Polishing tommorow -- Need help determing what NOT to polish.

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Neofate

New member
I basically need to know what is safe to polish on this car, and what isn't. What dictates trim?



If I didn't ask, I would polish all painted surfaces, but when someone mentions 'trim' that includes painted surfaces. So which do I avoid?



In the following post, I mention the front bumper, which is of a different material than the rest of the vehicle, as is the rear bumper. What about the areas beneath the doors?



Just a little question on 'trim' .. plastics and whatnot.



I'm sure you guys are familiar with the Lexus LS 400 series of cars.. this is a 1994.



Here is a shot of the front bumper/grill.



front.JPG




I thought I could polish that bumper, all of it, top to bottom (aside from grill of course) -- But I'm thinking twice about it now. Should I tape it off now?



The rear is similar material so no point in posting that picture.



Thanks,
 
Just tape off all the chrome trim as well as all the black trim painted or not as you don't want to burn anything due to shape angles....



I also tape off weather stripping and lights and such, anything the buffer pad can abraid.



Josh
 
JoshVette said:
Just tape off all the chrome trim as well as all the black trim painted or not as you don't want to burn anything due to shape angles....



I also tape off weather stripping and lights and such, anything the buffer pad can abraid.



Josh
Click to expand...





So basically don't do the front and rear bumpers?



I will tape chrome, around windows, etc.. I guess the main question if I'm not doing the bumpers.. Is should I do the middle (wide) spot on the bumper , front, in picture, the section where the front license plate is? Or is that material not acceptable, or wouldn't make any difference being polished?



If that can be polished so can the wide section on rear bumper, but no need in polishing underneath where the paint curves under car (where you can't see, and hard to get to in a manner of speaking).



Also was curious about my sides. Tell me based on this picture what should be taped off on the side of this car:



IE: Notice the panel below the doors on side.. ??



Gives you a better look at the bumper -- it is actually all the same material on the horizontal panel just under the grille (lexus emblem) to the ground on bumper. Which is why I need to know if I can polish this, or if I need to leave it be and just clean/wax it like normal.





As you can see, there isn't alot of black trim on the car -- There is a chrome strip then around the windows -- Other than that, nothing.. What am I missing? ;)



nxt2-1.jpg




Thanks
 
If I were polishing that car with a rotary, I would tape off the headlights, parking lights, chrome around grill and bumpers, all chrome trim, washer tips on hood, taillights and black trim and that's probably it.



Yes, polish the every part of the front and rear bumpers, why would you not?



Josh
 
Polishing with a UDM.



But, lost in translation is all -- Asked this question twice and get specific about the bumpers but your the first to answer it.



Got conflicting indirect answers on it.



I figure its a painted surface, so polish it --



But, it isn't metal,.. So I ask. It is plastic or fiberglass. Yet still painted.. it looks different than the rest of the car because of this material. First time to polish so I didn't want to start on a bumper then all of the sudden burn a hole through it because of some 'no no' with a DA on Plastic type materials. Just covering my bases is all.



Thanks for the tips on what specificaly to tape off, I think I'm good on that one - I won't be hitting the headlights and such.. but I will tape about 2inches into them,.. Hard not to avoid a little scraping, but I don't think I'll slip to the middle of it..



They aren't plastic though, Glass headlights on the LS 400 in that generation, not that , that makes any difference.



Oh and people say don't polish trim parts -- Well, trim doesn't have to be 'black' technically, and trim can be on the bottom parts of your vehicle, in can manifest anywhere really depending on the vehicle. So I wasn't sure if something counted as 'trim' on this car --other than the black/chrome areas.



By your response there is no other trim aside from the chrome and little black portions by my windows.



To get specific.. on the bumpers they are curved,.. that going to pose a problem? (Even in the middle it is a curve). Should I go underneath the bumpers towards the exhaust (bumper in rear is molded around exhaust) - And under front lip? Or do most of you just avoid these with polish because you can't really see them unless you get a flash light and get on the ground. ?



I figure wash/clay and sealant/wax is enough for parts that aren't seen..



I almost consider that enough for the intricate and lowest parts of the bumpers,.. I know I won't be doing the seperation in the lower part of the front bumper,.. can't get it in the grooves, and probably risk some damage if I try.



I'll manage though -- But please answer the remaining questions in this message if you can.



Lastly -- You see what the car looks like from my efforts by hand, (just got my UDM and polishes recently) -- Will the car look dramatically better with a properly applied XMT #3, XMT #1, XMT Glaze,.. then the sealant/wax with UDM?



Or is it going to look just about the same to everyone, but if you put a halogen light on it you won't see the swirls you can't see in normal light?



Thanks for all the help
 
Neofate- Non-rotaries are mighty easy to control...I doubt that I'd tape off *anything* on that Lexus. Depends on the polish too though as some will stain black plastic/rubber trim (and others like 1Z won't stain anything and can be used on such materials).



Unless the chrome is very thin I'd just polish it.



I'd do all the painted surfaces, bumpercovers and all. If you're worried turn the speed down. I'd do the headlights too.



