Detailed Black Gts-4

[89 GTS-4]

Just finished clay barring, machine polishing, wash then hand polish. I detailed vehicles for many years about 6 or so years ago. Love doing it, just bought some equipment purely to do my car! So if anyone needs anything done in South Oz I can meet you and quote accordingly. Just shoot me a PM if you like.

The paint on my car had not had any love in the 9 years my brother in law owned it for (He imported it himself) so it really needed some work. The clay bar was very brown by the time I had finished , it was so contaminated. It looks so much better now but unfortunately sometimes when not cared for its impossible to bring some areas back to life. You cant see it in the photos though!

I should have taken some progress pics but oh well.

[Jonno34]

that looks amazing mate!

great job

any pics from before?

[89 GTS-4]

Thanks mate.

I dont have any previous pics! I really should have taken a couple.

I couldnt stand the sight of her when my brother in law had it before me, he never cleaned it and it just sat in the driveway. I wanted to take it from him and just clean the thing you know!

The minute I got it home for the first time i immediately cleaned it and just hand polished it to get me by until I bought myself a buff and some clay and did it properly. So I never got any before shots....

[89 GTS-4]

stupid forum said my post didnt work so I kept reposting........

Edited November 6, 2011 by 89 GTS-4

[89 GTS-4]

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Edited November 6, 2011 by 89 GTS-4

[89 GTS-4]

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Edited November 6, 2011 by 89 GTS-4

[Jonno34]

Thanks mate.

I dont have any previous pics! I really should have taken a couple.

I couldnt stand the sight of her when my brother in law had it before me, he never cleaned it and it just sat in the driveway. I wanted to take it from him and just clean the thing you know!

The minute I got it home for the first time i immediately cleaned it and just hand polished it to get me by until I bought myself a buff and some clay and did it properly. So I never got any before shots....

I did the exact same thing when I got my 34 off the ship

was a bit of a disaster since I didnt know what I was doing and i polished the whole car without buffing it off as i went LOL

was a nightmare to remove

im actually really curious to see just how well a machine polish can restore paint though, none of my cars or any car i have ever done a machine polish on has been too bad to begin with, usually just some swirl marks etc

[89 GTS-4]

I did the exact same thing when I got my 34 off the ship

was a bit of a disaster since I didnt know what I was doing and i polished the whole car without buffing it off as i went LOL

was a nightmare to remove

im actually really curious to see just how well a machine polish can restore paint though, none of my cars or any car i have ever done a machine polish on has been too bad to begin with, usually just some swirl marks etc

It really is great machine polishing. Its basicly like sanding back ever so finely but as the particles in the compound I use gets hot with friction they dissolve so it doesnt continuasly "cut" the paint back. Then I wash off the compound, then use a different pad and a polish instead of a compound to remove any marks from the cutting, wash again, then finish everything off by hand.

The secret really apart from knowing how to use a buff correctly is the starting compound. Dont want to put marks in the paint that you cant get out again...

[Jonno34]

im curious to see if itll restore something like faded paint .. obviously it wont bring back the clear coat but i wonder how well itll work

might try it on my next bunkie for some lols

[89 GTS-4]

im curious to see if itll restore something like faded paint .. obviously it wont bring back the clear coat but i wonder how well itll work

might try it on my next bunkie for some lols

It will in most cases but really just depends on the condition of the paint to begin with. If you can see a lot of white around the edge of the faded section and you can see there isnt a lot of depth to the colour to begin with, chances are it wont bring it back

[Miguelone]

What about removing paint from a badly resprayeed panel that still has the original paint underneath, just the section where the resprayed clear coat is coming off then blended down the panel?

[Jonno34]

I dont think a machine polish would remove paint mate .. it removes a micro sized layer

highly doubt it would remove a whole layer of paint! .. in fact id be quite worried if it could ..

[Miguelone]

grr double post, I just mean with enough buffing could it smooth out the dodgy bit and show the clear underneath properly without looking weird.

Edited November 6, 2011 by Miguelone

[89 GTS-4]

If anything you can 1200 grit wet and dry sand it first, then buff it with compound, then buff with polish, then hand polish and it will be as good as it gets.

In saying that bad paint is bad paint

Edited November 6, 2011 by 89 GTS-4

[immacreflections]

If anything you can 1200 grit wet and dry sand it first, then buff it with compound, then buff with polish, then hand polish and it will be as good as it gets.

In saying that bad paint is bad paint

Are you crazy! telling people to use 1200 grit and following up with a compound is stupid! PLEASE NO ONE DO THIS OR LISTEN TO THIS!

I firstly thought your first post didnt make sense, you machine polished it then washed it then polished by hand:S, and experience detailer would never do it by hand as you will NEVER get the same results as a machine in experienced hands but I was going to leave it.

But when you give advise to others to do this and most likely go through their paint I had to step in.

