CAR POLISH

Mustang Australia

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Offline rocket

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #300 on: December 06, 2012, 02:45:49 pm »
Roger Doger :evilone: I hear you loud and clear......ordered , now wait  :toetapping:

I will practise on a couple of daily drives then tackle some mustangs. Being this close to Xmas.  Flex will make a great pressent from the kids

Justang, that is great news. I believe the Flex will arrive in about 10 days.

Your kids are very kind to look after dear old dad with something this useful. :smile:

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Offline rocket

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #301 on: December 06, 2012, 02:49:31 pm »
as always Rod Image Classic Cars have done a top class job on Jacks car, I am sure he will be one very happy man when he finally gets the car on the road
well done guys, superb job
Sally

Hi Chris/Sally, Jack`s Mach is at the wheel aligners. Job done and ready to be picked up.

One more polishing stage to go, then a couple of minor adjustments before Jack drives it home.

You can expect to see Jack and Briar back in their Mach on Sunday at Lobethal. :thumb:

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Offline rocket

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #302 on: December 06, 2012, 02:55:17 pm »
At least i am not Robinson Crusoe.
My daughter confiscated mine so she could give it to me for christmas.
No mention of picking up the tab for it though!

Ahh.... Kids - don`t ya love em! :smile:

So which car is first to be polished? Your daughter`s car or your own ?

Rocket.
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Offline scedd1

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #303 on: December 06, 2012, 03:18:40 pm »
Thats easy - the  "Reflectionless" Hilux, then the wifes VE SS in Chlorophyl, then the daughters VE ute in Phantom Black.
After all that i will be ready to have a go at Frankenstang, with its 9 year old amateur Tiger Mica paintjob.
i will take lots of snaps along the way.
Should be done by Easter.
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Offline jusTANG

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #304 on: December 06, 2012, 07:29:21 pm »
BTW Rocket, Nice signature and Ranking  :thumb:


Offline Nobby76

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #305 on: December 06, 2012, 07:47:27 pm »
Here are 2 pictures of all the gear I ordered in 2009 while I was in the states living.

I went the Flex machine as the guys on autogeek were raving about it.  Obviously if I upgrade it will be to a Makita that I was recommended, but until this dies, I'll be happy with it.  The detailign bag was a waste, none of the products i bought fit in it, it's designed for small machines and bottles!!  The bucket has a grit guard in it, which is stuck there after I ran over the bucket and had to jack the car up to remove the bucket.


This is all my potions, Xenit is a great citrus cleaner, Lexol is my leather cleaner, conditioner, etc, Plexus for my glass/plastics, XMT bottles were freebies they through in.  The wax is Optimum Car Wax, a carnuba spray on wax that I have used for a long time.


All up this was about $8-900 worth, about what I would have paid for the Flex alone at the time if I bought it in Australia

Offline Nobby76

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #306 on: December 06, 2012, 07:54:39 pm »
A few days ago, I guy I work with asked if I would take him and his daughter to her year 10 formal today.  Knowing the car had been neglected since arriving in Oz, it was tempting to say no, but i said Yes and spent a few hours yesterday and today 'tidying' her up.  I originally only intended to fix the hood, but ended up doing a whole single pass with IP, and finishing with a pass of SP before laying down a coat of OCW

The paint is pretty poor and there are scratches that I can't get rid of, but she came out better than I expected and in todays sunshine, looked pretty good.

The 'Hood' scratched from sitting moving boxes on


After


Showing the colour quite well, and a great reflection in the hood


The orange peel on this is bad and has me tempted to try and wet sand her to see if I can improve it, the top of the side is like this the whole way down.
« Last Edit: December 06, 2012, 08:02:03 pm by Nobby76 »

Offline rocket

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #307 on: December 06, 2012, 09:51:28 pm »
Nobby76, That is an excellent Detailing kit you have.

Very nice job you have done polishing the Coupe. It has come up a treat.

I bet you made the girl and the father very happy today driving them to the Formal. :thumb:

Rocket.

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Offline rocket

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #308 on: December 06, 2012, 09:54:08 pm »
BTW Rocket, Nice signature and Ranking  :thumb:

Hi jusTANG, I figured the discounts would get lost among the posts, so thought this would be an easy way to find them, as well as show a bit of appreciation.

Rocket.
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Offline rocket

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Re: CAR POLISH - The Process on Jack`s Mach1
« Reply #309 on: December 07, 2012, 09:35:13 pm »
Jack`s Mach1 is now tucked away in his garage. You may have seen the finished photos in the "Time for an Update "Thread.

