Ive applied the Amigo with my Festool RO and red LC pad. Max speed used is 2.5-3.
I left the Amigo overnight as I applied it at the end of day yesterday and I have just applied Driven AP on it.
Gonna buff off residue at the end of today and apply another coat tomorrow morning by hand.

Ill post up some pics tomorrow.

Thanks Dave, pics would be great

Heres the pics and process I promised you Matt on the Alfa GT I recently done.

It is a black Alfa GT which the owner placed an order for early in the year but did not actually pick it up unitll couple months ago.

The car is a solid black and had swirls all over it. The owner requested for the paint to be fixed up by the looks of it, it got a quick once over with the rotary by the in house detailers which resulted in holograms all over the vehicle.

Process was
Wash
clay
dewax
Prima Swirl w/ white ccs
Menz 106ff w/ grey ccs (rotary and RO)
Prima Amigo w/ red ccs (RO)
2x Driven Automotive polish (sealant)

Originally I was going to use Menz for the first stage of polishing but thought Id give Swirl a go and I was surprised at how well the product spread and the amount of work time it gave me on this paint. Was able to work it as long as the Menz polishes.

Here are some befores










After Prima Swirl


50/50


Off the buff










Amigo Applied and left overnight


1st coat of Driven Applied and left for 6 hours before buffing off


Afters


was overcast for most of the day but the sun finally came out






















Tyres recieved a couple coats of Prima Nero

Wow those pics are fantastic DaveXR8

Very clearly demonstrates the differences. Very well done.

Cant wait to give swirl a go.

Top job again Dave, your best photos yet
I'd say the only improvement to that would be the Glare system to improve the depth of the paint and add clarity but only by a small margin

Swirl has a shorter working time but it can be extended with a lubricant spray that I use

For Baboon

Prima Swirl technique with Rotary

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdMXT40FsqY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhBI7aitdxA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4i8BwK2OC90

I forgot to show how much I applied
I put two 10 cent piece blobs on each end (9 and 3 o clock) positions to prime the pads, applied a spritz of black baron pad lube and a tiny drop of Diggers Parrafin oil for extral working time

Thanks for those videos. I've learnt heaps from them so far. I understand the time limitations of youtube clips and time limitations for demo purposes but the message is clear and helpful.

I dont have anything against taking extra time on one area. I too wont be rushing the swirl process or any other process, I'll take note on your jewling technique and rotary speeds etc.

That last video of yours really shows how well swirl works only after one step. It really does make the colour richer and cleaner. Looking forward to using it as this is what Im aiming for.

Oh might get some silicone remover like de beer too.

Thanks again for your time. Really appreciate it.

This is my fathers MG F road car Hardtop that Ive done last week

Steps involved

clay
Glare Knockout - 2000 rpm and rotary with Orange Flexipad
Prima Swirl - yellow polishing pad - 600, 1500, 1200, 1000, 900, 750, 600
Menzerna 85RD - beige 8 inch meguiars pad
Dream Machines TRUE FINISH - 4500 to 6000 grit finishing polish and glaze in one
Dream Machines GTS 14 (guaranteed to shine) - paint deep cleaner and surface prep for glazes and paint sealants )
Removes all abrasive polish residue and oxide dust from the paint pores and entire clear coat whilst enhancing colour, slickness and gloss.
Makes paint as slick as water

Prima Amigo and Prima Slick with Flexipad Black pad - rotary and orbital
Left the residue on for 48 hours

** DRIVEN MARINE & DRIVEN QUICK SPRAY ULTRA STRONG MIX NOT YET APPLIED **

its like looking into a mirror Matt. Again, love your work

Holy crap Matt!! was that the MG that we were working on when i was up thier? Looks bloody brilliant compared to what it was before hand!!! awesome work mate!

Heya, how should I go about washing my car the first few times after I get it resprayed?

As always Matt, great work

Love the work DaveXR8 did too.

Yes it is the exact same one.
The hardtop was in shocking condition before I touched it, was like sandpaper and full of scratches

Thank you once again George, Andrew and Shav

Re: washing car first few times after a repaint
Go to semi waterless washing - it's the safest and easiest method around today

put 5 litres of water in a 10 litre bucket, use a synthetic or microfibre chamois as your applicator
Mix up your favourite car wash shampoo with water in a pump spray or one of those 2 to 5 litre pump packs (wurth make 2 litre ones that dont ever break)

Spray the panel well and wipe with the folded chamois in one direction using no pressure
Flip over to the other side and repeat
Continue to refold to a clean section and then wash out the chamois in the water

Here are two before pics

Well I finally finished with my wagon at 2:30am this morning after starting Tuesday morning. It was hard work and I dont know how you professional detailers do it everyday. I will never scoff at the prices for car detailing because you guys are getting underpaid for the labour alone!

