# Seat Ibiza Tuition Detail - Including Deep Scratch Correction



## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

For many, detailing is a black box. You hand your car over dirty, perhaps some swirls and other marring. Then you come back at the end of the day, or after a few days, and its clean, shiny, defect free. Which is great. 

However, quite a few folks do derive a lot of pleasure out of working on their own car and achieving the results themselves while learning about detailing as they go, and this is where the tuition detail comes in - a chance to be involved in a full detail on your own car, pick up new skills, hone current skills and get your car detailed at the same time 

The subject of this tuition detail was a year old Seat Ibiza in black, the owner keen to get it ready for Edition 38. The detail actually started a few days prior, with the aim being to correct these deep key scratches on the side of the car....



















These marks were deep, and down to the primer layer so no amount of machine polishing would see them removed... a general rule of thumb test is that if the marks catch the nail, they cannot be fully removed and these caught the nail! In order to sort these on a timescale that the car would be ready for Edition 38, and to avoid the need to go to the bodyshop for a respray, these scratches were repaired by "touch-up" painting and flatting back.

First of all, the painting process - the key here is thin layers, very thin! And lots of thin layers to build up the paint thickness. No point kin ladelling in the paint thickly as it will not properly cure, and will be flicked out during the polishing. Lots of thin layers ensures the paint hardens fully and the repair remains sound. Paint here was applied using a **** tail stick to direct small amounts of the paint into the scratches with minimum overspill to surrounding paint. The paint used was a paint which included the lacquer in the mix, made up to the car's paint code. The pics below show the results after a couple of layers of paint applied and you can still clearly see the scratch which is to be expected, paining requires a lot of time and patience.



















Over the remaining days before the detail, the owner added a few more paint layers to complete the painting stage of the repair, ready for flatting and blending as part of the main detail...

The car arrived for the main detail looking pretty good - just general road grime on the car really...




























After washing the car and claying the car, it was already looking a lot better... but the finish was now showing itself not to be defect free! The natural lighting of the unit was enough to show a lack in depth of the paint...























































A little bit of clever lighting, however, and the car was looking miles better!!




























The above are before shots... and this is something to be very aware of, clever use of lighting can mask _a lot_ of imperfections and horrors in a paint finish. Correct assessment of the paintwork requires direct light shots such as the following...










with different focal planes to assess different qualities of the finish. A writeup on picturing defects and assessing the paint finish will follow soon 

Back to the detail, our first task was to demonstrate paint assessment to the owner, and to show how we go about using a paint thickness gauage to measure paint thicknesses and how we use the data. A single number tells you very little, but using a lot of data together gives you a big picture. Every panel was measures and general numbers on each panel noted, and we look for any inconsistencies (suspiciously thin, or thick panels - of which there were none on this car!). We then proceed to "map" the paint thickness on the panel, here's a pic of Gordon and I preparing to map out the paint thicknesses on the bonnet...










Now this may seem a little gimmicky, but it serves a hugely useful purpose. The paint map for the bonnet before is shown below...










Pictorially this gives a good indication of the thicknesses on the panel and most importantly shows the consistency, highlighting any thick or thin spots of concern at a glance!

To assess the paintwork we started at the front, on the bonnet with the following defects...



















Also a few deeper ones that the strip lights show up better...



















As with all details, we assume nothing! Yes, its VAG, but that does not mean the paint is necessarily hard... so we start with a light finishing polish, Meguiars #205, applied with a Detailers Domain Blue finishing pad as follows, using a Double Zenith technique:


Spread at 600rpm, light pressure, fast machine movement
Begin working at 1200rpm, light machine pressure, moderate movement speed
Work at 1800rpm, moderate to heavy pressure over machine hear, moderate to slow machine movement speeds
Reduce pressure over head, continue polishing at 1800rpm, faster machine movements
Reduce speed to 1200rpm, pressure to light, slow machine movements to refine
Burnish at 900rpm, supporting weight of rotary, slow machine movements

The important thing to remember with the new Meguiars polishes is that they are not like the "traditional" polishes we use on DW, which use diminishing abrasives. The abrasives in the new Meguiars polishes do not break down so you need to vary the pressure and machine speeds (movements and rotation) to vary the amount of cut in a set, so you can go from correcting to finishing. Very flexible as it allows you to tinker with the methods to get the best for the paint you are working on - needs practice and learning, but once mastered, the new Meguiars polishes offer a lot more flexibility and opportunities than traditional diminishing abrasive products.

The end results of just the #205 on a finishing pad was very impressive...



















All swirls and the RDS removed. But what remains is a pitting in the paintwork, which in this case we determined to be from dirt getting trapped under the bonnet bra the car was once wearing as there was where the pitting was at its worse, everywhere else was fine.

