did you use an interface pad with the sanding disks on the DA or just straight onto the backing plate? I really want to wet sand my Merc but I think I need something to practice on first before I have the balls to go for it....


thanks mate, ill get some decent pics soon.. bloody scotland!! no sun!

Yes i used an interface pad, it just makes it a little bit more flexible for edges and corners ect.

get yourself a few scrap panels, get popular makes like golf/astra/corsa bonnets ect, and you can wet sand and polish it and if it comes out well.. sell it on for a wee profit (enough to cover the cost of discs polish ect.)

i didn't do this as im a bit o a "want it done yesterday" type of person lol.

also a ptg is a vital piece of equipment for this.. the better the ptg the more brave you can be (by this i mean if you have a multi layer one, you can be a bit bolder lol)


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## DW58 (Nov 27, 2010)

Craig - I'm worried ... ... ... you really do need to get out more, but of course we knew this was coming 

Seriously though, top job mate and especially for having the gonads to tackle something so drastic. Where to next?


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## stewartmak7 (Oct 26, 2009)

Nice finish mate! Looks amazing now can't wait to see it at the next meet !


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## CLCC (Nov 18, 2010)

I've heard that you can get the same results with SRP on a waffle weave towel for the bit of extra bite, what do you think?????? :lol:


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

DW58 said:


> Craig - I'm worried ... ... ... you really do need to get out more, but of course we knew this was coming
> 
> Seriously though, top job mate and especially for having the gonads to tackle something so drastic. Where to next?


lol, thanks mate, and i need to stay in more :lol: if i go out its usually to the car haha.
need a rest! friday saw 18 holes on the golf course, followed by shopping and chores, saturday, 12 hours with martin and calum, detailing, including polishing the m3, sunday 14 hours of sanding, monday about 8 hours of polishing, yesterday about 10 hours of polishing, today about 3 hours of detailing..
still need to polish the side bars, and detail the engine bay tommorow, along with a 2nd coat of best of show.

used them 303 wiper treatment wipes today, seemed to work really well. i cleaned the wipers before using, but used on dads without cleaning and still seemed to work a treat!:thumb: (chris at waxamomo has them back in stock, and phil from shinerama has them too)


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

CLCC said:


> I've heard that you can get the same results with SRP on a waffle weave towel for the bit of extra bite, what do you think?????? :lol:


DAMN!!! i wasted 4 days when i could have done that with srp and a waffle weave towel in 1 hour :lol:


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## dooka (Aug 1, 2006)

Nice job you took on there Craig. Not as bad of a job as you were expecting I bet.. :thumb:


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## gally (May 25, 2008)

Stunning work and dedication Craig, I would have happily given you my Camera for your detail dude, it deserved some good camera work! 

Looking forward to seeing the bus when I pop through!


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## magpieV6 (Jul 29, 2008)

lol, great work & determination! I need to do this to the little one


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## DW58 (Nov 27, 2010)

CraigQQ said:


> used them 303 wiper treatment wipes today, seemed to work really well. i cleaned the wipers before using, but used on dads without cleaning and still seemed to work a treat!:thumb: (chris at waxamomo has them back in stock, and phil from shinerama has them too)


Glad to have been of help, nice to know they're easier to find than we thought.


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## Mr Face (Jan 22, 2009)

DW58 said:


> Craig, top job mate and especially for having the gonads to tackle something so drastic. Where to next?


Craig, a most excellent job there fella, I echo the line above, I need to grow a pair quickly as Im paint filling stone chips right now.

Super job, great correction and the wettest finish Ive seen in yonks.

Can I ask where and which cree LED did you get ? the one in the picture like a sun gun.


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## Mirror Finish Details (Aug 21, 2008)

Love it, well done Craig.

Wet flatting is really the way forward for me, I was on Autopia the other night and at least half the detailers wet sand most cars through the door.

Easiest way of getting rid of swirls with actually less paint removal than heavy polishing.


