Recently I have had local VA detailer Dan1 come over and show me a tutorial on a some skills using my Porter Cable Random Orbital buffer. I had some products that I used as well as wanted to learn ho to use this machine effectively. One of my other goals was learning about which products to use, and for what purposes. For example how to properly take care of clearbra, or leather, or black plastic surfaces, things like that. Sort of a detailing 101, not for the sake of being a pro, but for the just keeping up on my cars in a safe and effective way in my garage as a hobbyist and just for fun.

Dan did an excellent job showing me how to use my PC buffer, teaching me that in detailing often times less is more, and that you don't need a ton of all these different products (and there are soooo many out there!!) to do a nice clean detailing job. All you need are a few really good products which we talked about and just learn how to apply those few products properly and your set!

Dan is an excellent detailer, he is very meticulous, extremely careful, and very curteous to deal with. He is also mobile and very prorffesional not only with the car, but with the client. He takes his time and really focuses, and he can explain why he is doing what he is doing. He literally has an entire mobile shop and it's all so well labeled and organized, I was impressed! I'm going to leave the advanced things like paint correction, deep scratch removal, etc...to the pros like Dan, and I'd definately recommend him for all your detailing needs...I think you'll be happy!

Here are some pics:

Dan starting off showing me with an All-in-One product:



Then a couple of me (first with the AIO product and next applying the sealent glaze - using my PC orbital buffer)





Final Product:

 

I'm not trying to kiss your a-s... that is the last thing i'd want to do, but I will tell you that IMO Aston's probably have one of if not the best factory paint of any current cars I know of. A real quality hand spray job, properly wetsanded, polished etc. will blow away any OEM paint I know of with the two exceptions of RRs and Astons. RRs have multiple layers of clear i know for sure and that is the only OEM paint i know for certain does, Astons might, but either way overall quality the Aston paint is phenominal, esp. the super flake ones i like. Whether single or multi-layer you should have plenty of clear to work with over time and with a DA/random orbital you'd have to do something really stupid to f it up.

If you're going to start getting into doing that yourself, which really isn't hard and being your car u know you'll take the time to do it rt, the biggest trick IMO is quality polishes mated to the proper coarseness quality foam pad.

For pads Lake Country is very good, can get all at autogeek.net

For polishes I like to stick with the German stuff. Menzerna or Sonax. With polishes the abrasive is ground aluminum oxide and the consistency of how fine they are trying to get the aluminum grit for whatever given polish is the key... and when it comes to that kind of mad scientist obsessive compulsive thing you aren't going to find better nut-jobs to obsess over making it than the Germans.

You can get Menzerna on autogeek.net Sonax has a US Dist. that sells direct, i think in wisc. or maybe minn., I forget but can find on line.

You'd be surprised what a good even if mildly abrasive polish will do for paint. even if you don't think you need, like on silverish cars like yours a lot of times you cant see the swirls but they still trap light from blinging straight back and hinder the luster. A good real polish and then good top coat / sealant / glaze / polymer whatever and that Aston paint will look like you just dipped it in baby oil (don't go there).

 

It's interesting you say this....one of the very first things Dan mentioned to me when he did an initial inspection of the car (after I'd just washed it) was about the quality of the paint on the Aston...just like you indicated. He commented on how great the paint looked even prior to using the AIO and sealent products.

I also like the Menzerna products. I think one of the products Dan mentioned was Sonax. Right now I am using a Bekkers AIO and sealent until I am done with those.

 

Sunir, you'll have to share me the secrets of cleaning the clear bra. Mine still needs cleaning after VIR. Rubber is still everywhere! I have the same Porter cable that came with a bunch of products, but ive never used since I myself am afraid to ruin the paint.

 

Sunir, I agree that the paint on your Aston is one of the nicest factory jobs I've ever seen, zero orange peel and great uniformity of metallics, which is exceedingly hard to achieve. You really do pay for the small details when you purchase an exotic, it's hard to get across to the layman the level of attention that is paid in manufacturing these cars, and where the dollar signs originate!

 

For rubber on clear-bra try a CITRUS BASED adhesive remover (like "Rapid Remover", used in sign industry can find online) and a micro fiber or paper towel. DO NOT try a solvent based adhesive remover like the pink nasty stuff 3M makes.... if it smells like it could kill you don't use it... if it smells like oranges = good to go. There are others besides "rapid remover".

However, it is best to get rubber off asap b/c the oils and stuff in the rubber can stain the film.

I wouldn't try any kind of polisher to remove rubber on clear-bra, it will just grind the rubber in further.