Given the variety of paint defects across the car, various products were used for correction depending on requirements, and then Meguiars #205, applied as above, was used across the whole car to give the best possible clarity and machine finish to the paint.

Before shots from around the car...









































































Oh yes, and the scratches all painted... we'll come back to these 










Both 3M Fast Cut Plus and Menzerna PO85Rd3.02 Intensive Polish were used for correction, again depending on level of correction required. They were applied as follows....

*3M Fast Cut Plus - 3M Orange Waffle Pad*

Spread at 600rpm
Begin working at 1200rpm
Work at 2000rpm with medium to firm head pressure, slow machine movements alternated with faster machine movements to reduce panel temps

*Menzerna PO85RD3.02 Intensive Polish - Meguiars W8006 Yellow Polising Pad*

Spread at 600rom
Begin working at 1200rpm
Work at 1800rpm, medium head pressure and moderate machine movement
until residue clear

Each of the above processes was refined using Meguiars #205 and a Double Zentih method discussed above.

General afters from around the car, shown after the finishing polish but before the protection stage...



















(bonnet pin pricks sorted out )






















































































































Now, remember the scratches from before... well, they were so bad, Gordon adapted a modified correction technique!!










:lol::lol:

Back to taking things seriously again  The marks were then flatted by hand, using 2000 grit then 4000 grit abralon pads as shown...





































The key here is to ensure you only use light pressure and even pressure to ensure no deep pigtails inflicted. Gentle process, regularly check thickness and keep feeling until the paint feels flat so the repair is blended as shown....



















After sanding...










Time to make the owner a strong cup of tea! :lol::lol:

Fast Cut Plus was used to remove the sanding haze, followed by #205 to refine. A nice reflection shot shows the dramatic reduction of the scratches....










But it doesn't show the amount of correction achieved, nor the quality of the finish and the effectiveness of teh repair. So, direct light shot with the Sun Gun to really highlight the effectiveness of this paint repair...



















We were pretty pleased with that  The owner was over the moon 

A few after polishing and refining pics...























































The paintwork was finished off by protecting using Autoglym HD wax - chosen for its good durability and the fact the owner has it himself so he can top up with the same wax used 

Tyres dressed with Chemical Guys New Look, glass with Duragloss 751.

Afraid the end results are photographed inside the unit here, it was pitch dark outside when we finished so indoor only shots I'm afraid... hopefully though, the above shots with the lights show the quality of the finish achieved. Afters...














































Now, just for fun, we decided to play around with lighting in the unit... These photographs have not been edited in any way in Photoshop etc, but we have played around with the lighting in the unit so as far as I am concerned these are not "bona fide" after shots, but rather photographically pleasing after shots (there's a difference ). But just for fun, some more piccies...





































Joined by a friend for some more pics 














































And back to normal for some more after pics...




























We hope you enjoy the detailing (most importantly) and the pics as well 

Big thanks go to the team: Gordon, Davy, and Kara.

And to Chris, the owner of the car, who was never shy of mucking in and giving everything a go and did a lot of the correction and finishing work you see here! Top man :thumb:


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## hallett (May 22, 2008)

that looks excellent, great work guys and a lovely car, really like the red rims 

Daniel


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## mattjonescardiff (Dec 12, 2006)

Gorgeous after shots there Dave. I'd love to have seen the car in the flesh. 

Thanks for such an interesting post as always.


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## Modmedia (Jul 25, 2008)

Bookmarked. Good reference point for what works well on an Ibiza.

Thanks


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## mattsbmw (Jul 20, 2008)

Great post Dave, very infomative and the finish looks amazing :thumb:


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## Brazo (Oct 27, 2005)

Great work on the scratchs Dave, Gordon et al, a real turn around!


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## Edward101 (Jun 5, 2009)

Nice write up and explanations as usual. The final shots are amazing. What are the red alloys? Porsche ones?


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## yetizone (Jun 25, 2008)

Really informative write up and a superb guide as to how to deal with deep scratch marks. Excellent stuff :buffer: 

Likewise with Modmedia - page bookmarked :thumb:

Can you please mention where we can get small paint touch up bottles made up to have both paint and lacquer in the same container? :thumb:


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## colarado red (Jun 5, 2008)

amazing work and thorough detailed write up


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## aod (Apr 7, 2009)

Wow that was inspirational!

I'd like know please - after the sanding down around the scratches, and flattening of the paint - is it sanded down to the primer/metal, because that's what it looks like? The next picture shows perfectly finished paint work. I'm confused at how you arrived here given the previous shot (mainly because i'm not sure what sanding haze is).


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## ajc347 (Feb 4, 2009)

Excellent and informative post. :thumb:

I'm interested in learning more about the computer software program you used to give a 3-D image of paint thickness. 

Could you let me know what its called and where its available from?


