# Citroen Xsara Picasso - Paint Correction & Protection Detail



## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

Well, this will be my first post in the Studio... and compared to some of the grand cars you regularly see in here, this family car is a more down to earth vehicle to be displayed! However, the car is someone's pride and joy, and I take great pride in my detailing on it and do like the opportunity to turn an everyday car into a head turner 

Products used and why:


Meguiars Shampoo Plus for cleaning the paintwork
Autobrite Supa Snow Foam for prefoaming the paintwork before washing
Meguiars Last Touch for claying lubrication and general quick detailing
Meguiars Mirror Glaze Mild Blue Clay for removal of bonded contamination to the paintwork
Meguiars All Purpose Cleaner (4:1 and 10:1) for cleaning the wheel arches
Meguiars All Seasons Dressing for dressing the wheel arch plastics
Bilberry Wheel Cleaner (4:1) for cleaning the alloy wheels inside and out
Menzerna S34A Power Gloss for spot correction of severe scratches
Menzerna PO85RD3.02 Intensive Polish for general swirl correction
Menzerna PO85RD Final Finish for refining the paint finish to a deep gloss
IPA for wiping down panels after polishing in preparation for wax
Valentines Concours Wax for first wax layer offering protection and a little extra gloss
Dodo Juice Rubbish Boys Jucied Edition wax for second wa layer and a little extra wettness as well as additional protection
Black Wow for dressing the exterior plastics
Smartwax Rimwax for protecting the alloy wheels
Meguiars Hot Shine Tyre Shine for dressing the tyres
Stoner Invisible Glass for cleaning the glass inside and out

The front end of this car had been resprayed so this was noted incase the paintwork responded differently... After washing and claying the car the paint thicknesses were assessed across the board showing average readings of around 130 - 160um, with the front end nearer 180um. Healthy thicknesses across the board and this provided good news as the condition of the paintwork required dedicated correction of severe swirls and several deeper marks.

Kicking off on the front of the car, the bonnet and the wings before:
































































and an example of some of the deeper scratches:










So first of all, the deeper scratches were corrected using Menzerna S34A Power Gloss on a 4" SFX-1 cutting pad by rotary. 4" pad was used to localise the area of greater paint removal to just where the severe defects are. Power Gloss applied as follows:


Spread at 600rpm
Worked at 1500rpm for a couple of passes
Worked at 2000rpm until defects removed or until paint thickness reduced by maximum safe amount for compounding

No attempt made to refine finish here, this will be carried out later. But the correction offered:










Still evident as RDS under the lights:










But with in excess of 30um of paint removed here, this was deemed by me to be enough paint and to preserve the life of the paint finish the above correction deemed the maximum possible for this region.

Next up was the general correction using Menzerna PO85RD3.02 Intensive Polish, applied using a Meguiars W8006 yellow polishing pad as follows by Makita:


Spread at 600rpm
Begin working at 1200rpm
Work at 1500 - 1800rpm until residue clear
Refine at 1200rpm for a couple of passes

To maximise the beauty of the paint finish, it was then burnished to a high gloss using what for me is the best finishing polish on the market today, Menzerna PO85RD Final Finish on a Rubbish Boys 6" Finishing Pad:


Spread at 600rpm
Begin working at 1200rpm for a couple of passes
Work at 1500rpm until residue goes clear
Refine at 1200rpm for two or three passes
Burnish to a deep gloss at 900rpm for a few passes

In action pics:



















The end result:









































































Moving onto the passenger side using the same products and techniques as above.

Before:




























Note below the styling line, the severe marring:










and also the styling line itself...










It was found that the sills and the styling line required Power Gloss, the former because of the severe scratches and the latter because the paint was found notably harder on the plastic. 4" SFX-1, SFX-2 and SFX-3 pads used on these regions for Power Gloss, Intensive Polish and Final Finish respectively.