Thought i should add a few photos here and explain the process. The car was wet rubbed and then given a one stage compounding buff by Luke before it was brought to my polishing area. That compound Luke uses creates a lot of dusting, and so my job was to clean it up and then buff it up.

First stage of my job was to use an Orange ( Firm ) cutting Lake Country CCS Pad with Menzerna PF2400 Polish. Started with the Rotary, but quickly changed to the Flex Forced Rotation Polisher as it is so easy to handle, although it does take longer than the Rotary. Polished the Roof, tops of the Quarter Panels and boot this way, before changing back to the Rotary for the first stage on the bonnet. Continued with the Rotary to do the first stage along the sides of the car.

For stage 2 i decided to use the Flex Forced Rotation Polisher with Menzerna PF2500 Polish on a firm White Lake Country CCS Pad. Not a lot of difference between PF2400 and PF2500. I used the PF2500 for the second stage mainly as an experiment to find out the difference between the 2 Polishes. Result - not much difference. :smile:

By the time i had finished the second stage the car was ready to go to the Wheel Aligners, so it gave me a chance to check out the paintwork in full sun. Noticed there were still just a few scratch marks in the roof and bonnet, but not the sides of the car. This made me decide to use the White Pad again for the third stage on the roof, bonnet and boot, but because the sides of the car looked so good, i used a green finishing Pad down both sides. Polish choice for the third stage was Menzerna PF4000. This proved an excellent combination. When we took the car out in the sun after Polishing, all marks were gone and the car has an excellent all over gloss.

I would like the paint to fully harden for a month or so before i or Jack give the car a fourth stage Polish with the refining Menzerna PF4500 Polish. Then the car can receive a Sealant or Wax, depending on Jack`s preference.

Some more photos -









The following 2 are my favourites. Taken in the sun showing absolute blemish free reflections -





Rocket.
« Last Edit: December 07, 2012, 09:40:01 pm by rocket »
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Offline evan

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #310 on: December 09, 2012, 01:14:00 am »
Blu302, First stage suggestion is Orange Pad with PF2500. Second stage White Pad with Final Finish SF4000, Third stage Grey Pad with the UF5000.
So yes... In my opinion you really should use SF4000 - it really adds to the Gloss.
Hi Rocket.
I just picked up the wife's car from the panel shop today (small front end bingle) & the fresh Flex/Menzerna polished paint is showing up the original weathered stuff! I'm seriously considering buying a machine now as I can see it will benefit both the wife's car & the Mustang (I'll practice on hers  :grin:)
Like Blu302, I'd like to go for the Concours 900 kit from Waxit with the addition of the Menzerna SF4000 as you've suggested. Is there anything else I should be buying? You've mentioned spraying detailer on the pad as you go. Which should I go for? Anything else I might need to get started?

Evan.

Offline BLU302

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #311 on: December 09, 2012, 06:47:35 am »
Hi Evan,
Double check exactly which Menzerna polishes come with the kit you order - they seem to vary. The UF5000 is now SF4500. I've ended up with PG1000,IP2000,SF4000,SF4500 and SW Protect. I'm not using the PG1000 - way too coarse.
I washed the car with Citruswash then clayed my car with the Chemical Guys Medium Clay Bar and Luber lubricant then washed it again - already starting to look pretty good even before polishing.
Plan to start polishing today.
Love the Chemical Guys El Gordo microfibres towels too.
Cheers,
Bob - will post some photos when I get a chance

Offline rocket

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #312 on: December 09, 2012, 06:55:01 am »
Hi Evan, Sounds like your wifes car will really benefit from a machine polish. I agree - It will make a good practice car.

In addition to the Menzerna SF4000, you will need a good Quick Detailer and plenty of fresh clean Microfibre Cloths. Also Clay and Clay Lube if the car needs Claying.

Use the Quick Detailer to spritz the Pad before Polishing. As you finish Polishing each panel, spray a bit of Quick Detailer on the Polished area and wipe off the excess Polish. The following Link shows the Quick Detailer that we use. I dilute it by about 40% as i fill up each spray bottle. Makes it very economical to use. -
http://www.chemguys.com.au/Pink_Quick_Detail_Spray_Made_By_CG_Yes_p/wac_102.htm

Have fun. I will look forward to seeing your photos.

Rocket.
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Offline rocket

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #313 on: December 09, 2012, 07:02:59 am »
Hey Bob, looks like we both posted at the same time. :smile:

I agree, it would be good if waxit could supply the IP2000 or SF2500, SF4000 and SF4500.

