A Red S2000 Detailed - you name the defect, it's got it :)

John: "x2" to me means I buff the section completely, twice. In other words, I work the HTEC/OP in with overlapping passes. On this car, I did 4 or 5 overlapping passes which let the polish/compound work down to a translucent stage. On polishes, I work til transparent, but working HTEC down that far will require about 10-ish passes, when ultimately, the product is worked down at 5. Anyway, I then wipe the panel clean, and move to the next panel. The reason being is that the panel just worked is very warm. Making it hot could serve an adverse effect. I always go to the next, then come back when having to buff twice.





Re: the orange pad...I'm not sure. I'm new at the PC, but know how polish works and should work. I worked the 106 in for about 6-7 very slow, overlapping passes and it finished down dead clean. I checked it with the sun poking through the trees as well as a flash and the Brinkmann. I was also surprised to see no "PC haze", but then again, I also found the white pad not cutting it well enough.







Thanks again.
 
Sean, Thanks for clearing that up. I have noticed a huge heat difference in panels since using the rotary. Thanks for the warning/tip. I guess I can step up my number of passes and my results should be even better.



The orange pad usually does not finish off perfect with darker paints, but it obviously did in your case. Perhaps I need to start using mine more.



Again that S2000 looks stunning!
 
Scottwax said:
Simply supeb work, Sean. From trashed to better than new. :)



Zymol looks really good over your prep work on that red paint. :)



I guess I am the opposite of you, I prefer the deep rich look of carnaubas to the bright reflective sealant shine. Guess that is why both waxes and sealants will always have their place in the detailing world. ;)
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Well put Scott! I'm with you in that I prefer the look of a carnauba wax more than a sealant.
 
G35stilez said:
The Metabo has a hump...[but]..There is no trigger, just on/off like the PC.
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Like the idea of the hump (seldom use the handle on my Makita), don't like the idea of no trigger, not sure I'd adapt to that all that well.



Lighter/handier than the Makita would really be something, compared to the Milwaukee I used back in the day the Makita seems like a featherweight.



For as often as I need the rotary I oughta save my money but I'm a tool junkie :o
 
Accumulator said:
Like the idea of the hump (seldom use the handle on my Makita), don't like the idea of no trigger, not sure I'd adapt to that all that well.



Lighter/handier than the Makita would really be something, compared to the Milwaukee I used back in the day the Makita seems like a featherweight.



For as often as I need the rotary I oughta save my money but I'm a tool junkie :o
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I'm with ya. I love my trigger, but the feel of this Metabo was like nothing I've used.



The best way I think I can describe it (with my limited use) is that it has the balance of a Cyclo, but performance (obviously) of a rotary.
 
Heh heh, I'd better hurry up and do the M3 with my Makita so I can quit thinking about stuff like this :D When you start comparing it with the Cyclo, well, you know ;)
 
Great job Sean. :bow I just hate to see Zymol Japon used. :( That is nasty stuff.



You did a masterful job of eliminating the swirls. :)
 
G35stilez said:
RAG: The Metabo has a hump, almost like riding a horse with a saddle right on the head of the machine. When I used it, I found it very comfortable and easy to control.



I have two gripes with the machine, though:



1) Price. It's one of the most expensive out there, but also worth it.

2) There is no trigger, just on/off like the PC.
Click to expand...



Per issue #1...I log 4-8 hours a day polishing, 5 or 6 days a week, so paying high $$ for a premium buffer is fine by me.



Per issue #2...I might like a on/off swith, as I always use/depress the trigger lock function on my Makita so I don't have to hold the trigger.



I'm going to have to try one sometime soon.
 
Oxygen said:
you work has inspired a newbie like me. just like a car came form the lot.
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I'd say better than coming from a lot ;)



Great job, if i can make my red car look even 75% as good, ill be extremely happy.
 
Great work as always Shaun, the finish on that is just spectacular. I have one question: do you use a paint thickness gauge? In the past I have managed to remove over 15% of paint thickness on Honda's with just IP and light cut pads on the PC, and I won't detail them now without taking plenty of readings first. :eek:
 
**9/28/06 Update**



I was given permission by Eric Dunn at Lake Country to “let the cat out of the bag�. For this detail (and many others) in the past month or so, I used the new Lake Country CCS Pads ( http://lakecountrymfg.com/featured.html ). Thanks to Eric at Lake, he gave me a couple samples to test out prior to its official introduction. To date, they have only been used in the OEM market.