Afters:



















Cutting right down to the door bottom, and the sill as well...










and the styling line:










Sill (note underside cleaned with All Purpose Cleaner):










More afters:



















Now the driver's side - note the severe swirling on all regions under the halogens:




























and under the Sun Gun:










Door bottom:










Sill:










General after, using the same methods as for the passenger side:










Making sure we are cutting _every_ area for correction (sill, door bottoms, styling line and right up to each of the edges...)





































And checking under the 3M Sun Gun:














































Lights were corrected using Menzerna PO106FA Final Finish. Before:




























After:




























The tailgate before:










After:


















(Reflections of the roof skylights in this shot as well...)

After correction the car was wiped down with IPA, and the first layer of wax applied: Valentines Concours.

Glass was cleaned with Stoner Invisible Glass.

Wheels were protected with Smartwax Rim Wax, arches dressed with Meguiars All Seasons Dressing (tyres to be done next day before owner pick up).

Plastics with Black Wow.

After pics of the car after its first layer of wax in the unit in the evening...


















































































Next day, the car received a second layer of wax: Dodo Juice Rubbish Boys Juiced Edition.

Tyres dressed with Meguiars Hot Shine.

Plastics received second coat of Black Wow.

Final wipe down of the car was performed with removal of the dust from panel gaps with a soft bristle brush, now ready for the owner to pick up...

Final after pictures, for once outside in the sun!!:









































































Thank you for reading :thumb:


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## alanjo99 (Nov 22, 2007)

Excellent turn round Dave :thumb:

& 

Welcome to the Studio !


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## -Kev- (Oct 30, 2007)

:argie:stunning as always dave:thumb: great attention to detail too.


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## saxoboy07 (Oct 20, 2007)

Superb work, some excellent photo's:thumb: Picasso looks brand new after correcting paintwork


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## GPS (Jul 1, 2008)

Looks awesome mate!

Off-topic...Is that a Grande Punto Sporting in the background in the workshop? Possible write up on that soon?


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## Refined Detail (Nov 27, 2006)

Great work! Some of those marks looked pretty deep to remove!


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## Trist (Jun 23, 2006)

Really nice work Dave, very glossy :thumb:


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## Rowan83 (Aug 21, 2007)

That looks fantastic, lovely reflection shots. :thumb:

Might have the try the Menz power gloss.


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## MAXI-MILAN (Oct 26, 2008)

Superb work , nice pictures ,Dave as usual you in the in the lead :thumb: .


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## Guest (Nov 16, 2008)

great work there Dave,

Paul


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## Petrol-head (May 26, 2008)

Great finish! I'm not a big fan of the picasso if I am honest but that looks excellent :thumb:


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## blr123 (Oct 26, 2005)

Nice work you did there Dave :wave:

Bryan


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## phil440 (Aug 19, 2007)

great correction achieved, makes a pleasant change to see a every day run of the mill car to undergo such a procedure top work


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## Paulo (Aug 11, 2007)

_Fantastic work as always Dave and good to see your work in the Studio

Here's hoping we can get my Jag up to that sort of level next Saturday.... I can hardly wait....:detailer:_


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

blr123 said:


> Nice work you did there Dave :wave:
> 
> Bryan


We all know who did all the hard work


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## caledonia (Sep 13, 2008)

Congratulations on your first studio.
Fantastic turn around and dedication shown to detail.
Good bead and butter family car with a very informative write up.
Top Man and looking forwards to your next studio now.

Gordon. :thumb:


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## Epoch (Jul 30, 2006)

Nice work Dave

You do get a super thick wetness from the RBOE


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## Bigpikle (May 21, 2007)

that blue looks a very rewarding colour to work with when you can get the finsih transformed to THAT level :thumb:

amazing final finish and incredible attention to detail as always


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## Bulla2000 (Jun 5, 2007)

Great work Dave.


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## Jim W (Feb 3, 2007)

Great work as per usual Dave.

Each to their own with the blue rear brake drums though.

Two coats of black WOW, for added durability?


