Baking sheet as Test Panel

S

stiffdogg06

New member
So, I wanted to see if anyone else has done this. I got the idea from Detailed Image. I bought an 18x26" aluminum baking sheet. Took it to my painters and had them paint it solid black and cleared it.



I plan on using this as my test panel for testing new products, sanding, different techniques, possibly some controlled durability testing, and maybe use my PTG to test how much paint is removed during different techniques and such. I figured since the clear on my car won't last forever, I can get this done. If I hurt the paint in any way, I can just have it re-painted. :becky:



 
Great idea. I've often though about getting some sunroof panels (the metal kind) from a junkyard. How much did the paintwork set you back?
 
I have one as well, but the reason for it was a little different.



I was going to be doing some paint work on my car which involved repainting part of a door and reclearing the entire door. Yes, I had a 'whoops!'...



Since I had never painted a car, and because of the equipment I was using - or lack thereof, I wanted to practice my technique from painting, through wet sanding, to polishing.



I bought a couple of approximately 2" deep baking pans from Sam's Club (I wanted some curves to work with), scuffed them, and primed them. I then painted them with some factory-matched paint in an aerosol can and cleared it with SprayMax 2K clear (also in an aerosol can). After it dried to spec, I wet sanded, cut, and buffed it. Turned out beautifully, and so did the paint work on the car!
 
Decided to use my test panel that I received today.



Here is how it came to me from the painters. Swirled, holograms, etc.:









I first clayed the surface even though I was pretty sure there were not going to be any embedded contaminants, but I wanted to make sure I was working with a clean slate.



To test it, I first tried 7424XP, LC Black and White Pads with Sonax Perfect finish @ speed 4.5-5. It did ok, but I wouldn't grab this for any major correcting (at least not with the PC). I'd put this in the group with Menzerna PO85RD but with a little more cut then PO85RD. Fantastic final polish the Perfect Finish is. Little dust, great working time (I was working in ideal conditions though).



After that, I decided to try the 9227C (since rotaries are notorious for being able to finish down amazingly well) paired with LC White Pad and Menzerna P203S. Worked it at ~1200rpms for a 4-5 passes and then down to 800-900rpms for the last 2 passes. Cleaned the surface with CarPro Eraser (love this stuff). Left me with a perfect 100% defect free surface.















As I'm sure you're all aware about many of the different light sources we use. I found that halogens show swirls and scratches really well whereas, LED's show holograms a lot better.

 
Why go through all that when one can go to a body shop, pay them $10 to cut a nice sized panel of true OEM paint system out of a hood or trunk lid and work with OEM material, not some "unknown chemistry" of most refinish materials.

Why, you may inquire?

Refinish material is not the same chemistry of the paint as what is applied by the assembly plants. Plus, you can obtain panels that are of various ages, various OEM paint suppliers, etc so you have a larger base of protocals to work from and do your testing on.

Just a suggestion.
 
I am using the panel as a way to perfect my technique with different polishes, sanding techniques, etc and not so much how this polish/pad combo will react with a certain chemistry of paint. With a panel like this, I have a lot of clear to play with. It may not be OEM paint, but I can still scratch it up and use a polisher/polish/pad combo to test to how well a certain combo works on removing different amounts of defects . I can use this panel for a long time since it has a lot of clear on it. Whereas an OEM panel has very little clear and would need to be repainted again soon anyways and I'd be back to where I am.



Rather not waste my time and gas driving to the shop every few months to get new panels.
 
Yeah, I like it. I have the brackets mounted to a collapsible frame so I can remove the panel and then fold the base up and travel with it.



Plus, it gives me something to scratch up and polish out if I ever get bored. :thumb:
 
I use a baking sheet as a test panel all the time (testing the baking of biscuits (cookies) English muffins, and etc) apply a little egg wash produces a great shine



:)
 
Played with the panel some more today.



Slapped on a purple wool pad to my 9227C and went to town with no polish and this is what I was left with.











I then grabbed the 7424XP - LC White Pad - M205 @ speed 4.5-5 and then wiped down with 90% IPA. Did 3 passes and then spritzed the surface with DI water (Kevin Brown Method) and did 3 more passes and this is what I was left with. I then went ahead and finished the whole panel with this method







Came out pretty good. But I knew the KBM is suppose to achieve a better cut. And with better cut, sometimes comes the need for a final polish to remove any haze. I couldn't see anything left over under the lights but I wanted to see if I could amp up the look of the paint even better.



So, I taped off half of the panel and used the 9227C - LC Black - 3M Ultrafina SE at ~1200rpms and then wiped down with 90% IPA Now remember, I didn't see anything in the LED or Halogen lights after the M205. Once I finished polishing the side with Ultrafina, I was surprised to find that the finish came out even BETTER. This could be due to the soft nature of the paint that the M205 didn't finish down as well with the pad I chose. If you look really close right about in the middle of my camera, the right side definitely looks better to me. Might not be that noticeable on camera but it was in-person.











All finished:













With that being said, I don't use 3M Ultrafina SE very often but after today, I will definitely put it back into use for a final polish/jeweling step. I'd like to do this same test but replace Ultrafina with PO85RD
 
I have one as well, but the reason for it was a little different.



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