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## -Kev- (Oct 30, 2007)

cracking work again guys - that pic of Gordon with the hammer and chisel had me in stitches :lol:


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## HJW (Feb 23, 2008)

Great correction there, wheels are terrible though...


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

yetizone said:


> Really informative write up and a superb guide as to how to deal with deep scratch marks. Excellent stuff :buffer:
> 
> Likewise with Modmedia - page bookmarked :thumb:
> 
> Can you please mention where we can get small paint touch up bottles made up to have both paint and lacquer in the same container? :thumb:


Davy (badly_dubbed) got the paint mixed up by Paints4U, giving them the colour code of the car  Came in a massive container for not much more than a tenner, enough to paint the scratches there a thousand times over!!



aod said:


> Wow that was inspirational!
> 
> I'd like know please - after the sanding down around the scratches, and flattening of the paint - is it sanded down to the primer/metal, because that's what it looks like? The next picture shows perfectly finished paint work. I'm confused at how you arrived here given the previous shot (mainly because i'm not sure what sanding haze is).


Its just scoured clearcoat you are seeing, not metal work - the sanding marks leave a haze that looks like bare metal in some lights, but its just hazed clearcoat which is why it polishes out so easily 



ajc347 said:


> Excellent and informative post. :thumb:
> 
> I'm interested in learning more about the computer software program you used to give a 3-D image of paint thickness.
> 
> Could you let me know what its called and where its available from?


Nothing special - just enterred in to Microsoft Excel and a surface plot made.


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## yetizone (Jun 25, 2008)

Dave - Thanks for the confirmation as to where to get the paint mixture :thumb:


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## StuaR32t (Jun 6, 2009)

brilliant work!... and some wheel whoring goin on there! D-90's, bbs and ATS cups all in one thread! love the seat!


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## StuaR32t (Jun 6, 2009)

how do you bookmark a thread???

Stu


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## Will-S (Jun 5, 2007)

Great work as usual Dave and Gordon. I bet the owner was grinning like a cheshire cat at the results.


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## ajc347 (Feb 4, 2009)

Dave KG said:


> Nothing special - just enterred in to Microsoft Excel and a surface plot made.


I never realised that you could do that with Excel. 

Thanks for letting me know. :thumb:


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## gj777 (Feb 16, 2008)

Terrific work - can fully appreciate why the owner would have been over the moon!


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

ajc347 said:


> I never realised that you could do that with Excel.
> 
> Thanks for letting me know. :thumb:


Something like GNu plot would be even better for this data, but Excel does a reasonable job - its one of Microsoft's better products.


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## dw0510 (Oct 22, 2006)

Great write up


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## snapsnap (Jul 18, 2008)

Dave - How many 'coats' did the scratch get, and what sort of time were you letting each coat dry for? 

I have to touch up a similar looking scratch soon...

Good job BTW.


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

snapsnap said:


> Dave - How many 'coats' did the scratch get, and what sort of time were you letting each coat dry for?
> 
> I have to touch up a similar looking scratch soon...
> 
> Good job BTW.


It got two with me, and the owner did "x" - not sure how many, but hopefully he can chime in with the exact number


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## adam87 (Dec 11, 2008)

Superb work on those scratches, really top job! 

Always quality work. :thumb:


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## Simonhi (Jun 6, 2009)

Dave ... Do you do anything to the scratch to prepare before adding paint ?

Cheers in advance.


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

Simonhi said:


> Dave ... Do you do anything to the scratch to prepare before adding paint ?
> 
> Cheers in advance.


Washed thoroughly, cleaned out with IPA. Then checked the scratch by wetting my finger to see if the whiteness went away - sometimes the scratches can look white just because of damaged clearcoat, "fraying", so if you wet it then it goes away and its a hint you may be able to remove or significantly reduce by polishing alone. If not, the damage is more severe.


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## flyfs6 (Nov 13, 2006)

It's up on stage at ed38 right now...doing a driveby speaking about the car. It looks good and glossy. Nice.


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## Trist (Jun 23, 2006)

Fantastic work, the scratch repair was excellent!!!! :thumb: If I have a scratch like that, I'd be happy to drive all the way to Scotland to get it repaired with results like that


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## Ti22 (Mar 24, 2009)

Nice writeup dave. 

Good education on how lighting can affect the pictures. Totally agree - direct light photos are the only way to prove the correction you're getting. A1 as usual.


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## Planet Admin (Jul 11, 2009)

Great finish:thumb:


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## 1999grad (Oct 10, 2008)

Excellent results and explanation of the process, David. Congratulations. I think those red wheels are not on par with how beautiful the car looks in the after pictures.


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## 1999grad (Oct 10, 2008)

By the way, spooky reflections in this picture...