I'd polish the areas you can't do by machine too; I'd do 'em by hand.



*The one thing I do encourage everybody to tape off every time is the clear-anodized trim on Audis, it's very fragile*



Nice car, I like the look of those early LS series cars.
 
Well for using a UDM I wouldn't tape off much except for the black trim.



Matter of fact you can polish the headlights also, I didn't know what machine you were using, you never said till now.



I'll be honest with you, if you have all these kinds of questions and have never buffed a car before with the UDM I wouldn't start on a customers car, you should have practiced on your own first and got the hang of it. :wall



I am slapping you on the rist for that..... but I'm sure you'll do fine, the UDM is easy.:chuckle:



Josh
 
I have an '07 Audi A6 and will be polishing with a PC. The anodized trim...is it the thin metal around the windows? If so, I will tape off to be sure.



Using the PC and Optimum Polish.



Thanks for the advice.
 
JoshVette said:
Well for using a UDM I wouldn't tape off much except for the black trim.



Matter of fact you can polish the headlights also, I didn't know what machine you were using, you never said till now.



I'll be honest with you, if you have all these kinds of questions and have never buffed a car before with the UDM I wouldn't start on a customers car, you should have practiced on your own first and got the hang of it. :wall



I am slapping you on the rist for that..... but I'm sure you'll do fine, the UDM is easy.:chuckle:



Josh
Click to expand...



I'll still tape my chrome for the heck of it,.. just to be safe --



I have all these questions cause I'm an inqusitive person :) _- I know the general answers and could have gotten by without any answers, but where is the fun in that? ;)



Oh and it isn't a customers car,.. it is my car! Although I will be doing others after my own of course.
 
ricka said:
I have an '07 Audi A6 and will be polishing with a PC. The anodized trim...is it the thin metal around the windows? If so, I will tape off to be sure.



Using the PC and Optimum Polish.



Thanks for the advice.
Click to expand...





Yeah, that's what I mean, it's the "brightwork" on recent-vintage Audis.



The paint will probably be too hard for the OP/PC combo, even if you use 4" pads. Just a FYI so you don't get too frustrated ;) When I use OP on our Audis, it's the middle one of three steps.
 
Accumulator said:
Yeah, that's what I mean, it's the "brightwork" on recent-vintage Audis.



The paint will probably be too hard for the OP/PC combo, even if you use 4" pads. Just a FYI so you don't get too frustrated ;) When I use OP on our Audis, it's the middle one of three steps.
Click to expand...



That's what I've read too. But as mentioned, there's hardly any marring so far on the paint and it's even less noticeable with the silver metallic.



I'll give it a go and see what happens. Tried the PC last night applying some DWG. Very, very easy to use and manipulate. There are some family cars that can certainly use some sprucing up though.



Thanks much.
 
Well I did it. -- I ended up using only the XMT #3 -- After I finished with that the paint was corrected, and looked like it had been waxed. I saw no need for a 'ultra fine swirl remover' -- I was going to use the Ultra (#1 XMT) as a finishing polish because I figured with an orange pad and the #3 it would be somewhat hazy. It wasn't.



Anyone used XMT 3 before?



It took me 7 full hours to polish with just the XMT 3 -- Too long I know, but I was going as fast as I possibly could.



My technique was,.. apply polish to pad,.. Dab spaced out areas, then spread with UDM off. I would then kick it on to 3, and move it quickly to spread the polish.



From there, I would go to about 5'ish and go VERY slow 'working' it in. I would do this 'slow' process only ONE pass. Then I would make another pass moving about 2-3times as fast. Then I would kick it up to maximum, 6 -- and run it over a few times with no pressure on the pad at all. (Then of course wipe off with Micro).



I was moving from panel to panel, and doing fairly large sections to try and save time.



What can I do to polish a car in half that time?



Maybe I was moving too slow -- I just thought you had to really creep it on your first pass. If I moved at a somewhat faster rate, I could cut time.



Does it really matter on speed of hand motion, if the polish breaks down?



Also, is it better to go to 6 instead of 5 to break down the polish faster? Or no?



I applied NXT 2.0 with the Grey pad, Lake (Smartpad). That pad was huge, and wasted alot of the NXT 2.0 -- It soaks up alot of it.





Speaking of pads -- I got the 4 'free' Orange pads from autogeek with my purchase of XMT. These pads work, but they suck on durability.



I had one pad completely get trashed. I suspect from a little bit of 'angle' work I did on the front bumper, but the pad was caked,.. and after half the car or so I noticed it looked like it was about to come off -- It was lifting itself away from the UDM, (but velcro was tight).



So I turned off the UDM. The foam was coming undone from the velcro all around it. Yeesh. I switched to another one of the freebies, and finished the car -- and was able to wash that one and salvage it.



Though when I used the Lake Smartpad for wax, I could tell that it was a MUCH better pad in durability than those free pads. (Not sure on the brand of the freebies).



I have pictures -- Just not quite through with the detail, .. have some interior stuff to finish up. Then get a picture out in the sunlight.