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## toomanycitroens (Jan 14, 2011)

Wow.
Excellent mate, bet those arms are aching now.


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## Razzzle (Jul 3, 2010)

Instead of using drying towels to get rid of the water/clearcoat mix get a drying blade matey.

Daz.

ps top job looks awesoem


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## Snapples (May 28, 2010)

unbelievable. Thumbs up.


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## DetailMe (Jan 13, 2011)

Craig that's fantastic work, good on you for coming out of the comfort zone, not that hard is it!  

Chris


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

dooka said:


> Nice job you took on there Craig. Not as bad of a job as you were expecting I bet.. :thumb:


your right, it wasnt quite as scary as people think,



gally said:


> Stunning work and dedication Craig, I would have happily given you my Camera for your detail dude, it deserved some good camera work!
> 
> Looking forward to seeing the bus when I pop through!


maybe you can get some better pics for me kev :thumb:



magpieV6 said:


> lol, great work & determination! I need to do this to the little one


thanks and you definitely need to do this 



Mr Face said:


> Craig, a most excellent job there fella, I echo the line above, I need to grow a pair quickly as Im paint filling stone chips right now.
> 
> Super job, great correction and the wettest finish Ive seen in yonks.
> 
> Can I ask where and which cree LED did you get ? the one in the picture like a sun gun.


thanks and its a small torch, its the one in the pics with very white light..
the one that looks like a sun gun is my home made sun gun :thumb:
this is it(i hope im not breaking any rules here...)
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/CREE-Q5-LED-2...ing_LightsLanternsTorches&hash=item3f09ccecee



Mirror Finish said:


> Love it, well done Craig.
> 
> Wet flatting is really the way forward for me, I was on Autopia the other night and at least half the detailers wet sand most cars through the door.
> 
> Easiest way of getting rid of swirls with actually less paint removal than heavy polishing.


thanks steve, much appreciated coming from someone like you :thumb:



Razzzle said:


> Instead of using drying towels to get rid of the water/clearcoat mix get a drying blade matey.
> 
> Daz.
> 
> ps top job looks awesoem


thanks daz, i have one of them(got it free, an autoglym one iirc), and thought about using it, but got a bit paranoid there would be a tiny bit of grit that would ruin my whole work :lol:
noticed in some videos other people using them though..



DetailMe said:


> Craig that's fantastic work, good on you for coming out of the comfort zone, not that hard is it!
> 
> Chris


thanks mate, no it wasnt as hard as i thought it would be.. very rewarding.


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## The_Bouncer (Nov 24, 2010)

Craig, top work fella, great write up and good for you having the kahunas for the wetsanding - and jamjar looks fantastic :thumb:


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## Spoony (May 28, 2007)

Hats off sir well done.

Sun.. plenty in Glasgow mate but when I was in the big smoke today it with chucking it doon!


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

Spoony said:


> Hats off sir well done.
> 
> Sun.. plenty in Glasgow mate but when I was in the big smoke today it with chucking it doon!


it only rained for about 30 seconds here today, was wierd.. got a heavy burst of rain when dropping my mate off at his gf's lasted about 30 seconds and then nothing.

its been raining on and off since sunday though


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

lol for those of you that will get a bit of a kick seeing how messy my car was during most of the work.








:lol:


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## james_death (Aug 9, 2010)

Fantastic great to see you post it up...:thumb:
Can see a lot going to wet sanding certainly big in the states and while watching Mike's 102 class, if i remember correctly it was bit of soap for the hand sanding water but not for the machining.

Still needed the hand stuff for doing the edges of the panels having kept about half inch from the edge with the machine.

I also want a wool pad particularly for after wetsanding and there is no way of avoiding the look of destroying the paint with wet sanding its like standing on a precipice.

Interestingly Mike Phillips is reluctant to machine a factory finish tending to do ones that have been resprayed.