Can you see why i like the Citrus Wash and Gloss? Even the daily drivers that we have not yet polished look good after using it.

Must get some of those El Gordo Microfibre Cloths too. We buy the cheaper Orange Microfibres from Supacheap because they seem to be Magic - always doing the disappearing trick :grin:

Looking forward to those photos.

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Offline evan

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #314 on: December 09, 2012, 08:23:23 am »
I agree, it would be good if waxit could supply the IP2000 or SF2500, SF4000 and SF4500.
Rod, when you say SF2500 are you referring to PF2500? Waxit doesn't list SF2500.

So, if I end up with say PF2500, SF4000 & SF4500, I should have everything covered?

By the way Guys, the best microfibres I've used came from Bunnings. They had a 1kg assorted pack for $10 & they're brilliant! I was told that it was a promotional thing so once they're gone, that's it. You'll need to ask for help finding them as they're not in the microfibre cloth section.

Evan.
« Last Edit: December 09, 2012, 08:25:03 am by evan »

Offline rocket

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #315 on: December 09, 2012, 10:54:19 am »
So, if I end up with say PF2500, SF4000 & SF4500, I should have everything covered?

Yes.

I am off to Bunnings :burnout:
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Offline evan

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #316 on: December 09, 2012, 10:59:58 am »
Hahaha, thanks mate!

Offline Nobby76

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #317 on: December 09, 2012, 07:13:40 pm »
By the way Guys, the best microfibres I've used came from Bunnings. They had a 1kg assorted pack for $10 & they're brilliant!

For those of you with a Costco nearby, the Blue ones they carry are really good too, Yellow I found just left fibres everywhere, so use them for dirty jobs like wheels, etc

Offline BLU302

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #318 on: December 09, 2012, 09:36:27 pm »
Just spent 3-4 hours on first stage of polishing with IP2000 Menzerna on an orange Lake Country pad.
99 per cent happy - just a couple of marks on driver's side mudguard. Thinking about using PG1000 on it next week-end. Hard work - I'm worn out.
The Concourse machine is good to use -I was most comfortable polishing at speed 4 -used 5 in some areas.
I found it difficult to work slowly at first but it was hot and the polish was drying out a bit so I was using detailer to keep the surface from drying out.
Took a bit of effort with the 6.5" pad on some of the more complex panels - could have used a smaller diameter pad.
In the end I'm happy with the results of a first time effort - sorry no photos - can't find the camera lead.
I'll have another look tomorrow.
Cheers,
Bob
« Last Edit: December 09, 2012, 09:37:58 pm by BLU302 »

Offline rocket

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #319 on: December 09, 2012, 10:42:40 pm »
 :smile: Hey Bob, 99%happy on your first polishing attempt is an excellent result.

Not surprised you are worn out because you are using muscles that are not normally used like this. That polisher gets heavy after a while when you are Polishing down the sides of the car. 3-4 Hours is more than enough Polishing time until you get used to it. On the second stage using the SF4000 on a White Pad will be easier, then using the Black Pad on the final stage will be a breeze.

Speed 4 should be plenty. Ever notice how a Floor Polisher spins fairly slowly? Same rule applies. I am always trying to find the optimum speed on each car i Polish. They are all a bit different. The Menzerna Polish does not like the heat. Is it possible to do the job early in the day before it heats up too much?

Those marks you mention on the front guard. Are they swirls or scratches? If they are scratches, rub your fingernail across the area. Can you feel the indentation? If so, Polishing probably will not get rid of them. You may need to do a very light wet rubbing on them with 2000 grit wet or dry paper, then Polish them up. We had this happen to a car last week. Fresh paint job, the car went out for a bit of mechanical work and came back with a long scratch on the front guard. I tried to Polish it out - but could not. Luke came down and gave it a light wetrub. Only took him a couple of minutes. After Polishing the area again, the scratch was completely gone.

Sounds like you have done a great job. Hope you can find the camera lead. :thumb:

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Offline BLU302

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #320 on: December 10, 2012, 09:12:11 am »
They look like scratches but don't seem to have an indent - I'll try IP1000 first then if no result try wet n dry. Had another look in the sun this morning - couple of swirls on roof but overall pretty good.
Cheers,
Bob
« Last Edit: December 10, 2012, 12:48:42 pm by BLU302 »

Offline evan

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #321 on: December 10, 2012, 07:37:43 pm »
Hey Guys,

I spoke with Antonio from Waxit today about the Concours 900/Menzerna kit. He didn't have all the grades of Menzerna I was after in 250ml so he put me onto the Scholl kit:
http://www.waxit.com.au/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=771&category_id=87&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1

He assured me they are top notch & the 30+ is even finer than Menzerna's SF4500. They supply a softer red 'finessing' pad in this kit. I took his advice & bit the bullet.
I think I'm gonna be busy!

