Paint Correction on the new (to me) 2006 Explorer Limited

[cl0udedth0ught]

So our 2013 Escape was getting too small to haul three kids around so it was time to get something else. When we originally bought it, we were not planning on having any more kids. Well...plans change so we had to upgrade to something bigger. We didn't want a huge car payment on something new right now so we got this and got rid of the escape. Pickings were slim around here for something around this age range and I actually drove to SC from GA to get this thing.


The first thing I did was remove these crappy chrome door handles they had on the outside. They were all faded and scratched to hell anyway. The bad part is they had really thick double sided tape that was a royal pain to remove. Ended up using goof off and a chick fil a gift card to scrape it off bc nothing else seemed to really be cutting it. Then used a waterless wash/wax from Megs to clean it up until I could do a paint correction on the whole car.

Once that was done I did a quick job on the headlights and fog lights. Wet sanded them, hit them with HD adapt and sealed them with SPNS. They really weren't that bad but I got them to look a little better.

We ended up going camping that weekend so the following weekend I started the long process of paint correction and old ****ty pinstripe removal. I must say this was probably the most difficult correction i've done due to the size of the vehicle and the horrible pin stripes that someone had tried to remove and did a really bad job and gave up.


Here are some before and afters....

-Left Side is before/Right Side is after

Before:

After:

Here are some more after pics. Sun was setting so not the greatest pics but I think it turned out pretty good.

 

[cl0udedth0ught]

Had more pictures but it limited it to 10 so I cut out some of what I originally wrote...

 

[bobditts]

that looks great! Nice job! want to do mine next? haha

 

[cl0udedth0ught]

that looks great! Nice job! want to do mine next? haha

If you wanna drive all the way to GA. Doing a paint correction on a vehicle this large sucks though...lol

Took me all day Saturday and Sunday to do it all and wash and seal it with SPNS once I was done with the correction. Could barely move my arms on Monday. Work was a bit rough.

 

[07EddyB]

I didn't know any of our gen Xs ever had chrome door handles. Is it a Limited thing?

Beautiful job also - nothing looks better or worse than a black vehicle.
That's why mine is white.

 

[Explorer_PL]

Looks great. Is that a Limited ? What size wheels do you have ? I thought they all came with 18" chrome ones.

What is SPNS ?

Never heard of that....

 

[cl0udedth0ught]

Yeah it is a limited and the wheels are 17". Could be that they were switched out at some point.

The chrome handles were cheap aftermarket things i think.

SPNS is Sonax Polymer Net Shield. It is the best sealant/wax you can buy imo. Just spray it on, wipe it around with a foam applicator and buff it off. Doesnt stain plastics either. It beads and sheets water like nothing else. You can get it from amazon or any detailing place.

Here is a video of a car with it.

 

[07EddyB]

The chrome handles were cheap aftermarket things i think.

That's what I was hoping. Some company somewhere created a real abomination there that caused you real problems and offended my (arguably) good taste.

I will help you track them down and justice WILL be served!

 

[Explorer_PL]

Looks really nice, so how did you buff it ? By hand or electric buffer ?

 

[cl0udedth0ught]

Looks really nice, so how did you buff it ? By hand or electric buffer ?

I used a Griots Garage DA with microfiber cutting pads to take the worst of the scratches out. I followed up with some Buff N' Shine Foam green/blue pads to polish the paint. Sites like autogeek/chemical guys have some good how to video's on their website which is how I learned how to do it/what to buy as well as a mustang forum I'm on. I used a product called HD adapt on both the cutting/polishing pads. Alot of products out there will have a separate product for cutting and polishing. For anyone interested in detailing here is a basic run down of what you do. I'm no expert by any means but I get pretty good results just from what i've learned.

****As with anything, google is your friend.***

1. Proper two bucket wash with grit guards in the buckets. One bucket is your rinse bucket to keep any dirt out of your wash water. Usually use a special wash that strips any wax/sealant you currently have on it. if you are doing a full 1 step/2 step correction
2. Dry using a combination of a leaf blower/ microfiber towel dry with quick detailer for lubricant to prevent swirls.
3.Clay Bar/Nano skin the whole car.
3. Run over the whole car panel by panel (usually broken up into several smaller sections per panel with the cutting pads followed by the polishing pads on your preferred buffer.) As you do a section, you will have to wipe each section with diluted IPA(rubbing alcohol/water) to see what you missed or what you might have to go over again. This also removes any compound to prevent it from drying onto your paint and making it harder to wash once you are finish correcting the paint.
4. Rewash the whole vehicle to remove any left over compound.
5. Repeat step 2.
6. Coat with your favorite wax/sealant. I like SPNS as mentioned earlier. I haven't found anything better in the price range.


Here's a link to my buffer. It's not a professional model but is good enough for someone just starting out and beats alot of other entry models in reviews that I saw when I bought mine. Harbor Freight also sells an even cheaper one that is almost as good but is alot louder. My brother has it and it's still pretty good. I use a smaller backing plate them the one that comes on it though bc otherwise the pads are just way to large to fit in alot of areas.

http://www.autogeek.net/new-griots-polisher.html