Flawed

Complete newbie to polishing. I have been watching "Chemical Guys" on youtube, who do great work in restoring and maintaining cars from top-to-bottom.

I have been watching some of their polishing videos, such as this one.


And feel like I got a good idea of how to do it now based off some loose research.

Does anyone with experience have any tips or tricks?

For example, I remember reading a post here about polishing wax, a member noted that polishing left some white residue in-between the cracks of the cars exterior. How do you avoid that? Can you clean it off easily?

What are some does and do not's?

AZN Optics

Suggest taking a look at all the information posted by professional detailers here: http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/

Lots of videos posted by Mike Philips that are very good viewing as well.

Technique advise will depend a lot on machine and product as well.

shotgun_banjo

Make sure not to overheat the panel by continuously moving your polisher and ALWAYS have it wet. Do not crank the speed too much I will say 2.5-3.5 is okay (if th dial goez from 1-8). Take your time and dont rush things. This will take practice so better be patient. It would be good to have a spray bottle for making the panel damp while polishing.If you can find the 3M polishers buy the blue, white and gray tip bottles.

nelson g

Chemical Guy's products are great, watch the video on how to choose a pad. The right pad with the right product is very important. I use a Porter Cable and Chemical Guys hexagon pads, they will not burn your paint. Remember Mercedes paint is consider harder than others so the pad you choose will help give you a great finish product. I use their swirl and scratch to buff and polish the car. Then I use their Jet Seal 109 to seal the car, it will last a year. Then I finish off with Black Luminous Glow Infusion for Black Cars. The car looks great in the end.

Nelsom

tofu-

visit the autogeek forums. get past the cult-ish following toward certain products and the biased sponsor reviews, and there's some pretty good info there.

Flawed

I originally purchased this 7" 200-3350 rpm DrillMaster at local tools store.

http://www.harborfreight.com/sanderp...eed-60626.html

It looked nice and was very comfortable to hold. And I figured RPM's didn't really need to be that high anyway.

I called the ChemicalGuys number to find out what size Hex pads to get and they told me I needed an 8" pad for my 7" backing (can anyone confirm this?). Unfortunately they don't have any Hex pads in 8", and I really wanted to use this one based on research so I went back to where I bought the polisher to look for a smaller backing plate. They didn't have one in the store and I didn't feel like ordering something online so I just bought another polisher with a 6" backing.

This one is 6", 2,000-6,400 RPM, dual action, orbital, and for only $27.00 more.

http://www.harborfreight.com/6-in-va...her-69924.html




I feel very ify about taking this thing to my car at full speed. Might take you guys up on that 2-3.5 rpm advice.

Also purchased some v36, v38, Jet Seal 109, and a variety of Hex & micro pads from ChemicalGuys.

P.S. How often do you polish? How long does it last?

w204_Generic

Yeah just make sure you are always moving the machine thoroughly. Never stop in one area of the car for long, keep it moving is the most important for no damage.

tofu-

i would not recommend these polishers, nor would i recommend chemical guys pads. There is so much info available related to beginner detailing that it would be inefficient to type it all out. It's not an inexpensive venture, nor is it something that can be picked up over a weekend.

As i said earlier, visit a detailing forum for good advice.

by the way, RPM on a DA vs. rotary polisher are completely different.

tofu-

you could basically put any of the DAs on the market right now at full speed and let it sit on one spot of paint for 15 minutes without it permanently damaging anything. your foam pad would smoke and fly off the velcro backing before you did any moderate damage to the clear coat.

w204_Generic

I dare you to do that to your paint and would love to see your astonished look on your face. Sure, it may not do much damage or none at all, but it is very likely for damage to occur. I'd say about 80% of the time minor or major damage will be the result.

tofu-

"sure it may not do much damage"
"sure it may not do any damage at all"
"80% of the time minor damage will be the result"
"80% of the time major damage will be the result"




pick one. your argument will appear stronger.



edit: and before you throw out more theory, yes, i am aware you'd be basically dry polishing after a couple minutes. even then, your foam pad would do nothing more than mar the paint. you won't be burning, over abrading, or twisting any clear. these low power DAs are basically fool proof. Even with a flex or rupes, considering the long throw, you'd have a hard time doing any damage to a flat surface.

splinter

+1 Yeah the GF got a Griot’s 5.5” DA and Lake Country pads (orange, blue and white) from Autogeek after watching me invest too much time in detailing forums.
OCD much?

The results from a full day of cleaning, correction, polishing and applying a protective top coat are remarkable indeed.
It’s time consuming to be sure, but “have fun in your garage” proved to be the case.

And I always thought my cars were clean and shiny before giving real detailing a go. :)

w204_Generic

People love to argue, don't they?

Anyway's you are telling me to make up my mind when you clearly stated that "all of a sudden" the paint will be damaged after 15 minutes of full speed use in one region of the car? Can you please point me to the logic there....

I would love to see you create a video that consists of you buffing your car in one region of the paint for longer than 15 minutes? As you claim...and get back with me about the results.

Glad you brought up dry buffing. Notice how you explained that you would have a HARD time doing any damage.....This statement is quite ironic how at first, you said it was not possible to damage the car....Now you are saying it's HARD.

Dry buffing will leave the paint in the same condition as it was before polishing or worse. So I have no idea what you are even discussing here. Stop giving members false information. You could leave it with heavy micromarring if you are using an aggressive pad. However, if you stick with polishing pads, you'll REDUCE the risk of major damage.