So now you have got the finish about where you want it i take it that you will be selling 3/4 of your products....:lol:


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## Mirror Finish Details (Aug 21, 2008)

james_death said:


> Fantastic great to see you post it up...:thumb:
> Can see a lot going to wet sanding certainly big in the states and while watching Mike's 102 class, if i remember correctly it was bit of soap for the hand sanding water but not for the machining.
> 
> Still needed the hand stuff for doing the edges of the panels having kept about half inch from the edge with the machine.
> ...


Your right James, use soap for hand sanding but the Mirka pads only require water, as they hold so much water and tend to bounce when soap applied.


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## Brian. (Sep 21, 2009)

Nicely done mate! It's a good day when orange peel is no longer!


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## tonyy (Jul 26, 2008)

Fantastic job..


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## Prism Detailing (Jun 8, 2006)

Not an easy step to take, and deciding to do the whole car for your first time takes guts ! Was there any areas you didnt do ? or any areas for any concern ? 

But still excellent achievement


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

Prism Detailing said:


> Not an easy step to take, and deciding to do the whole car for your first time takes guts ! Was there any areas you didnt do ? or any areas for any concern ?
> 
> But still excellent achievement


round the tops of the doors, and the bumpers as i dont have a gauge that can measure plastics.


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## bluesmartie (May 9, 2011)

Would you recommend Swissvax Shield, thinking of getting some myself. Great job mate.


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## FINCarbin (Mar 6, 2010)

you sure have nerves for that kind of detailing. awesome job :thumb:


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## cotter (Aug 31, 2008)

Jeez Craig, that takes serious baws lol. Hats off to you, great job :thumb:


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## DW58 (Nov 27, 2010)

The men in white coats will be calling at Craig's home later ... ... ... They're coming to take him away ... ... ...


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## yetizone (Jun 25, 2008)

Every credit, having just wet sanded my bonnet and front wings - that is some commitment to go that far. Superb work and a great finish achieved! Top work :thumb:


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## DW58 (Nov 27, 2010)

The down-side to this is Nissan shouldn't have put the car out with orange peel in the first place. Well done Craig for fixing it - send the bill to Nissan.


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

DW58 said:


> The men in white coats will be calling at Craig's home later ... ... ... They're coming to take him away ... ... ...


:lol: good.. im going out later :lol:



bluesmartie said:


> Would you recommend Swissvax Shield, thinking of getting some myself. Great job mate.


yeah, i would recommend it to anyone.



DW58 said:


> The down-side to this is Nissan shouldn't have put the car out with orange peel in the first place. Well done Craig for fixing it - send the bill to Nissan.


can't just blame nissan though... apart from bentley there is no car manufacturer i've seen thats putting them out without orange peel.


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## Prism Detailing (Jun 8, 2006)

CraigQQ said:


> round the tops of the doors, and the bumpers as i dont have a gauge that can measure plastics.


Should have given me a shout  always willing to help others :thumb:


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

well i thought about phoning you, and asking for a price to take ptg readings for me, but i just got stuck in lol.. couldn't wait!!

maybe at some point ill get you to measure the bumpers, and the paint and see if ive got plenty to play with and go for 100% removal in the future lol.


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## DW58 (Nov 27, 2010)

CraigQQ said:


> :lol: good.. im going out later :lol:
> can't just blame nissan though... apart from bentley there is no car manufacturer i've seen thats putting them out without orange peel.


I guess you're right. Seeing the state that some prestige makers expect buyers to accept, I'm hardly surprised. I was lucky, but I've seen some poor paint-jobs from VAG - it seems to be a bit of a lottery.

Are you happy with it now?


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## rdig1984 (Feb 28, 2011)

Really GOOD WORK!!!!


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## TRD (Jul 15, 2010)

Nice work. I'm planning to do the same but it will be my father car 
Its the experiment mice as I'm concerned. I hope you can tell us a bit more details about the sanding process. 
-Pressure of the machine over the paint?
Your a brave man I will never consider sanding my car before I've done some1 else paint.


