Looking for professional opinion on how to restore my paint on 2004 cobra

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2004cobra616

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Hello Guys
new to this forum, have picked up detailing as a hobby over the last 2 and looking for advice.

Im looking for professional opinion on how to restore my paint on 2004 cobra its Black and was neglected over the years. Looking to get show car results eventually.

Quickly I will bring you up to speed on what I have tried on my own by reading. So fair only with mediocre results.
not sure if paint is damaged to much and perfect results can not be expected ....? comments

Owned the car for 2 years
winter of 2015 I cleaned clayed compounded, polished sealed and wax with blackfire products, lake county pads Orange and white respectively. I used a porter cable DA polisher. went from this


to this


not bad right but up close and in the sun it still looks like sh%&! was not happy with results and by the next fall it had so much marring on it again.

so this winter I Used the black fire compound and essence polish with lake county orange and white pads and added a layer of cquartz uk
and ended up with this


I fudged it all up by using a crappy sponge from autostore and bad washing methods which COREY has since straightened out my methods. It was my bad and i have since read up on 2 bucket method and using good wash mitts and methods on washing. Im learning. lol


Currently
but here is what im left with in sun light my hood and front bumper looks the worst...
Front bumper buy grill

hood




When I do this again Im looking to get show car results if thats possible with the paint on this car.
not just polish and take out the water marks but I want to get out all the scratches out that are possible to remove.

Im looking for professional opinion on how to get the job done right and what products to use.
After reading a bunch online i have an idea of what to do but i thought asking professionals would be the best idea before wast my time.
 
I'm not sure how much I can assist without "looking" at the paint...but your pictures show many different issues.

First, let's start with maintenance. (Kudos to Corey) Here's a little article on the "Two Bucket Wash Method"

Here's a vid from Roshan (IhaveaCamaro)
 
It's hard to tell from pics. I like to "see" the paint but...

Here I see Random Independent Deep Scratches (RIDS) and rock chips
20170514_202341_zpsaffdvocs.jpg


Here I see small rock chips and possibly buffer trails (center)
20170514_202440_zpssakcwlby.jpg


Here I see lots of swirls and a few small paint chips.
20170514_202315_zps9s5amsr0.jpg


IMHO Each item has a different "fix".

1) I personally don't chase deep RIDS - paint is thin and it's risky.
2) I'm a big fan of Dr. Color Chip - You'll feel like Picasso repairing this one.
3) Swirls and buffer trails CAN be corrected with your Porter Cable DA. Is it a 7424xp?

Anyone else have any feedback?
 
I agree with most of Merlin's comments. You have quite a few RIDS which you might be able to minimize visually, however you will likely not be able to fully remove them. It is hard to help these kind of questions without being able to see the car really. Where are you located, maybe there is someone close by that could take a look a the car with you and make some recommendations.

* Merlin or Tad we should add a location area under our Avatar for people to add a location.
 
KMG said:
* Merlin or Tad we should add a location area under our Avatar for people to add a location.
Click to expand...

The information is in the forum but is not currently displayed under the UserID/Avatar area
To view > Left click on the Users ID/Screen name (above avatar area) > View Profile > About Me
The forth item down is the users Location: Where do you live? (City, St Country)

For those members that have not "filled in" the correct Location: (City, St Country) information...
Click on the forum icon (upper right) > Private Messages (black bar) > Edit Profile (left column)
The forth item down (main window) is Location: Input correct information > Scroll to bottom > Save
 
KMG said:
I agree with most of Merlin's comments. You have quite a few RIDS which you might be able to minimize visually, however you will likely not be able to fully remove them. It is hard to help these kind of questions without being able to see the car really. Where are you located, maybe there is someone close by that could take a look a the car with you and make some recommendations.

* Merlin or Tad we should add a location area under our Avatar for people to add a location.
Click to expand...

I understand about not being able to see....
I live in rockford il. 2 hours from Chicago.

On the next sunny day I'll take a video and post a link which could possible show more than a picture.

Okay so the rds I should leave alone and live with.
I will look into the dr. Color chip thanks for the information.

There are two spots on car were clear coat looks funny. Not sure if it's lifting up but when detailing I just avoid that area and skip it.
 
2004cobra616 said:
On the next sunny day I'll take a video and post a link which could possible show more than a picture.

Okay so the rids I should leave alone and live with.
I will look into the Dr. Color Chip thanks for the information.

There are two spots on car were clear coat looks funny. Not sure if it's lifting up but when detailing I just avoid that area and skip it.
Click to expand...

As far as the Random Isolated Deep Scratches (RIDS) It depends, I try not to chase dragons.
I've had good luck with Dr CC 95% of the time. Sometimes it just doesn't stick? (kinda odd)
What year is the car? It could be clear coat failure?? Got pics?
 
On paint that is 13 years old I would try to preserve the integrity as much as possible. Without a paint depth gauge I would not try to remove the deep scratches. Use Dr Colorchip to fill all chips and Essence on a microfiber cutting pad to remove/fill everything else. I don't know if showcar perfection is attainable, but making it better is possible.
 
I would love to see paint measurements and know if panels are still original or repainted. Makes a huge difference. In many cases rids can be removed with patience and caution. Using a porter cable polisher, odds are slim that you're going to "cook" the paint. Again, measurements would be a great starting point.

Can definitely see haze in the pics which indicates swirls and probably some light marring. That should all come out but expect that you will be doing at the minimum two stages of polishing.

Maybe fixer or other compound with a foam cutting pad and see how that does. I suspect it will take more. If you can't remove all of the rids, I'm sure you can make a significant reduction just be patient. Polish, inspect, and probably polish some more. Finish up with reflect or essence or essence plus for some added protection on the gloss you create. ;)

Best of luck!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Merlin said:
As far as the Random Isolated Deep Scratches (RIDS) It depends, I try not to chase dragons.
I've had good luck with Dr CC 95% of the time. Sometimes it just doesn't stick? (kinda odd)
What year is the car? It could be clear coat failure?? Got pics?
Click to expand...

2004 as fair as i know there is no indication it has been repainted.
here is the spot that looks like clear coat failure. to the right of the phone.
 
I've seen many different reasons for Clear Coat failure.
Before I'd start I'd measure the paint with a Paint Thickness Gauge.
 
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