Supportive Links:

http://www.eastwood.com/blog/eastwoo...ng-auto-paint/

http://www.prestaproducts.com/presta...px?ArticleID=6

http://www.carsdirect.com/car-mainte...and-techniques

http://www.wheelwoolies.com/blog/bid...o-For-Your-Car

http://paintcarendetailing.com/polishing.html

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...sequences.html

I would like to say again, for you to STOP giving the wrong information to members. You obviously have no idea what you are even talking about and act like you never even buffed a car before. Make up your mind.....


P.S. I can get more links if you desire.....

tofu-

I see the problem. You aren't familiar with the difference between a DA and rotary buffer. I'll forgive your ignorance. We all have to start somewhere.

I'm not suggesting the OP leave a buffer of any kind in one spot for 15 minutes. I'm actually not sure under what circumstances that would ever happen. In order to damage his paint beyond minor marring or microscratches with any kind of DA due to HEAT, he'd have to really go out of his way. Funny thing is, on these consumer oriented DA's, you can't even put much weight on them before the motor calls it quits. As i said before, you're never ever going to burn clear or strip it down to the basecoat with a DA unless you're sitting on a sharp edge.

I'm not going to record a 15-20 minute video of me buffing a single spot on my car. I don't really care enough to appease you.

I suggest reading up on techniques, safety, and differences on some more detailing oriented forums. Maybe handle both machines in person. Good luck

tofu-

I conceded to this. Thank you for reiterating it.

Yes, dry buffing with a DA will mar your paint. Easy to fix if you make this mistake, but it's not likely to happen unless you go out of your way to try.

No, even while dry buffing, you still won't burn through any clear with a DA before your arm gets too tired to hold up the machine.

w204_Generic

Did you not read the supportive links I provided for your incoherent thoughts of the topic? You will get your answer.

If you're not suggesting him to buff in one spot? Than why in the great minds did you bring up the fact that it will leave no damage at all? To me that looks like it is giving him the "okay" to perform this task.....You switch thought quickly of "its bad to do" "its safe to do," but I yet see any links to accommodate your hypothesis.....Are we supposed to take advice from someone with 51 posts? Let alone asking questions on another thread about tail lights you don't even know which tail lights come on which model W204?

Exactly, you won't record it as well as won't appease me, because you know the consequences for leaving the buffer in one region of the car. Did I ever say pressure was an issue? You are bringing this into consideration now as well as leaving a buffer in on spot. You assume way to much for a newbie member.

I suggest you read the links and I'll gladly post more for your interest. Some people just can't comprehend the true way to buff a car. I would love to see a close up picture of your car, and let's see the beautiful work of art, known as swirl marks and scratches.

tofu-

skimmed your links, most are irrelevant information pertaining to rotary polishers. The other half are just modified versions of the same text.

No one is going to recommend someone leave a polisher in the same spot. It's flat out stupid. I was merely giving the OP confidence that if for some reason someone held a gun to his head and said "POLISH THIS SPOT FOR 15 MINUTES!", he's not going to have any irreversible damage.

To a normal intelligent person, this would be interpreted as "Well, I guess I don't have to worry about moving the machine too slow because I probably won't screw anything up."

You on the other hand are being a huge drama queen about the whole thing.

Enough of this nonsense. The tail light thread is more interesting.

AZN Optics

Yup. Word of warning though... detailing OCD is a slippery slope... you might start off shopping for a simple soap and end up like me lol:



And btw, I prefer Lake Country pads over Chemical Guys. I've tried both. Surbuf pads are good for hard mercedes paint correction from what I've found, but if I was starting from scratch, I'd go with the new microfiber system instead of traditional foam/wool.

w204_Generic

Thus is why I go back and say 80% of the time.
20% of non-damage to occur.

The reason my I'm acting like, or your childish and immature comment of "drama queen," is due to the fact that I have to get it through your numb skull to stop deceiving members to work slowly, but rather work at a medium to fast pace.

This nonsense wouldn't have started if you never posted unrelated material based on your opinion with no supportive, yet informative material.

In the end, do not stay in one region of the car too long; that is all I wanted to get across...there is no point/need to challenge this well known theory,

tofu-

here, someone saved us some time:
too bad he didn't go the full 15 minutes. then again, the pad probably would have self destructed by then

w204_Generic

Sure, we can trust some dude making a YouTube Video? Let alone the Disclaimer he puts in the description of the video that tells Novices not to use these product in combination......also the fact that it is the incorrect way to polish a car as stated by himself.

Anyways it's getting late....I can't wait to see some more nonsense when I wake up tomorrow morning...oh boy...

AZN Optics

Junkman is legit, but it's a bit misleading using that video to make that point.... he's using a Porter Cable which disengaged the drive with anything more than minor pressure so it's not really spinning which is why he can leave it on for 15 minutes. It's not spinning, thus not generating heat. That's what makes the 7424xp such a great beginner machine because of that safety mechanism. You'll quickly outgrow that though as you skill up.

tofu-

it's clearly spinning in that video, but yes it does significantly slow down when pressure is applied

AZN Optics

momentum, air pressure, variable pressure, vibration, doesn't matter... trust me, I have that machine, put enough pressure down on it and it will stop spinning. Either way, it's not moving at any speed fast enough to polish anything let alone generate heat to burn the paint with the pressure down like in that video. That's one of the feature of a Porter Cable 7424XP. Put pretty much any other machine (DA or rotary, and especially the harbor freight machine OP posted above) that doesn't have that safety measure and you will burn the paint sitting in one spot for 15 minutes because you're pad would probably be dry humping the car with the friction heat drying up the pad.

w204_Generic

Well said.