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## Colt Man (Dec 3, 2008)

good stuff mate, hand wet sanded mine a year ago but ive never tried it on a rotary (apart from when i used to paint cars)


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## Prism Detailing (Jun 8, 2006)

Colt Man said:


> good stuff mate, hand wet sanded mine a year ago but ive never tried it on a rotary (apart from when i used to paint cars)


He didnt use a Rotary, he used a DA :thumb:


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## Colt Man (Dec 3, 2008)

Prism Detailing said:


> He didnt use a Rotary, he used a DA :thumb:


that'll teach me for just looking at the pictures haha :wave::thumb:


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## The Cueball (Feb 8, 2007)

M'eh.... Looks ok I guess.... Well done on all the hard work!

I'm on thE iPhone with the slowest network in the world so can't see the pics!! :lol:

:thumb:


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

DW58 said:


> Are you happy with it now?


Yes, im pretty happy with it now... could go a bit further to 100% removal later on, but for now its enough for me.:thumb:



TRD said:


> Nice work. I'm planning to do the same but it will be my father car
> Its the experiment mice as I'm concerned. I hope you can tell us a bit more details about the sanding process.
> -Pressure of the machine over the paint?
> Your a brave man I will never consider sanding my car before I've done some1 else paint.


im sure theres better guys on here to give you advice, but the way i did it, 
had the machine on a medium/slow speed, with very little pressure, was not looking to push it into the paint but slowly remove the clear until flat.
hand sanding for the more intricate areas... but a very important thing to check is wether you have easy access to that area with a rotary/spot pad.
this was the first thing i checked with hard to reach areas, if it was possible to polish the area.. don't sand the entire car and then find out you cant get into the area to polish out the marks lol.



The Cueball said:


> M'eh.... Looks ok I guess.... Well done on all the hard work!
> 
> I'm on thE iPhone with the slowest network in the world so can't see the pics!! :lol:
> 
> :thumb:


:lol: thanks for that very detailed reply cuey


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## The Cueball (Feb 8, 2007)

Well didn't want you to think that I was ignoring your hard work! :lol:

I'm back at the weekend so can have a proper look then!

:wave:


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## tehglu (Apr 11, 2011)

what an awesome result!


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

The Cueball said:


> Well didn't want you to think that I was ignoring your hard work! :lol:
> 
> I'm back at the weekend so can have a proper look then!
> 
> :wave:


:lol: ill hold you to that! :thumb:


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## Colt Man (Dec 3, 2008)

couldnt make my video embed  spoilt the effect a bit i think


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## The Cueball (Feb 8, 2007)

CraigQQ said:


> :lol: ill hold you to that! :thumb:


I'm back now.....pictures look great, top job buddy!

Always get scared when the wet sanding disks come out...but as long as you keep cool and don't go nuts it's pretty good to do!

Nice one!

:thumb:


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

The Cueball said:


> I'm back now.....pictures look great, top job buddy!
> 
> Always get scared when the wet sanding disks come out...but as long as you keep cool and don't go nuts it's pretty good to do!
> 
> ...


Thanks mate. I could go a bit further for 100% removal later on


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## TRD (Jul 15, 2010)

Thanks for the advice Craig. I'm doing my share of researching to find the right technique. 
Hopefully I can get to it. someday I hope.


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## DW58 (Nov 27, 2010)

Where do you go from here Craig - are you trialling different products on different panels - what next?

I still haven't got myself a rotary - don't need to do any sanding, but I do want to do some polishing on my mum's car and mine will need it eventually. Do you feel that changing over to the 3M rotary gave you any advantage over your previous SIM180? I've pretty well settled on the CYC EP800 myself.