Like I said in prior post here, with a dual action / random orbital polisher and foam pad you'd have to really really do something extreme and/or dumb to damage paint. It is all about heat and the dual / random orbital action of those are specifically made to avoid generating a lot of heat b/c the contact area necessarily moves around no matter how you hold it, as opposed to a straight rotary polisher that just spins in a circle... w/ rotary you still would have to mess up pretty bad if using a quality foam pad of whatever coarseness to damage paint, but a wool pad on a rotary you can burn thru paint in a NY sec. and u know how fast a NY sec. is??... Ansr. = its already over. LOL.

Experienced paint people - that I know anyway - use staright rotaries a lot bc they can get a lot of work done quick if you know what ur doing, and in fact many polishing/rubbing compounds are specifically formulated to work with that amt. of heat a rotary generates, without heat they don't do much. DA/Random orbitals on the other hand would take much longer to do the same amount of work if they'd do it at all for some tasks i.e. where a compound that needs heat is needed. DAs / random orbitals are however indispensible on dark cars for removing the holograms produced by rotaries in the more aggressive steps of polishing.

You can take a DA / random orbital with a moderate agressive foam pad and polishing compound and say if you are trying to get out a scratch you can catch pretty good with a finger nail... put the polisher on there with good pressure all day long and it isn't really going to do much.

I wouldn't be afraid of it. Just read the info. on the stuff and try it... you won't mess ur paint up.... "trust me"... no seriously.

There is a ton of info., tutorials etc. on autogeek.net and 3M's website as well, although it is pretty much a unnavigable behemoth of a site but they have full on thesis level stuff on polishing paint, paint chemistry involved etc. u just have to find it but it is on there (reminds me of a time I went on SKF's website to try and order/find a bearing i didn't have a part # for.... if you aren't a full blown mechanical engineering PhD forget it... seriously... go look at it one time... it is pretty funny, I'm sitting there with my bearing and caliper in hand like "duhhhhh!!!"

On clear-bras the DA / random orbitals can help with a mild pad and compound. Different brand films have diffrent kinds of top coatings / layers so they don't all act exactly the same but they can help get out fine scratches and swirls in the film. White vinegar too can help remove stains, blot it on and wash off. Some of the films can be "recast" by very precisely and carefully using a heat gun to raise the film to about 600-700 degrees, will remove scratches and burn off impurities and make it look brand new but really only practical for isolated areas and you kinda need a heat gun with a temp guage and I'd practice somewhere you don't really care about first.

 

Some "exotics" (and I'm not gonna name names) IMO paint is TERRIBLE. And one really famous one in particular. When its not messed up the quality is uhhh ok... but sooo many of them come off the boat so jacked up, bad color coverage, clear drips, huge chunks of dirt, you name it. And that particular mfg. pretty much just says "uhh that's the way it is, that's part of what you get when you buy one of our cars, if you don't want it tell the dealer, they will find another buyer don't worry.... the wait list is really long". I think some of the other exotics just have normal paint, I mean it might be a crazy multi-stage pearl that is hard to re-spray but the overall quality most of the time is just so so I think, and a lot times any paint striping and vinyl is just crap if you look close.... lots of other details close attention paid to though I agree. And that one particular mfg. I was talking about... it isn't just the paint, all kinds of things come jacked up on those cars and dealer is faced with addressing (hopefully addressing).... oh the things you see when you work around dealerships... you wouldn't want to know LOL

Some of the really small brand exotics i've seen some stellar paint, i.e. Koenigsegg and Pagani but others like a particular orange Gumpert I saw at SEMA and Essen, looked a third grader painted it blowing paint thru a straw LOL.

 

Cough ferarri cough.... Cough

 

Cliff, I'll take your word on the clear bra cleaning material, you put it on after all.

 

Sunir, it was my pleasure, had a great time and would love to do it again. You'll master the PC in no time!

 

I've also had Dan1 detail my vette twice and my GT500 once...he is everything Sunir says he is and more! I wish I would have met him awhile back so, I did not spend so much money on the product I have only to find out less is more....LOL! He will walk and talk you through it all and knows his stuff that is for sure!

I'd also recommend him and have to many people!

I wish I would have found Dan1 for my first detail on my Vette. I had some moron who bragged on how good he was saying he did Ferrari's at the Concours level. The guy did an okay job but, by no means that good. He left product on the car, scratches and other stuff. Dan1 blew his work away for less and knew what he was talking about. The other guy was full of crap!

+1 for Dan1! Awesome work and person to deal with!

 

^^^ Well said Mike! no worries bud...just deleted your double post

 

Thanks Sunir!

 

Thanks buddy! Excellent work, and great to learn from you. Thanks for making it such a fun and imformative afternoon!

 

Here is a pic of my car after Dan1 detailed it at his house...