I recently was asked to correct a very nice (but not gorgeous.... yet) Shelby Cobra GT500 of a very "orange peely" finish.

When a vehicles finish is described as having orange peel, it means that the finish is bumpy much like the peel of an orange. The flatter the paint the brighter, shiner and more reflective it will appear.








In my arsenal I has everything I needed to take this OEM finish to a much higher level. I have sanding papers and disks of various grits that I will use by hand and with various sanding machines to "level" the paint. I also will be using Meguiars W5000 wool polishing pad and the new Microfiber D.A. correction system to polish the finish to a SUPERIOR SHINE.

I have had the privilege to be "in" on the development of Meguiars Dual Action Microfiber Correction System for the pass three years or so. I can finally brag about how well the system works!!

 

The first order of business is to wash and then mask off the trim. Masking the trim will protect it from being damaged if a sanding disk or polishing pad were to bump up against it.

When I masked off the vehicle I made certain that I taped over the gap between the trim and the body panel. This will keep sanding slurry out of the gap and facilitate clean up.



After the vehicle was masked it was time to sand. I started by wet sanding the panels with 1500 grit sanding disks on an air dual action sander.







Some areas had the orange peel texture so bad that I block sanded them by hand with 1500 grit to get it extra flat.



The 3 inch dual action sander that is included in Meguiars headlight restoration kit made quick work of sanding smaller hard to reach area such as around this cobra badge.



These following photos I will demonstrate how I use masking tape to protect raised body lines.

I first tape up the areas that would be prone to getting damages by a machine sander.



Then I will proceed to machine sand.



I then remove the masking tape and sand the raised areas by hand.



The result is a perfectly sanded panel.



Here in the center of the quarter panel I did a test spot using only the cutting microfiber pad on a G110v2 with #105.

 

Here is a lightly sanded area where I just nipped off the peaks of the high part of the orange peel.



I will continue to sand until the panel is completely hazed with no shiny paint remaining. Here are what properly sanded panels look like.







When I completed sanding with 1500 grit I went over the vehicle again with 2000 grit sanding paper and discs to make polishing easier.

The entire process removes about .1 to .2 mils from the vehicles finish. OEM recommends no more that .3 to .5 of clear be removed. We fall well under the max.

Here is what the orange peel is now, clear coat sanding slurry on the ground.

 

The sanded finish can easily be polished with the microfiber system but I found it a little faster to polish it with a rotary first.

Here I use the 3 inch MF cutting pad on an air tool to polish a test spot.





You can see how crisp, flat and defect free the test spot is!



I proceeded to polish the larger panels with a rotary polisher.



I had my trusty assistant follow me with a microfiber cutting pad and #105 to further refine the finish and to bring it up to and incredible shine.






I love to use the 3 inch microfiber cutting pad to polish small area.

 

It is amazing how close you can polish up to trim and edges. Here I am perfecting the bumper that was polished with only the MF disc.





I sanded under the mirror but I couldn't get any of my polishing machines to reach the area. I used the 3 inch pad by hand and got great results.

 

After a bath to wash off the polishing dust and sanding slurry we see the results of over 40 hours of sanding and polishing, a smooth defect free finish.










Here is a reflection of my over head florescent light ...

BEFORE,


AFTER,

 

I have been polishing cars since I was about 14 years old (29 years ago) and this introduction of the MF system to the auto detailing industry is revolutionary!!! The results are fanatical!! I have never been able to take a finish to such a high degree of shine so effortlessly. The real test to the MF systems ability........ DIRECT SUN PICS!

 

nicely done sir. very informative and great writeup.

 

Nice write-up and great work!

Why don't more pro detailers use the Meguiar's system?

I have often wondered if there is any real benefit to popping for stuff like Zymol or Swissvax when they are so much more expensive.

Is it just a matter of labeling or are there legitimate differences?

By the way, I have met Barry several times. Nicest guy in the world!

Meguiar's would make a nice forum sponsor.

 

NICE !

How much would something like that cost professionally ??