Been polishing the S-Class

[television]

I have done much spraying and polishing in my time, and its fine if you have done the painting, as you know how much is on there and how much you can take off, and a good point about not going near any edges. When you are spraying you always do the edges and anythings like flutes etc first, then the large area, but do robots do it this way.

I understand the nerve racking feelings that you get when doing this

 

[47p2]

I started today by cutting further with the G3 to remove the wet & dry marks before moving onto the G10 which removed the G3 marks all which was done with the machine.

This is the end of the cutting stages

Next I changed compound pads and applied the A grade polish which I am a fan of. This removes the G10 marks and hopefully will give me a proper shine.

This is the end of the machine polishing. Everything from now on is done by hand, thus eliminating any possibility of damaging the finish

I should be out of the danger zone now. Not a job I would like to do on a daily basis

 

[Dosco]

That I am sure will be some finish to be reet proud of young man.

Would you be able to name the names of all the products used for those of us who have no idea what 'G' refers to?

Does the 'splash' on the screen etc from the polisher come off easy?

 

[47p2]

Thanks Dosco, The splashes are from the machine. The white will simply wash off

The G refers to a cutting compound product by Farecla. G3 is a course cutting compound, G10 is a fine cutting compound.

The process of cutting is to remove the last actions marks, hence start with wet & dry to remove the orange peel, then move onto Farecla G3 to remove the wet & dry marks, G10 to remove the G3 marks and finally a very light cutting polish to remove the G10 marks.

The polish I use is a product called A Grade Car Polish which I buy from my local car paint supplier. I have tried many different polishes ranging from cheap to some of the most expensive and always go back to the A grade polish. It has just enough cut to remove marks from the paint without removing more paint than necessary.

I also use microfibre cloths to apply and remove the polish, these can be obtained from Screwfix or Costco

Finishing Wax

Variable speed polisher

 

[television]

My place is like a bomb waiting to go off, and the trouble is you forget what mixes go with what with all types of thinners,hardeners,matting agents, retarding agent, the red tin front top is the BASF very fine compound, will I ever use it again,I doubt it. this is only a tiny part that I can get to

 

[turbopete]

belco thinner??? blimey that went out a LONG time ago!

i too have lots of solid colour (rather than basecoat/laquer) paint in my house. i may get the garden gate sandblasted or something and use the paint to paint that, since i cant get the thinner for it anymore!

 

[television]

belco thinner??? blimey that went out a LONG time ago!

i too have lots of solid colour (rather than basecoat/laquer) paint in my house. i may get the garden gate sandblasted or something and use the paint to paint that, since i cant get the thinner for it anymore!

Its all usable, there is a tin almost new 2K there on top for 124 bumper and side panels

 

[47p2]

There are some rusty tins there Malcolm. Worth keeping an eye on, you wouldn't want them to burst.

I'm now about half way through polishing by hand, this is a slow laborious task but it really does put the finishing shine on the paintwork.

Here are a couple of pictures of the ceiling and door reflecting on the bonnet

This is the wax I'll be using once I finish polishing. I'm liking the depth to the paint now

This was last night

 

[television]

A wonderful job there, and soon done


I must throw all of my paint away,,,it is getting dangerous, there is more than 100 liters in all

 

[Jay Gee]

Great thread and results.47p2,you must have the patience of a Saint(and a modicum of skill and experience .This has motivated me to give mine a going over during the BBQ summer and also tackle the rusty front wheelarch that I've only just noticed :sad:

 

[47p2]

Can I just stress to anyone who reads this thread that if your car has the original paint DO NOT use wet and dry paper to remove marks.

Factory painted Mercedes cars have a very thin coat of paint, you will go through the lacquer into the base coat and a respray will be required.

 

[Jay Gee]

Sorry if i moved you to stress.I wasn't thinking of going anywhere near wet and dry-just some TLC and elbow grease Good advice though.

 

[television]

Can I just stress to anyone who reads this thread that if your car has the original paint DO NOT use wet and dry paper to remove marks.

Factory painted Mercedes cars have a very thin coat of paint, you will go through the lacquer into the base coat and a respray will be required.

Very good post and no excessive T cut either in one place, you will go right through it in seconds

 

[47p2]

Sorry if i moved you to stress.I wasn't thinking of going anywhere near wet and dry-just some TLC and elbow grease Good advice though.

I should have mentioned it right at the start of the thread. Let us know how you get on with your polishing



For anyone who would like to try this method of paint correction, I would suggest you go to a scrap yard and get hold of an old bonnet or boot lid and practise on that before subjecting your car to this rather drastic measure.

When I used the wet & dry on the bonnet I first went across the bonnet from side to side, next I went straight up and down at 90 degrees to the other lines. When you start cutting with a compound, have a close look at the paint to see where the marks are and what direction the majority are going in.
The chances are that the lines will go in the same direction as you wash the car. What you want to do if you are compounding by hand is keep your compound paste travelling at 90 degrees to these lines, don't put too much pressure on your cloth and work in short straight lines. Keep the work wet and keep the cloth clean. You should always cut across a scratch at 90 degrees. Most paint damage is done by yourself, be it poor washing habits or dirt on your polishing cloths. If you do happen to drop your cloth, bin it. It only takes the tiniest speck of dirt on a cloth to ruin the paintwork. Microfibre clothes are far superior to any mutton cloths or stockinette. You should be able to purchase microfibres at Costco or Screwfix.

I take one microfibre and cut it into four, I then remove the label as this can scratch the paintwork. One section of microfibre for applying and one for removing. When working the compound I like to listen to the cloth working, you get to know the different sounds especially if you happen upon a bit of dirt which has been stuck onto the paint. If you hear something dragging along have a look at the cloth and remove the offending dirt, turn the cloth over and start again.
Some people say that you can wash the microfibres in the washing machine, but I find they go hard and for all they cost it isn't worth it, use once and throw away.

When the time comes to polishing (not compounding) the paint, polish in small circles. The polish should have a very slight cut to remove marks, don't overload the cloth and let the polish do its work. There is no point in rubbing some polish on and rubbing it off again..

When you start using a product like G3 or G10 and 'listen' to your cloth the first sound you hear is a scraping/scratching noise, the paste is course and needs to be worked so that its components break down and the cutting gets finer, polish is the same, it also needs to break down.

Finally when you are happy with the results and the car is gleaming then apply a wax to seal the paint. This will help keep the paint waterproof and if we get any, sun proof

 

[47p2]

Things are starting to take shape now. I've been hand polishing on and off tonight and the bonnet is almost finished. Tomorrow it's a case of cleaning up the mess from the machining and tiding up and minor marks I come across

 

[dizzy lizzy]

That is really impressive

 

[davidsl500]

Its easy to see why detailers charge so much to do a car when you see the amount of labour that goes into it. How many hours has the bonnet taken to do?

 

[television]

Its easy to see why detailers charge so much to do a car when you see the amount of labour that goes into it. How many hours has the bonnet taken to do?

On a RR David, every coat is hand flatted all over with the exception of the last base coat, so some 4 to 6 times in all. I have spent 2 weeks on one respray,, after all that the car goes out onto the road, but very shortly it will be back, as 30 % of all RR's are said to be off the road at any one time through vandal damage

 

[dieselman]

That's looking excellent now 47p2, a job well done.

For finer w&d try the 3M range.

Some of the advertisers on detailingworld sell very fine paper.

If you really can't get any PM me your addy and I'll send you a few sheets of 2000grit I have.

 

[47p2]

Thanks dieselman for your kind offer, I've not found any fine paper locally but there is plenty on ebay so the paypal account will be getting a thumping this weekend