The results are in!...

S

sd37

New member
...and man am I TIRED!

First off, I gotta hand it to you guys that do this detailing for a living. This is some hard work! Physically demanding doing all that pressing, rubbing, wiping, spraying, sweating....hats off to you!

I just went 13 hours straight working on my car. About 19 hours total, if you include the washing, drying, claying and taping.

So, after the prep was done, I started in on the compounding. M105 ultra cut compound and Lake Country Orange pad. Mist black baron, X the pad and work it in with my fingers.

Apply my pea sized drops of compound and get to work. I dont know if I did something wrong, but it never hazed up. The biggest problem I had is that it seemed that as soon as I started in with my PC and the compound, it dried out very quickly. I mean like sometimes after about 2 passes I could see the paint underneath. I dont know if I had too much wetness on my pad, not enough compound..I dont know...but I would just buff til I felt that I needed to stop, wipe clean with a microfiber, then spray some M34 and wipe it clean, then go back with a dry microfiber and wipe up any streaks.

Did this on the whole car.

Changed to the white Lake Country pad, grabbed my M205 and a clean microfiber. Wipe the area that I am going to polish so there is no dust or compound residue. Primed pad with the same method that I did with the orange pads, applied polish the same way...and buffed the same way. However, I guess this stuff stays wetter longer...or it could be that the orange pads are not dimpled...and the white ones are..maybe that had something to do with it. So, I started in with the polishing.

Now...I did learn a good lesson in all this...make SURE the next time I do this, I have a couple days off!!! Trying to do a car in a day and a half is rough...but I didnt have much time and wanted to at least get one coat of wet diamond on before I had to go back to work. As such, I found that I became less and less concerned with correction and more concerned with just getting done! I tried to put ample time on each section..but I didnt buff the polish til it was powder, or til it started to disappear. I basically buffed each section for about 2-3 minutes...until the polish was very thin. Once done, I just wiped clean with a microfiber (didnt use M34 when polishing).

So..got that done. Pulled all the tape off (the tape left glue on the car..but it was pretty easy to get off). Pulled the car outside and gave it a good washing and drying.

Pulled back inside and grabbed the foam applicator and bottle of wet diamond...I think I put it on kinda thick...but it was manageable. I applied WD to the entire car...then went back with microfiber and buffed it all off. (next time I think I may do one or two sections, then buff it off). Now when buffing it off, it was at night so I was using a halogen lamp to see...one thing I noticed is that there seemed to be a film left after buffing it off..kind of like an oily film..or something that it seemed no matter how hard I tried, I could not get that to go away...so I got it as good as I could.

Anyway...that is one coat of WD...waiting til the morning for it to cure, then i'll add a second coat.

Here are some pics..they dont do the car justice as it is night and only have the garage flourescent light and the halogen lamp...once I put the second coat on tomorrow, ill pull it outside and get some natural sunlight pics:

Left Door
leftdoor.jpg


Right Rear
leftrear.jpg


Left Rear
leftrear1.jpg


Top
topright.jpg


Question...after you apply WD, is the car driveable right away or do you need to let it cure for 8 hours before you drive it?

Oh, another question, if you get some compound or polish on the black trim, is this bad for it or does it just discolor it? Can I use some plastic cleaner to clean it, and then some back to black to finish it?

another question! what are the compound and polish supposed to look like when you have worked it enough? are you supposed to work it until it looks like there is none left...like you are buffing the bare surface...or just buff til it's just transparent? If you see powder coming out, does this mean you have worked it too long? Several times during the compounding stage, I did notice some powder..but I hadn't been working it that long before I seen it.
 
Your car looks great! I've never used WD so I'm not sure about the cure time. Just follow the instructions and you'll be fine.

As for your polishing question, I've worked 105 to where there is just a very fine film left on the paint and also to the point where it looks as if there is no more polish left on the paint. It was my experience that when 105 began to powder, it was drying out. I fixed that by lightly misting the panel and continuing my work. It took me a while to find a method that worked for me. Just play around with 105 and different pads until you find the right technique for you and your paint.
 
Well, I think maybe I wasnt applying enough pressure..or maybe too much, i dont know. I applied what I thought was about 20 pounds of pressure. I placed a mark on the backing plate to see how fast the pad was spinning. I guess I was using enough pressure to make it where it would take about 2 to 3 seconds to make one revolution.
 
Sounds like you did not prime the pad enough. When primed properly you will have polish worked into every pore on the pad. I wear medical type gloves and work the M105 into the pad.

You should not have to use any water on the pad or panel.

Wet Diamond-Apply it very thin to the entire car. Let it cure till it swipes clean with your finger then remove.
 
sd37 said:
...and man am I TIRED!

First off, I gotta hand it to you guys that do this detailing for a living. This is some hard work! Physically demanding doing all that pressing, rubbing, wiping, spraying, sweating....hats off to you!I just went 13 hours straight working on my car.
Click to expand...

Haha.... Yeah, I've felt that exhausted many times. It kinda sucks the life right out of you!!!!:D:D:D

Question...after you apply WD, is the car driveable right away or do you need to let it cure for 8 hours before you drive it?
Click to expand...

