This week I will be tackling the process of detailing my father's 1992 Jaguar XJS V12 that has been stored all winter. The paint on it is not too bad, just some swirling that needs to be taken care of. However, he also has a 1998 XJS that he had my brother take to a place to be detailed last year.



It is hologram city. Clearly someone with a rotary (but no skill or brains) went crazy with it and now there are hologramed buffer trails basically across the entire paint surface. When I asked how it got that way, my dad said he'd had this guy do the work and he didn't see the problem until I showed him nice shiny swirl-and-hologram-free paint.

Can I remove these with a PC? If so, I need a plan (in Prima language) on what will likely remove it. I have a yellow pad and I think I also have some Cut around here somewhere. Knowledge about the hardness of the paint on these cars is also appreciated!

 

Good luck with that, that's a looong car, I cannot imagine how many hours it takes to fully detail an XJS !!
I'm also curious, my dad has a 2003 Daimler model that is in need of some attention, and he asked me to take care of it next time I fly back to visit my parents...

Are those hologram as bad as you make them sound ? or is it just in a few areas ? pics ?

 

i wouldn't see why not. i would go with a moderate polish and try different pads before going to a more course polish. goodluck!

 

I don't see why polish and a PC won't remove them. Start with the mildest pad/polish combo you have, and work your way to more aggressive combos as needed.

Mark

 

yah, i would follow lotsie's recommendation if you're a complete newb.

i hope ML's not a complete newb...

 

Yeah I'm just worried because it's BAD and clearly came from a rotary, so I'm worried it may take a rotary to remove them. I'm not exaggerating when I say pretty much the entire paint surface is hologramed.

 

A couple things to keep in mind.

I polish with a rotary and finish with a PC.

The PC is used to remove any holograms that were introduced during the rotary process that I may not have seen. In this case, the paint is nearly flawless and the PC works like a dream with a white pad and Prima Swirl to make the finish perfect and ready for wax.

When the rotary is used with poor techniques and the result are buffer trails and holograms..you have a LOT more correction to do with the PC. If I were doing the work, I'd be using a rotary to correct the mistakes, then following with a PC.

That doesn't mean that you can't use a PC, but you might not be able to get it 100%. The variables are paint hardness and severity of buffer trails/holograms and most likely the end result will be greatly improved.

I would see how an orange pad and Swirl work using the techniques on my DVD. Working a small section for several minutes until the polish is clear. I would repeat that 3 or 4 times and inspect.

I might also try a yellow pad, also with Swirl although I know it's not the "recommended" polish for that pad..it's something I'd try before switching to Cut which has a different feel than Swirl.

Just my 2 cents.

Richard

 

Yeah, what that guy ^ said.


Actually, that WAS what I was gonna say... but only because I think that's what I heard Richard say before sometime...

 

If you're lucky, the holograms won't be that difficult to remove. Richard helped me remove them from my black roof last year. It only took one pass of Swirl on orange, then one Swirl on white. Richard said 2 orange passes to remove all the swirls, too, but I'm way lazier and way less of a perfectionist than he is.

I have no idea how 10-year-old Jaguar paint compares to 4-year-old Mini paint, so he's probably right when he says it will take more work than that.

 

Blimey- hahaha!

 

ML- so how did it go with the holograms?

wat did you end up using/doing?