DIY Paint Correction - It's not as difficult or scary as you might think!
Having very recently purchased a metallic black 2011 Jaguar XKR 175, I of course needed to upgrade my "wash and wax" regimen to Jaguar standards. I simply could not subject this beauty to my old "commuter car" techniques. Step one was going to be a big one: Turn the nice but four year old and moderately but extensively swirled paint into "perfect" paint - or at least as perfect as possible.
Heading to Google, I proceeded to read (and read some more) until I think I managed to uncover every possible method of making fancy automobile paint shiny and keeping it that way. The standard method is (apparently) to hand about $3,000 to a "master detailer" for a "full paint correction", after which you need sunglasses just to look at your ride. That sounded great to me, except for the money part. A one-time spend of a few grand is one thing, but it turns out that the cash transfer needs to be repeated every few years. Not an appealing option. Being fairly handy, I of course thought about doing the work myself. These elite detailers had plenty of warnings about that: Swirls, holograms, burn-through, overheating, and more awaited me should I attempt to mimic their art. Read a detailers blog and you'll come away with two broad messages: 1) A talented detailer can work near miracles on your cars' paint 2) Mere mortals need not even try, lest they create an even larger mess than they started with. But I decided to give it a try anyway. After much more reading, and some practice on an Audi A4, a Honda, and a Jeep, I proceeded to fully "correct" (detail) the paint on the Jaguar. I have this to report: It's actually pretty darn easy, if you are a generally careful and patient person, you have the right tools, and you can follow a few simple rules. This is not a tutorial on compounding and polishing a car. You can find dozens of people on YouTube who will show you their technique. Watch a few and you'll get the idea, except that the wide variety of power tools, pads, and liquids described will most certainly confuse you, and the seemingly endless ways of messing up will definitely scare you. That's where my method comes in. Below is a distillation down to a set of specific tools and specific tips that can provide A+ results with zero chance of generating swirls or holograms and a very very low risk of doing any damage. Those tools and tips? Here they are:
Other notes:
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...754f74e337.jpg Here is the parts list in detail:
If you have been on the fence about doing your own compounding and polishing, I hope that my experience gives you the confidence to give it a try. If you are a patient and careful person by nature, and you take the time to learn and practice the necessary techniques before you start, I am quite sure that you will be able to achieve really impressive results. While the tools needed are not inexpensive, and it does take quite a bit of time (about 15 hours in my case - I'm slow and this was my first such adventure), you will love the results, and it's much less expensive than taking it to a pro every few years, and very gratifying to do yourself. |
I find it challenging to show, in a photo, scratches and swirls that *aren't* there. Below is a close-up photo of about a 3" square of Ultimate Black metallic XKR paint showing a reflection up to a drywalled but not painted garage ceiling and one bare bulb in a recessed fixture. If there were swirls or scratches, you'd see them around that lightbulb.
The flecks you see are the metallic flakes in the paint. In the photo they look rather like dust. In person they are actually pretty - tiny shiny bits floating underneath the now water-clear clear coat. https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...eee2d5e65f.jpg .... |
I'm no photographer. This is an attempt to show nice shiny paint. The view is from the passenger side of the XKR looking back. All you can really see are reflections of the surrounding scene, which I guess is the point.
https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...5209006ee5.jpg |
Wow, this thread has not had nearly the attention it deserves! Maybe the mods can move it to the detailing section where more will see it???
Great write up and thanks. Not being one of those 'patient' people I still don't know if I want to tackle this job, but your paint looks pristine and my car needs this badly! After a while of thinking I could get away with that quick "commuter" wash that I give my other cars I realize that's just not an option for the Jag if I want to keep it nice. |
Very good post, and although our 'brands' of the equipment and paint correction products may differ, I certainly appreciate your attention to detail and tenacity!
I just purchased my 2011 a few weeks ago (ebony paint), and I've spent a full week...about 4-5 hours each night, wet sanding scratches, and using ultra-cut compound on EVERY SINGLE piece of sheet metal and bumper. It looks like it was only washed by those automatic drive-thru places. I resorted to removing the XJ and leaper badges on the boot lid because of so many swirls and scratches, I couldn't get close enough to the badging to get them. There was bird poop damage that also needed wet sanding, and now I have about a half-dozen little paint chips that need to be filled! That's my next phase of the restoration. Here's a little video clip showing a typical door...and remember, roof, hood, boot lid...every panel looked like this! |
It looks like someone moved or copied the thread to the detailing section - which I did not know existed since it hides under the cryptic "brand review" section. Anyway, thank you for moving the thread!
Originally Posted by Muddydog
(Post 1242712)
Wow, this thread has not had nearly the attention it deserves! Maybe the mods can move it to the detailing section where more will see it???
Great write up and thanks. Not being one of those 'patient' people I still don't know if I want to tackle this job, but your paint looks pristine and my car needs this badly! After a while of thinking I could get away with that quick "commuter" wash that I give my other cars I realize that's just not an option for the Jag if I want to keep it nice. |
Thanks for the informative post and great pictures. Great job, you should be proud!
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Thanks for sharing the video H20boy. That's pretty much how mine looked as well. From a distance, when well waxed, it looked pretty good. But when you got close, or removed the wax, all you saw were swirls.
One question: You mention using "ultra-cut". Is that Meguiars Ultra-Cut 205? It's supposed to be able to polish from 2000 grit, which right around where the Rupes Green/Medium polish sits. Did you follow the 205 with a finer polish afterward?
Originally Posted by H20boy
(Post 1242758)
Very good post, and although our 'brands' of the equipment and paint correction products may differ, I certainly appreciate your attention to detail and tenacity!
I just purchased my 2011 a few weeks ago (ebony paint), and I've spent a full week...about 4-5 hours each night, wet sanding scratches, and using ultra-cut compound on EVERY SINGLE piece of sheet metal and bumper. It looks like it was only washed by those automatic drive-thru places. I resorted to removing the XJ and leaper badges on the boot lid because of so many swirls and scratches, I couldn't get close enough to the badging to get them. There was bird poop damage that also needed wet sanding, and now I have about a half-dozen little paint chips that need to be filled! That's my next phase of the restoration. Here's a little video clip showing a typical door...and remember, roof, hood, boot lid...every panel looked like this! black paint - YouTube |
Originally Posted by j.w.s
(Post 1243489)
Thanks for sharing the video H20boy. That's pretty much how mine looked as well. From a distance, when well waxed, it looked pretty good. But when you got close, or removed the wax, all you saw were swirls.
One question: You mention using "ultra-cut". Is that Meguiars Ultra-Cut 205? It's supposed to be able to polish from 2000 grit, which right around where the Rupes Green/Medium polish sits. Did you follow the 205 with a finer polish afterward? https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...4ac0f884c1.jpg |
I think that the Zaino Z-2 is a polymer coat, not a traditional polish. When your arms recover, you might want to use a very fine abrasive to bring up the gloss even further.
Originally Posted by H20boy
(Post 1243736)
Yes, to both questions. Ater the ultra-cut, I use Zaino's Z-2 polish, then a sealer that you don't have to buff off. After all of these passes over the paint, I've had quite enough at the end.
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