How do you see drastic improvements? When you take a car that has been neglected, gone through bad washes and has been parked outside in the open for a year. This Mazda 3 is an excellent example of all these traits.
When I first saw the vehicle, I knew that a two step compound and polish process will be the least required to restore the paint of the vehicle. Look at the swirled and literally faded finish of the paint! One of the major fears I had was that the paint may have been oxidized to the point that even the slightest polishing may totally remove the clear coat on the vehicle.
Notice in the pictures above, you can’t even see the sun clearly on the paint. Crazy, right? Also, the surface was rough and required a full clay bar treatment which removes above surface decontaminate which is essential prior to any paint correction if the vehicle isn’t smooth and free of contamination.
Luckily, after doing a test spot, I found that the car could be drastically improved without wet sanding or, worst case scenario, re-painting the entire vehicle! First the vehicle was compounded to remove some of the deeper scratches and swirls and since compounding in itself creates fine scratches and swirls, the vehicle was then polished to further enhance the gloss and remove compounding swirls.
Is the vehicle perfect? No. Is it glossy, smooth and looks stellar? Yes. Sometimes a two step process can be a great solution, even for vehicles that may seem beyond remedy. A vehicle with better paint condition would look even better with this process. Have you gotten your vehicle treated through a dedicated two step compound and polish process? Comment and let us know.