Waxing your F-car

If you are refering to the pictures of the Range Rover, all that damage was caused by improper washing and drying techinques. Most (over 95 percent) of new cars (and as far as I know, all new cars sold in the US) feature a basecoat/clearcoat paint system. That is the metal is first painted with an etching primer, then the color of the car is sprayed. At this point the car is dull. Then it is sprayed with a clear paint that gives the car its gloss and shine. One of the benefits of this system is that is much more durable then the old paint systems. One of the main draw backs is the clear coat will show swirls and scratches much easier.

There is a thread in the Florida section that shows a new DB9 on the show room floor. You can see in the flash of the camera, tons of swirls and buffer trails (from improper buffing techniques) and that is a brand new car. I have probably had to polish four or five brand new Ferrari's in the last month because they are delievered in terrible condition (as a brand new car, none the less).

However, even though most new cars (even exotics) are delievered in such a terrible condition, the new owners never get to experience what the car can look like when it is prepped correctly. With that out of the way, most of the damage done (after purchase) is incurred in the washing and drying of the vehicle. Anytime dust, dirt, or grime is wiped across the delicate clearcoat it leaves behind micro scratches. To properly wash a car means taking every necessary precaution to avoid wiping dirt against the paint's surface.

 

Great posts Todd!

Hopefully someday we could get together and perfect a few cars together.

 

Damn Todd, some fine posting. Great info and clear progression of detail.
You mentioned Collonite, is that a brand or class of wax?

 

Thanks!
Collonite is a brand of wax, you can find it at Autogeek.net.

It lasts a very long time (4-6 months) and provides a very bright shine. The gloss of the wax makes it ideal for lighter colors such as white and silver.

 

Considering that you (IMO) are one of the pioneers of machine polishing and amongst the finest detailers in the world Ryan, it would be my pleasure and honor!

 

Todd,

You have a great understanding of detailing. That combined with your clear and concise explanation of it should get you a regular column in an automotive magazine or your own weekend radio talk show!!

Nice job.

 

Hi Joe, the same could be said for you as well mi amigo! I'll see you in a couple days, give me a call!

 

Seriously Todd, you explain it in a way that makes it seem simple. It isn't simple at all, so that is a real gift for everyone here.

I might be in Florida in a few weeks to pick up another Type R, I would love to see the process in person.

 

Todd,

In this awesome thread (below in case anyone hasn't seen it), you use 3M polishing products (Extra Cut, Extra Fine, etc.) to polish out the swirls in the Boxer's paint. Do you recommend these products for Ferrari single stage enamel paint or are there other polishing products that you recommend?

http://autopia.org/forum/click-brag/97973-road-cavillino-complete-177-pictures-1-wk-show.html

Thank a bunch,

-F

 

Thanks for the compliments. I have really tried to avoid digging into this because it is a very complicated subject. Its not that I don’t think you guys cannot comprehend what I am saying, it’s that I fear that I will not do a good explaining it.

I will do my best, however…

Before we dig into removing paint, we have to examine why we remove paint. Defects such as swirl marks are microscopic in depth (that is they are scratches that penetrate into the paint). To remove the swirl marks means we have to bring the level of the paint down, so that it is even with the bottom of the scratch.

This is typically done two ways. One way (used in severe circumstances) is using sandpaper (usually an ultra fine grit, 2000 or higher) to remove small amounts of paint. The other way is using a machine polisher and an abrasive polish to remove small amounts of paint.

Now the paint on your car is either two stage (basecoat/clear coat) or single stage (either lacquer or enamel). The thickness of the paint varies greatly, but it is important remove the least amount of paint possible to re-level it flat. On a two stage paint job (modern cars with a basecoat/clear coat) you should never exceed removing more than 10% of the total clear coat. Given that the total paint thickness is a sheet of paper, and the clear coat comprises about 35% of that, we are left with 1/3 a sheet of paper of clear coat thickness. Now, since we can only remove 10 percent of this amount… Over the life of the car, we should never remove more than 3.5% of a sheet of paper’s thickness. We are talking thin!

On single stage paint, you can remove more paint. Generally (very general) the total thickness of the single stage paint is about 4.5 mils (with a typical 1.5 mils of primer underneath the paint). You can remove roughly 30%-40% of the thickness over the life of the vehicle. This is about a ½ sheet of paper. So there is more play room.

The 512BBi Boxer in that thread had the original single stage paint job. This meant I had more paint to remove before compromising the longevity of the paint itself. However, before polishing the paint, I first inspected the paint for an evidence of prior polishing. I noticed a couple areas of thin paint on the seams, and some light evidence of buffer trails, which lead me to believe that it had be polished before.

With this caution flag throw, I decided it would be prudent to measure the paint depth everywhere on the Ferrari using a digital gauge. As expected on the older Ferrari’s, the paint depth varied greatly, from 4.5 mils to as high as 8 mils. This is common on hand painted cars. Also a couple areas of factory primer where discovered as well (again not uncommon on the hand built cars).

