Paint Problems

[Will Eastman 6]

hey, the paint on my red xs is pretty old and not at its best, all the panels seem to be slightly different shades of red. I have heard that using a poliser to cut back the paint and then polish it up can get great result. I also have access to a compressor and paint gun. Do you guys think its worth trying a polisher or will i need to respray it? Also how much is a descent polisher (iv heard i would need a dual action one to get decent results) and would this one be any good......

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PROFESSIONAL-6-DUAL-...=item29fff91735

?

Thanks guys oh yeh here is a few pics

>>>>

http://forum.205gtidrivers.com/index.php?s...p;#entry1048877

Edited March 24, 2010 by lilwille

[toddydal 1]

i wouldnt polish my car with that mate,thats a sander for rubbing the bodywork down,your car dosnt look bad from the pictures but if you want it all the same shade then it will have to be resprayed

[Will Eastman 6]

i would obveously put a polishing attatchment on it, i thought a polisher was just a dual action sander with a polishing attatchment no? Yeh the paint is mainly just oxidised in places and i thought polishing would get this out. What do you think about using t-cut on the car?

[Richie 32]

Personally, if it were me. I'd buy a bottle of autoglym super resin polish some application pads/microfibre cloths and polish it by hand.

 

Give it a few coats over the next few weeks. If not getting it detailed would bring it back quite nicely imo. I can't advise on machine polishers as i have never used one. Also, buy some "plasticare" off ebay and black up your bumpers, and some tyre dressing, oh and a fresh front number plate Nice car btw dude, 1.6 pepperpots "ftw" as they say.

 

5 out of the 6 cars i've owned have been red, and some worse than your XS, and i've managed to get them looking good again. Red does take more maintanence than other colours. There will probably be an obsessive detailer along soon to advise you differently, just my 2p.

[Bigtimmy 1]

Ok, being as its lunchtime and its about to rain I've been into the shed and grabbed some photos.

 

These are my two babies, both from the Makita stable, and both awesomely good!

 

 

This one is my favourite as it has infinately adjustable speed settings rather than just high and low like the other. I also like this one as it has the 3M velcro pad attachment, so changing from a compounding head to a polishing head takes seconds!

 

 

The last shot is of my valeting trolley, mainly full of boat stuff and various different types of polish it's all good stuff. Can you spot the craftily hidden can of Berg? I'll be drinking that later on I think!

 

 

Whilst not professing to know heaps on the subject I have valeted around 200 boats and looked after my fleet of cars with the stuff on the trolley, and I have found some good products and some bad products.

 

With regards to compounding the car by all means have a go, but you will need a polisher with the correct head on it, and be prepared for really achey arms the morning after as well. I once compounded a 40 foot yacht and couldn't even pick my pint up at the end of the day....luckily someone provided a straw which led to doom!

 

It doesn't look too bad to be fair and I have only compounded to worst cars I have bought. If it were me I would try more of a finishing compound like 3M Finnesseit which is a lot finer that basic compound and is easier to work.

 

A couple of tips.

 

1. Plenty of water, have a sprayer on hand and use it often so the paint doesn't get too hot and bubble

2. Wear protection..ooh errr... no silly wear a set of overalls, it can be messy!

3. Keep the polisher head moving to avoid excess heat build up

4. Try and keep away from any black trim, the action of the compound and the polisher head will make a mess of any trim it comes into contact with. I tend to try either take the trim off, or mask it up.

 

Thanks about it...good luck!

[MerlinGTI 3]

Ok here we go:

 

If you are considering a respray, you have nothing to lose by machine polishing first. If done well you would be amazed at how much correction can be achived by a simple polish.

 

Run of the mill 'buy it in sainsburys' AutoGlym Super Resin Polish (maybe some T-cut first if its bad) can also achive great results by hand if you use decent aplicators (AutoGlym Hi tech polish aplicator = £2) + high quality microfibre cloths. Claying (~ £15 Meguires quik clay starter kit) first will give even better results.

 

Machine polishing is what really seperates the men from the boys Results are far superior to hand polishing. 2 types of machine polishers:

 

Random Orbital (Dual Action/DA)

Rotary

 

 

(Stolen from detailing world, credit to DaveKG)

 

Both will do the job. Rotary will provide a higher degree of cut when needed, is more versatile imo, and quicker. A lot of people 'move up' to a rotary from a DA. Rotary is more likely to burn through your paint if your not careful and is harder to master.

