08/30/2022
Had a lot of fun with the transformation of this red Camaro today!
The exterior of this car needed a ton of work. I had to make sure I could get the red to POP again!
All the wheels, tires, and wheel wells needed a lot of attention. The clear coat on the wheels had completely diminished which can make it difficult to clean them. Most wheels have a layer of clear coat over the metal, just like the clear coat over the paint of a vehicle. It’s important to take proper care of your wheels so things like brake dust don’t eat away at the clear coat.
It’s likely that the paint on this vehicle had not seen a layer of wax on it for several years! There were many light scratches, some heavy scratches, oxidation, and paint surface contaminants that needed to be removed. The owner even had an incident in his garage that left some heavy white scratches and scuff marks. I had to be careful when correcting the paint as some areas of the vehicle had little or no clear coat.
I spent a lot of time making sure all the small cracks and crevices around the exterior of the car had the dirt and gunk removed before washing the vehicle.
I then used a clay bar to remove the surface contaminants. This can be anything that remains stuck to the paint of the vehicle even after a thorough wash. Road tar, tree sap or spores and paint overspray are all common surface contaminants that make the paint feel rough if you were to run your hand over it. Clay bar treatment can help remove these surface contaminants and is a great way to prep the paint before compounding, polishing, or waxing a vehicle.
I did a light compound to this vehicle to make sure I wasn’t damaging the clear coat, but rather to help remove the oxidation and light scratches. After, I polished the vehicle and finished it with a synthetic paint sealant. A synthetic paint sealant can often give the paint a deeper shine and can protect a vehicle longer than some waxes.
Doing all this not only brought the red paint back to life and made it POP, but it will help extend the life of the paint on the vehicle!
