The Detailing Thread

Started by giant_mtb, July 06, 2010, 09:58:16 PM

shp4man

Quote from: giant_mtb on August 11, 2019, 08:29:52 PM
Jesus Christ, no. Isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol and a plastic razor blade. The alcohol will soften it up nicely.  Just not in the sun, 'cause it'll just evaporate.

Thanks, I'll give that a try.  :ohyeah:

Submariner

Quote from: shp4man on August 11, 2019, 06:26:28 PM
Would clay take it off?

Clay is busy until at least next Saturday.
2010 G-550  //  2019 GLS-550

Submariner

Good news is, I didn't ruin the clear coat.  Bad news is, I didn't even remove the small scratches:





Not sure why went wrong.  I used Megs 2.0 mirror glaze and a light cut pad.  I used smooth, slow passes over the paint.  I didn't push too hard, but I did use some pressure.  Hmmph.
2010 G-550  //  2019 GLS-550

Eye of the Tiger

You need to push harder, until it starts smoking. Maybe throw a handful of gravel in there, to cut in real deep.
2008 TUNDRA (Truck Ultra-wideband Never-say-die Daddy Rottweiler Awesome)

Submariner

Quote from: Eye of the Tiger on August 12, 2019, 07:42:41 PM
You need to push harder, until it starts smoking. Maybe throw a handful of gravel in there, to cut in real deep.

I have an angle grinder.  Will that work?
2010 G-550  //  2019 GLS-550

Eye of the Tiger

Quote from: Submariner on August 12, 2019, 08:37:59 PM
I have an angle grinder.  Will that work?

Yes, that will really clean the paint off.
2008 TUNDRA (Truck Ultra-wideband Never-say-die Daddy Rottweiler Awesome)

Submariner

2010 G-550  //  2019 GLS-550

giant_mtb

That is a massive improvement.  I bet it looks great in natural sunlight, and those small spider webs will be unnoticable to the casual/consumer eye.

However.

Think of buffing like you do sanding wood.  To get the best finish, you start with 80 or 100 grit and end with 800 or 1,000...you can't expect to get the same results if you only start at the higher end.

Submariner

I never got around to finishing the polish.  My wife left the garage door open for several hours today.  I inspected the surface with my LED spotlight and it doesn't appear much dust made its way onto the surface.  Can I dust it with a cloth to remove any contaminates or do I have to wash the car again?
2010 G-550  //  2019 GLS-550

giant_mtb

Quote from: Submariner on August 13, 2019, 11:32:08 PM
I never got around to finishing the polish.  My wife left the garage door open for several hours today.  I inspected the surface with my LED spotlight and it doesn't appear much dust made its way onto the surface.  Can I dust it with a cloth to remove any contaminates or do I have to wash the car again?

Yes, that should be just fine. Slightly dampen the cloth or use some spray detailer to aid in dust pickup. :ohyeah:

BimmerM3

#880
Quote from: Morris Minor on August 10, 2019, 04:35:11 AM
From a few messages back:Semi-weekly = twice/week. Technically wrong to use bi-weekly for both.
But people still use it for both.

I agree that it should be incorrect to use "biweekly" to mean "twice per week," but every dictionary I've looked at lists both definitions, though Wiktionary tries to make a stronger distinction than the others I've seen in their usage notes. 

According to Merriam-Webster, that ambiguity has existed for nearly 150 years (https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/biweekly), and they elaborate on the distinction further here: https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/on-biweekly-and-bimonthly

Submariner



Pretty pleased with how this came out.  The fine scratches were much less noticeable in the sun than they were under my LED spotlights.  The scratch that prompted this paint correction is much less noticeable, though next time I think I would go with Meg's light cut (as they put it, a "5/10" on their cut scale) rather than the "3/10" swirl remover.

I tried the light cut polish to remove hard water marks but to no avail.  I'm going to have to try a more abrasive pad and compound.  Those goddamn stains just won't die.
2010 G-550  //  2019 GLS-550

Eye of the Tiger

I don't see any water marks. :cheers:
2008 TUNDRA (Truck Ultra-wideband Never-say-die Daddy Rottweiler Awesome)

Submariner

Quote from: Eye of the Tiger on August 16, 2019, 10:04:28 PM
I don't see any water marks. :cheers:

lol.  On the last page (or a page before that) I posted a picture of them.
2010 G-550  //  2019 GLS-550


Submariner

Next project:









This paint is in much more dire shape than the paint on the last car.  I have some Meg's professional fine cut polish; by their parlance a 5/10 on the 'cut scale'.  I only have a light cut pad at the moment and I'm going to stick to it for now.  I also have a bottle of Meg's medium (7/10 cut) polish.  Is that too aggressive or would I be safe using it with the light cut pad?

One more question about the sander.  This is the one I have: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Makita-3-Amp-5-in-Corded-Variable-Speed-Random-Orbital-Sander-with-Dust-Bag-BO5041/205671780?cm_mmc=Shopping%7CG%7CBase%7CD25T%7C25-9_PORTABLE+POWER%7CNA%7CLIA

Whenever I apply even moderate pressure, the pad seems to stop rotating, though it still vibrates a good deal.  Is this normal? 
2010 G-550  //  2019 GLS-550

Submariner

Oh, and I used some of that fine cut polish and the pad to try and remove the water stains.  They wouldn't come off.  WTF?  I'm thinking 10mm Auto next.  That ought to work right?
2010 G-550  //  2019 GLS-550

giant_mtb

Quote from: Submariner on August 22, 2019, 09:21:03 AM
This paint is in much more dire shape than the paint on the last car.  I have some Meg's professional fine cut polish; by their parlance a 5/10 on the 'cut scale'.  I only have a light cut pad at the moment and I'm going to stick to it for now.  I also have a bottle of Meg's medium (7/10 cut) polish.  Is that too aggressive or would I be safe using it with the light cut pad?

