For Christmas I received an orbital polisher. This was after I discovered that the bonnet of my Mica Green Mk 2.5 has developed what I can only describe as crazing. No sign of it elsewhere.
Anyway, can anyone point me at a writeup, book etc, on detailing. I may as well try to avoid as many mistakes as possible…
As much as it pains me to suggest another forum then the daddy of detailing forums is;
http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/
We do however have several guys on here as well with orbital polishers so one may be along shortly…
I am more concerned about whats happened to you paint ! Is it the original paint or do you know if its been resprayed at any time. ? The paint on my mica green 2.5 is in perfect condition on the bonnet, apart from the usual chips, so whats happened to yours ???
It pains me too! It’s 2001 and was in excellent condition, apart from the odd chip, plus whorls from my inadvised use of a sponge for washing. Then, about a couple of months ago, my wife mentioned the whorls. It was in looking at them that I spotted the crazing. It’s all over the bonnet but on no other part of the car. It’s a sort of crocodile skin effect. Almost as though the paint layer has contracted, causing the surface to crack. It’s almost certainly just in the laquer layer.
I’ll try T-Cut on a tiny area, to see if that has any effect.
I’m stumped for ideas as to what can affect the bonnet, but not the rest of the car. I’ve used Turtle Wax on it, recently, and rain stopped play before I got beyond the bonnet.
sounds like it had a respray at some point. How long have you had it, any chance of some comeback with the sellers ?
Paint on bonnet is no different than elsewhere so far as I am aware, other than the metal is aluminium and fairly soft, so what ever you do, be gentle as its not that hard to put small dents in it…
I’ve had it three years, so I’d be surprised if such a relatively sudden change is related to what happened before I bought it. I’ll try removing some of the wax polish, in case it’s as simple as too thick a layer atarting to be affected.
keep us posted, I’m intrigued now…
I’ve a more sensible theory, now. It’s based on “coincidence”.
A closer look at the marks shows they aren’t, as I at first thought, a sort of collection of rectangular paterns. The Sherlock type magifying glass shows they are almost parallel lines in one direction, with other similar lines, almost at 90 degrees. From this is derived the large number of four sided scratched figures. That’s the sort of patern that might come from the two directional way in which I often apply polish.
Now to the coincidence. Until a few years ago we owned a steel trad type canal narrow boat. On one vistit to the marina the vertical side panels, on one side, had similar scratch marks. Eventually I managed to almost remove them, using green T Cut. At the time I thought it might be either vandalism or, more likely, grit on the sponge used for washing down the sides, before applying pre winter polish.
We eventually sold the boat. BUT, I brought the Turtle Wax bottle back home. I’m wondering whether I might just have picked up the same bottle of polish, when I recently polished just the bonnet of the car. Since I’ve often washed the car, using the same cloths, followed by wiping with micro cloth, it doesn’t seem likely that the cloth is the culprit. One of the two bottles of Turtle Wax just might be.
I’m looking for a suitable piece of painted metal, to try each bottle of polish on, to see if one contains something abrasive.
Meanwhile, I’m open to ideas on the best way of trying to deal with the scratches. It looks as though they are confined to the laquer, so is it a job for TCut and the orbital polisher, or is there something better?
If all else fails, I’ll see if the local body shop can tackle just the bonnet. That should be a bit less financially ruinous than a full respray!
throw away the old wax !!! buy some nice new stuff…
have a look at something like ScracthX or some of the other Megs stuff… its all good…
Arghhhhhhh T cut should never go near a car…
As Martin has suggested there are some guides on detailing world about using orbital and DA polishers.
Is yours an orbital or a Dual action? like a Meguires G220 or a PC. The way you use them is vastly different, mostly DA for the novice and orbitals for the pro as they can burn through modern paint in seconds.
Have a look also at the Sonus polish website for ideas.
This what they can do…
I am with Nice One on the T-cut. It was developed in the days when paint was about 1/4 inch thick. Modern paints are really good these days, but they are very thin compared to days of yore. Meguires have some good products to get rid of ‘swirles’,but then so do Autoglym and Zimol. You pays your money and takes your choice.
Regarding bird lime, here is an extract from the ‘Drivers Tips’ of my site (Check out http://www.morethanjustchips.com/?cat=14 ) :
Bird Lime – deposits vary by the season, depending on what is available for the bird to eat, by general diet, different birds eat different types of food and by size. Rule One – remove as soon as possible, certainly within 24 hours, using a water spray to soften and loosen the deposit and only use a damp cloth (or paper towel) once all the deposit is free of the painted surface. NEVER be tempted to scrape off a dry deposit, or to scrub it off with a damp cloth or sponge.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = “urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office” /><o:p></o:p>
Good to see that we can get our older classics looking great. I worked on my '93 V Specs BRG over the Christmas hols (I like Zimol, especially for dark colours) and got it’s tired paint looking pretty good - http://www.withavee.co.uk/page25.html
So, I’m about to bite the bullet, consign the rotary present to the loft and order the G220. One question, please. Which pad should I use with Meguiars SwirlX?
After trawling through the various postings on swirls and scratches I’ve decided to try ScratchX, with a W8009 Polishing Pad, followed by NXT 2.0, with a W9006 Finishing Pad.
Looking to order these via the Meguiars site, together with a G220, I can’t locate the pad numbers and am not sure of the NXT 2.0 either. If someone who’s familiar with the Meguiars site could tell me exactly what to order I’d be extremely grateful.
I’d give the scratch-x a miss and get some #83 DACP and some #80 Speedglaze. Both are available from www.cleanyourcar.co.uk. I have no affilliation with the aforementioned site but can recommend them . Using scratch-x using a machine polisher would in my opinion be a bit dodgy
To play safe, I’ve also ordered SwirlX, to start with. I’m starting from a position of total ignorance!