New to detailing and Paint Correction

[dave93761]

Re: New to detailing and Paint Correction

RJ no I'm not involved with the Targa, and never have been...why do you ask?

As your car is a relatively recent respray with a clear coat, you'll find the pure polish step won't do a whole lot...they are far more beneficial for older clear coats and single stage finishes. IMO the polishing oils in #205 should be sufficient.

You could try something like #80 or #9 just to give it a bit more gloss before waxing though...

[RJ Thoms]

Re: New to detailing and Paint Correction

Hello Dave,
The reason I asked was because I asked my misses if she knew about your shop. She reckoned Obsession was involved with and/or ran a car in Targa as my misses was involved with it for a few years, guess she was wrong....

As for polishing the car I've slowed down on progress considerably as working around the decals by hand has put me off a bit. The effort by hand to remove the swirls around the decals is painstakingly hard and slow, especially with the severity of the swirls. Working by hand uses quite a bit more compound then the buffer and it takes at least 3 - 4 good rounds with a terry cloth to make any real progress on the paint which is chewing through the compound. Plus with the expense of 105 here in Australia I've been discouraged. I only put in an hour or two every couple of days and the rest of the time it just sits under a cover in the garage. So far only half the car (minus the roof) is done with 105....

We'll get there one day...

[dave93761]

Re: New to detailing and Paint Correction

Hello Dave,
The reason I asked was because I asked my misses if she knew about your shop. She reckoned Obsession was involved with and/or ran a car in Targa as my misses was involved with it for a few years, guess she was wrong....

As for polishing the car I've slowed down on progress considerably as working around the decals by hand has put me off a bit. The effort by hand to remove the swirls around the decals is painstakingly hard and slow, especially with the severity of the swirls. Working by hand uses quite a bit more compound then the buffer and it takes at least 3 - 4 good rounds with a terry cloth to make any real progress on the paint which is chewing through the compound. Plus with the expense of 105 here in Australia I've been discouraged. I only put in an hour or two every couple of days and the rest of the time it just sits under a cover in the garage. So far only half the car (minus the roof) is done with 105....

We'll get there one day...

Must have been somebody else, because my business hasn't been around too long...

Try some microfibre applicators if applying by hand - you'll find you won't waste as much product.

Have you tried taping around the decals and then using the buffer?

As far as #105 - import it from the US mate, even with shipping it will cost around $50 for a 32oz bottle, compared to $80+ here in Australia...it's scandalous....

You'll get there in the end mate!!

[RJ Thoms]

Re: New to detailing and Paint Correction

I'll have to try some microfiber applicators. I was under the impression that terry cloths offered more cut then microfiber.

Taping off some of the larger decals would probably be a good idea to save time but some of the smaller ones are a pain and taping them up would take just as long.

I think I'll be able to finish the car on one bottle of 105 but it will be close I think. We'll see when we get closer to the finish....

I'll look around to see who sells 105 internationally just in case, thanks.

Agreed it's scandalous...

[dave93761]

Re: New to detailing and Paint Correction

I'll have to try some microfiber applicators. I was under the impression that terry cloths offered more cut then microfiber.

Taping off some of the larger decals would probably be a good idea to save time but some of the smaller ones are a pain and taping them up would take just as long.

I think I'll be able to finish the car on one bottle of 105 but it will be close I think. We'll see when we get closer to the finish....

I'll look around to see who sells 105 internationally just in case, thanks.

Agreed it's scandalous...

You may find the terry towels may be inducing some marring of their own.

A 32oz bottle of #105 should last a pretty long time, I'd be concerned if you went through a whole bottle on one car...

I either use www.detailing.com or www.properautocare.com to import my stuff from the USA - detailing.com has cheaper prices, PAC has cheaper shipping options...but it depends on what you're getting.

[RJ Thoms]

Re: New to detailing and Paint Correction

I might have been a bit quick to jump to how much I've been using. The bottle is down to about the 9 on the cut scale. I feel this is still a bit excessive even though I haven't been slopping it on... Only a couple of drops on the pad of the buffer seem to yield the best results. I believe the hand cutting uses more. I also believe the clear is quite hard and that that the swirls are pretty severe compared to "normal."

By hand you don't really start to see an improvement till about the 3rd attempt, and by hand more compound seems to be more effective (within reason) which I believe is to do with more abrasive being on the surface.

Since receiving a few parts in the post I've been getting inspired again and might put in a couple of hours tonight if I feel like it a bit later. The last thing you want to do after a busy day on your feet all day at work is spend the evening standing above and buffing a vehicle.

Thank you for the references, I'll keep them in mind when I need more. Is everything else from Meguiars cheaper through them as well like pads, towels, applicators etc ?

Thanks again... RJ

[dave93761]

Re: New to detailing and Paint Correction

#105 is SMAT - the abrasives don't break down as you work in the product, it's the lubrication that is lot...next time, once you've 'worked' the #105 in, try spritzing a little bit of water over the area - you'll find the #105 is 're-activated' and you can essentially re-work it in again until the lubricating film dries up again! This way you can extend the use you get out of the same amount of polish!!

And yeah everything is cheaper from the US, even with postage costs you'll still save around 30% over the in-store price here in Australia...

[RJ Thoms]

Re: New to detailing and Paint Correction

I managed to get into the garage for a few hours and finished the half of the car that I've been working on. I'll definitely have to try the water spritzing technique to extend the life of the compound. The roof had some of the worst swirls and scratches of the lot which required a fair bit of hand effort. It literally looked like someone washed the roof of the car with a scotchbrite pad. Some of the RIDS and deep swirls wont be able to be removed but the majority have come out.

I'm looking forward to taking it out of the garage and into the sun within the next couple of days to get a true visual of the difference. I might even take a few pics. Even under the fluorescent lighting in the garage you can clearly see the difference between the two sides and I didn't tape the middle either.

Whats the best way to remove the 105 dust as it's everywhere? I've been using a spritz of QD and a microfiber towel to wipe it off.

[dave93761]

Re: New to detailing and Paint Correction

Sounds like you're making progress!!

Whats the best way to remove the 105 dust as it's everywhere? I've been using a spritz of QD and a microfiber towel to wipe it off.

That works for me!

[Merlin]

Re: New to detailing and Paint Correction

Keep up the good work!

Ultimate Compound is not designed for rotary use by the way lol. However, if you got results with that combination, you will find you will get a similar result from #105.

...If you don't have much experience with a rotary, don't use it - buy a random orbital or forced rotation unit - much less risk and you can still cut some very heavy defects, it will just take a little longer that's all.

^ what dave93761 said.
For aggressive correction I use a random orbital dual action (DA) polisher w/M105 and a Surbuf pad
Followed by Lake Country orange 5.5" flat pad and M105. I follow that with M205 and a white LC pad.
At that point you should be ready for sealant or wax. Preparation is the key to a good 3 step process.

If you are "New to detailing and Paint Correction" I would learn and practice with a DA first.
Do a little research and use the Kevin Brown Method. That would be my recommendation.
Works for me..it might take a little longer but it's safe & won't burn or cut through the paint.
I have been able to produce excellent results with a DA and the Kevin Bron Method (KBM)

You may also want to look into the Megs DA microfiber polishing system.

I'll give it a go again tomorrow with the wool pad but it seemed to dry out and turn powdery fairly quickly. I think pad size has something to do with it as the wool pad is fairly large compared to the foam one.
.

Keep a misting bottle hanging from your pocket and lightly spray the surface where the polish has been applied.
I usually try to spray a light mist right in front of the buffer travel.

As for polishing the car I've slowed down on progress considerably as working around the decals by hand has put me off a bit.

You can use painters tape on decals, emblems, windshield squirter's etc.
Be sure to remove the tape at a 90 degree angle. Do don't pull straight up.

#105 is SMAT - the abrasives don't break down as you work in the product, it's the lubrication that is lot...next time, once you've 'worked' the #105 in, try spritzing a little bit of water over the area - you'll find the #105 is 're-activated' and you can essentially re-work it in again until the lubricating film dries up again! This way you can extend the use you get out of the same amount of polish!!

^ what dave93761 said.
If kept lightly misted it will reduce the flashing and dusting considerably.
When doing the process be careful! Remember you have water in one hand and a power tool in the other.
I've done maybe 15-20 vehicle car paint corrections and I still have about +/- half my M105 32oz bottle left.

[RJ Thoms]

Re: New to detailing and Paint Correction

Thanks for the info merlinii. I don't really have any rotary buffer experience but have been using a rotary buffer with good results so far. I've also been taking a pretty cautious approach to it. The water tip will greatly increase the life of the compound which I am looking forward to.

The pad I'm using isn't aggressive (and the wrong pad at that) which is probably why it's taking so many passes to correct, also because of the severity of the swirls. The paint surface literally looks like when you scrub a plastic container with a scotchbrite pad. I believe the pad I have is a finishing pad as it's hard to find good detailing equipment off the shelf here in SA. At the time it was the only pad I could find. I went to an auto detailing supply house and it was the only pad they had....

I'll definitely have to tape up the larger decals, the smaller ones I can probably tape off the majority of them and finish them off by hand.

So far I'm happy with the results. The paint is pretty terrible to begin with, not only the finish but the paint itself. At least it's pretty presentable now.

I've compounded the air cleaner which was single stage paint, same color as the car. I found the single stage paint easier to work with as it wasn't as hard as the clear on the car.

I'll try to snap some photos this weekend as we have to get it out of the garage anyways as an engineer is coming to look the car over. That's the next hurdle