This detail was done last night as a freebie to my sister in-law. I just recieved my cyclo this week so I wanted to get some practice in. The victim...a 97? Chevy Cavalier. This thing was *far* from perfect. It gets sprayed down and "washed" alot just to keep the crap off it, but it had heavy swirling from years of no protection. The roof, trunk, and hood were gone, it wasn't even swirled, they were just all scratches on these parts from setting the baby seat on it while switching it from car to car. I'm not even sure they could have been safely wetsanded out. Car also had pitting all over as well as overspray....anyways 211,000 miles on the clock and looked/smelled like it on the inside.
Process was:
Optimum Hyper Compound via Propel Yellow Cutting Pads
Optimum Compound via Propel Light Cut Pads
Optimum Polish/3M 05937 via Propel Finishing Pads
Duragloss Fast Clean and Shine to get rid of any dust
Duragloss Aquawax
Interior:
Meguiars APC along with Woolite Mix on carpets/vinyl to clean
Agitated with brush
Extracted with wet vac and then terry towel to finish the carpets up
Vinyl conditioned with Duragloss Leather Conditioner
What I learned:
1. Not all vehicles can come out 100%
2. The cyclo is a nice tool, however I cant praise it too much as this vehicle was too far gone to allow the cyclo to shine. It did work nicely however and I will update this thread later today when I try it on my own vehicle with Prime Strong and the Green Polishing Pads.
3. Frustration isn't worth the money - If this detail was for money, I probably would have turned it away. The frustration with this neglected paint was just too much, the paint just wasnt in the condition for it to be even worth it to polish (abundance of overspray, poor re-paint, and heavy scratches)
4. Practice makes perfect...as I continue to use the cyclo on vehicles with nice paint underneath all the swirls, Im sure I will love the cyclo
Cyclo thoughts: It is a great tool, however I dont think I appreciate it enough yet to comment fully. Once I have the opportunity to use it on a couple more vehicles and compare I will keep you informed. I will however say while it looks bulky, heavy, and hard to control...it was light and easy to control. I never understood when people said they dont get tired when using the cyclo, and it's true. Your hands and arms dont feel worn out after 5+ hours of polishing....sure I got bored
But I wasnt tired of using the machine and when I shut it off I didnt have any funny feelings in my arms/hand like I did with the PC. Also, it is much quieter which was a pleasure...I could even hear the news on TV in my garage while polishing. Overall, so far I am very pleased with the purchase!!
Pictures:
Before
Process was:
Optimum Hyper Compound via Propel Yellow Cutting Pads
Optimum Compound via Propel Light Cut Pads
Optimum Polish/3M 05937 via Propel Finishing Pads
Duragloss Fast Clean and Shine to get rid of any dust
Duragloss Aquawax
Interior:
Meguiars APC along with Woolite Mix on carpets/vinyl to clean
Agitated with brush
Extracted with wet vac and then terry towel to finish the carpets up
Vinyl conditioned with Duragloss Leather Conditioner
What I learned:
1. Not all vehicles can come out 100%
2. The cyclo is a nice tool, however I cant praise it too much as this vehicle was too far gone to allow the cyclo to shine. It did work nicely however and I will update this thread later today when I try it on my own vehicle with Prime Strong and the Green Polishing Pads.
3. Frustration isn't worth the money - If this detail was for money, I probably would have turned it away. The frustration with this neglected paint was just too much, the paint just wasnt in the condition for it to be even worth it to polish (abundance of overspray, poor re-paint, and heavy scratches)
4. Practice makes perfect...as I continue to use the cyclo on vehicles with nice paint underneath all the swirls, Im sure I will love the cyclo
Cyclo thoughts: It is a great tool, however I dont think I appreciate it enough yet to comment fully. Once I have the opportunity to use it on a couple more vehicles and compare I will keep you informed. I will however say while it looks bulky, heavy, and hard to control...it was light and easy to control. I never understood when people said they dont get tired when using the cyclo, and it's true. Your hands and arms dont feel worn out after 5+ hours of polishing....sure I got bored
But I wasnt tired of using the machine and when I shut it off I didnt have any funny feelings in my arms/hand like I did with the PC. Also, it is much quieter which was a pleasure...I could even hear the news on TV in my garage while polishing. Overall, so far I am very pleased with the purchase!! Pictures:
Before
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