Need a little advice

D

dublifecrisis

New member
Geesh, how many "advice threads" can we have around here?



I'm doing a full detail this coming Friday on a friend's Avalanche. It's burgundy colored and the plastic body panels were custom painted to match the burgundy. I took a look at it and looks to be a quality custom job but since it WAS at one point textured, do I approach it any differently on the paint correction? It's all in dire need but it's not awful looking. sorry no pics



I have Menzerna IP/FP, DG 101, Meg's deep crystal polish. couple cleaner waxes. Using a PC and Lake Country pads.



After 2 step correction, I was just gonna top it with some OTC sealant/wax like Mother's Meguire's NXT or GC.
 
Painted plastic, especially non-oem painted, can be very iffy when polishing. Even if it is a quality job, be very careful around the edges (which the Avalanche has many). You should be fine if you are just using the PC, but just be careful and you will be fine.
 
that's what I'm afraid of. I suppose I can do a small piece to test it out. I plan to just use white and black pads and then LSP by hand.
 
I've never used a machine on textured plastics, repainted or otherwise. Just some light hand polishing. It's too easy to knock the tops of the texture right through the paint, while leaving the bottoms of the texture relatively untouched.
 
I don't have experience with it, but I wouldn't use anything more agressive than a white pad and something like optimum polish at speed 5. There is really no way to be certain that it is a quality repaint. I myself would tell the owner that it is an "at your own risk" job and free yourself from any liability on it. I always tell people this when they ask about cleaning engines, and I usually get a quick "That's ok. Don't worry about it".
 
dublifecrisis said:
can anybody else share their experience with polishing textured plastic molding that was custom painted?
Click to expand...

dublifecrisis said:
I took a look at it and looks to be a quality custom job but since it WAS at one point textured, do I approach it any differently on the paint correction?
Click to expand...



So is this textured or not? That would make a difference on how I approached polishing it.
 
it WAS textured right? I'm referring to the big bulky hunks of plastic that surround the 1st generation Avalanche. The owner didn't like it so he had it painted to match the truck. it's smooth and all that, but it's still plastic underneath. Not sure how the whole process works but I imagine it gets sanded and primed and cleared.



Maybe I just use a final polish with a white pad at a lower speed and go easy on it.
 
That makes a big difference if it were sanded or not before painting. If it is now smooth, it was probably prepped, sanded, and painted correctly and you will be fine using a final polish and go easy like you said.



I have seen many cars that have textured trim painted, but it isn't sanded. There's nothing wrong with this if that is the look the owner wants, but I would be a lot more cautious polishing it. Either way, polishing painted plastic can end badly if you go too fast or are not careful.
 
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