One more question about the sander.  This is the one I have: https://www.homedepot.com/p/Makita-3-Amp-5-in-Corded-Variable-Speed-Random-Orbital-Sander-with-Dust-Bag-BO5041/205671780?cm_mmc=Shopping%7CG%7CBase%7CD25T%7C25-9_PORTABLE+POWER%7CNA%7CLIA

Whenever I apply even moderate pressure, the pad seems to stop rotating, though it still vibrates a good deal.  Is this normal? 

Nah, you'd be fine using a medium cut with a light cut pad...won't get quite the same results as a heavier cut pad, but yeah.  Totally safe.  Diamond Cut (their 10/10 on the scale) is really quite good.  And also safe.  Makes quick work of stuff like that with a wool or heavy-cut foam pad.

And yes, that's the case with any random orbit polisher/sander, and that's part of what makes them so safe to use (the other part being that the random-orbit helps to not build up heat).  That's why I like my forced-action random orbit...I can apply pressure when I want/need to and it will not stop rotating or orbiting.

giant_mtb

When it comes to applying pressure, you generally just want to let the tool do the work.  If you feel the need to always apply more than light pressure to get the results you desire, you're better off upping to a harder cut pad/compound to let them do the work.  Typically the weight of the tool is all I use, besides of course when you're doing side/vertical panels and you need to hold the tool to the paint.

Also hot damn, that thing does bare minimum 4k opm?  Make sure to keep it moving on the paint.  That thing is obviously...a sander.  And not a polisher, so it has really short, fast throws and not a whole lot of spin, whereas a random-orbit polisher will have longer throws and much more spin.  With sanding, you want to sand in straight lines, with the grain.  For paint, the spin is what does most of the work, the oscillations just help keep the work surface cooler.

Submariner

Serves me right for listening to the idiot at HD.  Though to be fair there is a section in the manual that dosucces car polishing.
2010 G-550  //  2019 GLS-550

giant_mtb

Quote from: Submariner on August 22, 2019, 09:59:43 AM
Serves me right for listening to the idiot at HD.  Though to be fair there is a section in the manual that dosucces car polishing.

Yeah, I mean, you can certainly use it for polishing and clearly it works.  Just not the "ideal" tool for the job, that's all.

Submariner

Two questions:

a.) can I use the same compound and pad to buff shiny black plastic trim?

b.) how should I ventilate when polishing?  The bottle warns of "chemicals linked to cancer" (the less aggressive compounds don't!).  Would a simple fan be enough?
2010 G-550  //  2019 GLS-550

giant_mtb

Quote from: Submariner on August 22, 2019, 07:15:05 PM
a.) can I use the same compound and pad to buff shiny black plastic trim?

Perhaps?  Depends on the material.  Is it clear-coated?  Buffing compound is not meant for plastic trim.

Quote
b.) how should I ventilate when polishing?  The bottle warns of "chemicals linked to cancer" (the less aggressive compounds don't!).  Would a simple fan be enough?

Nothing to worry about.  A fan is fine, just don't point it at the work surface because it'll cause it to dry out quicker.  I never worry about ventilation.  Haven't died yet. :huh:

Submariner

Quote from: giant_mtb on August 23, 2019, 07:25:43 AM
Perhaps?  Depends on the material.  Is it clear-coated?  Buffing compound is not meant for plastic trim.

I think so.  It looks like the plastic equivalent of piano black trim.
2010 G-550  //  2019 GLS-550

Eye of the Tiger

I'm going to try using Simple Green on my brake dust. It probably won't work, but I don't want to use one of those strong wheel cleaners on my crappy spray paint job.
2008 TUNDRA (Truck Ultra-wideband Never-say-die Daddy Rottweiler Awesome)

Submariner

Fucked up the job big time.  The polish I used was slightly more aggressive and didn't wipe off nearly as easily as the lighter cut.  Then, when I waxed, I must have used too much on the pad, as there are wax splatters everywhere that aren't coming off.  So I have polish residue under the wax, and since I only discovered it after I drove...ugh.
2010 G-550  //  2019 GLS-550

Submariner

Good news is the polish + pad still weren't too aggressive.  The parts I did properly look good.  But fuck me.
2010 G-550  //  2019 GLS-550

giant_mtb

Quote from: Submariner on August 26, 2019, 05:04:32 PM
Fucked up the job big time.  The polish I used was slightly more aggressive and didn't wipe off nearly as easily as the lighter cut.  Then, when I waxed, I must have used too much on the pad, as there are wax splatters everywhere that aren't coming off.  So I have polish residue under the wax, and since I only discovered it after I drove...ugh.

Ahhhh don't sweat it.  Throw some 70% isopropyl alcohol in a spray bottle and grab a couple microfibers.  It'll come off. 

Whenever I do buffing/polishing, I go around with alcohol in between steps, or at least after all the buffing is done and the final layer (wax/sealant) is to be applied.  That way you know that the paint is just about as clean as it can be.

giant_mtb

Some spray detailer may also be enough to get it off, but alcohol is really good at breaking that shit down.  Mostly, it just needs to get wet again so it can un-solidify to be wiped off.

Eye of the Tiger

Quote from: giant_mtb on August 26, 2019, 05:13:56 PM
Some spray detailer may also be enough to get it off, but alcohol is really good at breaking that shit down.  Mostly, it just needs to get wet again so it can un-solidify to be wiped off.

Alcohol? What if the car is just sober-curious?
2008 TUNDRA (Truck Ultra-wideband Never-say-die Daddy Rottweiler Awesome)