GolfGTIforum.co.uk
Model specific boards => Golf mk4 => Topic started by: OutlawStar on 06 January 2008, 16:58
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After ive had my valences sprayed im looking to get the car professionaly polished, to get all the nasty swirls out! does anyone know of a good place that they can refer me to? Located in North West London or Derby. Cheers!
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get an angle grinder and buffing pad, metal compound polish and do it yourself and it is really easy and alot lot cheaper than having it done by a "pro"....
Make sure the paints been done at least 6 weeks before you buff it tho! as the paint wont have hardened properly! :wink:
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Angle grinder and buffer pad? Are you mad? That'll burn all the paint at worst or add horrible swirls at best. Get some swirl remover polish and do it yourself by hand or buy a proper megs buffer. Then wax with a decent wax like DoDojuice.
Nick
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The reason i wanted it done by machine is that ive been told that the valences may not be perfectly matched to the rest of the body due to the age of the paint, so i was hoping that the polish would take a few layers off and hopefully restore the paint on the body so it matches the valences....
what product names would you recommend i will have a look at them as an alternative option.
Cheers
oh i have been reading on the detailing world forum that angle grinding is an absolute no no! as it doesnt have a rotating orbit just a fixed one so it will burn through paint sharpish like, thanks for the input though!
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yeh itll burn through the paint.... only if you dont use water! its like wet and drying really! we always use a 9" angle grinder and a 2" buffing pad, works it like a treat, but each 2 their own! :wink:
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yeh itll burn through the paint.... only if you dont use water! its like wet and drying really! we always use a 9" angle grinder and a 2" buffing pad, works it like a treat, but each 2 their own! :wink:
omg i can't believe i am hearing this!!
horney is totally right... you really don't want to be using an angle grinder! :shocked:
have a look at this thread as I did exactly this over christmas with Mark at Carlsson Collins... he is bloody fantastic... he's based near swindon but it is well worth trekking down to see him for a day!
http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=73325.0 (http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=73325.0)
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yeh itll burn through the paint.... only if you dont use water! its like wet and drying really! we always use a 9" angle grinder and a 2" buffing pad, works it like a treat, but each 2 their own! :wink:
omg i can't believe i am hearing this!!
horney is totally right... you really don't want to be using an angle grinder! :shocked:
have a look at this thread as I did exactly this over christmas with Mark at Carlsson Collins... he is bloody fantastic... he's based near swindon but it is well worth trekking down to see him for a day!
http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=73325.0 (http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=73325.0)
why is everyone against it???! im confused?? an angle grinder is what every bodyshop up n down britain use, including ours!! not just some crappy gizmo for £15 from halfords!! angle grinders in the trade arnt little nasty rapid things that most people use in their home....... there are very slow settings for buffing, and when your buffing in a circular motion with a pad moving round aswell, where is there not the same movement as barbies orbital buffer?!
http://youtube.com/watch?v=cd0CAm6GQW0
Check youtube if you dont believe me! :cool:
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because an angle grinder does exactly that - it grinds - it doesn't have a dual action - it has a single action hence the need for constant lubrication
put one in the hands of a novice and they will undoubtedly burn their paintwork - you never mentioned getting a trade angle grinder... you just said 'get an angle grinder'
the far safer option is to go for a dual action polisher like the megs G220 or the porter cable - designed for the job of polishing paintwork!!!
http://www.elitecarcare.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=71&products_id=407 (http://www.elitecarcare.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=71&products_id=407)
and as for using a metal compound polish! :shocked: outlawstar needs to be using items like menzerna polishes
specialists paint polishes have particles which degrade or get smaller as the polish is cutting the clearcoat which means that the user can use the polish safely with a DA polisher without burning or marring or inflicting further swirls.
http://www.elitecarcare.co.uk/index.php?manufacturers_id=49&osCsid=3e8d18b712354e9a026f6957304664af (http://www.elitecarcare.co.uk/index.php?manufacturers_id=49&osCsid=3e8d18b712354e9a026f6957304664af)
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absolutly agree..... i apologise, and it is different i suppose when your new to the game...... and your right in saying metal compound polishes keep cutting........
yeh you probably cant get adaptors for normal grinders anyway
OUTLAWSTAR!!! DONT USE A GRINDER MATE!! :smiley: :wink: lol
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thanks for all the input guys, i have come inside and unplugged the anlge grinder :laugh: i'm a noob when it comes to car detailing and am loving the advice, im going to do somemore research but would love to hear somemore suggestions or opinions, really want to understand more about bodywork!
