paint and plastic protection

Stepped into he world of a detailing via a forum the other week, was blown away with all the products and tech.......
@Iain S which machine polisher have you, and do you do that paint thickness check???

I use one of these http://www.monzacarcare.com/complete-kit...olisher/0/

It's a great little machine, light and easy to use. It's a random orbital machine which means therre is far less risk of burning through the clearcoat with it as the head oscillates so as not to stay in one spot too long. It is heat build up that damages the laquer coat so provided you work the machine steadily back and forth in forizontal ines, one panel at a time you won't have any problems.

I prefer to use the smaller 75mm spot pads with it as they are easier to control. I don't use a paint depth guage as you need to work at very high speeds in the same area for several minutes with an aggressive polishing compound to do any damage. If you watch the instructional videos and follow their advice it's quite straightforward to do.

The best advice is to practice on an older car first or failing that get an old body panel from a scrapyard so you can practice with the different pads and polishes to see how much pressure you can apply to remove swirls and scratches before cause any damage. Also do as much online research as possible and and read sites like Detailingworld for do's and don'ts etc.

Looks like all good information coming in. yes i forgot to say am already using the 2 bucket method, so all good there.
Iain a question after trying to do all the polishing by hand on my current car, i have come to the conclusion that its quite a lot of hard work on the old arms. so am also about to buy a polisher, this one i think...

http://www.carcarepassion.com/epages/615...s/KES-DAS6

could you advise in what would be the best pads to buy to get me started??

Isnt there a service we can hire where they come and clean and wax the car for you as and when you want it ? Enjoy my car but not sure I can do that, just dont have the time

My other issue is every time I have it cleaned the F*** birds crap on it, why cant they fly by when its dirty already

That's the same machine that I use the only difference being mine has the Dodo Juice branding on it. It's a really good polisher.

I buy my pads from the 3M website http://www.3mselect.co.uk/c-593-polishin...ories.aspx

Your polisher will come with the backing plate for the large pads. If you want to use the smaller 75mm spot pads you will need to buy a small backing plate to use them with the polisher. The backing plates are threaded and just screw into the polishing machine which comes with a small spanner to tighten them. Don't over tighten them or you'll struggle to get them back off. I just tighten until I feel resistance and stop.

The 3M system is very good and easy to follow as the compounds and pads are colour coded. You will only need the Fast Cut more abrasive compound and green pads to remove more noticeable scratches. Use this on a low speed setting on the polisher only at first and make sure to work it back and forth in slighlty over lapping straight line across each panel. Once you have more confidence you'll know what spped you can safely work at with this compound. The yellow Extra Fine compound is far less abrasive and will remove swirls, light scratches and holograms. You should always use the yellow compound to go over a panel that has been polished with the green compound. The blue Ultrafina is a last stage polish. I'd miss this out and use something like Swisswax Cleaner fluid regular on the blue 3M pad to go across each panel to remove all of the residue of the other compounds so that the panel is ready for a layer of wax. If you miss out this stage the wax will not bond properly to thesurface of the paint and you'll wonder why water no longer beads after only a couple of washes.

Always use clean microfibre cloths to remove the polish residue after each stage. Wash the cloths after use in a washing machine but don't put them in with other laundry unless you want to be shouted at for making clothes stink of polish

am sure there are loads of places that do a detailing service in the U.K.
but where i am in Spain we don't have a lot of choice and if a was to find a detailing service here. well lets say "pride" and "workmanship" are words, that don't seemed to get used here much.
so best learn how to do it myself.

(26-10-2011 02:03pm)fam1x Wrote:  Isnt there a service we can hire where they come and clean and wax the car for you as and when you want it ? Enjoy my car but not sure I can do that, just dont have the time

My other issue is every time I have it cleaned the F*** birds crap on it, why cant they fly by when its dirty already

There are lots of mobile detailers who will come to you or your dealer and carry out this service for you. Look out for recommendations online on sites like Detailingworld or Pistonheads etc. There is one very good guy who works the London area called Lee who runs a business called Extreme detailing. A number of friends of mine highly recommend him and he looks after cars like Ferrari Enzo, F50, F40, Koenigsegg etc along with more normal cars for them. He's worth a call as he's an agent for G-techniq and their products are superb for people who don't enjoy washing their cars. If I'm breaking any rules by providing a link to his website please accept my apologies

http://extremedetailing.co.uk/

Super thanks for that Iain S

(26-10-2011 02:19pm)Iain S Wrote:  That's the same machine that I use the only difference being mine has the Dodo Juice branding on it. It's a really good polisher.

I buy my pads from the 3M website http://www.3mselect.co.uk/c-593-polishin...ories.aspx

Your polisher will come with the backing plate for the large pads. If you want to use the smaller 75mm spot pads you will need to buy a small backing plate to use them with the polisher. The backing plates are threaded and just screw into the polishing machine which comes with a small spanner to tighten them. Don't over tighten them or you'll struggle to get them back off. I just tighten until I feel resistance and stop.

The 3M system is very good and easy to follow as the compounds and pads are colour coded. You will only need the Fast Cut more abrasive compound and green pads to remove more noticeable scratches. Use this on a low speed setting on the polisher only at first and make sure to work it back and forth in slighlty over lapping straight line across each panel. Once you have more confidence you'll know what spped you can safely work at with this compound. The yellow Extra Fine compound is far less abrasive and will remove swirls, light scratches and holograms. You should always use the yellow compound to go over a panel that has been polished with the green compound. The blue Ultrafina is a last stage polish. I'd miss this out and use something like Swisswax Cleaner fluid regular on the blue 3M pad to go across each panel to remove all of the residue of the other compounds so that the panel is ready for a layer of wax. If you miss out this stage the wax will not bond properly to thesurface of the paint and you'll wonder why water no longer beads after only a couple of washes.

Always use clean microfibre cloths to remove the polish residue after each stage. Wash the cloths after use in a washing machine but don't put them in with other laundry unless you want to be shouted at for making clothes stink of polish

Thanks for the info Iain, i did not think i was going to have to go the polisher route till the end of last saturday when i could not feel my shoulders any more.
but it is a lot of prep and layers and my girlfriend will expect her car to be done too, and i can imagin my mates after that ufff! what have i let myself in for!

(26-10-2011 02:43pm)Rootsboy Wrote:  Thanks for the info Iain, i did not think i was going to have to go the polisher route till the end of last saturday when i could not feel my shoulders any more.
but it is a lot of prep and layers and my girlfriend will expect her car to be done too, and i can imagin my mates after that ufff! what have i let myself in for!

Hopefully a very shiny car and an extra source of income as a part time detailer for your friends