Evan.
« Last Edit: December 10, 2012, 07:39:42 pm by evan »

Offline BLU302

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #322 on: December 10, 2012, 11:02:56 pm »
Hey Evan,
I'm really happy with the Concourse machine - really good to use but like Rocket says I think I'm using muscles I haven't used for a while. Give yourself lots of time for preparation - I found the clay bar really useful. The sides of the car are the hardest because you are supporting the weight of the machine.
Let us know what the Scholl products are like.
Cheers,
Bob



Offline evan

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #323 on: December 11, 2012, 12:00:16 am »
Bob,

Good to hear that the machine is decent. I'm not looking forward to the hard work though! It'll be hard to find the time through the silly season but I'll try & get a chance to have a go.

I might attack one panel of the Mustang for starters to see if I can completely eliminate any fine swirls/scratches. Once I'm happy, I'll re-apply the Jetseal 109 with the machine & buff off with a microfibre cloth.

Will keep you posted.

Evan.

Offline rocket

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Re: CAR POLISH
« Reply #324 on: December 11, 2012, 11:45:05 pm »
Hi Guys, Decided to do my own little comparison between the Festool Shinex and Flex Rotary Polishes. Reason is that i have had a bit of a hard time controlling the Flex Rotary. Using the Flex Forced Rotation DA Polisher has probably spoilt me because it is just so easy to control, but the Flex Rotary is a different machine altogether. It has not been easy to master the machine because it wants to skip around and go off in its own direction quite often. A different Technique is required to successfully use a Rotary. I know it is mostly inexperience and operator error on my part, but it is proving to be quite a learning curve.

Here are the 2 Polishers as i put them through their paces yesterday -

 

The first clue about which machine is the easier to handle was when our painter Luke was compounding Jack`s Mach1 last week. While he was Polishing the bootlid, he stopped the Festool Shinex to go and get another cloth. I seized the moment and switched the Festool over for the Flex Rotary. In Luke`s experienced hands he seemed to have the Flex totally under control. I watched him for a few minutes then left for about 10 minutes. Upon my return i immediately noticed he had switched back to the Festool. I asked him why he had changed back tothe Festool. He shrugged his shoulders and said he was just used to using the Festool. Hmmm.... That made me wonder.

The bonnet on our daily driver Territory had quite a few swirl marks and scratches on it and i had been wanting to polish it for a while. Washed and clayed the bonnet first and then scratched it up with a scourer pad to deliberately make it worse. Here are a couple of before photos -





Fitted a new Yellow Cutting Pad to the Flex Rotary, applied 4 dobs of PF2400 Polish to the Pad, primed it with Quick Detailer and set about polishing the passenger side of the bonnet. I was waiting for the Polisher to start taking off on me, but by putting a bit of bias to the front of the polisher it was not too bad - or maybe i am getting used to handling it. It was still a handful, but thankfully controllable. The Rotary polisher is a lot faster at breaking down polish due to the circular motion creating a lot of heat. Only took about 15 minutes to polish half the bonnet, even allowing for the fact i was using a fair bit of pressure to eliminate the scratches.
Changed over to the Festool Shinex to polish the other half of the bonnet. First thing i noticed was the Festool seemed to spread the polish more evenly even though both polishers start at the same speed of 400RPM. The Festool was definitely easier to handle. I did not feel like i was fighting this polisher as much. I quickly understood why Luke had changed back to the Festool Shinex. In my opinion it is a better balanced polisher.

Both polishers did an excellent job. Those swirls, scratches and scuff marks are gone. I will persevere and master the Flex Rotary. By using a combination of Rotary and DA Polisher i know that the time spent doing a 3 or 4 stage polish on a car will be cut down by about 30 - 40%.

I used the Flex Forced Rotation DA polisher to do a second stage on the bonnet, mainly to make sure there would be no holograms left from buffing. What a delight it was to use that polisher.

A couple of finished photos -





Today i was asked to polish the bonnet on another Territory. Guess which Rotary i used........... Yep, the Festool Shinex!

Rocket.
 
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