# Beefy Correction on Hammered Lexus LS460 by Street Dreams Detail



## dsms (Feb 1, 2008)

Lexus LS 460L in for an extensive paint correction and interior detail.

Majority of the paint issues came from automatic car washes and later a paint chip repair guy who attempted some "buffing" of his own, naturally that only added to the issues.

This writeup contains lots of 50/50 pictures and several videos including one on DA wetsanding.

Prep procedure:

Pressure rinse
Foam 
2 bucket wash using strong mix of CG citrus wash
Riccardo clay + ONR lube
Multiple IPA wipedowns to completely strip paint of old glaze

Wheels:

Sonax on wheels
Powerclean on tires/wheel wells

Started with the hood, many rock chips attempted to be fixed on the hood and more damage was left than damage fixed










Closeup of defects under Fenix LED










After M105 + wool pad and Menzerna Powerfinish










Wool compounding










Front fender corrected, door uncorrected










Trunk section was too damaged for high level correction using even a wool pad and M105, no sense in even testing out that combination as I would have yielded no more than maybe 75% correction, the gouges and deep rids would be left all over the trunk. In trying to chase down those very deep defects with a wool pad at high RPM I would most likely remove more clear coat than I would like to in the process.

So I opted to wetsand it instead. The entire trunk was DA sanded using 3000 grit discs

Lots of deep RIDS and gouges, again rock chip repair was attempted here and failed miserably.



















Before beginning prep on the trunk I let the paper soak for about 40 minutes in lukewarm water

Two 3000grit discs soaking before using










Proper adapter screwed into backing plate for sanding, then the backing pad was put on










Finally after soaking, disc was centered on. I used 1 disc for the right side, and 1 disc for the left side after which both were thrown away.










Slurry left in the process of sanding, water in a sprayer bottled had a tiny bit of pH car soap for lubricity, some like that some dont, I prefer it. Not a ton of water used in this process so I guess you could classify it as "damp sanding" rather than wet sanding.



















Readings taken after also










DA sanding Video






Results and 50/50s after removing sanding marks with the same black wool pad and M105 combo plus foam compounding with Powerfinish, no finishing polish at this point




























I like this picture because it shows the natural color of the finish with the heavy concentration of swirls compared to the sanded and polished side










Left side then sanded also










Onto the rest of the car

The doors had some of the heaviest concentrations of swirls I have seen so far on any car




























The 3 lightsource test.. if it passes this you achieved what you wanted.

- Halogen
- LED
- Camera Flash

Uncorrected under 3 different light sources










Corrected side under the same 3 light sources










Video 50/50















Closeup










Drivers side door, same issues










Mirror




























After all compounding and polishing work the car was finished using the DA and Menzerna PO85rd. Lexus paint is very nice to work with but can be a bit of a pain to finish down via rotary so before taking any chances I switched down to the DA and it worked great.

I'll open up a door or pop a hood so I can polish all the way to an edge without spilling over on the next panel...

Like I did here










After gentle finishing and some more inspection after another IPA wipedown I pulled the car outside to double check my work in the sun. No LSP applied yet

Sun shots after correction only




























Trunk, nice and leveled




























Back inside for interior work

Before



















After





































Doorjambs sealed using Opti seal










LSP: Powerlock x2 applied by machine




























Inside for the final wipedown using distilled water

Final shots





































Trunk as I imagined it would look after the time spent on it










Hood reflection




























Walkaround video






I usually keep my favorite picture for last, one that sums up the detail as a whole...in this case it was not a finished shot but a 50/50 of the trunk...










Thats it, thanks for looking!


----------



## Eurogloss (Jan 22, 2008)

Great correction work there Dave !
That Lexus looks absolutely fantastic now that's way it should be!

Mario


----------



## fozzy (Oct 22, 2009)

Fantastic turnaround, true wet look finish :thumb:


----------



## Hoppo32 (Nov 18, 2008)

Your work is always amazing 
But i have to say you have very dodgy taste in music lol


----------



## c16rkc (Apr 15, 2010)

Fantastic! Your threads get better and better, a very enjoyable read!


----------



## Racer (Oct 27, 2005)

Stellar work Dave :thumb:


----------



## 03OKH (May 2, 2009)

Cracking work :thumb:


----------



## WHIZZER (Oct 25, 2005)

Impressive work


----------



## pete5570 (Jun 11, 2010)

That looks stunning! I bet the owner was blown away by that.


----------



## totalhum (Jan 29, 2009)

Well done as always!


----------



## neilb62 (Jul 30, 2007)

Amazing.....:thumb:


----------



## GlynRS2 (Jan 21, 2006)

Great correction work and an impressive finish :thumb:


----------



## Bill58 (Jul 5, 2010)

Great work!