You can drive it right away.

Oh, another question, if you get some compound or polish on the black trim, is this bad for it or does it just discolor it? Can I use some plastic cleaner to clean it, and then some back to black to finish it?
Click to expand...

I usually remove the staining with alcohol, then follow up with some back to black or other vinyl/plastic trim dressing.

another question! what are the compound and polish supposed to look like when you have worked it enough? are you supposed to work it until it looks like there is none left...like you are buffing the bare surface...or just buff til it's just transparent? If you see powder coming out, does this mean you have worked it too long? Several times during the compounding stage, I did notice some powder..but I hadn't been working it that long before I seen it.
Click to expand...

After you've been working the compound for a while you will see the shine of the paint start to come through... or, as you said, become transparent. I will usually wipe clean with a microfiber and check for swirls.

Looks like you did a great job on the Vette.

After you get a good night's sleep, take some pics outside so we can see the entire car.

After 19 hours work, I'm sure it looks GREAT!!!:D:cornut:
 
Try using a 50/50 mixed of Rubbing alcohol and water in a spray bottle and mist the area you have done and wipe off. You might need to do it at least 2-3 times to make sure no oils are left on the finish after you compound that area.
The Blackfire Wet Diamond should be apply thin and buff off. I recommend 2 coats to everyone out there, just let it cured at least 6-8 hrs before putting the 2nd coat of Blackfire Wet Diamond Sealant.
 
Ok, going back to square 1 then :D

Mixed up a bottle of 50/50 isopropyl alcohol (70%) and water, gave the car a good rub down with that. Will check again tomorrow to see if there are any oils left on it (i guess you can check by rubbing with a MF towel and if it still smears,then there are oils, if it doesnt smear, then it's clean?).

Ill keep rubbing it down until there are no oils left. Take it out into the sun and inspect for how much correction I did, and how much is still needed. I may have to go back to compounding and polishing again...will see. If no more correction is needed, then I guess I can just go from the alcohol rub down right back into applying the wet diamond again? I'm assuming that the alcohol/water stripped all the wet diamond off? so the car is back to bare clear coat? this means I wont have to do any further prep to either go back to compound/polish, or applying the WD again? In other words, I shouldnt have to clay it again right?

Ya know, come to think of it, after I was done with the wet diamond, I was thinking to myself...this doesnt look at all like what I was expecting, not anything like the razor sharp reflections that I was seeing in many of the pictures I had seen. I bet the reason are: 1) I didnt get good enough correction and/or 2) the oils left behind from the compound and polishing process were causing the reflection not to be crystal clear.

I'll keep going if I have to, but im just worried that if I keep compounding and polishing, that i'll wear the clear coat thin and get into the paint...

Thanks for all your help guys. Will submit pics as soon as I get this finished.
 
gmblack3 said:
Sounds like you did not prime the pad enough. When primed properly you will have polish worked into every pore on the pad. I wear medical type gloves and work the M105 into the pad.

You should not have to use any water on the pad or panel.
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Priming technique sounds like a solution. However, weather conditions may be such that a little spritz of water is necessary to finish breaking down the polish. Here in Denver (where 30% relative humidity is called "muggy") I must use a water spritz with Menz IP but the Menz FP is oily enough to just break down without additional water (except in the winter when the humidity is in single digits).

Same problem with cleaners and cleaning methods - "spray surface and let sit for one to two minutes" - HA! Within 30 to 45 seconds the surface is almost dry! Water spots are a way of life because the rinse dries so fast - which has prompted me to use rinseless products more often (great invention) and even those products may require a followup with a QD spray.

Regards,
GEWB
 
Well, the oils in the compound and polish were the culprit. I gave it one quick rub down with 50/50 water/alcohol, came back the next day and did some rub tests...no smears, so it looks like it did the trick. Just got done putting on my first coat of BFWD. So far, looks really good.

You be the judge:

BFWDdrv2.jpg


BFWDdrvsd.jpg


Apparently, this fly on the hood was inspecting my work...hope it approves:
BFWDfly.jpg


BFWDhood.jpg


BFWDpsg.jpg


Someone remind me to put a shirt and hat on before I take pictures like this!
BFWDreflect.jpg


BFWDtop.jpg


BFWDdck.jpg


I just want to say that I appreciate the help that the people at PAC gave me. The questions and answers I got were very helpful, and the instruction I got were excellent.

By the way, this was the first time I ever picked up a polishing machine and compounded and polished a car. For those of you on the fence of whether or not you want to attempt this on your vehicle, the PC 7424XP is a very safe machine and if you follow the instruction and advice of Proper Auto Care, you will do a very safe and effective process on your car.
 
sd37 said:
By the way, this was the first time I ever picked up a polishing machine and compounded and polished a car. For those of you on the fence of whether or not you want to attempt this on your vehicle, the PC 7424XP is a very safe machine and if you follow the instruction and advice of Proper Auto Care, you will do a very safe and effective process on your car.
Click to expand...

Excellent advice on the XP. I couldn't be happier with mine!

The Vette looks amazing! That's the Blackfire Wet Finish!!! :cornut::cornut::cornut:
 
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