to the point of no return - doomed to be repainted challenge by KC's

[jlward1946]

I have some light swirls on my cars, and need to decide wch product is best to use by hand for my applcation. In the past, I have used 3M finness it 2 to remove swirl marks. Lately at my local store, I havn't been able to find any on their shelves, but they do have the 3M swirl remover. What are the similarities, and differences between the two? Which one is more abrasive, which one works better by hand? Thanks!

 

[Josiah]

FI-II is more abrasive than SMR, and FI-II can be applied by hand or machine. I've heard people using both and getting better results by hand, but your results might be different... I have used it by hand.

You can get it at 3M's website

Meguiar's swirl remover 2 might also bee good for you.. haven't used it myself, search the archives and the product feedback forum for more.

Josiah

 

[muttgrunt]

Agree with previous post, Finesse-it2 is a "lil" more agressive than SMR. 3M F2 is a MACHINE POLISH, doesn`t mean it "cannot" be applied by hand, and one can hand apply it and get good results, but it is designed for use with a machine. SMR`s are specifically made for hand OR machine with excellent results using either.

Personally....I feel 3M F2 is one of the *best* polishes out there. I use it regularly with my Porter Cable and always get excellent results just as I do with SMR`s, but the F2 IMO is King !!! my .02



TBone

 

[fishboy]

may cause a haze in darker colors. Have you guys noted a difference in diff colors?

 

[41']

What kind of Porter Cable setup are you using?

I have the Porter polisher, need details on the foam pads.

thanx

 

[Josiah]

When i used FI-II on my red car, it did haze a bit. a LOT the first time I used it. I think I could reduce it with more practice with the product, but it was easy to buff out with a different applicator, and I passed with SMR after.

Josiah

 

[dengelson]

I think that the difference is that the SMR is a polish/glaze that has some very mild abrasives in it. As a glaze it is made to work as a base coat for wax. Although the ad copy for the FI II says that it leaves a "brilliant, deep wet look shine" IMO it doesn't leave as good of a shine or "base coat" as the SMR.

What works really well is to use the FI II then follow it with the SMR. My experience has been that both of these products will achieve superior results if applied with a PC rather than by hand.

<em class='bbc'>click on pics for more info[/i]

 

[Lemonxxs]

Short Cut has great posts and must be crowned king of the short cut pic link thingy. I love it because it saves me time and I can see a pic first.



Keep up the good work Short Cut!:bounce

 

[BradE]

The reason FI2 hazes more is because it is designed for machine use. The abrasives break down when you use a machine and they get smaller and smaller. The smaller abrasive take out the bigger marks from when your first starting using the polish. When you use it by hand, the abrasives never break down. That causes the abrasives to remain bigger and that creates more marring of the surface which you see as hazing.

 

[YoSteve]

If you have medium swirls you need both. You need the abrasiveness of the FI-II to even touch some of the medium swirls (think like liquid sandpaper) and like sandpaper you need to work your way down to a less abrasive product. The SMR will polish the haze caused by the FI-II (that haze took out your bigger swirls). Then you can polish even further with something like PPCL or AIO.

 

[BillNorth]

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

<em class='bbc'>Originally posted by YoSteve.Com [/i]
<strong class='bbc'>If you have medium swirls you need both. You need the abrasiveness of the FI-II to even touch some of the medium swirls (think like liquid sandpaper) and like sandpaper you need to work your way down to a less abrasive product. The SMR will polish the haze caused by the FI-II (that haze took out your bigger swirls). Then you can polish even further with something like PPCL or AIO. [/b]</blockquote>
I remember beau(where is that guy?) saying that he goes from 3M fine cut rubbing compound or FI II, staight to AIO. He never bothered with the SMR in between. He said the aio always removed any haze he saw. Have you experienced otherwise? I can't really say as I've never used anything more abrasive than SMR by hand(what a disappointment that was).

Take it easy.

 

[YoSteve]

I have not needed to use the FI-II Bill.



FI-II with a PC is easier to feather down and AIO and PPCL with the machine will polish it right up. But if you have haze that might not be taken off by those two (sometimes when you apply by hand) then the SMR is the way. But you won't find that out until you use the SMR with limited success.



Maybe we use the SMR after to justify that we bought it cause we ended up needing to buy the FI-II. The other think is the following year you'll only need the SMR because you shouldn't have many (if any) swirls cause you took perfect care of you car all year long If I were doing something like fixing a paint chip, these two products would come in hand to, so there's that justification.

 

[dengelson]

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote' >

<em class='bbc'>Originally posted by Guess My Name [/i]
<strong class='bbc'>Short Cut has great posts and must be crowned king of the short cut pic link thingy. I love it because it saves me time and I can see a pic first.

Keep up the good work Short Cut!:bounce [/b]</blockquote>
Thanks buddy! It's been my pleasure. Hey I don't want to be the only one having this much fun so I posted a UBB Code School thread in the Off Topic Forum. I think it will help others to be able to make similar posts by seeing the way I'm doing it.

 

[Don2000g]

Bill North, Beau has taken a leave of absence from the forum. The guy was like a founding father here. Oh well! At any rate, I would still prefer to start off with 3M SMR or 3M Finnesse It 2 first. If problem is solved then stop there. No need to go any more abrasive.

 

[muttgrunt]

Hey 41 Newbie...I use the quick change velcro backing plate that allows the use of different cutting/polishing/finishing foam pads with a quick lift and press to change pads. I use the Meguiars velcro backing plate and use Meg pads. You can also buy other manufacturers velcro backing plates at Classic Motoring Accessories or other quality car care sites/stores. They basically the same except some places have a lil different polishing pad design. I use Meguiars only because it is the brand the auto paint shop in my area carries not necessarily because it is a superior product but to date, I am very happy with the Meg`s pads performance. As with other manufacturers, there are several pads for different applications. Cutting pads, polishing pads, finishing pads and also wool bonnets and/or pads for heavier polishing/compounding for use with serious defects in the finish.

