black viper gts paint cleanup with Adam's

[realityeds]

Thanks Junkman for videos on proper technique and helping me find Adam's:

before:

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after:

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light breeze on the "after" pics brought in the little particles that you see on the paint

 

[01sapphirebob]

Fantastic improvement. Doing the same thing with my '01 but decided to do it one panel at a time.

 

[blackandblue01]

Very nice work sir.. I have a shelf full of Adams products, love this stuff. You will never go back to autozone. Also if you like them on Facebook they put out a bunch of daily deals.

 

[Jeebs]

That looks amazing. Great job. What Adams products and polisher did you use. And how long did it take you?

 

[Junkman2008]

Outstanding job my friend! That's one hell of a turn around!

Fantastic improvement. Doing the same thing with my '01 but decided to do it one panel at a time.

Ain't nothing wrong with that. I work the same way.

 

[AZMotorgod]

Excellent work, what a difference!

 

[realityeds]

That looks amazing. Great job. What Adams products and polisher did you use. And how long did it take you?

I used basically three kits, the Adam's Brilliance with porter cable, tire/trim kit, and glass cleaner and sealer. It was multiple passes with the porter, I was too hesitant to jump right to the Flex machine. But anyway, green pad with severe swirl remover, orange pad with swirl and haze, white with machine polish, repeat, repeat, repeat. I finished out with Brilliant Glaze on the red pad then hand applied the Americana Carnuba. I would say between 30-40 hrs, including detailing the engine and cleaning/sealing the glass, but no interior (was pretty clean). The paint is not perfect, there are some deeper scratches, especially on the hood. But I'd say I went from terrible to above average.

*I forgot to mention that for the really bad spots, I used the three step green-orange-white with 4" focus pads on my drill. Also, I pre-foamed the car, 2 bucket washed, and clayed the entire car including glass.

 

[Junkman2008]

I used basically three kits, the Adam's Brilliance with porter cable, tire/trim kit, and glass cleaner and sealer. It was multiple passes with the porter, I was too hesitant to jump right to the Flex machine. But anyway, green pad with severe swirl remover, orange pad with swirl and haze, white with machine polish, repeat, repeat, repeat. I finished out with Brilliant Glaze on the red pad then hand applied the Americana Carnuba. I would say between 30-40 hrs, including detailing the engine and cleaning/sealing the glass, but no interior (was pretty clean). The paint is not perfect, there are some deeper scratches, especially on the hood. But I'd say I went from terrible to above average.

*I forgot to mention that for the really bad spots, I used the three step green-orange-white with 4" focus pads on my drill. Also, I pre-foamed the car, 2 bucket washed, and clayed the entire car including glass.

The stuff in bold is what anyone who reads that should pay special attention too. This stuff takes a while if your paint is really jacked up. There is no magic product in a bottle and you have to be committed to getting your results. There are multiple products on the market that will give you these results, you just have to pick a quality brand and follow the manufacturer's instructions to the letter.

The only thing that you did that I would not advise people to do is use a drill like you did. I know that Adam recommends that practice and he even has a video showing it but I would never advise anyone to use that practice. It is just way too easy to screw up your paint by accident.

I will have a video series up soon showing the Meguiar's Microfiber System for people with factory paint on their cars. This will be a much cheaper alternative as far as supplies are concerned and may offer better results. I can't vouch as of this posting because I haven't tried it yet but when I do, I'll be video taping the experience. Stay tuned!

 

[Jeebs]

Thanks realityeds, sounds like a lot of work, but well worth it in the long run. I'll watch a couple more video's before i attempt something like this and i'll make sure i have 40+ hours set a side. Maybe a rainy weekend or something.
Thanks

 

[Junkman2008]

Don't feel bad if it takes a couple of weekends. Everyone's damage is not the same so everyone's time will be different.

 

[realityeds]

The stuff in bold is what anyone who reads that should pay special attention too. This stuff takes a while if your paint is really jacked up. There is no magic product in a bottle and you have to be committed to getting your results. There are multiple products on the market that will give you these results, you just have to pick a quality brand and follow the manufacturer's instructions to the letter.

The only thing that you did that I would not advise people to do is use a drill like you did. I know that Adam recommends that practice and he even has a video showing it but I would never advise anyone to use that practice. It is just way too easy to screw up your paint by accident.

I will have a video series up soon showing the Meguiar's Microfiber System for people with factory paint on their cars. This will be a much cheaper alternative as far as supplies are concerned and may offer better results. I can't vouch as of this posting because I haven't tried it yet but when I do, I'll be video taping the experience. Stay tuned!

Funny you mention the drill. I knew it was an "ultra Flex" as in a concentrated rotary, so I set it on minimum torque (to not burn right through friction points) and lowest speed. In fact, on the exhaust sills, my cordless drill went dead, and at 2am with a long work day coming I had no interest in waiting so I got my ol' Gramp's ultra-still working-super crazy old drill... needless to say I had to correct the sill again when the cordless drill was recharged. I put swirls all over the sill because I simply had way too much speed/torque, especially compared to my skill.

 

[Junkman2008]

... I put swirls all over the sill because I simply had way too much speed/torque, especially compared to my skill.

And that nails my concern. Some people have drills that are a lot less dangerous than other and then there are those with a drill laying around like your old Flintstones version. You can attest first hand how dangerous they are. Since you never know what people might use, I tell everyone to avoid the drill at all cost. It is a paint job just waiting to happen and you know that there are not to many places that can match the color of most Vipers.

 

[realityeds]

And that nails my concern. Some people have drills that are a lot less dangerous than other and then there are those with a drill laying around like your old Flintstones version. You can attest first hand how dangerous they are. Since you never know what people might use, I tell everyone to avoid the drill at all cost. It is a paint job just waiting to happen and you know that there are not to many places that can match the color of most Vipers.

I may be an idiot sir, but I am no idiot (for those of you that watch Family Guy). I tried Mr. Flintstone's drill on the exhaust sill only just to make sure, and I'm glad I did. The damage was very light, much lighter than even the rest of the paint I was attempting to correct. I was lucky my impatience only cost me more time.

In short, I won't do it again Mr. Junkman.

 

[Junkman2008]

In short, I won't do it again Mr. Junkman.

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Sometimes, I think I care more about other people's cars than they do!

 

[realityeds]

In all seriousness, what do you recommend for the deeper scratches? They're not fingernail catching so to speak, just deeper in the clear coat I guess.

 

[Junkman2008]

If your fingernail doesn't catch, then they will need to be wet sanded out. Now notice that I didn't say that YOU should wet sand them out because I'm not that careless. I'm just offering what will resolve the issue. I have a thread posted that shows how I do it.

 

[thompsonracing]

Looks amazing! Saw your post on Adam's Forum! Now you need maintain the level of paint quality by using the proper wash techniques!

The Adam's Focus Pad Kit comes with an adaptor for the Porter Cable and works great on the PC. Remember to save your Porter Cable wrench!

If anyone needs help with the Adam's Products, shoot me an email. If you order off our site, use the "Adam's" code for a discount. Make sure to put your VCA number, or mention you're a Viper owner in the comments section and I'll hook ya up!