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

DW58 said:


> Where do you go from here Craig - are you trialling different products on different panels - what next?
> 
> I still haven't got myself a rotary - don't need to do any sanding, but I do want to do some polishing on my mum's car and mine will need it eventually. Do you feel that changing over to the 3M rotary gave you any advantage over your previous SIM180? I've pretty well settled on the CYC EP800 myself.


have to say im very happy with the shield and best of show combo.. i can see my spending going right down, can't see anything i need tbh.. well not after a visit to the autosmart guy for some tardis, and maybe a few little things (Maybe bio brisk?)

i'd definitely say the switch in rotary to a lighter, easier to control and much more pleasureable to use machine gave me that extra push to do so, and now paint correction is my favourite part of the detail..
the only thing that puts me off the cyc one, i dont like DA body shape for holding, or the position of the speed control. so i much prefer my 3m one.. and i can't see me changing to another machine now.. this was the one i wanted from the outset, and its as good as i wanted it t be :thumb:


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## DW58 (Nov 27, 2010)

I can understand your comments of the rotary, my problem being that I won't use it very often and just can't justify the cost of either 3M or Flex which would be my rotaries of choice, so the CYC one will have to do, plus it's light weight will suit my arthritic hands.

You could probably fund your detailing by shedding some of your excess stock surely? 

What products are you going to use for all that bling?


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

im using ultima paint guard for all the chrome. apart from sidebars (autosol for them)
the ultima really makes the plastic chrome sparkle..

might put some stuff up for sale if i don't want it.
don't have too much excesses now.. sold a big load of it.
got a years worth of sales permission though, so no rush :lol:

sounds like the EP800 will be a good choice for you then mate.


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## DW58 (Nov 27, 2010)

Sounds good :thumb:


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## calum001 (Nov 18, 2010)

CraigQQ said:


> have to say im very happy with the shield and best of show combo.. i can see my spending going right down, can't see anything i need tbh.. well not after a visit to the autosmart guy for some tardis, and maybe a few little things (Maybe *bio brisk*?)


i've got some you can try out bud (will check how much i have and should be able to just give you some, pretty sure i have a fair bit left !)


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

calum001 said:


> i've got some you can try out bud (will check how much i have and should be able to just give you some, pretty sure i have a fair bit left !)


thanks mate, when we do the wax tests on your car, ill grab a little bit off you then if youve got some spare to test out on dads car, then if its worth it i'll buy it.

i was in fife(leven) last night, if i had thought before leaving i would have found out if you were about and brought the lsp kit with me lol.
need to test them out soon.:thumb:


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## calum001 (Nov 18, 2010)

no worries, haha your keen ! will keep you posted when i get a spare few min, still wanting to get it machine polished again so might try and get that done next week/weekend depending on weather


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

lol.. get yourself a rotary.. wont need a weekend.. do it in a couple hours after work


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## slrestoration (Nov 11, 2009)

I've finally found the time to read your epic post Craig. What a transformation mate:thumb: Glad to have been able to help & was a pleasure to give advice to someone that took it all on board & pursued it with such dedication. Just goes to show what can be acheived in the quest for perfection, all your hard work, bravery & research has certainly paid off. 

Superb:thumb:

Now get a decent camera & show just how good the results are


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## spursfan (Aug 4, 2009)

CraigQQ said:


> as usual.. my poor camera skills lets the finish down


Yeah, thinking the same thing, all that hard work and not so good photos to show off what is obviously a stunning finish:thumb:


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## jordan6n (Aug 4, 2010)

really enjoyed reading this, black just looks so amazing when its looked after

good work


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

slrestoration said:


> I've finally found the time to read your epic post Craig. What a transformation mate:thumb: Glad to have been able to help & was a pleasure to give advice to someone that took it all on board & pursued it with such dedication. Just goes to show what can be acheived in the quest for perfection, all your hard work, bravery & research has certainly paid off.
> 
> Superb:thumb:
> 
> Now get a decent camera & show just how good the results are


lol a better camera is on the list..the list isnt so long these days, after finding SV waxes im not looking for any others atm.. happy with the polishes i have(well i have damn near everything apart from scholl :lol 
dressings ect, theres nothing exciting me atm, have some PERL, endurance, got c4 on the car... plenty to use..

so happy for the moment lol


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## Railsbrough (Mar 24, 2011)

Enjoyed this read. What a transformation. Don’t think I have the time or patience to go this far but am moving in that direction. Only time will tell.


