Verde Ithaca Lamborghini Performante Paint Correction Detail

The last time I was in Florida I had the pleasure to work on another brand new Lamborghini Performante. The last one I worked on was in really bad shape. Here is a quick before and after photo to show you what it looked like.

 

 

As you can see we really turned that car around. This one was in much better shape but still needed a lot of work to make it perfect. The paint on this one was a lot softer than the black one, but I would still consider it hard paint.

 

Swirls were the main problem with this car. The Verde Ithaca color will hide a lot of defects, but just because you can't see the defects does not mean they aren't taking clarity away from the paint. So when you can see a lot of swirls in this color you know it is pretty bad.

 

This first picture is to show that even with a streamlight LED light not a lot of defects show up in this paint.

 

 

Here we clearly see some defects from the owner rubbing his hand on the door when shutting it....

 

 

Since this color hides a lot it's best to use the sun to show the defects. Greg Nichols told me to wear a good pair of polarized sun glasses while looking at this car in the sun. I was amazed at how many more defects show up using this technique. So while I was working on the car I would work a section then pull it out into the sun and inspect it wearing my polarized sun glasses to make sure I got all of the defects out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see this car has a lot of swirls in the paint and they are really taking away from the color and clarity. Also in the black areas we have a lot of holograms. Although you can't see them in the verde ithaca areas I'm sure they are there. And again, just because we can't see them does not mean they are not taking away from the true color of the paint.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I started this car off like I do every car with a two-bucket wash with two grit guards in each butcket. The next step is decontaminating and claying the paint, then it's on to testing. I first tried a Meguiars Microfiber Cutting Disc and Meguiars D300. This combo did a good job but still left behind some deeper defects. After more testing I decied to use a mix of D300 and M101. The M101 added an extra kick to remove the deeper defects but the D300 also made it finish down really nice. The ratio of the mix was 25% M101 and 75% D300, idea courtesy of Bryan Burnworth. When I moved on to polishing I had just got a bottle of Sonax Perfect Finish from Todd Cooperider so I decided to try it out. It finished down perfectly and was very easy to use with a black finishing pad. I was only compounding the top surfaces so I also used Perfect Finish to polish the lower areas of the car.

 

This car had decals that ran along the whole car, so along with taping off my edges, emblems, and trim I taped off the decals so I wouldn't damage them while buffing very close to them.

 

 

 

While I was taping along the rear quarter panel I found the reason why I am so anal about taping off anything and everything, a BURNT EDGE. With high-end cars it is not uncommon to find a burnt edge or two right when they come out of the factory. Sometimes they are very hard to see and most people wouldn't notice them unless they are looking very closely at the paint, like I do when I'm working on a car. To prevent further damage to this area I taped over the burnt edge while working on the rear quarter panel.

 

 

Along with that burnt edge there was caked-on compound in many areas. This compound had been on there for so long that I had to go back over it and clay it a second time to remove it.

 

 

 

Here are some 50/50 pictures of my testing area:

 

 

 

Now we are starting to get some clarity and reflection out of the paint.

 

 

The deck lid of the car also had decals on it. I wanted to make sure I got every inch of the paint perfect. In order to do this I used a razor blade to cut my tape at the same angles as the decals. This would allow me to correct the paint all the way up to the decals even in the small areas in between the decals. It took a while to do but it's all about the "details".

 

 

 

The vents on the deck lid are a real pain to work on. I switched down to a three-inch microfiber set up and instead of stopping every couple of vents to apply more compound I simply put drops along for me to pick up as I'm moving down them. The tricky part when doing this is trying to pick up the compound with your pad while iyour machine is running without flinging it everywhere. If you quickly shut your machine off for just a second when you hit a drop of compound it will prevent this from happening.

 

 

When I was done the car looked awesome. This picture was taken inside, and when you get all the defects and grayish haze out of the paint the contrast between the black and green really pops.

 

And after many hours of polishing we now have swirl-free paint and really restored the clarity. Before the sun in the paint was just a hazy circle, now we have a defined beaming sun. I topped the car off with Chemical Guys E-zyme to protect the car.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Remember how I spent so much time taping the decals??? It was so I could get perfect paint even between them, and most importantly I didn't damage them during the process.

 

 

 

 

 

The black painted trim pieces looked so much better when done. These usually have thinner paint on them so I was happy with getting them to 90%.

 

 

And of course they now have great reflection.

 

 

 

 

I absloutly loved the seats in this car!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The pillars came out great!

 

 

 

 

I put together some side-by-side before and after pictures so you can really see how much clarity we restored on this beautiful car.

 

 

 

 

Thanks for reading!!!

wow, amazing work! Car looks fantastic now!

 

Look forward to seeing more of your work

Stunning car, very good work!

What maintenance is there that the owner can do to keep it looking good? Or is it just a fact of life that it eventually gets looking bad again?

Or is it just a fact of life that it eventually gets looking bad again?

 

Yes it is, paint correction is awesome and really can make the car go fram bad to good but it is just a matter of time before it gets worse again. Usually after the first wash it is going south.

 

Awesome work, keep it up, you are very good!

Wow! Great work and attention to detail! That's a gorgeous Performante.

Scott is this yours, if so looks great

Scott is this yours, if so looks great

 

That's funny you said that. I had a feeling it was his too!

Your work is amazing! Keep it up and keep posting these pics. Really impressive how much of a change we were able to see from something that didn't even look that bad to begin with.

 

Welcome to the board as well!

Yes it is, paint correction is awesome and really can make the car go fram bad to good but it is just a matter of time before it gets worse again. Usually after the first wash it is going south.

 

Awesome work, keep it up, you are very good!

 

Not really...if you have the right person maintain or use the right products you can go 6 months to a year without needing any type of correction. Or course you will have some little things, but nothing like the way this started.

Thank you everyone for the kind words and warm welcome. Yes, this is scotty's car and I am his detailer. Paint correction can last a long time (months to years) as long as you properly take care of the car. Improper washing techniques is the main reason for defects in the paint. Even with the proper techniques you will get light defects here and there but those can easily be removed with a light polish.

 

Here is another one of my article on how to properly wash a car without cauing swirls.

 

Murcielago wash process

Yes it is, paint correction is awesome and really can make the car go fram bad to good but it is just a matter of time before it gets worse again. Usually after the first wash it is going south.

 

Awesome work, keep it up, you are very good!

 

 

Not really...if you have the right person maintain or use the right products you can go 6 months to a year without needing any type of correction. Or course you will have some little things, but nothing like the way this started.

 

Washed correctly ( 2 bucket method) and dried correctly ( blower) the finish should last quite a long time. Reapplying a wax or sealer and removing with a quality micro-fiber towel will reduce the risk of marring.

Sure a proper wash makes it last longer. I just don't have the time or feel like washing my cars for hours every week. I just use a car wash with nothing else than pressurized water, no brushes or stuff like that. End result is so-so but it takes 7 minutes = more time for trying to get laid and drink alcohol = win

Washed correctly ( 2 bucket method) and dried correctly ( blower) the finish should last quite a long time. Reapplying a wax or sealer and removing with a quality micro-fiber towel will reduce the risk of marring.

But how often do you have to do this? Is this a every time wash technique? Ill take the time to really detail my cars a few times a year, but I cant justify a long process every time.