So with the knowledge that I had sufficient paint depth to “play” with, I choose a relatively aggressive approach. So this leads me to answering your question regarding what products I use on which paint?

I have roughly 30-40 different polishes on hand at any given time. I never know what polish I am going to use until I get to work, and often change polishes as I am working. Even identical cars can react differently to the same polishes, based on conditions such as humidity, temperature, the amount of hardener added to the paint at the factory, etc…

The 512BBi had a lot of paint depth, and also had 25 years worth of swirls, scratches, and various damages. With this in mind, I elected to use an aggressive compound (a polish with large abrasives for maximum paint removal). Given the soft paint of the Ferrari, 3M Extra Cut (which you noted that I used) worked very well in preventing the pad from clogging because it is a dry product. I did try various other compounds as well, but received the best reaction for this combination of paint and conditions.

After compounding the paint with an aggressive combination of polish and pad, I then had to refine the surface by using a less aggressive combination. In terms, very similar to sanding something and using finer and finer grits until you are happy with the smoothness. After this step, the paint was further refined using a microscopic abrasive and a non-mechanical pad to perfect the shine and reflection.

As I stated earlier, I have so many different polishes on hand, that selecting the correct and perfect combination for each paint is a lot of working knowledge, experience, and trial and error. I am familiar with the grit of each product, in many cases I know what types of oils and lubricants are in each polish, and I have experimented in how to get the best results from each polish on various paint jobs. (How the sharpness of a particular abrasive found in a particular product will react to varying paint hardness in different humidity, for example).

I guess what I could have said easier is that no, I really cannot recommend the right formula for any particular paint. I could fathom a guess, but even then, it is just a guess.

Regarding machine polishing, keep in mind that two different types of machines are typically used. The direct drive rotary and the orbital…

The direct drive rotary (also call a high speed or a variable speed) is the tool of choice for most professionals (this isn’t to say you cannot get could results from the other type). Most good models range in between 600-3200 REVOLUTIONS per minute. Most polishing is done at 1000-2000 RPM. It is possible for a novice to get good results from a rotary, but the risk is high. Because the revolution of the pad is direct, the rotary can heat paint very quickly. It also removes paint very quickly (comparatively). However, in the hands of a professional, with the correct combination of polish and technique, nothing can bring out the luster in the paint as well as the rotary polisher (I could write another 15 paragraphs explaining why but I won’t bore you).

The other type of machine is the orbital polisher. These machines use a head that orbits (up-down-left-right). There are two main types of orbital buffers. The cheap, single speed ones (such as a Craftsman or Waxmaster) and the better Porter Cable style. The Craftsman and Waxmaster really lack the power to accomplish anything (and IMO, do more harm then good). The Porter Cable style polisher (Porter Cable #’s 7336 and 7242, as well as the Ultimate Detailing Machine, Meguiars G100 and G220, and Grit’s Garage Polisher) is a very good design that features increased power as well as the ability to use different pad’s (which is essential).

Because the PC style orbital uses a counter weight to spin the pad, there is no direct drive on the rotation of the pad. The common PC orbital’s feature variable speeds, generally ranging from 1000 to 6200 OSICALLIONS per minute. The lack of a direct drive prevents the Porter Cable from heating the paint (and burning it). However the lack of direct power does mean the polishing a car with the PC Orbital will take much longer then doing it then using a high speed rotary. Also, because the break down of the abrasives (in the polish) is slightly random (based on the random motion of the pad against the paint), the finish will never have the same sharpness and gloss as paint finished with a high speed rotary.

So can the do it yourselfer safely polish the paint of his vehicle and achieve close to perfect results? Absolutely.

I would recommend using a proven system of user friendly polishes and pads, to keep the possible complication down and have the ability to work on most paints.

Meguiars’ has a great combination that works well with modern and single stage paints, and does a great job of providing near perfect results for the Dyer. As well, they have amazing customer service.

I would pick up the following from them.
G100 or G220 (Porter Cable style polishers)
Backing Plate (to attach their pads)
#83 Dual Action Cleaner/Polish (for medium polishing)
#80 Speed Glaze (for light polishing, final polishing)
4 x 8006 Polishing Pads (2 for each product)

Mike Phillip’s from Meguiars did a very good write up on how to use the Porter Cable style polisher to remove swirl marks on most paint jobs. He explains the concepts of polishing and paint removal very nicely as well as covers the techniques used in the actual polishing.
Here is a link to his write up.

http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2965

 

I think you should get the award for longest, most detailed fchat posts! Holy crap!

 

try using Malm's pure carnuba, but first use their ultra light polishing formula, my car now looks like it is coated with clear coat without a single swirl mark! the stuff really works for me....