Help with restoring dead paint finish

Good for you Paul! Don't worry about damaging the paint with a random orbital....next to impossible. Yes, use caution when working on corners and on the edge of body panels because paint is always thinner is these areas.

Peter - Ahh Yes.... P21S is my favorite in the carnauba's and the GEPC is great even by hand. Very well kept secret till now - lol. What you describe is what I use to do and agree with the logic. After polish, 3M IHG and then the top coat of P21S to "lock" the glaze. Works just fine. Only drawback is the P21S is only good for 4-6 washes, then the glaze will be "exposed". However, that is not a real issue if you do a quick coat of P21S once a month or so... the beauty of P21S is that it is so quick and easy to use that I can do my entire car in the same amount of time that it takes to use a Quick Detail spray...great stuff.

 

Paul - just as an afterthought...When you get your buffer..

Place polish on pad, put buffer on car while "off", then turn on the buffer. This will prevent splatter. Start with a speed of 3.5 - 4.0 with moderate to light pressure, let the buffer do the work for you.

Divide the hood (bonnet) into 4 even sections and begin with one section at a time. I'll use north / south and east/west for reference. When you begin move the buffer north/south..on each pass overlap by about 1/2 the pad diameter to ensure equal coverage. When you finished your first pass on the entire section, now move east/west also overlaping where you just passed. When done, start north/south again. Normally, it will take 3 or 4 of these "sets" to finish a section. Work the product until nearly dry. Wipe off with a towel and inspect the finish. If good, move to next section. If not satisfied, add more product and either increase the speed of the buffer or add slightly more pressure... I prefer speed if I'm not getting enough cut.

Of course, you can always experiment on your other car first until you get the hang of it, but it is pretty much goof-proof. Nothing can match the look you will get from a buffer and it cuts the time down in half. Good Luck.

 

He's quite a character, isn't he?

 

Check out www.griotsgarage.com/catalog.jsp?&SKU=10625
and my article at www.fca-se.org/conc_orb.htm

Mike

 

My Porter Cable buffer/polisher is manufactured in Germany. Its a "right angle" model with a variable speed trigger plus a multiple position speed dial. I don't use it higher than 3 although it goes much higher. I haven't had much luck with orbital machines when it comes to polishing. It could be that the ones I've used are just low power units though. No matter which method you use, I've seen pros run a piece of masking tape on the edges or the doors, bonnet, etc, - anyplace where you might errantly polish off more paint than you intended. It protects the edges when you polish the remainder of the panel. Once you're ready to concentrate on the edge of the panel you are working on - just remove the tape and get to it.

Best wishes on getting your 308 finish up to where you want it.

 

I just ordered the Porter Buffer from the link below. The buffer alone is about $125 from this site, but it doesn't some with the velcro wheel or pads. The set below is $194 including the velcro wheel and 5 pads that are color coded for the various types of use. It doesn't include the glaze pad, so you need another black pad (it's $10). The prices at this site aren't always the best, but the buffer price seems pretty competitive and it's nice to get a package with everything you need.

http://www.properautocare.com/74uldemawico.html

 

Frank,

Thanks for the simple "how to" on the polisher. I'm trying to figure out what GEPC stands for.

Peter

 

Just an FYI, If you have a Lowes in your area, they carry the Porter Cable 7336SP which is the exact same unit as the PC 7424 with a different counter weight so you can use larger pads without offset vibration.
It sells for about $109.00

On a side note, be careful with the PC orbital polisher, as they can generate enough heat to move the old lacquer about on the finish of a 308.