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## Guest (Nov 16, 2008)

Nice Work

Good to see a people carrier get the treatment.


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## ahaydock (Jan 4, 2007)

Top work there Dave - looks spot on :thumb:


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## Offyourmarks (Jan 4, 2006)

fantastic correction and machine finish mate - a thorough job


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

Paulo said:


> _Fantastic work as always Dave and good to see your work in the Studio
> 
> Here's hoping we can get my Jag up to that sort of level next Saturday.... I can hardly wait....:detailer:_


I'm very much looking forward to it Paul, I love the curves on Jags so looking forward to getting a beautiful shine on them 



Jim W said:


> Great work as per usual Dave.
> 
> Each to their own with the blue rear brake drums though.
> 
> Two coats of black WOW, for added durability?


Yup - I do one coat and actually put it on a little thick and leave it to "soak" for a good 12 hours, then I put on a second coat working it in thoroughly and buff off any light excess (though there is normally little if any to buff, the product leaves a near dry finish)... This has given me a little better durability from it though even with one coat in testing it performs well for me


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## [email protected] (Dec 21, 2005)

A nice coat of Valentines! Now thats what i like to see:lol:

Dave and Bryan top work! Excellent correction on the Picasso! It was in a bit of a state too?:thumb:


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

GPS said:


> Looks awesome mate!
> 
> Off-topic...Is that a Grande Punto Sporting in the background in the workshop? Possible write up on that soon?


It is, and it may be in for a detail early next year... 



Epoch said:


> Nice work Dave
> 
> You do get a super thick wetness from the RBOE


Yeah, I noticed what seemed to me to be a little extra wettness from it - plus it smelled great!! 



Bigpikle said:


> that blue looks a very rewarding colour to work with when you can get the finsih transformed to THAT level :thumb:
> 
> amazing final finish and incredible attention to detail as always


The colour was amazing in the flesh - tight blue flake in it as well, so really looked the part when polished. Car was a joy to work on 



autobrite-direct said:


> A nice coat of Valentines! Now thats what i like to see:lol:
> 
> Dave and Bryan top work! Excellent correction on the Picasso! It was in a bit of a state too?:thumb:


Yup, was definitely in a wee bit of a state for sure - I didn't see the car before the pre-polish prep as Bryan did _all_ of the prep work the day before I started.


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## ghosty (Aug 14, 2008)

look stunning great work


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## geert dr (Jul 13, 2007)

That Picasso looks better than new ! Respect mate! :thumb::thumb:


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## tdekany (Jul 22, 2006)

What a cute little car.

The detail is top notch as always :thumb::thumb::thumb:


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## dazzerjp (Sep 3, 2008)

"To maximise the beauty of the paint finish, it was then burnished to a high gloss using what for me is the best finishing polish on the market today, Menzerna PO85RD Final Finish on a Rubbish Boys 6" Finishing Pad:

* Spread at 600rpm
* Begin working at 1200rpm for a couple of passes
* Work at 1500rpm until residue goes clear
* Refine at 1200rpm for two or three passes
* Burnish to a deep gloss at 900rpm for a few passes
"

Very useful info, thanks. This is similar to what I do now, but wasnt sure if this was the best way to do it. Some people have posted that they dont take it up to 1500rpm, instead keeping it at 1200rpm. 

cheers


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## Christian6984 (Dec 20, 2007)

great work as ever


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## yetizone (Jun 25, 2008)

Fabulous work, the finished car looks fantastic. Stunning finish.

Also - great to have the bullet point list at the start, naming and stating the use of each product.

Great for newbies like myself..! :thumb:


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## GPS (Jul 1, 2008)

Dave KG said:


> It is, and it may be in for a detail early next year...


Excellent, will keep me eyes peeled :thumb:


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## Piratez (Jun 28, 2008)

Good work, slow but sure, carefully corrected, cheers:buffer:


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## vauxhall (Aug 26, 2008)

Great work Dave:thumb:


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