I was thoroughly impressed with the paint correction -- Not so much removal of swirls,. as my color doesn't show them too much -- But on the 'feel' of the paint and the reflectivity/shine after buffing.



It felt smoother than when waxed, and shined more than it ever had.



I almost was afraid to wax it to lose some luster.



And quite frankly, the NXT 2.0 I put on made no noticeable difference in the shine from just being polished.



Which is odd, usually the NXT 2.0 is the 'bling' -- Instead it is almost like an invisible protectant now.



Which makes me think, maybe I need some of that DWG -- the stuff that you use a little and cover the car.. that makes it shine/luster/look wet (goes on after sealant I believe).
 
I just thought of this.



I worked well into the night on the polish.



It was 30 degree's outside, and I had the garage door open while polishing. Was very cold. I know this has an effect, but does it have a major effect on the polishing time?
 
It just takes a lot of time to polish with a UDM or a PC. And yes, most of the "gleam" is going to come from the polishing, not from the LSP.
 
All done with interior, and new tail light installed. :)



Camera was set on low resolution , so hope you can gleam the 'change' out of these pictures. Just several pics at different angles..



The rear end first ;)



rearwetlook.JPG




In the sun



hood.JPG




Driver side



driver.JPG




One of those 'reflective shots' -- Generally done on black cars,.. but this is a silver/gold flake -- So this is about the best it can do. -- This is the reflection of my garage door off the body.



garagedoor.JPG




Passenger Rear/side shot:



passrear.JPG




I'm pleased with the results,.. lots of hard work. -- Though I think I can get a 'wetter' look with some DWG or whatever that expensive product is. (Comes in a bottle of a few ounces, that is expensive, but you get like 50+ uses out of it, because you use so little).



Remember me telling you how those 'free' pads I got from Autogeek were cheap on durability?



This is what the first one did ( wasn't applying too much pressure )



pad.JPG




Ouch -- Though the Lake SmartPads are nice and durable.. so no worries.



Take care,
 
Neofate- That looks very good :xyxthumbs Glad it went well.



And yeah, that pad sure *did* wear out :eek:



FWIW, I do almost all my polishing on speed 6 when using the PC, give that a try next time. But yeah, it just takes a long, long time...which is why more aggressive machines are so popular.
 
Thanks Accumulator - I guess I'm not to the great status yet. I bet if it were a black car it would be impressive.. ;)



Yup that pad was toast. These free pads I got from autogeek for the purchase are all the same and are just cheap , run of the mill pads. Even so I don't think they should wear out that easily. I think that started to come undone from the velcro because I was angling to buffer on my front lower bumper between the grooves. (wasn't burning anything -- I was many hours in at that point and had my groove going :) ) --



The UDM is 20% more powerful,.. and 6 sounds like a bat out of hell -- That is why I used it at the end of each panel with zero pressure. Though I can see using speed 6 just as easily as speed 5.. you get used to whatever you keep it on.



More agressive machines being non Random Orbital? Rotary? Or are there more aggresive machines than the UDM? in its same class?



Also,.. can you 'tell' this car has been polished? IE: if you were to see this out in public and you were thinking about it, would you think.. that car has been polished. Or is it just not that obvious to you?



I'm trying to gauge how this color car can look. Have I gotten it about 95% of its potential, or am I missing something.
 
Neofate said:
More agressive machines being non Random Orbital? Rotary?

..
Click to expand...



Yeah, I was thinking of the rotary.



Also,.. can you 'tell' this car has been polished? IE: if you were to see this out in public and you were thinking about it, would you think.. that car has been polished. Or is it just not that obvious to you?
Click to expand...



Yeah, your Lexus *does* look like it's been polished. I just don't see many LS400s (or anything else of that vintage) that look that shiny and reflective, and I'm certain that it wouldn't look *nearly* as good as it does had you not done the polishing.



In the real/non-Autopian world, I know people who maintain the appearance of their vehicles at all different points along the detailing spectrum; once cars get a few years on them, the ones that have never been properly detailed look different/worse than the ones that've been nicely maintained with, say, cleaner-waxes, which in turn look worse than the ones that've been polished the way yours has, which in turn don't look quite as sharp as vehicles that're basically flawless (which are few and far between to say the least).



Next time you see a "nice" Lexus of the same vintage as yours, check it out and I bet you'll think "gee, mine's a *lot* nicer than that". Or, maybe you'll run into one that's virtually show-quality, and you'll be wondering "gee, how can I take this stuff to the next level?". But I'd bet on the former situation ;)
 
I commonly run into my generation lexus,.. or the next gen. They are very similar.. from 90-2000.



Most of them are relatively 'clean' as in no mud caked on them,.. :) -- But I never see any looking like this does.. But I don't see my color, ever. I rarely see it on other cars,.. so it is hard for me to tell how much 'bling' it can have.



Which is why I'm interested in these 'after wax' products that add to the car. But no one is telling me , yeah you should use X or Y.. it will add to the look. Like some of that Danase,..



Accumulator - -Do you do this for a profession or a hobby?
 
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