Let the fun commence

[duckson]

Just got a Kestrel DA polisher and hard paint kit (Menzerna pads and polish) from Polished Bliss delivered today, had a little play in failing light on the wifes light metallic blue Scenic (hides swirls pretty well like all light metallics), couple of hits with 85RE on a polishing pad gave me a good start:-

http://www.duckworth.myzen.co.uk/clean/scenic.JPG

I'd washed, clayed (Sonus Green), re-washed beforehand.

I'll finish the bonnet and then start tackling my black Z4 which should make swirl spotting easy, just need a halogen lamp setup on a stand (screwfix i think)....pic above is the one attached to my garage!

 

[Wondermike]

Mmm looks interesting actually, how easy was it to do that? Mine desperately needs doing. Do you need to watch that you don't polish a big hole in the paint?

 

[duckson]

Pretty easy to do really. Just dont go silly with the polish and pad combo, without a paint thickness gauge (best part of £200 for the cheapest i believe) your into a guessing game on the amount of clearcoat left to play with. Most cars should have 50-100microns which is more than enough for lots of defect removal, of course you dont want to get to anywhere near clearcoat failure!
As for using the machine itself it just takes a bit of practice, you'll struggle to damage paint with a DA polisher as the head is randomly moving about and isnt running on a fixed postion like a rotary so burning the paint is vastly reduced. Also pressing down in the DA and the pad does stop spinning quite easily unless your at the upper end of the speed ranges.

Take a read of this guide, DaveKG is one of the main gurus on DW - http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=63859

 

[Ian_Mac]

Bloody hell, I never realised those paint gauges were so expensive. Had thought about getting one to check the paint on potential new purchases. At £200 a shot I'll pass.

Remember to post some pics of your handy work on the Z, maybe some nice 50/50 shots?

 

[GAZA62]

Look forward to the pics

 

[duckson]

It might take a few weeks to get all my panels done, i'll be doing them one at a time (wash, clay, re-wash, defect removal) in the evenings most likely.

 

[Wondermike]

duckson, cheers for the link. Hmmm might be investing on one of these soon.

 

[sammyz]

Duckson,

you can have a go at mine if yours turns out OK. I'm gonna end up paying someone to do it. Help you recoup the cost of the gear.

 

[duckson]

you can have a go at mine if yours turns out OK. I'm gonna end up paying someone to do it. Help you recoup the cost of the gear.

Haha well i dont have liability insurance.....

I've had to send it back anyway, the backing plate isnt sitting right on the machine....they sent me a new backing plate but its still the same so the machine must be at fault.

 

[duckson]

Over the last couple of nights i've got onto attacking the Z4's panels, only done the boot lid and most of the photos didnt turn out as well as i'd hoped but here is a couple from tonight.
Used Menzerna IP RD3.02 on a Menzerna 135mm polishing pad on the horizontal boot surface and a Menzerna 80mm polishing pad on the vertical surface. Also finished off with Menzerna PO85RE on Menzerna 135mm/80mm finishing pads, polisher is a Kestrel dual action. 1 hit required on all areas but i was only working 12"x12" or thereabouts so quite small sections which concentrated the defect removal and i would say its defect free apart from a few RDS.

BEFORE

AFTER

FLAKE SHOT

REFLECTION SHOT

 

[Herminator]

Looking good. Any idea what you'd use to get rid of a few RDS's?
Was there much dust after polishing?

 

[duckson]

Probably best with a spot pad on the RDS(s) in question, keeps any correction local to the area and a spot pad will remove more clearcoat than a standard size pad.
There was a bit of dust after using the IP, not much after the 85RE....pad was sprintzed with Megs LT before each hit.

 

[sammyz]

looks very good. Just got my DA polisher and kit. Had a quick play with the top of the boot but it was way too sunny so I didn't really get into it. Will have a proper go next week.

 

[paddy wright]

looks ace

 

[duckson]

Done the near side rear quarter panel tonight.....still struggling with the pics, could do with getting the car in the garage where it is darker and so just have one light source which should improve things.

50/50...RHS corrected

Few reflection shots once finished, the sapphire black is just flake mad!

 

[Herminator]

Got any scratches you've not yet removed? I'd love to see the results on proper scratches, rather than swirls.

 

[sammyz]

Had a first detailing attempt today on my C2s bonnet. Got rid of 90% swirls and scatches but some of the deeper ones aint shifting. I used a fairly aggressive pad and polish in the end so I was expecting a deeper cut. However, I'm quite pleased (less is more when your learning to detail)and will experiment on the car using difdferent pad/polish combos before going anywhere near the Zed.

An incredible mirror finish is possible using some of the finer polishes and glazes. All good stuff!