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

hoping to get some sun pics at the weekend,

the only day so far with the sun out was yesterday, i didnt have a camera and the car was dusty.... typical :lol:


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## dagoatla (Mar 14, 2011)

Good job


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## slim_boy_fat (Jun 23, 2006)

You're a braver man than I am , well done on a top job. :thumb:


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## MAXI-MILAN (Oct 26, 2008)

Top work :thumb:


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## PaulN (Jan 17, 2008)

This is great work :thumb: Balls of steel on an as new car and with the single coating thickness gauge, but like you said as soon as it flattened out stop.

Orange peel is nasty but i i fear theres no where to hide when the paintwork is 99% mirror finish perfect.

Id be keen to talk about the wet sanding in greater detail like wet sanding pads and speeds used, i think id probably stick with the 4000 till at least i got past the fear of it all.

Im toying with the idea of doing this to the Z4 :doublesho

Thanks

PaulN


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

MAXI-MILAN said:


> Top work :thumb:


Thanks Maxi :thumb:



PaulN said:


> This is great work :thumb: Balls of steel on an as new car and with the single coating thickness gauge, but like you said as soon as it flattened out stop.
> 
> Orange peel is nasty but i i fear theres no where to hide when the paintwork is 99% mirror finish perfect.
> 
> ...


if you want you can pm me for a chat.. or i can give you my number if you want, for a chat about it in more detail.
its really not as scary as you think.
your a bit far away or i would nip round and give you a hand :lol:


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## Paulo (Aug 11, 2007)

_Just read through your post and looked at your photo's Craig, fantastic work and can only echo everyone's comments....:thumb:

I might need to wet-sand the front bumper, bonnet and roof of my car due to damage caused during the storms on Monday and I'm bricking it even though my car is five years old... To do the amount of wet-sanding etc. to a new car takes some bottle....:doublesho

I'm going to try and polish out the scratches etc. with my G220 (weather dependant) this weekend or next, other-wise I'll wait until I've been to one of Gordon's advanced classes hopefully on 12th June...

Hate driving the car in it's current state though...

Once again, great work...._


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

thanks mate,

let me know how you get on, 

if you need any advice/help give me a shout, :thumb:


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## PaulN (Jan 17, 2008)

CraigQQ said:


> Thanks Maxi :thumb:
> 
> if you want you can pm me for a chat.. or i can give you my number if you want, for a chat about it in more detail.
> its really not as scary as you think.
> your a bit far away or i would nip round and give you a hand :lol:


Nice one thanks i will PM you once im happy with the paint thickness.

My Run Razor has just turned up to remove excess paint from touch ups before wet sanding so im hoping to get a number of marks including the last of the egg damage sorted this week.......


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## Leemack (Mar 6, 2009)

Nice job Craig


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## ronwash (Mar 26, 2011)

I like it,very much,i think nissan tech pepole will want to know how the hell did you make their paint to gloss like that..:buffer:


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

:lol: thanks ron!


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## steveineson (Jan 2, 2010)

I'm doing a wet sanding course in Manchester at the weekend, if I can get results like this I shall be well chuffed, awesome!!!!


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

steveineson said:


> I'm doing a wet sanding course in Manchester at the weekend, if I can get results like this I shall be well chuffed, awesome!!!!


is that with steve from MF?

i've never done a course ect.. this was my first full car lol.. before this i've only done spot repairs(stone chips.. scratches ect)

be good to get to one of these courses and learn how the pros do it.

never thought when i done this i'd get over 100 comments on the thread

thanks to everyone who posted :thumb:


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## nickfrog (Nov 29, 2010)

Hey Craig,

I hope you don't mind me asking but I am about to order a QQ for the wife (+2 Acenta 1.6 SS). Are you happy with yours ? Did you have to have any warranty work done since new ?