The velcro backing plate package that comes with a few pads is around 50 bucks.



TBone

 

[kc's]

massive interior detailing - preparing for his new owner by KC

sorry guys

kindly ignore the post title

the title should read as
massive interior detailing - preparing for his new owner by KC


One of my Church friend brought a 2nd hand 1st generation CRV, after seeing my ?dare you to view? thread?
He decided must get his full corrected & detailed only by me?..
Initially I am a bit resisting?..as I just recover from a very severe food poisoning & diarrhea (15 time purging since thurs till fri??sat I did a full day correction extreme make over?.from an intense hot day?where I have so much heat rash & sun burn ??on a merz ?another extreme make over?

It wasn?t easy but a man got to do what a man got to do & I just loves to do it

Here is the process I went thru
from this

to this

over all pic doesn?t look so bad?but

wheel pic before detailing

inner brushing

rinsing off

tada a well clean rims

its time to clean this is ride..a thorough cleaning is required to get the contamination

agitation

brushing off..while agitation

back, spare wheels cleaning

rinsing

more brushing & rinsing

various brushes help me to complete the task well

more brushing & scrubbing

light scrub

pics after rinsing

wheel arch scrubbing

door jams cleaning

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

interior cleaning
where I step into another treacherous adventure

I was wonder why must u put some dog fur on the dash board

so I called my friend & ask?shall I remove it?.yes if you can, initially he too want to remove but after
seeing the double sided , he decided?to call it off?& I open another can of worms

tada ?.just to remove this double sided tape took me almost 40 minutes

some parts of the vinyl dash look smeared?. Effect from the double sided tape & heat

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Door trims massive cleaning
Look glossy?oily?????...& crazy

My friend thought of asking the car wash to help his to detail interior?.& he paid RM 10?wow that?s is more than washing the car?so they did what they do??
Applying the most glossy look dressing?..tire shines??on interior??????...well good effect but ????BUT is this the right thing to do here


Wipe test ?.tissue paper

before

see it for yourself

Moving on to the interior with the help of Johson Swiss carpet/fabric cleaner product?PH neutral

tada

imagine you are? wearing a long white sleeves ?.what will be are he free decorative

cleaning begin ? took me another 2 hours to remove

OSREN Multi Purpose Cleaner agitation & brushing off

moving to the centre console & cup holder area

the console box which was hidden beneath the dog fur?.massive cleaning continues

brushing off those slimmy & oily sticky wheels dressing on the wheels

they applied at the wrong wheels

 

[kc's]

look at the colour of the water transformations?

and the amount of oil I scrub off & collect

moving to all the side step & vinyl cleaning

after

back side steps
before

now

Before

Agitate with Interior cleaner & brushes

& steamer

Rear seat before cleaning

STEAMER AT WORK ?

before
front seats

50/50 % area set

look at the 50/50?tell me if you don?t see any different?Streamer is a very good alternative way than conventional than using chemical

another 50/50 pics

interior steaming?..steaming the tire shine away
before

after

steaming the rest of the car?from door jams?.doors?.dash board?.roof?.
it does gives u a supple feeling & disinfecting bacterial at the same time

hmmmmmmm
?lovely child seat?how to you clean it? Sanitized? Safe for your child / baby ?as their skin is very delicate?

the answer is STEAMING it!!!

while finishing his..i remembered my 2 princess throne

moving to the exterior steaming

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Now we can see the paint properly

Some paint defects

Scratches on the doors

paint beneath on the front hood

Menu for the paint
Makita Rotary with meguiars polishing M205 with LC cutting pad & polishing pad
spread 1 & polishing at speed 3 & finish off at speed 2
scratched parts Megs 105 Rotary cutting pad & refining with Megs 205


Pics before
Side mirror

after

Before

after
scratches corrected & removed

before
another vandalism?key scratched from front panel front door passenger door till the end of the car

after

tada

before?..some scratches & marking

after

close up

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Now the last 10 % of the job left??.which every driver does?.WAX?.it ?.

The question is ???.can u get 100% detail done with just this 10% of work???????

Opti seal-ing it

rear hood & plastic parts?.even rubber parts

all windows now is seal & protected

the usual area everyone misses

buff off

look at the reflection

this is how a total strip off dash board look like?.none glossy & oily looks?dull & dry

a 50/50% area set

another 50/50%

 

[kc's]

ta da

while I was getting ready to pack up & called it a day?my neighbour came to inquiry instead of enquiry

what am I doing?.so I showed him a new way to clean his

1 hour later?.we went back to view the 50/50?the side which was clean ?feel supple & softer & less oily look?as it is dissolve by the steamer & being broken down by heat

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ FINISHING PICS ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_RsduO4BD4FA/TBUImHraaVI/AAAAAAAAJMU/5ygfqU0cfHU/s800/P1080013.JPG
ta da

let me share with you
the newly corrected paint

now a well detail rim

I even wash my neighbour car?.just 8 litre of water & 3 micro fiber towel & you know my magic portion?in just 10 minutes

although I am tired but I am also energized to see this transformations took place

 

[CobraKing]

Amazing detail KC and fantastic write-up! It was great seeing all the various brushes you used for both the interior and exterior. I'll be following your techniques when I detail my ride in a little bit!

 

[bmw5541]

Awesome job KC.

Keep 'em comming!:clap: