Paint Correction / Machine Polish

Biketrials08

Ok here comes the low down on what you want. I was in the same position and I'm the practical type, so:

I purchased a 3M Perfect it Kit (ok it wasnt the kit but the same components bought seperately from my local bodyshop supply store) and a Silverline polisher.
I bought:

Compounding
50417 3M Perfect-It™ III Fast Cut Plus Compound - 1 bottle, 1 kg
50487 3M Perfect-It™ III Compounding Pad - green, 150 mm, 1 box of 2 pads


Polishing
80349 3M Perfect-It™ III Extra Fine - 1 bottle, 1 litre
50488 3M Perfect-It™ III Polishing Pad - yellow, 150 mm, 1 box of 2 pads


Hologram Removal/Gloss Enhancement
50383 3M Perfect-It™ III Ultrafina - 1 bottle, 1 litre
50388 3M Perfect-It™ III High Gloss Pad - blue, 150 mm, 1 box of 2 pads


Glazing and Protection
80345 3M Perfect-It™ III Polish Rosa - 1 bottle, 1 litre


Accessories
09552 3M Back Up Pad M14 - 1 pad (the velcro backed disc of the right diameter to attach the foam pads to)

The ready kit is available http://www.3mdirect.co.uk/3m-perfect-it-iii-compound-and-polish-kit-50873-including-free-storage-box.html?gclid=CPm9kLn6zssCFeQp0wodDWgG3w&gclsrc=aw.ds

I also bought the grittier cutting compound too, the white label.

I've used this on Audi, BMWs, Toyotas, Fords, VW and Hondas. It has worked very well. Don't listen to this nonsense about burning through your paint with the cutting compound, you'd have to be an idiot and spend half an hour in the same spot.

If you want to cut down on components buy the green Fast Cut and the Yellow Extra Fina only. With the green you'd have to put in a reasonable amount of force to relieve scuffs. Then let the Yellow glide more so after. Polish using any polish of your choice.

Basically procedure is this:
Wash and rinse panel
Cut with Green Fast cut
Wipe panel down with damp microfibre cloth
Polish with Yellow Extra Fine
Wipe panel down with another damp microfibre cloth
Polish, don't need the machine for this if you don't want.

Points to note:
Check your pads before committing to the surface for any grit, always be careful of contamination.
The silverline polisher is a cheap entry tool, it has no constant speed control, the more you push the slower it goes. It can be very annoying keeping a constant speed.
Don't be afraid, it is not s scary task

Enjoy!

chunkytfg

bigjl wrote: »

I doubt you will get as good a finish with a DA polisher as you would with a rotary polisher.

yeah of course you can you just need patience.

bigjl wrote: »

So VW Group use different paint do they?

Of course they do they all use different paint. VAG cars tend to have really hard paint, Japanese tend to be incredibly soft and others somewhere in-between. This is why when you see a proper detailer do a car they will start with the least aggressive polish and work up to what they need rather than just going all in from the first spin of the machine. The idea is to get the best finish possible without removing any more clear coat than necessary.

Skintski

facade wrote: »

The "trick" for amateurs is to use loads of water, and sweep the pad continually side to side, the risk though is going half off an edge, when it will take more paint off due to the increased pressure.

Paint is always thinnest on the edges and on raised areas such as suage lines and round door handles etc so these are the areas to take the most care on.

The 3M system is colour dependant, the darker the colour then the more stages you will require if you are just looking for a satisfactory finish. Silvers and whites hide defects really well so only Fast Cut Plus tends to be required, Extra Fine is for intermediate scratches so good for reds, mid blues etc over the top of FC+. The Ultrafina has no real cut to it, is incredibly greasy so a little goes a long way and is purely for removing holograms and swirls from blacks, dark blues etc after you have done the first two stages.

DA machines won't cut as quickly as a rotary however they leave far fewer swirls on dark colours so are being adopted by a lot of detailers and restoration bodyshops.

dlm

This thread is the funniest thing I have read for a long time. No disrespect here - there are comments from those that have an idea, and those that think they do. It is great!

Any of the companies I owned (a good few years ago, granted) a mop would cost you £75 depending on how bad it was - but that was average, around 2 hours. £120 would include Acid Bath.

As you saying amateurs use water - rofl! That shows the reason why I have a C&G, and going with someone that KNOWS what they are doing, HOW it work and WHY it works is probably your best option.

There are lots of cowboys out there, and this time of the year will bring them out of the ether. They run away crying when they have to crack the ice on the bucket. Ask a main dealer to put you in touch with a contractor, some may even do it for you - or approach a bodyshop. If you are paying pro money - may as well use one!

So lets have people view on Acid Bathing.....

londonTiger

ahh this thread has given me motifcation to get my rotary out. I used the 3m 3 stage kit myself and machined the whole car 3 years ago. The trouble is it took me a long !!!! time to do.

I didnt quite get the art of using the perfect amount of compound and sometimes I had too much water on the sponge as I was clearing it and spattered compound everywhere. Other times I used too much compound which made it a PITA to clear up with IPA as the compounds tends to stock to the car when it dries.

I cannot see much swirl marks even though it was done 3 years ago, would it be OK to just do the whole car in one stage and just do the blue pad& compound?

The 3 stage does take a long !!!! time.

facade

dlm wrote: »

As you saying amateurs use water - rofl! That shows the reason why I have a C&G, and going with someone that KNOWS what they are doing, HOW it work and WHY it works is probably your best option.

What do professionals use then?

Those "amateurs" at Far!cla use water same as us proper amateurs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsWqREdnkmA

Yeehah!

dlm

facade wrote: »

What do professionals use then?

Those "amateurs" at Far!cla use water same as us proper amateurs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsWqREdnkmA

Yeehah!

Read the thread! A previous poster stated that only amatuers used water - which is rubbish, as I said. I never mentioned brand names, that was previous posters.:)

redpete

dlm wrote: »

This thread is the funniest thing I have read for a long time. No disrespect here - there are comments from those that have an idea, and those that think they do. It is great!

Unfortunately I can't make sense from your post as to what you consider a reliable way to get a good looking car - apart from asking a main dealer to recommend someone.

Retrogamer

I've got quite a lot of useful tips and advise from this thread from all the posts, so thank you for the suggestions and comments.

This is the car itself.
It's in need of a wash here, but you can see even in the clean areas the paint is looking quite flat for a metallic black.



I did manage to get the headlights looking a bit fresher with a polish recently.

londonTiger

Strider590 wrote: »

Well you see my angry grinder has variable speed, from useless slow through to OMFG fast, it was an Aldi "bargain" :rotfl:

just because it's shaped like an angle grinder doesn't mean it is one. It wont have the torque or the speed of an angle grinder. Case in point, if the compound is not moist enough it will be stick and the rotary does not have the torque to still spin at the speed.