Photos
01-23-09, 07:04 PM
#20
Lead Lap
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One of the tricks is to photograph your car on an overcast day or in the shade, such as beside a building or hill that blocks the sun...that's what I did here. It works miracles on the car's shine as the exposed sun is too focused a light source, so it glares too directly onto the car.
Depending on the brightness of the scene, this may be a problem with point-and-shoot cameras because of their small sensors. It can lead to slow exposure times = blurry. I use a DSLR, so it's no problem.
01-28-09, 10:16 AM
#25
Driver School Candidate
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Location: TN
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Bob, this it the description I used when I posted on autopia dot org.
Sorry if it is more than you wanted - but the simpliest answer would be 2 coats of Ultima Paint Guard Plus, followed by 2 coats of Danase Wet Glaze, followed by 2 more UPGP.
the URL for that thread is:
http://www.autopia.org/forum/click-b...r-wet-too.html
Well, this was my first full detail. I’ve had my Lexus E350 a little over a year and have been caring for it well, based on what I’ve learned at Autopia. There was some minor marring, I assume from the dealer, but I could have done some of it myself.
Part of my inspiration was the “Super Wet” thread by Detaildoc. He has the identical car to mine and I loved the way his looked. I hope I came close to duplicating his finish. I hope he doesn’t mind me playing off this thread.
For the process:
I cleaned the paint with FK1119 – This worked very well, but I found it somewhat difficult to use. You had to be very careful not to let it dry, but it needs to dwell for 5-10 minutes. I kept re-applying to a section so it would not dry. Then you have to rinse very thoroughly.
Next was ONR – just to ensure all the 1119 was off
Next I clayed with Griots clay. The paint was in good condition, so I really didn’t see a whole lot of contaminants.
Next I started test polishing. Here I was surprised. I assumed the Lexus paint was very soft and with such mild marring, I thought I could use PO106FA with a white pad with my PC, but that didn’t cut it (pun intended). I tried SIP with the white, again no luck. I used SIP with Orange and that was the ticket. I’m not a pro and this is my daily driver, so getting *almost* all the marring to disappear was fine. Next time I’ll know where to start.
Next I finished with Menzerna Micro Polish PO87MC. Probably not necessary for my level of work, but I wanted to do this step to add a little something extra.
Lastly – following Detaildoc’s routine, I applied 2 coats of UPGP, 2 of DWG, and 2 more UPGP. I’ve been using UPGP for almost a year now and really like it.
My thanks to all the Autopians that have helped educate me the past year and especially to Detaildoc
Sorry if it is more than you wanted - but the simpliest answer would be 2 coats of Ultima Paint Guard Plus, followed by 2 coats of Danase Wet Glaze, followed by 2 more UPGP.
the URL for that thread is:
http://www.autopia.org/forum/click-b...r-wet-too.html
Well, this was my first full detail. I’ve had my Lexus E350 a little over a year and have been caring for it well, based on what I’ve learned at Autopia. There was some minor marring, I assume from the dealer, but I could have done some of it myself.
Part of my inspiration was the “Super Wet” thread by Detaildoc. He has the identical car to mine and I loved the way his looked. I hope I came close to duplicating his finish. I hope he doesn’t mind me playing off this thread.
For the process:
I cleaned the paint with FK1119 – This worked very well, but I found it somewhat difficult to use. You had to be very careful not to let it dry, but it needs to dwell for 5-10 minutes. I kept re-applying to a section so it would not dry. Then you have to rinse very thoroughly.
Next was ONR – just to ensure all the 1119 was off
Next I clayed with Griots clay. The paint was in good condition, so I really didn’t see a whole lot of contaminants.
Next I started test polishing. Here I was surprised. I assumed the Lexus paint was very soft and with such mild marring, I thought I could use PO106FA with a white pad with my PC, but that didn’t cut it (pun intended). I tried SIP with the white, again no luck. I used SIP with Orange and that was the ticket. I’m not a pro and this is my daily driver, so getting *almost* all the marring to disappear was fine. Next time I’ll know where to start.
Next I finished with Menzerna Micro Polish PO87MC. Probably not necessary for my level of work, but I wanted to do this step to add a little something extra.
Lastly – following Detaildoc’s routine, I applied 2 coats of UPGP, 2 of DWG, and 2 more UPGP. I’ve been using UPGP for almost a year now and really like it.
My thanks to all the Autopians that have helped educate me the past year and especially to Detaildoc
01-28-09, 04:03 PM
#28
Lexucanafer
Beautiful work, samathews!
I use UPGP (Ultima Paint Guard Plus) as well, and like it very much. Last time I applied it was in September of last year, and I'm still getting compliments about how great the shine is. I was looking for something very durable since my car has to be parked outside year around. UPGP is not only one of the most durable paint sealants on the market, but it is also SO easy to apply - just WOWA (wipe on and walk away)...and I couldn't be more pleased with the results. I often put an undercoat of Meguiars NXT Tech 2.0 wax on the paint for extra lusture before applying the UPGP. Then I'm good to go for at least 6-8 months, includng harsh winter weather.
I use UPGP (Ultima Paint Guard Plus) as well, and like it very much. Last time I applied it was in September of last year, and I'm still getting compliments about how great the shine is. I was looking for something very durable since my car has to be parked outside year around. UPGP is not only one of the most durable paint sealants on the market, but it is also SO easy to apply - just WOWA (wipe on and walk away)...and I couldn't be more pleased with the results. I often put an undercoat of Meguiars NXT Tech 2.0 wax on the paint for extra lusture before applying the UPGP. Then I'm good to go for at least 6-8 months, includng harsh winter weather.
Last edited by Lexucan; 01-28-09 at 04:06 PM.
01-28-09, 07:46 PM
#29
Driver School Candidate
Join Date: Sep 2008
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Beautiful work, samathews!
I use UPGP (Ultima Paint Guard Plus) as well, and like it very much. Last time I applied it was in September of last year, and I'm still getting compliments about how great the shine is. I was looking for something very durable since my car has to be parked outside year around. UPGP is not only one of the most durable paint sealants on the market, but it is also SO easy to apply - just WOWA (wipe on and walk away)...and I couldn't be more pleased with the results. I often put an undercoat of Meguiars NXT Tech 2.0 wax on the paint for extra lustre before applying the UPGP. Then I'm good to go for at least 6-8 months, including harsh winter weather.
I use UPGP (Ultima Paint Guard Plus) as well, and like it very much. Last time I applied it was in September of last year, and I'm still getting compliments about how great the shine is. I was looking for something very durable since my car has to be parked outside year around. UPGP is not only one of the most durable paint sealants on the market, but it is also SO easy to apply - just WOWA (wipe on and walk away)...and I couldn't be more pleased with the results. I often put an undercoat of Meguiars NXT Tech 2.0 wax on the paint for extra lustre before applying the UPGP. Then I'm good to go for at least 6-8 months, including harsh winter weather.
I may consider using it in the future on my ES
Good work Mitch...
01-28-09, 11:23 PM
#30
Lexucanafer
To me, your new ES350 looked every bit as shiny as my old ES300!
Too bad the bone chilling wind cut our little photo shoot short, but as soon as the weather permits, we'll get some nice shots to post on CL.
Last edited by Lexucan; 01-29-09 at 10:40 AM.