I took a while to do the car, but I put it down to the huge surface area of a BA station wagon. Man doing the roof alone took me 6 hours! Also put it down to never operating a makita buffer before and getting used to holding the damn thing for long periods at different angles. I think I've developed muscles in my arms/shoulders that id never knew i had!

In the end though it was worth it. Matt, thanks for the advice of "keep at it" because there were times I got frustrated and tired and wanted to give up. I had my music going and beer and snacks to help me along too.

But the results, all I can say is WOW!

The process:

Wash
Meguiars Quik clay
K&H Wax and Grease remover
Prima Swirl with meguiars 7" yellow pad w/ spritz final inspection (600,1500,1200,900,700rpm)
K&H Wax and Grease remover
Menzerna PO85RD with meguiars 8" beige pad w/ spritz final inspection (600, 900, 1200, 1100, 900, 600rpm)
K&H Wax and Grease remover
Prima Amigo with Edge white pad (800rpm) then applied by hand over the top
1 hour dry time
Driven Marine over the top of Amigo(800rpm) then applied by hand over the top
1 hour dry time
Buff off with microfibre wipe
Admire work.

After thoughts

Claybar - I was skeptical about claybar at first, but this stuff is amazing. If you have paint that feels "furry" then use claybar over the top with some lube an this makes your paint smooth as silk and feels like glass. Very impressed with this. Picks up stuff I couldnt see after a wash.

Prima Swirl - This stuff is excellent for getting water marks and light swirls off the paint. Does a ver good job at it. Makes the paint look very clean. The only downside is managing the splatter and chalking. I have to make a note for the future that I do the roof first before I do the sides/bonnet/back. I did the sides first and when I did the roof last I got the spatter on the sides that were already done. Just added to the cleanup time. Must also remember to cover the windows with newspaper too, this just shortens clean up time. Mind you this spatter could be the technique I used.

Menzerna PO85RD - I really liked this product. It does very well after the swirl. Not much splatter and the the panels come up a treat. Cleans up the paint very well and makes it smooth as silk. I enjoyed using 85RD with the beige pad.

Prima Amigo - First impressions, this stuff smells like chicko babies, very nice smell! I enjoyed applying this because it was a nice wind down application, not too much effort needed (no break down necessary).

Driven Marine - This stuff smells of citrus. Applies nice and easy, very simple.

Makita 9227 - I love this machine. This kept going all day and night without any hesitation at all. Didnt get too hot to hold at anytime. I could almost guess the rotation speed by the tone/hum it emits. Very consistent.

After wipe down, man the paint becomes smoother than silk. Touches like a CRT glass tube. I have never felt paint this smooth before. I went to grab the door handle and slipped off, very slick. I am very impressed at the outcome and was definitely worth the wait. The paint looks so good now. Dont notice any swirls anymore. Only downside is that I notice the dents, paint chips and deep scratches more now!

Anyway, I'd like to thank Matt for the awesome products and assistance with this. I am very impressed!

Pics in the next post.

Last edited by baboon on Thu Jan 14, 2010 10:59 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Some before shots






After (final result of the whole process)







And a shot of the swirl splatter. Only real downside I suppose.



Overall Very happy. Now to do the windows and the plastics.

Yeah all those products are really good and as u can see the end result is fantastic. Im glad u praised the Megs clay kit as thier arent many of us that use/like them. I personally think for the money you pay they are well worth it!

And the car looks awesome btw!! I have all those products sitting at home waiting for me to use them as well, just been trying to find time to get the shed cleared out so i can get a car in thier!!

Good work!

Andrew

Thanks XRFan101!

I found the Megs quik clay kit good value too. I did work the clay for a while on each panel. What I used as an indication of smoothness was the resistance of the clay action across the body. At first there was a bit of resistance, even when gliding across the megs quick detail spray. Over time I got the clay to glide across the paintwork with ease. I could almost push the clay and it would almost slide a few inches. Once done I folded the square bit of clay and flattened out ready for next application. I found the roof and bonnet with the most contamination compared to the sides and back.

Those products were really good and have learnt lots from them. When I get the motorvation (sp? hah) I will try them on our other car too, a small toyota echo 5dr hatch!

Good luck with yours XRFan101, if your anything like me, I procrastinated for a long time and just said I gotta do it, once your in you cant turn back.

Good luck again.

Awesome, just awesome choc. I am glad that you called me and took my advice
The paint looks terrific now. keep putting driven marine on once every month for a few months then just use a good detail spray to amp up the gloss and protection

Thanks Matt. It was a great little chat about detailing and racing and stuff. It was nice to talk to the master!

Oh by the way, just got a message from a friend who saw the BA wagon parked up next to a new VE2 wagon and he says the VE doesnt even come close in terms of shine. He reckons the paint is unreal and looks like new. Its makes it worth while when you hear comments like that.

I'll apply another layer of driven marine soon, but just a question in a months time will i need to wash, clay the paint and prepsol before applying again?

Thanks again.

Choc.