Did you buy online or through a dealer?

Thanks !!!


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

nickfrog said:


> Hey Craig,
> 
> I hope you don't mind me asking but I am about to order a QQ for the wife (+2 Acenta 1.6 SS). Are you happy with yours ? Did you have to have any warranty work done since new ?
> 
> ...


ofcourse not mate.

im very happy with mine, some guys on the car club found the 1.6 +2 a tad underpowered on steep inclines.. so definitely recommend a test drive in the model if you can..

no warranty work done since new.. but its only 6 months old.

through the local nissan dealer.


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## Danno1975 (Mar 30, 2009)

CraigQQ said:


> ofcourse not mate.
> 
> im very happy with mine, some guys on the car club found the 1.6 +2 a tad underpowered on steep inclines.. so definitely recommend a test drive in the model if you can..
> 
> ...


I want one too, can't believe the spec you can get for what I paid for a year old 320d Msport!!! I'm assuming though that thats the 1.6 and that the 2.0 will add ££££.

Wife dreams of X5's but in reality the qq is the way forward. That or the XC60 if they do a 7 seat option.


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## Edstrung (Apr 6, 2009)

Good work Craig, happy that you did the work thoroughly and boy has it paid off for the finish 

Lovely


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

Danno1975 said:


> I want one too, can't believe the spec you can get for what I paid for a year old 320d Msport!!! I'm assuming though that thats the 1.6 and that the 2.0 will add ££££.
> 
> Wife dreams of X5's but in reality the qq is the way forward. That or the XC60 if they do a 7 seat option.


mine is a 1.6 aswell, to be honest.. with it being 2wd(4wd only an option on 2.0) you don't really miss the extra power.. as you save a lot of wieght.
the performance figures are about the same 0-60 ect as a 1.6 focus.. but the mpg isn't quite as good as focus thanks to aerodynamics.. 
1.5dci mpg seems good, door to door in the high 40's, and a guy on the club got 70 odd mpg on a long journey.. 
my 1.6 gets about 32-35 but i have a bit of a heavy foot, normal on the club is high 30's. 
2.0 petrol average around 33mpg combined from what ive heard.

the kit you get in them for the price, if you go for tekna model i have, its the top of the range.. you get more gadgets than you can play with lol.
full leather, heated front seats, built in sat nav with bluetooth and ipod support(usb in centre console, and aux port) xenons, auto lights and wipers, glass roof, 
18" wheels, bose sound system including amp and custom built sub in spare wheel well (its damn loud!! heart thumping stuff!)
keyless entry and start.
colour reversing camera,
dual zone climate control...

there is loads more small features ect aswell..

one of the reasons i went for it, all the gadgets/leather, and the ikey keyless system.

depends on the model you want..
the 2.0 petrol 2WD model only adds about £1600 to the price of the 1.6
but the 4WD petrol only comes in auto(well CVT) but nissan are not taking orders for CVT(havent been since about october, due to shortages) so its not available.. but it adds almost 5k to the 1.6 price.
1.5dci is roughly 800-1000 more than 1.6 petrol model.



Edstrung said:


> Good work Craig, happy that you did the work thoroughly and boy has it paid off for the finish
> 
> Lovely


thanks mate. much appreciated.


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## steveineson (Jan 2, 2010)

CraigQQ said:


> is that with steve from MF?
> 
> i've never done a course ect.. this was my first full car lol.. before this i've only done spot repairs(stone chips.. scratches ect)
> 
> ...


Yes it is, I went on his course last month and he was talking about you and was so impressed with what you'd achieved.:thumb:


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## nickfrog (Nov 29, 2010)

CraigQQ said:


> 1.5dci mpg seems good


It's the logical choice of engine for the car BUT it's a Renault unit which is enough for me to ignore its existence !!!