So far, I could estimate the use of these pads on at least 10 different vehicles. They come in various shapes and sizes, but I was using the 6� pads in 1� thickness. The cut levels I had were the Orange Cutting, White Polishing, and Black Finishing. I used them with a 5� Lake Country flexible backing plate. These combos were used on the rotary and PC at various speeds (mentioned in threads).



Here are the main things I took from these pads…





Pros

- Small diameter allowed for easy maneuvering

- Flat pad design allowed to equal contact, easy control, and complete polish coverage

- Dimples allowed for storage of extra polish. Basically, you’d buff your 3’x3’ area, for instance, and once the polish/compound went to translucent, but you still had a few defects remaining, you’d turn off the machine, and press the pad against the surface in various locations to “re-bead� the panel, and then continue buffing.

- Dimples spread out heat from friction allowing a more effective buffing pass. I find that with standard flat foam pads, it makes the surface so hot on the rotary after 5 passes with compound that I have to move to the next panel, wait for the initial to cool, then come back, ultimately wasting time. These dimples act like air cooling pockets keeping the surface only very warm, at max. I was able to do my standard 5 overlapping passes with Hi-Temp Extreme Cut, then switch off, “re-bead� with the CCS technology, and continue buffing until it was ready for a final polish.

- Lake Country pads, in my experiences are always of the highest quality. After 10+ vehicles, none of my pads have any nicks or cuts and the backing Velcro works great. For reference, I machine wash/dry my pads after each use.



Cons

- Honestly, I was hard pressed to find a con in comparison to other pads I’ve used (Edge, Meguiars, Lake Country Concaved), however, I wish I had the thicker version (1.5� I believe) to use with the PC. The PC, as any regular user knows, flattens out pads a bit and that little extra cushion would’ve been nice.







Just to end off, I like these pads so much that my standard Lake Country 7.5� Concaved series have been stowed away, probably for good. I don’t even bring them on the road with me anymore. The success rate with these has surpassed anything I’ve used and I will continue using them.



If you have any further questions, please feel free. Thanks.







-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
What did you use to clean the wells? The descp. Said full of tar and crap, did the TOL tire cleaner work that well on cleaning, or did you have to agitate them a bit to loosen?
 
G35stilez said:
**9/28/06 Update**



I was given permission by Eric Dunn at Lake Country to “let the cat out of the bag�. For this detail (and many others) in the past month or so, I used the new Lake Country CCS Pads ( http://lakecountrymfg.com/featured.html ). Thanks to Eric at Lake, he gave me a couple samples to test out prior to its official introduction. To date, they have only been used in the OEM market.



So far, I could estimate the use of these pads on at least 10 different vehicles. They come in various shapes and sizes, but I was using the 6� pads in 1� thickness. The cut levels I had were the Orange Cutting, White Polishing, and Black Finishing. I used them with a 5� Lake Country flexible backing plate. These combos were used on the rotary and PC at various speeds (mentioned in threads).



Here are the main things I took from these pads…





Pros

- Small diameter allowed for easy maneuvering

- Flat pad design allowed to equal contact, easy control, and complete polish coverage

- Dimples allowed for storage of extra polish. Basically, you’d buff your 3’x3’ area, for instance, and once the polish/compound went to translucent, but you still had a few defects remaining, you’d turn off the machine, and press the pad against the surface in various locations to “re-bead� the panel, and then continue buffing.

- Dimples spread out heat from friction allowing a more effective buffing pass. I find that with standard flat foam pads, it makes the surface so hot on the rotary after 5 passes with compound that I have to move to the next panel, wait for the initial to cool, then come back, ultimately wasting time. These dimples act like air cooling pockets keeping the surface only very warm, at max. I was able to do my standard 5 overlapping passes with Hi-Temp Extreme Cut, then switch off, “re-bead� with the CCS technology, and continue buffing until it was ready for a final polish.

- Lake Country pads, in my experiences are always of the highest quality. After 10+ vehicles, none of my pads have any nicks or cuts and the backing Velcro works great. For reference, I machine wash/dry my pads after each use.



Cons

- Honestly, I was hard pressed to find a con in comparison to other pads I’ve used (Edge, Meguiars, Lake Country Concaved), however, I wish I had the thicker version (1.5� I believe) to use with the PC. The PC, as any regular user knows, flattens out pads a bit and that little extra cushion would’ve been nice.







Just to end off, I like these pads so much that my standard Lake Country 7.5� Concaved series have been stowed away, probably for good. I don’t even bring them on the road with me anymore. The success rate with these has surpassed anything I’ve used and I will continue using them.



If you have any further questions, please feel free. Thanks.







-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Click to expand...



Excellent news, I'm due to get these soon, and I'm really looking forward to trying them out. :)
 
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