G3 Cutting Compound

[pp205 17]

My pug was unfortunately out of action for the summer and was stood for about 3 months. The bonnet faded quite badly in the sun and was noticeably different to the rest of the car. So I got some g3 and went to town on the bonnet the other day. The results were fantastic and it came up beautifully! But this has now highlighted that the rest of the panels need to be done! So I have a long job ahead, especially if the rain doesn't stop!

 

Anyway, I did the bonnet by hand and really need to get an electric polisher/buffer, anyone have any recommendations for a cheapish but decent one?

 

Simon

[ORB 227 1 Cars]

Well, the cheap ones are cack, and serious damage can happen to your paint if you are not proficient in using a buffer. It takes seconds to burn through the paint.

 

I would enlist a bodyshop to flat and polish it for you. It'll cost about 80 quid, but this is less than a decent polisher will cost.

[JoshGti 8]

As ORB has said really, the proper cutting compounds produced by people like G3 are very easy to burn through paint when you are using a machine. As said even for the price of a second hand one and the chance that you might do a good job, if your not already good at doing it then your better off paying for it.

 

Unfortunately machine wise you get what you pay for, the best ones are the ones that LOOK like angle grinders but they move at much slower rpm's specifically for use as a mop for cars. If you do invest in one then there will be plenty of how too's on the Internet but most importantly you just need to remember to keep moving, use lots of water and be careful of edges and bends in panels as its a lot easier to go through the paint here!

 

Or you could do the whole car by hand and enjoy how huge one of your arms gets.

[dee205 3]

Silverline do a good rotary buffer for cheap money. I have used one for this past few years without problems. It works as good as my old Sealey which cost 4 times as much.

 

You really neeed to compound the rest of the car and then polish with a finer grade polish to bring out the best results.

 

Remember you WILL have to wax/seal it after to protect the paint and give it a nice glow.

 

 

 

Damien

[Wes 86 1 Cars]

ive got the silverline one and is very good for the money as its got adjustable speed which an angle grinder wont have.

[harryskid 193]

I did my HicAce van by hand using 1200 wet & dry and T cut. It took ages but it was well worth it. I though of all the power mopping methods but with all the down sides i went for the hand job. The problem with the method your talking about is , lets say you have a raised edge it could be so easy to burn through to the metal. You should use lots of water if you use this method. See my thread on bodies and interiors.

[omega 82]

try this

wash the car so its clean

then use autosmart g101

wash with 901 dura gloss shampoo

then clay it

then use some meguiars 83 then meguiars 80

then use some meguiars 7

then seal with meguiars 16

 

it will take you some time but the results will be worth it

if you get a da then use white pads with the 83 and 80

 

ps dont use t cut if you can avoid it.

Edited October 27, 2011 by omega

[harryskid 193]

try this

wash the car so its clean

then use autosmart g101

wash with 901 dura gloss shampoo

then clay it

then use some meguiars 83 then meguiars 80

then use some meguiars 7

then seal with meguiars 16

 

it will take you some time but the results will be worth it

if you get a da then use white pads with the 83 and 80

 

ps dont use t cut if you can avoid it.

 

[hman205 1]

T-Cut is evil stuff

 

 

I have a UDM101 Dual Action Polisher not as easy to burn the paint as with a rotary but also take alot more work to shift the more stubborn defects foam pads are usually quite forgiving as long as you keep moving use plenty of water and keep checking the panel temps you should be ok have a look on www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/car-care-advice.html for some tips and help on what to do.

 

G3 is quite a heavy cutting compound you may find you could be better off with something like 3m Ultrafina SE which won't remove as much Clear coat/Paint Peugeot doesn't usually have hard paints like Audi/VW do

[mikeygulley 19 1 Cars]

I use FastCut with a rotary polisher which makes the car go dull then I just polish using Auto glym resin polish.

[Tom Fenton 1,542]

I also have the Silverline buffer as above. To be honest I think some people scaremonger about rotarys. YES you can burn through. But keep the speed low, keep plenty of water on the job, and be super careful near edges, and you can get some great results, and without HOURS of arm breaking work too.

[stufarri 98 3 Cars]

I bought a B&Q random orbital sander for £35 - a MACALLISTER brand.

 

This was a Detailing World (nerd mecca for car cleaners around the world) recommendation and to be honest it is spot on and will irradicate the chances of burn-through.

 

It can be used as a buffer without modification and uses a velcro backing for attaching pads and is great for a beginner like me.

 

Best of luck!

[pp205 17]

Thanks for the numerous responses! I'm certainly going to go down the route of getting my own polisher as I'm confident of doing it myself!

 

The main thing is having the time and patience but I know it will be worth it when the paintwork is looking beautiful!

 

And as much grief as I get from the car I know it deserves it!

[harryskid 193]

Thanks for the numerous responses! I'm certainly going to go down the route of getting my own polisher as I'm confident of doing it myself!

 

The main thing is having the time and patience but I know it will be worth it when the paintwork is looking beautiful!

 

And as much grief as I get from the car I know it deserves it!

 

Find yourself a couple of old panels to practise on first !

[GLPoomobile 958]

As much as I think it's wise to warn people of the pitfalls of jumping in with both feet when it comes to machine polishing, it's a wonder anyone ever tries it when it's made out to sound so scary! I had exactly the same feedback when I asked about it on here a couple of years ago.

 

I've only used my polisher once (cos I'm a lazy twat) on the boot of my Alfa. Alfa's have soft paint. It was fine. No kittens died.

 

Yes, you should be careful, but don't be put off giving it a try. There's loads of How To videos on Youtube, and when you watch people doing it they're not exactly going at it like it's a medical procedure.

 

In fact I find it quite funny how so many people will merrily warn others against attempting machine polishing, yet they'll happily lead people up the garden path with other far more complicated jobs with potentially worse outcomes. Telling newbies who don't know a torque wrench from an micrometer that a GTI6 engine conversion is easy, and they should just dive in and give it a go instead of paying a professional, for example.

[Daviewonder 533 3 Cars]

Have a look for 'polish burn through' on youtube. It takes a bit longer than you'd think.

[Andy_C 50]

Topcoat to bare metal in less than 15 seconds. It's possible and even easier to do when you're not trying.

 

Machine polishing is easy to learn and not the black art some make it out to be. Must be pretty simple as I can do it