Door handle removal

[Jack84]

were you using an orbital, or DA machine?

I was using an orbital buffer with 150mm foam pad. I might have to invest in a
75mm buff pad put it on my drill to get around those spots... my car has heavy swirls I’ve been doing a panel at a time over the last few months

 

[panhead]

DA and random orbital buffer/polishers operate on the similar principle of eccentric motion which means they don’t apply their cutting force/energy in one spot with the DA being the most aggressive of the two and both are great for the home enthusiast.

A regular rotary buffer/polisher only runs in a circular motion and are for professionals only as any lingering or undue pressure means they will quickly cut through or burn the painted surface.

Masking should always be used for all types of machines to protect against the accidental passing of the machine over materials like unpainted plastics or rubbers which can cause marring.

The edge of quarter panels and bonnet and door edges are also masked as these areas often have a very thin layer of paint compared to the body of the panels and if not careful it doesn’t take much to eat through the surface at these points.

Masking adds a protective barrier if you lose control of the buffer/polisher or slightly over run your sweep which can easily happen and even if it takes a couple of hours to mask properly that is well worth it compared to the cost of a respray to repair the damage you could do if you don’t.

Pad and polish selection is also important and you chose a polish and pad to suit the correction needs, you don’t need an aggressive cut from the pad and polish if you are just adding a shine, and sometimes it’s better to use an aggressive polish teamed with a less aggressive pad to remove swirls.

This type of correction polishing takes time as it works on the same principle as using sandpapering, you start with an aggressive pass and work your way through stages until you get to the final cut then buff.

There are also small buffers available for tight and hard to access spots and sometimes these can be a great asset if you are trying to polish as much of the surface as possible.



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[Fu Manchu]

A DA buffer with variable speed control is important as well.

Some cheap ones for sale between $100-$150 at most car parts shops.

Rupes is a really good brand to buy for more serious use and have a premium price tag to match.

 

[Jack84]

Thanks Panhead

Good to know about the edges with thin paint I just re sprayed my door handle and noticed the paint was very thing on the top edge... I will try a heavy compound to get the swirls out and this time might turn the speed down from max.
Defiantly worth masking everything first plus saves clean up after from splatter

 

[lmoengnr]

were you using an orbital, or DA machine?

Had a brain fart, meant to be 'rotary, or orbital/DA machine...

 

[panhead]

Thanks Panhead

Good to know about the edges with thin paint I just re sprayed my door handle and noticed the paint was very thing on the top edge... I will try a heavy compound to get the swirls out and this time might turn the speed down from max.
Defiantly worth masking everything first plus saves clean up after from splatter

Yeah cleanup can be a bugger if you've got splatter on all the unpolished surfaces like the glass.

I always mask off and cover the glass, grills, sunroof, badges, vents, lights, door handles and any openings with newspaper so as I don't have to clean up afterwards.

Any painted edges that are masked so the machine doesn't damage them while polishing are barely noticeable when you look at the rest of the shine but if you want to go that bit further then do small spot hand polishing along the edges and for places like under door handles that suffer from finger nail swirls.

Then once you're done buy some clear guard protectors for under handles similar to these.


https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/4pcs-In...a=0&pg=2047675&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851






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[lmoengnr]

Yeah cleanup can be a bugger if you've got splatter on all the unpolished surfaces like the glass.

I was given some Autoglym compounds to polish a friends car, and that garbage slung off everywhere. Took ages to clean up...
I'll stick with Menzerna compounds, they don't sling and a little bit goes a long way.

 

[Fu Manchu]

Always wondered about those clear guards for under the handles. Of course you’d be recommending them through personal use, yeah?

We have new paint and my wife has nails like a cat. Does my head in asking her to open the handle without scooping under the handle to do it.

 

[Fu Manchu]

As for splatters, I’ve watched some pro reviews of turtle wax ice compound compared to Meguiars ultimate compound.
I was somewhat surprised to see turtle wax (makes my eye twitch to say this) perform almost equally to the Meguiars.
*Meguiars, Mothers and Autoglym are what I have used for 30 years. I’ve always viewed Turtle Wax as a cheap bodgy product but they have started to dip their toes into a new level of convenience products.

The best feature of the new age Turtle wax compound and polish is that residue rinses off clean from plastics and unintended places. Where as traditional pro brands leave that white marking that is either impossible or super hard to remove. This rinse off feature is something I’d anticipate pro brands to work towards adopting.

Don’t forget to seal the corrected finish with at least a wax or wax and then a sealer.

I’ve really taken to Maguiers Hybrid ceramic but will next try the Turtle Wax Ice sealant which goes up well for performance against all of the new spray on sealants like Maguiars, Mother’s CMX and Bead Maker.

I love cleaning and detailing, just do my own cars now days.

 

[panhead]

I was given some Autoglym compounds to polish a friends car, and that garbage slung off everywhere. Took ages to clean up...
I'll stick with Menzerna compounds, they don't sling and a little bit goes a long way.

As I've said before on this forum, I'm also a huge Menzerna fan and don't use anything else when it comes time to polish and the fact it's available in a good range of cutting grades means you can always find exactly what you need for the job.

And you're totally correct the pad requires just a little to do the job which then means very little splatter.

I don't find it completely sling free but the micro dots that do get thrown are always caught by the newspaper I place over the areas I want to keep clean.

And even though it may cost a little bit more to purchase it ends up cheaper because you need less of it to get a shine and what a shine it gives.

And as I've also said many times I'm not into ceramic when it comes to a sealant, I mush prefer the lushness of a good an old fashion high content carnauba wax for protection.

I've been using Dodo Juice Supernatural for about 15 years or so, it has a good percentage of carnauba without breaking the bank.



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