Cut & Polish Advice Needed Plz

[Wagon_Wheel]

Hey guys, i got my car sprayed a few months back, needs a cut and polish real bad, paint is dull and needs to be brought to life, the guy that sprayed it was spose to come help me do it but never showed lol and its been months since so i wanna do it myself but wanna know the do's and dont's cause i dont wanna fanny the paint.

I have been told a few diff things like using 1200 wet n dry and whateva and then others have told to use the stuff u buy off the shelves, some say do it by hand, some say use a polisher machine.

Not really sure, so any help would much appreciated.
What I would like to know is, pretty much what to do?
What products are good and what are bad?
Ive seen some are cut and polish in one, and others the cutting compound and the polish seperate. What should i use? any brands in particular?
Any methods i should know of? Or try to avoid?

Thanks in advance guys..........
Geoff.

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

What type of paint was used? If it was 2 pack it shouldn't need any cutting at all, there is not much that can be done with it if it was a bad finish off the gun. If it is acrylic and you want a smooth mirror finish, 1200 wet n dry then cutting compound then polish. Best done with a machine. The best for acrylic is after the cutting compound wash it thoroughly, tack rag it and hit it with clear. But that would mean stripping it again.

[Wagon_Wheel]

Yeah sorry, its acrylic, genesis blue the colour is.
Not keen to hit it with clear again.
Any chance u can explain to me how to do it at all? cause using 1200 doesnt really say much.
Tack rag?

[Cobez]

persoanally, i use TRU-GRIT cutters and polish (both come in 2 litre jugs kinda pricey but TRU-GRIT cutters is bloody brilliant!) and i use a power buffer on low - medium speed..........always brings up the paint a treat........

[Wagon_Wheel]

Ohhh ok, so you guys reccomend using a power buffer or not?
And what about the pads for them? dont some of them stuff ur paint?
Or better off just sticking to doing it by hand?

[Wagon_Wheel]

anyone????

[Scooter79]

I don't think there's a need for wet sanding. Sounds to me like to will need to machine buff but unless you're confident you should stay away from the rotary and go with an orbital sander/polisher with a foam pad. I'm not to familiar with acrylic finishes. Acrylic might cake up on the foam pad. In that case you might need a wool pad. I suggest you talk to Chris. AKA 'Driven By Shine' here on this forum, or go to his website drivenbyshine.com.au He's a pro detailer and will offer better advice than anyone else here. No offence intended towards anyone.

[Wagon_Wheel]

Cheers, thanks for that man, might hit him up with a msg later on, I will prob be doing it by hand, because 1) dont wanna buy a polisher and 2) bit scared of taking the paint straight off lol, but yeah i been researchin on the net all evening, and ill go down to repco tmoz morning and try and talk to some ppl.
Any other advice is much appreciated too

[Scooter79]

Cheers, thanks for that man, might hit him up with a msg later on, I will prob be doing it by hand, because 1) dont wanna buy a polisher and 2) bit scared of taking the paint straight off lol, but yeah i been researchin on the net all evening, and ill go down to repco tmoz morning and try and talk to some ppl.
Any other advice is much appreciated too

#1, I can understand but it is an investment that I highly recommend. Go down to your local Bunnings for a look at their orbital sanders. One of the most recommended for car detailing is the Bosch PEX400. At about $150 it's reasonably priced. I own and use a GMC ROS150M which was about $130. Then again, you need to buy your buffing pads on top of that.

#2, a random orbital is totally safe to use on your paint work. It's virtually fool proof. It's the rotary machines that look like the angle grinders that you need to be careful with.

As well as talking to Chris, you should also go to waxit.com.au for a look at what products are available. Some of the best stuff available is on that site.

[Wagon_Wheel]

Cheers mate, ill investigate further tmoz, my day off. Thanks again
What about those cheapo $50 polishers? are they one of those things that you just stay away from?

[Scooter79]

Are you talking about those supercheap $50 polishing machines? I have one of them but the problem with them is they have a thick sponge backing plate so all you can do is put a 'bonnet' over it. The bonnets that come with them are usually terrible. I did find a really good use for mine though. I found a good quality microfibre bonnet at supercheap recently. I now use it with the microfibre to remove the sealant or wax after it has cured. By hand it seems to take forever but with the cheap buffer and the microfibre bonnet I can remove wax from the whole car in 10 minutes. The beauty of the orbital sanders is they have a solid velcro backing plate that you can attach all sorts of buffing pads too. There are some good cheap orbitals at bunnings for around the $50 or $60 mark.