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## Lloydy (Jan 13, 2009)

Great Detail Craig! You have filled me with so much confidence now with wetsanding mine! Although I am only doing a small area and not the whole freaking car :doublesho


Finish looks great :thumb:


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

steveineson said:


> Yes it is, I went on his course last month and he was talking about you and was so impressed with what you'd achieved.:thumb:


wow... 
didn't realise i got that sort of attention..
Thanks Steve :thumb:



nickfrog said:


> It's the logical choice of engine for the car BUT it's a Renault unit which is enough for me to ignore its existence !!!


lol yes.. the only reason i didn't buy a 1.5 is that whatcar's review said it was noisy, but the guys on the car club said its not any noisier than any other diesel.
it is a renault though... shock horror :lol:



Lloydy said:


> Great Detail Craig! You have filled me with so much confidence now with wetsanding mine! Although I am only doing a small area and not the whole freaking car :doublesho
> 
> Finish looks great :thumb:


Thanks, it's not as scary as it looks 
good luck with the wet sanding :thumb:


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## JJ_ (Oct 26, 2005)

Just read this craig, epic.


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

Thanks JJ..

All worth it in the end.. and I won detail of the year :eek WOO HOO..


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## badman1972 (Jun 24, 2010)

Well worthy winner of the award mate, stunning detail and well worth the effort and pain (rotary to the hand/arm LOL)you suffered in the process :thumb:


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## Derekh929 (Aug 28, 2011)

Yes Craig award well deserved with that effert well done, next time get the brother in law to stay a safe distance


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## Bowler (Jan 23, 2011)

Hey Craig awsome mate, not seen this before don`t know how i missed it.


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

badman1972 said:


> Well worthy winner of the award mate, stunning detail and well worth the effort and pain (rotary to the hand/arm LOL)you suffered in the process :thumb:





Derekh929 said:


> Yes Craig award well deserved with that effert well done, next time get the brother in law to stay a safe distance


:lol: Thanks guys, and yes.. hes never been allowed to pick it up since.. I still have the scars on my hand/arm now.. it didn't seem that bad at the time aswell didn't expect to still have the scars lol



Bowler said:


> Hey Craig awsome mate, not seen this before don`t know how i missed it.


cheers paul..


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## baz8400 (Feb 17, 2011)

dinner on you tomorrow then??


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## CraigQQ (Jan 20, 2011)

baz8400 said:


> dinner on you tomorrow then??


only time I buy dinner is if the recipient puts out after..

I like you barry.. but not that much 

:lol::lol::lol:
:tumbleweed:


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## littlejack (Jun 11, 2008)

Nice work... Thats some serious OCD.... lol


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## MarkSmith (Dec 17, 2010)

Truly awesome detail - the quality of that work is amazing mate !!!!!


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## Jakub555 (Aug 17, 2011)

Top job there Craig
I need to do very soon as well wet sanding


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## Rowan83 (Aug 21, 2007)

Wow, fantastic job Craig.... not sure I would be that brave though, lol :thumb:


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## Obi- Dan Karnubi (Jun 16, 2011)

amazing finish craig good job


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## Trip tdi (Sep 3, 2008)

Craig thats some serious commitment and dedication there, welldone....

Not a easy task, but you have cracked this very well, the finish is A1, can't get any better than that.

Have a great week buddie...


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## prokopas (Apr 29, 2010)

Well done


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## Lupostef (Nov 20, 2011)

This was one of my first reads on here! Top work and amazing results :thumb:


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## Kobeone (Dec 14, 2011)

I got to say that is amazing Craig, fair play to you for having the balls to do that. Im yet to try my P1 polish that i bought on sunday, Top work there fella!!


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## Yowfailed (Mar 14, 2012)

I'd really like to get into the head of someone who has the balls to do that to a car knowing exactly what they're doing. 

I've said it before on here and a swear that there are those that can.........

Can you walk on water?


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