----------



## [email protected] (Jan 28, 2009)

the depth in just the rear quarter and back door alone in this pic http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh316/nosdrummer91/Lexus%20LS%20460%20L/DSC_0126.jpg[/IMG[/CENTER]] 
does it for me :doublesho,​


----------



## [email protected] (Jan 28, 2009)

Fubar made a bobo

http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh316/nosdrummer91/Lexus LS 460 L/DSC_0126.jpg


----------



## Auto Detox (Dec 22, 2007)

Sweet work on a big old bus


----------



## Herefordquattro (May 31, 2010)

fabulous work as always -I need to move to the states to see it in the flesh:thumb:


----------



## SubtleAggressiv (Jul 17, 2010)

I love your work. The reflections on car look amazing


----------



## dsms (Feb 1, 2008)

Thanks all for the kind words!


----------



## Rowan83 (Aug 21, 2007)

Amazing correction work! bet the owner was speechless!!!


----------



## OzMoSiS (Jun 19, 2009)

^^^ That :thumb:

Great work as usual and the wetsand results are fantastic.

Since you're in a similarly warm part of the world, how does the clearcoat behave after such correction? Do you get any accelerated clearcoat failure, patching, peeling, fading, etc...? What were the PTG readings?


----------



## Scrim-1- (Oct 8, 2008)

brilliant as always!!  top job


----------



## dsms (Feb 1, 2008)

OzMoSiS said:


> ^^^ That :thumb:
> 
> Great work as usual and the wetsand results are fantastic.
> 
> Since you're in a similarly warm part of the world, how does the clearcoat behave after such correction? Do you get any accelerated clearcoat failure, patching, peeling, fading, etc...? What were the PTG readings?


New Jersey is only warm in the summer months. In the winters we can get into the 20 degree range. Right now its in the 60's, degrees that is. I feel the cold weather coming, and honestly I am not looking forward to winter detailing 

I see most of the cars I do correction on at least 2x per year and I never compound the same car twice in a year unless its a spot area simply so I can preserve clear for years to come. But in seeing most of the cars I do regularly I have yet to see any issues with fading or CC failure, then again they are usually well kept and always waxed or sealed.

I said in the writuep I sanded instead of buffed because I would have taken off way more clear after hit and hit of buffing plus heat would have been a factor at that point too. I dont remember the exact reads but I started and ended with well over 200microns on the trunk area, my guess even after sanding no more than 3-4microns were removed, certainly not enough to cause premature CC failure.

:thumb:


----------



## Guest (Oct 4, 2010)

Great work! Some of them swirls looked plain nasty


----------



## RandomlySet (Jul 10, 2007)

Stunning work!


----------



## dsms (Feb 1, 2008)

capri kid said:


> Great work! Some of them swirls looked plain nasty


All part of the challenge, lol thanks capri kid!



-Mat- said:


> Stunning work!


Thank Mat as usual :thumb:


----------



## Mr Face (Jan 22, 2009)

Hi Dave, beautiful motor :lol: (i would say that wouldnt I  ) and I thought I had the odd swirl mark here and there. 

On a serious note though, my front air damn is stone chipped more than any other car I have ever owned and the clear coat is also coming away in sheets so, decided to get the front bumper /air damn resprayed and suspect I will get it clear wrap just for that little extra protection. 

As always, stunning work indeed, now I know I will have to take extra care given I have now seen how bad it can get :wall: 

All the best :thumb:


----------



## dsms (Feb 1, 2008)

Mr Face said:


> Hi Dave, beautiful motor :lol: (i would say that wouldnt I  ) and I thought I had the odd swirl mark here and there.
> 
> On a serious note though, my front air damn is stone chipped more than any other car I have ever owned and the clear coat is also coming away in sheets so, decided to get the front bumper /air damn resprayed and suspect I will get it clear wrap just for that little extra protection.
> 
> ...


Clear film will definitely help with the chips, I recommend Venture Shield from 3M, highest quality film there is, and it looks the most natural on paint!


----------



## Dream Machines (Mar 13, 2006)

luscious lustre there dsms. 
How many hours in total to correct it and were your muscles really sore after all that work
Mine sure are after my latest work.


----------



## bryansbestwax (Jun 18, 2008)

dsms said:


> Clear film will definitely help with the chips, I recommend Venture Shield from 3M, highest quality film there is, and it looks the most natural on paint!


i definately agree on this comment, I loved working with and using ventureshield, although the new 3m isn't far behind now


----------



## dsms (Feb 1, 2008)

bryansbestwax said:


> i definately agree on this comment, I loved working with and using ventureshield, although the new 3m isn't far behind now


3M is Venture... all the same, 3M owns most all of them I think Avery is still on its own. 3M has different variants of film, Venture is the BESSSSST!


----------



## Guest (Oct 29, 2010)

Amazing work mate!


----------



## dsms (Feb 1, 2008)

Matt MD said:


> Amazing work mate!


Thank you Matt:thumb:


----------



## bigo (Oct 20, 2010)

friend of his works are a spectacle, congratulations.


----------



## dsms (Feb 1, 2008)

bigo said:


> friend of his works are a spectacle, congratulations.


Thanks Bigo!


----------



## Super G (Jan 21, 2010)

The end result on the lexus is totally outstanding. Quality work


----------



## dsms (Feb 1, 2008)

Super G said:


> The end result on the lexus is totally outstanding. Quality work


Thanks G:thumb:


----------