 

When chosing a machine, having a varible speed is a must (so no bloody angle grinders :lol )

I wouldnt reccomend using air based polishers because airlines make a mess of any paint work they rub against and they get in the way as well as restrict your freedom of movement. You tend to get what you pay for as always.

 

Your pad/compound choice is crucial. 3M do a great 3 step colour coded system:

 

Green = heavy cut (hard foam pad - Fast cut plus compound)

Yellow = polish (Medium foam pad - Ultra fine compound)

Blue = Finish (Soft foam pad - Ultra Fina compound)

 

None of these compounds are designed to be used wet, adding water was orginally for old school compounds like the orginal forumla G3. You can however spritz the pad every now and then with a sprayer bottle if you find it helps.

 

Expect to pay £20ish per bottle of compound and around £8 per pad. 3M is not your only choice, Meguires/Farcelia/Sonus/AutoGlym and many others do machine polishing bits. 3M is the daddy imo though.

 

You could Wet sand your car with something around 2000grit wet and dry first to further the level or correction, beware of rubbing through though.

 

Dont confuse polishing with waxing, polishing will give you the results - Wax will protect them.

 

Check out these links:

 

www.cartersconsumables.co.uk (shop)

www.i4detailing.co.uk (shop)

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk (forum)

 

 

Good luck and show us piccies! Before and after

Edited March 24, 2010 by MerlinGTI

[MerlinGTI 3]

Just re-read your first post...

 

For the love of god do not consider a DIY re-spray if you havent had a fair bit of past experiance.

 

I work with professional painters who have been doing it 20 years & they still f*** up on a weekly basis. Painting is an art form, its not easy. Polishing however is pretty damn easy with a bit of research and outlay on pads/compounds etc... I garantee you will get far superiour results too.

 

Oh and while we are playing 'Show us your mop' :

 

[toddydal 1]

your car doesnt look to bad really it still looks shiney,i have hand compounded cars before and then waxed them and they have come out just the same as with a machine,,,,,its just alot more harder work and you will sweat your bollox off but it can be done,atleast the 205 is only a small car to do

[Bigtimmy 1]

I have mop envy!!

[samc 1]

pay someone to do polish it for you??? going rates about £70 near me. and make sure whoever does it has lots of experience as burning thriugh on edges is easily done

[Will Eastman 6]

hey thanks for the response. Big help. I think i might go for doing the hand polish. I have always t-cut cars in the past. Can someone tell me the difference between this and polishing, which should i do. Oh and does the aplicator really make a big difference iv just used raggs in the past, might have to go shopping hehe

[Richie 32]

For best results, using a machine polisher is always going to be much much better. But really, its a slippery slope dude. Once you get a machine polisher, you\'ll then buy a paint measuring device, followed by a tub of 10 grand wax, and then shortly after your wife will leave you because you spend all your time cleaning. I\'ve seen it happen, man.

 

I would recommend a claybar too, easy to use and good results. Here is a before/after piccy of my red 205 which was probably worse than yours. Like i say, taking it to a detailer, or machine polishing it would be much better, but you can do a half decent job by hand. I\'d say the microfibre cloth\'s and applicator pads make a big difference. Its not what you buy, its how you use it, and by using proper cloth\'s and pads will give you better results.

 

Edited March 25, 2010 by Richie

[MerlinGTI 3]

Kick ass turn-around Richie

 

Cloths and applicators make a big difference to both the results and the difficulty of the job at hand. If your dead set on doing it by hand this would be my shopping list:

 

Meguires Clay - £15ish

AutoGlym Hi-Tech Polish aplicator - £2

T-Cut - £5

AutoGlym Super Resin Polish - £8

5x Quality Microfibre Cloths - £6ish

New Bucket - £1

Microfiber 'Noodle' wash mit - £1

 

Wash - Clay - Wash - Tcut - SRP - Wax (not mentioned a wax yet, Meguires #16 is the tits @ £12)

 

As Richie said its a slippery slope dude, you have been warned

[Will Eastman 6]

anyone near me got a polisher that i could borow for a day, would be a real help, im near hereford by the way, thanks