Machine polishing - it's hard work!
 

I was hoping to have my car fully detailed for this weekends POL and Ragley Hall meet but I'm nowhere near finishing it. It has taken a lot out of me! I've spent approximately 20+ hours cleaning since Tuesday and I'm shattered. It will simply just have to wait until next week. I've lost all motivation. It's not particularly fun...

So far, I've done:

- cleaned all wheels, inc using tardis and iron x and finished with a wheel wax.
- 2 bucket method wash
- car dried
- tardis applied and wiped and rinsed off
- car dried
- iron x applied and rinsed off
- 2 bucket method wash
- car clayed
- 2 bucket method wash
- car dried
- machine polished bonnet, both front wings
- Polished front bumper by hand
- machine polished rear boot lid
- machine polished roof
- waxed all the polished areas.
- cleaned interior, not as thorough as I would of liked

The machine polishing is very time consuming as I had to go with a cutting compound then once that was done, had to use a finishing polish then was it. Each panel took an average of about two hours. Very hard work. I've now packed everything as I couldn't stand to do any more and went for a lie down. I still have all the doors to do and the rear quarters. :(

I will do it bit by bit next week. A panel a day I think. And I used to enjoy detailing.....:shrug::o

You have my sympathies. Machine polishing can be hard work, particularly if you have to do a lot of paint correction. The first time I did my '75, one of my neighbours commented: "That's cheating". It certainly didn't feel like cheating!!

On the plus side, future sessions should be a lot easier now you've done the main correction, and you'll have a car to be proud of. :}

Oh, and don't forget the photos. :D

Cliff

I've just had to go for a lie down just thinking about going through all that:D

Very true Teflon. My car has never had paint correction done before so it is needed. So many swirls it's ridiculous. The bits that have been polished have come out ok. Still lot of imperfections but a lot lot better. I'm no expert at it. Only done machine polishing once before. But, I know what I'm doing and with practise can only get better and hopefully a bit quicker! My car will be about 40% shiny this weekend!

Ive just been polishing mine over 2 days ready for POL but have just foumd out the Kent Group is no longer attending. Gutted!! But on a plus side the car looks stunning now :)

Two days is good going. I need at least a week!

The car is now 85% done. Just for the rear passenger side quarter to do and rear bumper. Spent 10 hours yesterday doing the doors. I am now officially fooked. :mad:

I wish I had your patience, dedication and energy Rav :shrug::bowdown:.

I don't know if dedication is the right work, Steve. I never want to do it again! :o

Finally done. Soooooooo tired now!

I bet the car looks stunning now Ravinder. When will I bring mine down?

:D:D:D

Pictures or it never happened!
I spent a couple of hours cleaning mine, only to get splatted by what can only have been a flying elephant on the first drive afterwards!

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I am going to try and clay bar my car today. haven't done it before but the paint feels like sandpaper so really needs doing

You keep it with you, Jim! :eek::D

I took very little pictures of the process as I just wanted to get on with it. It's exhausting work. I will be doing a little photo shoot of my car soon so you can see it then! :}

Makes a massive difference.

The bonnet and front bumper are the worse. So many stone chips and on the front bumper, lots of scuffs and also areas where the paint just looks flat and dull that a machine polisher made no difference. In an ideal world, the front end needs resprayed but it's not going to happen. It's my daily workhorse. I like the fact that looking at my car, you can tell it's done a lot of miles and is used how it should be. 211k and counting and it certainly looks like it! :D

I think you have done a great job with the car Rav, and it looks better than a 200000+ miles motor...........you got a name for it ? Maybe Irn Bru or Yorkshire Pud :getmecoat: :D

My sister's car (a Getz) I dont think has any original paint left. The bonnet, I swear had no lacquer on it. Just flat (I mean matt!) silver paint. With the polisher onto it though, for 10 minutes, and I got this

http://www.the75andztclub.co.uk/foru...1&d=1494153729

The left has been polished, the right, not.

Can I ask what size machine pads would be ideal for the Rover 75? I'll be DA polishing later on this year and feel that I should get a 3 inch pad as well as a 7 inch one? I can't see the point of getting a 6 inch pad if I have a 7 inch one. Do you think any other sizes would help given the various nooks and crannies etc on our rovers? Would a 3 inch pad be right for, say, the windscreen pillars and the bit between the door mirrors and chrome waist trim and the headlight surrounds? Would polishing cones be a good extra to get?

I'd like to get away with as few pad sizes as possible (given the cost) but as many as is necessary.

Also, how does one properly access the roof for polishing? Step ladder? I wouldn't want to scratch the sides obviously.

Thanks. Ali.

I use 5.5 and 4 which have done me fine. I'd get a slightly smaller one if I could as I sometimes the 4" is a bit too big as well to get into certain areas, especially around the bumpers.

I stood on a stool to do the roof and it was fine. A little tiring, however.

50mm pads

CCS pads

'Hex Logic'

I have used these (all of the above), and they, so far, seem to be as good as the branded Hex logic pad i tried. The cones for wheels on a drill and for around the grill and fog lights ;)

This has been bothering me now for weeks. Car detailing is supposed to be fun and it's not supposed to take over your life. If it is then you're doing something wrong!

Why are you washing your car so much between stages? The pros don't.
Once decontaminated and clayed the paint should be clinically clean, there's absolutely no need to wash again, just a rinse to get rid of the clay lube (AM clay can be used with water as a lube, so there's saving) and rub down with a pre wax cleanser / IPA


I'm no expert but as I say, if it's a chore and not fun then you need to take a look at what you're doing and how you can make it fun again.

Once a car has been detailed and sealed, if you look after it it and have a proper wash routine it should only require light detailing in future. Modern products such as Soft99 Fusso Coat or TAC Systems Moonlight will last 9 to 12 months if looked after. They will also repel dirt making washing a lot easier.

Apparently! I'll be very interested to test out all I've learned from my research over the past few weeks. . .

Ali.

Hi

I have been detailing the car over 3-4 weeks and driving it in between that as it's my daily drive. So, I'm washing the car before I polish a new panel as it will be dirty since I'm using the car....

I've only decontaminated the car once using clay bar etc. So, all I'm doing is giving the car a quick wash before polishing.

And once I've polished it, I top it up with wax immediately for next time to make the cleaning process easier. Not sure what I'm doing wrong there, if anything....:shrug:

Preperation is key. Completely pointless applying any sealant or wax to a car that hasn't been properly prepped for the process.
To do a full external prep and correction you're talking two days of work.
If you mess up any of the stages or cut corners the result will be poor and you'll be disappointed.
Dont do it in the sun either, especially sealant as that will set real hard