Ok guys, when I wetsand a car the MOST agressive I will use is 2500grit wet and dry followed by 4000 grit then onto a wool with heavy cut via machine and rotary polisher (need to be very experienced as its very very easy to burn or go through your paint like this) then follow up on refining stages.

DO NOT USE 1200g on your car please!

[Reflector]

Are you crazy! telling people to use 1200 grit and following up with a compound is stupid! PLEASE NO ONE DO THIS OR LISTEN TO THIS!

I firstly thought your first post didnt make sense, you machine polished it then washed it then polished by hand:S, and experience detailer would never do it by hand as you will NEVER get the same results as a machine in experienced hands but I was going to leave it.

But when you give advise to others to do this and most likely go through their paint I had to step in.

Ok guys, when I wetsand a car the MOST agressive I will use is 2500grit wet and dry followed by 4000 grit then onto a wool with heavy cut via machine and rotary polisher (need to be very experienced as its very very easy to burn or go through your paint like this) then follow up on refining stages.

DO NOT USE 1200g on your car please!

Glad someone said it. 1200 grit is waaaayyyy too course... Unless you are planning on sanding the panel back for priming and a re-paint

[Jonno34]

I firstly thought your first post didnt make sense, you machine polished it then washed it then polished by hand:S, and experience detailer would never do it by hand as you will NEVER get the same results as a machine in experienced hands but I was going to leave it.

I think hand polish = wax

but glad you said it

[89 GTS-4]

Are you crazy! telling people to use 1200 grit and following up with a compound is stupid! PLEASE NO ONE DO THIS OR LISTEN TO THIS!

I firstly thought your first post didnt make sense, you machine polished it then washed it then polished by hand:S, and experience detailer would never do it by hand as you will NEVER get the same results as a machine in experienced hands but I was going to leave it.

But when you give advise to others to do this and most likely go through their paint I had to step in.

Ok guys, when I wetsand a car the MOST agressive I will use is 2500grit wet and dry followed by 4000 grit then onto a wool with heavy cut via machine and rotary polisher (need to be very experienced as its very very easy to burn or go through your paint like this) then follow up on refining stages.

DO NOT USE 1200g on your car please!

1200 on acrylics and on poorly applied clear coat on lighter 2pak colours followed by a compound by an experienced detailer is not a problem. I have done it many times before. I would never use 1200 on darker colours or paint in good condition. I only suggested 1200 due to the previous authors comments about poor paintwork being applied

And for the record you can achieve some very good results by hand polishing with the right condition paint work. Especially after heavy cut, fine buff then wash polish/compound off and finish with a hand polish. I have done it so many times as my job for a living over a good period of time. I hope your not implying that I am in-experienced....

[Jonno34]

Adam dya mean Waxing when you say hand polish? Ie meguiars tech wax/turtlewax that sort of stuff

cos the detailer I work at and most off the shelf products call what is really a wax a polish - it kind of sounds better doesnt it

You said you are finishing it off with a hand polish so that suggests to me a wax. Its a common mistake, but to me at least the final coat of product you apply to a car for gloss and protection is called a sealant or a wax.

A polish is the cutting compound you use to perform paint correction.

(Please correct me if i'm wrong but after 3 years of detailing and learning from detailing enthusiasts and experts that is my understanding of it!)

But what i think Mitch means to say is that a hand polish (in correct terms/my understanding of it - would be applying cutting compound with a simple foam pad and trying to perform paint correction by hand) is nowhere near as effective as paint correction performed with a machine. It would also be redundant to perform a hand polish after having completed a polish using a machine (I only do this for small areas that could not be reached by my machines 190mm pad).

So by his understanding (if he goes by my definitions of wax/polish) a hand polish after paint correction etc etc is redundant/incorrect

However by your definitions, a hand polish is definitely important to finish off a full detail since it provides extra gloss and protection!

Therefore this is all a big misunderstanding due to mixed up definitions of the term wax/polish, which is none of our faults given the labeling of some off the shelf products.

For example turtlewax ice "polish" is a wax, probably a synthetic wax.

Meguiars compound is a REAL polish/cuting compound.

Meguiars deep crystal polish - is more of a glaze than a polish imo it had no effects on swirl marks whatsoever on my car

As for using sandpaper on cars - I have no clue, it would scare the sh** out of me to do so. Never had a car bad enough that it would need such treatment anyway!

Hope this will help clear things up and diffuse the situation

[89 GTS-4]

Jonno i merely suggested sanding the clearcoat blend line only to try and smooth it off then machine polishing it, to the previous author. Mitch is thinking im talking about sanding a whole car. Helps if he was to read the entire post before flaming lol. But whatever let him flame if he likes.

As for finishing by hand yes you are right in saying a wax is great for sealing off. On darker cars that i have machine polished, after the wash stage i like to hand polish/seal with a product which is high wax with a very minimul amount of cutter in it, like one of my favourites Super Resin "Polish". It helps with any minor swirl marks from machine polishing .