jimmies63

It has been a loooong time since I compounded or polished a car. This weekend I wanted to get my next project started since my vette is not ready yet. It is not a vette, but i figured i would get good advice here on how to do it. The paint is heavily oxidized and it is a big car so doing it by hand will be tough. Any thoughts on products and buffers would be greatly appreciated.
I did the trunk by hand tonight with compound but it only came out so so. There has to be a way to make it come out like new.

Nitrodamus

I guess there is always a risk of going through the color coat while using polishing compound.

I'm not an expert, but if it wasn't too bad... I would use a clay bar.

I'm a huge fan of Zaino products http://www.zainostore.com/

but there ore several others that I'm sure other people will mention. Good luck on your project!

jimmies63

I think the staining and damage is beyond a claybar but will stand corrected. It isn't just surface contaminants, I have serious staining and spotting from I guess acid rain.

MiguelsC2

It will require compounding and polishing by machine. From what you describe, it may need wet sanding also. Unless you are very well versed in the above procedures? Take it to a pro. Wonders can be done by the right person.

GeoffM

I just used a auto glym clay bar system on my drive car today, came up beautifully on metallic black. If your paint is not in great condition, and if you are not 100% sure get a professional to do the intense work , it's real easy to wet sand through an edge then there are lots of tears

Chuck Gongloff

I'm deadly with a buffer in my hands.

If ANY of you ever see my holding a buffer, take it from me immediately. I can screw up paint in an instant.

I have no "knack" for using a buffer.

I have many friends in the auto body biz. On several occasions in the past, I've taken cars to these friends and had cars wet sanded and buffed.

I can recall taking my 88 Corvette, my 92 Corvette, my 2000 Corvette, and more recently, my 56 Chevy.

A pro can do wonders. You can burn through paint in an instant with a buffer.

Chuck

Stewart Allison

There is a link on this sight under General Corvette. Go to car care products. The guys on there are very savvy on polishes and applications on paint work.
I have been shown how to clay bar wet sand and rotary polish by the best and the results are incredible. You do need to be shown how to go about wet sanding and using a rotary buff. You can take an edge off real quick with the wet sanding.
Try the site link and ask the question there. They will help immensely.

Frankie the Fink

I'm also dangerous with a buffer....wife has orders to "taze" me if I pick one up.
Real easy to burn thru the paint with aggressivive polish...especially on sharp corners.
Get a pro.....guy did my car for 125 dollars.

OldKarz

I am with the others, if I can't get it done by hand, I will let an experieced pro at it with a buffer. I have been known to really "do well" with a buffer! Very seldom have I not been able to get it done , but I enjoy working on paint.

dplotkin

Here's the thing, with badly oxidized paint you need to carefully compound it and it has to be done with a rotary buffer and not a DA or RA (dual action-random orbit). That is because you cannot generate enough heat or cutting power with a DA, which is the only thing I use since you cannot burn paint with one. So you really need a pro to compound tough paint.

Having said that, you do not need a pro to maintain the paint once it is compunded, And for you guys who are forbidden to hold a buffer, I dig it. I'm not allowed to hold paint brushes. If I'm seen with one, my wife calls the cops, the HAZMAT crew and the DPW.

Consider buying a $175 Porter Cable DA, some foam pads, and then go to Utube for a video on how to use it. Once you do, you will be amazed (and thrilled) with what it and a couple hours can do polishing, glazing, de-swirling/hazing and waxing your cars. It is easy and you cannot hurt anything.

Dan

Chuck Gongloff

Hmmmm.

I'm sure I could manage to screw up the paint with a DA buffer too.

Chuck

MiguelsC2

Unless you drop it on the finish, dual action- correction: (random orbital) buffers are idiot proof.

I use my high speed Milwaukee from compounding to final finish before the hand wax.You get the hang of it after a few thousand cars.

Bat Man

See if your local Walmart is selling the mequiars pro detailer products. Look for their da polisher g110v2 and go with their microfiber correction system. Together these will run you 200 bucks total.

If not go to autogeek.net. I recommend either the g110v2 or the griots garage 6.

mashinter

My old pick-up was red enamel (no clear coat) and would chalk up badly. I used a Makita rotary buffer with wool bonnet, machine compound, and lots of water. (I prefer doing it by hand, but there was no way with the heavily oxidized truck. Don't buff the edges, do that by hand.) It came out looking like new. My neighbor couldn't believe it.

Bat Man

Here are links to help you. Don't listen to the people talking bad about buffers, with Meguiars new microfiber correction system you can get rotary results with a da buffer fast and extremely safe.

http://www.autogeekmobile.net/griots...-polisher.html

http://www.autogeekmobile.net/da-mic...r-kit-5in.html

Bat Man

Here's a review from one of the worlds top detailers
http://www.toddcooperider.com/review...ishing-system/

MiguelsC2

IMHO the guys a shill for Meguires.

Only Meguires product I use is their hard carnuba. You will seldom find their products on the shelf in a pro detail shop.

I will leave to DAs correction: (random orbital)to the home user. Very competant machines. But not capable of cutting a finish properly.

Meguires is real good at marketing a new "wheel" or some new miracle product that supposed to revolutionize the industry.

Fact is VERY few new products do anything different than their predecessors.

MiguelsC2

Do you have experience with high speed polishers? If you did? You would know the limitations of any orbital polisher.

Stewart Allison

The last car I did for a customer came to $1000 and I thought that was cheap. There is 100's of hours in a full paint restoration/detail.

BarryK

you are very wrong on many points.

I was a professional detailer and still do some jobs for select past customers.
I used a large variety of products, depending on what was needed for the job at hand but the vast majority of the products in my stock was from Meguiar's. I'm not talking about the basic "consumer" level product you buy at your local Pep Boys store but rather their Professional line and Detailer line of products, which happen to be excellent products. There are more expensive "boutique" brand of detailing product but for overall performance, results, and value the Mequiar's Professional and Detailer line is hard to beat.

as for buffers, do NOT underestimate the effectiveness of a good DA buffer. I am well versed on rotary and DA buffers and the last few years my standard "go-to" buffer is the flex XC-3401 DA buffer. In over 90% of the time it's results are easily equal to that of a rotary buffer. Only on the most severe defects do I grab for the rotary buffer. No matter how experienced the user, a rotary can easily burn thru paint or clear coat on edges and sharp body lines FAST and rotary buffers are nototious for leaving buffer "trails" unless you are VERY careful, neither of these negatives are associated with DA buffers.
I've done MAJOR paint defect removals with my Flex DA, again, easily the equal to a rotary in all but the most very severe cases.

regardless of what you think about meguair's marketing, they DO have a lot of very excellent products. Besides, people like you that 'focus' on the product simply tells me that you really are not heavily involved in the industry and really don't know what you are talking about. Great results can be gotten from most products out there, no matter the brand. The trick isn't the product you use but the process and technique you use on the vehicle.
A good, experienced detailer using the least expensive consumer level product from Pep boys will end up with better results than someone else using the most expensive products but they have no idea of proper usage of the products, techniques, and processes to get the end result desired.

Oh... and FACT IS, MANY new products, from Mequiars and other companies DO work and perform very differently than their predecessors. One of the biggest changes is in the way compounds and polishes are formulated and work. They are VERY different than the older style of polishes but again unless you are actually involved and informed about the products and their correct usages and techniques I do understand that you wouldn't realize this.