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## caledonia (Sep 13, 2008)

^^^ No spooky reflection just my bald napper in the shot.:lol::lol:
:thumb:


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## RandomlySet (Jul 10, 2007)

seen this at Edition. Was talking to Dave a lot, and he was telling me how bad it was before you corrected it


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## mellowfellow (Jul 11, 2009)

How long in total amount of hours did it all take ? And if i could be so bold or cheeky to ask how much a detail like this would cost please ? Pm me if you do not want to reply in thread . thanks . Loved the scratch repair section , just shows what can be achieved with time , patience and skill without having to resort to a bodyshop or indeed a full respray as i bet thousands of folk would do just looking at amount of damage the key caused. Totally awesome work guys well done and congratulations on the award.


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## badly_dubbed (Dec 11, 2008)

mellowfellow said:


> How long in total amount of hours did it all take ? And if i could be so bold or cheeky to ask how much a detail like this would cost please ? Pm me if you do not want to reply in thread . thanks . Loved the scratch repair section , just shows what can be achieved with time , patience and skill without having to resort to a bodyshop or indeed a full respray as i bet thousands of folk would do just looking at amount of damage the key caused. Totally awesome work guys well done and congratulations on the award.


iirc about 50 man hours between the 4 of us


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## amcfad (May 22, 2009)

Fantastic work once again ! i'm begining to think (not to take anything away from the obvious hard work and skill involved) that megs 205 is a must have !
It just seems that it is a cure all ills when used in the correct manner/hands :thumb:


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## caledonia (Sep 13, 2008)

Where 205 as you rightly say can cure most issues, By its flexibility and understanding the product fully.
The major player is 105. The flexibility within this product is truly amazing. Yes its an extremely heavy cutting compound but has so many hidden depths, and a vast array of working techniques.
Gordon.


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## MK1Campaign (Mar 27, 2007)

Thats the best scratch repair ive seen done on here.
Excellent work.


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## RefinedDetails (Dec 17, 2006)

looks brilliant, great scratch removal. loving the wheel setup on the Lupo.


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## 03OKH (May 2, 2009)

Cant really add anything that hasnt been said but  

Cracking informative and helpful write up to many I'm sure. Specially the scratches. :thumb:

Tony


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

Thanks all for the kind words 



mellowfellow said:


> How long in total amount of hours did it all take ? And if i could be so bold or cheeky to ask how much a detail like this would cost please ? Pm me if you do not want to reply in thread . thanks . Loved the scratch repair section , just shows what can be achieved with time , patience and skill without having to resort to a bodyshop or indeed a full respray as i bet thousands of folk would do just looking at amount of damage the key caused. Totally awesome work guys well done and congratulations on the award.


Not cheeky at all. This detail cost the owner the grand sum of £150 - the same cost as for all of our tuition details, less expensive than a full detail as when doing a tuition detail, the owner is playing a part in the work. That, and I really enjoy wlorkng with people on detailing so I make them cheaper 

As above, all in about 50 man hours went into this car.


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## Rowan83 (Aug 21, 2007)

Another awesome job guys, you are masters!! :thumb:


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## The Cueball (Feb 8, 2007)

Quality work guys.... 

I use the paints4u kits as well....always find them to match the car colour very well!

:thumb:


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## Mark M (Nov 29, 2006)

Simply stunning work by all involved!!!

Excellent write up detailing what was done, and quite beneficial to the forum.

Funnily enough I have a scratch to sort on my sisters car...off to paints for you, thanks for answering that question in the thread


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## ALANSHR (Jun 29, 2007)

Fantastic Dave, very informative and useful as always, well done. Not sure about the wet look tyres but each to their own though do like the wheels combo.


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## Christian6984 (Dec 20, 2007)

brilliant, some amazing work there.


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## scottgm (Dec 27, 2009)

WOW... Scratch? What scratch?


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## Marcus_RS4 (Jan 21, 2008)

Does anyone fancy fancy their chances at similar to my RS4 in Surrey? It got keyed over the holidays   

I do all of my own detailing normally, to G220 level, but this just scares me!

PM me? 

Thanks,

Marcus


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## badly_dubbed (Dec 11, 2008)

hmmm wee update on this car as it sits now.


















































apparent engine conversion planned and new colourscheme and wheels

dont know much about it myself though


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## truss (May 4, 2009)

thats the same car and colour as mine, and i have to say ive never seen black magic look so good!
That is now an inspiration to me!
Anyone know if the owner has a spec/build blog on any of the forums?


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## GeeTeeEye (Oct 29, 2009)

excellent guide, have bookmarked this.


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## Scott2 (Jan 4, 2009)

I SO wish I had the chip on my door repaired like this and not resprayed (if only I'd have known back then....), as I've had so much trouble since with the colour not matching/being blended correctly - a year later and it's still not 100% match. 

Nice write up!


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