[Driven By Shine]

wagon wheel - is it possible to post a pic of the paint and the problem areas?

there are so many variables. DONT touch 1200 or any sandpaper yet untill you get some advice from someone who has seen the car. Also in the way of not wanting to buy machines if you get aggresive compounds and attempt to do it by hand you may cause more damage as we humans cant create the heat and speed needed to break down the cutters so all you will end up doing is basically scratching the paint in the areas you rub. If you can manage to do it by hand it may be inconsistant as you tire. You would also need to wetsand right up to 3000 or 4000 grit to have any chance of removing the sanding scratches with a polish by hand. (too much like hard work) and I reckon the sand paper in those grits would cost more then a machine.

Seriously a pro in your area may be cheaper then the equipment needed. Look into it.

Chris

[Wagon_Wheel]

Cheers mate, Ive got an orbital sander at home, so ur saying i can just get an attachment for that?
I would need diff pads for cutting and polishing wouldnt i?

Today is my day off, so im gunna head down to repco later look into it some more, i might give it a go on a small area out of sight and see how it turns out.
Probly just do a section at a time, if it takes forever it doesnt bother me.
Ill get a photo later on, but the paint is sorta dull, not shiny/mirror finish, and some parts are a bit rough. Im not expecting the BEST results i just wanna get it to look a bit better. As im planning on selling it in a few months if all goes to plan.

[Scooter79]

Mate, just wondering how you went? Any results that you can show us yet? What particular products and process did you decide on?

[Wagon_Wheel]

Hey mate, i decided to give it a go by hand, i bought some "water rubbing compound" and polish, think the brand was REPO or somthin, the cutters says its specifically for hand rubbing, i started slowly on the boot, took me a while but turned out pretty good, stuff works really well, thats all ive done so far but ill get stuck into it tmoz again, cause im too hungover today, and sunday/monday are me days off. Thanks for all the help too guys

[Scooter79]

See if you can post some before and after pictures. Would also be a good idea to use a pure polish following the cutting process. Something like Meguiars Deep Crystal polish or Meguiar's Mirror Glaze #7 (show car glaze) then finish with a good wax or sealant. I've heard very good things about Meguiars 'Colour X' too which is more of an all in one product.

[Wagon_Wheel]

Oh ok sweet, yeah will prob wax afterwards, ill get stuck into it tmoz, ill try and post some pics..... but dunno how they will show, cause u really cant show great detail on them, but the overall finish is a lot better, really shiny and smooth now. Not perfect but hopefully ill get a better technique when i do some more.

[Wagon_Wheel]

Got the pics finally, not that you can tell much from the pics but there is a big difference.
Before was dull, and a bit rough, after was shiny and smooth, but still not perfect.
And ive still only done the boot, was busy all day today so didnt get a chance to.
Heres before:


And heres after:

[Scooter79]

Good work, Wagon. You can defintely see a difference there. Is that 'after' photo following the Repo cutting compound? What type of paint finish is it? Single stage or does it have a clear coat?

[Wagon_Wheel]

The after photo was after using the cutting compound and a quick polish, the paint is acrylic with clear coat.

[Driven By Shine]

Wagon wheel, Id say by looking at these pics the clear is real orange peeley and therefor not allowing the light to reflect a nice sharp image. Im not recommend you do this as I havent seen up close but here is whats might be needed if this is the case..

It does look and sound easyier then it is, dont try it if you dont have the confidence and proper equipment get someone to give you a hand that knows what there doing.

This area alone took about 2 hours

I sanded with wet and dry 1500 then 2000, (by hand)
Then buffed with a wool pad and Pinnacle XMT 3
white foam with XMT 3
white foam with XMT 2

This is what I was faced with (remember it was okay as it was just painted) look at the reflection


After the sanding


During the buffing stage - Pinnacle XMT 3 and a wool pad


Left half done after the White foam pad and XMT 3 and then XMT 2 and the right half sanded


Basically finished and unfortunatly the sun was still hiding so thats the best I could get.

[Wagon_Wheel]

Whoa!!! That really is a big difference, thanks heaps for the advice..... Im really not sure to whether i want to give it a shot or not though, as i havnt had any experience with doing that i dont wanna stuff anything, ill see how i go with the rest of it, as the plan is to sell it within a couple months it doesnt really have to be perfect and i dont wanna stuff it bad.

[Driven By Shine]

Thats a good idea, its not that easy, I mean its not hard but sand paper can do alot of damage very quickly and you will get a fright when the panel dries and looks very very very dull. Keeping the grit away from under the paper is what does most of the damage (deep scratches) and then theres the risk of rubbing thru the clear and then your really stuffed

Just the compounds and pads and machines would cost more then getting a pro to do it anyway.

Good Luck

Chris