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thanks for all the input guys, i have come inside and unplugged the anlge grinder :laugh: i'm a noob when it comes to car detailing and am loving the advice, im going to do somemore research but would love to hear somemore suggestions or opinions, really want to understand more about bodywork!
read my thread about Karlsson Collins - it is very detailed and then speak to Mark or post in there if you have any questions (he's more likely to see that post) - you can see from the thread that the process we used works... Mark gives discount to forum members and is a master when it comes to paint correction
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that was a quality post GtiGuy i will defo be following up with this guy, thats exactly the process i have in mind! youve hit the nail on the head, cheers mate!
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The reason i wanted it done by machine is that ive been told that the valences may not be perfectly matched to the rest of the body due to the age of the paint
a decent body shop should be able to match then to a level that you won't be able to tell, if they come back black and your cars silver then get them to do it again, at the end of the day if you're not happy with the job, then get them to redo it untill they match
like everyone is saying an angle grinder isn't a machine polisher, if you've got the money get a machine polisher, but even those in the wrong hands can cause as much damage as an angle grinder
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that was a quality post GtiGuy i will defo be following up with this guy, thats exactly the process i have in mind! youve hit the nail on the head, cheers mate!
pleasure to help
the__ridge is right.. paint should be a good match... but it'll look excellent when you have the swirls taken out of the old paint
he's also right about causing damage in the wrong hands... Mark spent a while demonstrating and teaching me... it's more difficult to cause damage with a DA but doesn't mean that it isn't possible! with instruction the user will achieve better results quicker and have more confidence - or you can just pay a pro like Mark to do it for you!
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how much money would i be looking to put down?
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that is i'd i'd love to get instruction and be able to carry out the work myself, :smiley:l but if that isnt possible i need a solution to get my car looking sweet for the summer!
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send a PM to Mark - you're best off asking him directly :smiley:
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Theres some good stuff in this thread re machine polishing.
I think the advice to stay away from rotary (angle grinder) polishing is sound unless you have access to some tuition or are prepared to go to the scrappie and buy some panels off of a car that is the same model as yours to practice on.
Swirling is almost certain if going down the DIY rotary/angle grinder route unless you have a good technique and the right polish/pad combination. The key thing with roatry polishing is speed control and it is this that makes most angle grinders unsuitable for polishing work. Rotary polishers are designed to have variable speeds, soft start and in some cases load sensors to ensure that speed does not diminish with pressure applied to the polisher when working.
Different paints generally react differently to different paint types so in this case the original manufacturer paint will probably need a fairly aggresive compound such as Menzerna Power Gloss of Pro line Intensive polish followed by something like Menzerna final finishing polish or maybe Poorboys World SSR1, where as the new paint probably will not need anything more than say the PB World SSR1 or Sonus SFX2. For the absolute best results one brand or grade of compound is generally not enough!
The random orbital machines such as the Porter cable, UDM and Megs G220 are good machines and are much less likely to inflict damage on paintwork if used correctly.
If I have read the posts correctly there are two problems here?
1. The new paintwork does not completely match the old paintwork due to the ageing of the old paintwork?
2. The car has some swirling which needs to be removed?
A1 To be honest I don't think any amount of machining will rectify the difference in colours and if it was me I would take the car back and ask for a correct match.
A2 In relation to the swirling you could either go down the machine polishing route or try using a polish which is designed to remove or hide swirling.
This product from Duragloss is a good product and I have used it to hide some pretty horrible swirling and micro scratching
http://www.duragloss.co.uk/sb-products.asp?productid=2322&category=86
This should probably be topped off with a good finishing sealant such as this one (again from Duragloss)
http://www.duragloss.co.uk/sb-products.asp?productid=2325&category=86
Good quality waxes are also quite good for hiding minor imperfections, but if you go down this route try and make sure that you use a wax with a high percentage of pure carnauba.
If going down the Pro route, a MK4 with light to moderate swirling would probably take about 3-4 hours to complete the machining, in addition to this the car will need washing and claying prior to machining and then need finishing off with a good finishing product once machining is finished. So I would reckon 5-7 hours work if paying a pro to complete the work.
I'm quite happy to talk anyone through the possible solutions (DIY or paying someone to do the work) just give me a buzz (numbers are on the web site using link below) or PM me