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The Anatomy of a Detail pg2:

So how does GTA In Detail go about fixing the paint damage we saw on page 1?

Depending on the condition of the paint we will determine exactly what needs to be done. In many cases all that will be required is one polishing step via a machine. This will remove light to moderate swirls and marring and leave the paint looking deep, rich, and vibrant. We'll then follow up with a sealant or wax (on page 3).

Buffing paint is a scary process for most consumers because there is the perception that it is easy to damage a cars finish. In many cases this is true, however the right tools and a lot of experience mitigate this danger. The machines we use are designed to randomly orbit on the paint so that it is very difficult to remove more paint that you intend. Burning the paint with a random orbiter is unlikely. What buffing does is combines an abrasive polish (also known as a compound) with an abrasive pad to create friction and heat on the paint. As the polish breaks down a fine layer of your clear coat is removed (to find out more about clear coats click here). By removing the top layer of the clear coat the paint is leveled, and scratches, swirls, and marring are removed (not filled). Scratches are just fine indentations in the paint, so by leveling the paint you're left with that mirror smooth finish we all desire.

In cases where paint has more damage than light swirling additional steps are required. For example, many cars have serious swirling induced by many years of improper washing. These vehicles need multiple compounding steps to correct the paint damage. When a car requires more than one compounding step a more abrasive combination of polish and pad will be used to remove the swirls, marring, and scratches. The car is then polished again with a less abrasive combination which will remove any polish induced hazing and will make the paint appear darker, more vibrant and reflective. Any experienced detailer knows than preparation of the paint is 95% of the job. This is why polishing is so important. Here is an example of a car that has buffer trails which were left on it by an in-experienced detailer. This is often how cars are returned to customers when they have their cars detailed at dealers, or bulk detailers. The car was buffed with a combination of a machine spinning too quickly, a pad that was too abrasive, and a polish that was too harsh. The compounding step was not followed up on with a less abrasive polishing step, so while the scratches were removed, the buffer holograms remained.

 

After a polishing step the holograms are gone, and the paint looks mirror smooth. It's now ready to be protected.

 

Repairing this kind of damage can be tricky because it involves the sanding of paint. The chip or scratch must be filled with paint carefully so it can later be sanded and polished. When it's dry the spot is wet-sanded to remove any paint blobs or bubbles and level the spot. Here is an example The first picture is of the scratch filled with paint. The second is after sanding..

 

This spot now needs to be buffed to remove the sanding marks. This will take more than one compounding step, and how well the mark is removed will depend heavily on how well the area is sanded. If too much clearcoat has been removed the spot may require more sanding with a higher grit to repair, or in some extreme cases it may require new paint. Here is how that spot turned out. The scratched and sanded area is in the red circle.

 

As you can see the scratch is no longer visible - it has been completely removed, and the integrity of the factory paint has not been compromised. The spot will not rust, the repair will not fall out, and you wouldn't be able to identify where the scratch was.