Ahh, it's ok. Sounds like everything turned out great though. Glad you enjoyed all of the products. Let me know if there's anything else I can give you a hand with.

Cheers,

George

 

George,

What should I use to remove sealant from a blue foam pad? I used FMJ and I am having a hard time removing the sealant from the pad?

I use dawn to take out wax from pads, but that isnt working well on the sealant.

Also, I will be posting pictures of my first full detail with the supplies I purchased from your outfit.

 

The key is to not let the product sit on the pads. Once I'm done with a pad, I have a bucket ready with some Snappy Clean or degreaser, so it can begin releasing product immediately. After letting it sit for a while, I'll massage it with my thumbs to help release some product, then let it soak for another 10 - 20 minutes, repeat.

Once the product sits too long it may be difficult to completely remove from a pad.

Looking forward to seeing your results!

Cheers,

George

 

Thanks again George

I am going to take pictures tonight to show how great Menzerna polishes work. I have a few deep scratches that need Power Gloss, but for my second time polishing I didn't want to go with anything that serious on my new black car.

Once again thanks for the assistance and I love your site.

 

George,

As always, let me apologize up front if this has been asked and answered! I posted on the main board but got little response, so I'm counting on you George!

In the next few weeks I will be attempting my first "real" detail of my "G". Thanks to a great Father's Day deal at Detailed Image, I purchased several items including:

Lake Country Blue Fine Finishing Pad - 6.5"
Lake Country Orange Light Cutting Pad - 6.5"
Lake Country White Polishing Pad - 6.5"
Menzerna Final Polish II (FPII)
Menzerna Intensive Polish (IP)

I'll be using a PC7424 and will be following the proper wash,clay,polish,seal/wax procedures and steps . My questions are these:

I'll be going after mainly swirl marks and etchings in the finish, but there are some deeper scratchs I would like to get out as well. I've read and seen that the proper technique is to do a test panel to gage proper pad & polish combinations and always start w/ the less aggressive polish. How should I approach that? A White Pad w/ the Final Polish, or an Orange Pad with Final Polish, or a White Pad w/ Intensive Polish etc.. Or, is it pretty much standard procedure to start w/ the Orange Pad and Intensive Polish knowing that I'll be removing swirls, etchings, and some minor scratches, and then move to the Final Polish with the White Pad? Maybe I'm just making a bigger deal out of something that's pretty insignificant.

The hood and the front bumper of my '05 G35, as you would expect, has a few paint chips. I intend on doing a complete polish job w/ proper steps/technique etc. I intend on using a light to medium abrassive polish w/ the proper pad combination on a PC 7424. Out of curiousity, what happens to paint chips when they are polished/buffed? And, how should one handle buffing portions of the paint where a chip has obviously gone through the clearcoat and the paint? I don't intend on wet-sanding or repainting, I am just looking for how to handle paint chips when buffing and what the usual outcome of polishing paints chips is. Thanks!

 

how long can i store these waxes and polishers and etc?

jw cause i dont plan to use the stuff i buy as soon as i get them..

 

George, for halogen lights, would some of the cheap ones from the local home improvement stores be sufficient?

 

Thanks for the feedback, looking forward to seeing some pictures of your work! Sounds like it came out great.

Good questions. In an ideal detailing world, you always start with the least aggressive polish and pad combination and work your way up step by step until you achieve the results you are looking for. Why? This way you'll remove the least amount of clear coat to remove the imperfections.

If you're paint is pretty swirled up, chances are a white pad / Final Polish II won't be cutting enough on a PC. My guess is you'll end up going with IP/orange, but if you want to test out other combinations to get a feel of what they are capable of removing, it would be a good opportunity to try it out. Keep in mind you want to avoid mixing products on pads, so if you don't have enough pads to test out different variations, stick with the common ones that will yield the best results, like IP/orange followed by FPII/white. Another thing to keep in mind is after polishing, as long as you care for the vehicle properly, chances are you won't need to revisit this more aggressive combo. If you take care of your vehicle properly, you might be able to get away with FPII/white next time around. Hope this helps clear things up.

After polishing you would want to consider a re-wash, preferably with a concentrated shampoo that will strip off any polishing agents. Another alternative is to use a 50/50 mix of isopropyl alcohol and water. This will help remove any polish residue and oils left behind that may be caught in the chips giving it a white ring around the chip. If the chip is very open and flaky, polishing over it could remove some of the dead paint surrounding the chip, so you want to be more aware when polishing around the chips.

Let me know if this helps clear things up for you.

Typical shelf life for most products is 5+ years when stored in room temperature out of direct sunlight. It's usually major temperature swings (freezing or over 100 degrees) that can accelerate the life of a product.

Yep, usually Sears has a dual 500w setup for around $30. They typically get the job done. When using these, you want to minimize as much outside lighting as possible.

Let me know if there's anything else I can help with.

George

 

Thanks for your response on my previous questions George.

I'm looking for your recommendations or a "how to" on how to polish plastic (headlights, tailights) using a PC 7424 and something like a Menzerna polish? Or, what is the process/procedure for clearing up hazing, yellowing, swirling, and/or scratching on headlights/tailights?

Secondly, your recommendations or a "how to" on how to polish chrome that has swirls/scratches. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Again, I apologize if this has been asked/answered!

 

I have a headlight restoration article coming soon, but for now, check out this thread. http://acurazine.com/forums/showpost...60&postcount=3

Follow the same techniques outlined in that post and you should have some great results.

Polishing metal to remove swirls and scratches can be difficult for a lot of reasons. Sometimes metal has a clear coat which means you can treat it like paint, or sometimes it has a thin layer of chrome which means you can easily rub right through it. You always want to start with the least aggressive approach a work your way to a more aggressive option as needed. I usually start with something like P21S Trim Restorer and a foam applicator pad using some light to medium pressure to work the polish in.

Sometimes you can successfully remove imperfections in metal, other times you cannot.

Cheers,

George

 

are the 30ml dodo waxes enough to wax my whole car (g coupe)?
sorry if a stupid question..im just begining my detailing years and i dont want to start off by recieving a sample size that wont be enough..haha

 

Ya i got a question for u george i wanna debadge my car. What is the best stuff to get the emblems off with?? How do i go about with it

 

The 30ml sample pots are enough for about 3 - 5 coats, so yes you can get through your entire car Remember, less is more, so apply it as thin as possible.

Usually what I do is take a heat gun or hair dryer, heat up the emblems to loosen the adhesive. Then take some dental floss, and work it behind the emblems. After, you may see some minor scratches or shadows, which should come out with a good polish. Take your time and don't rush it, that's where people add deeper scratches.

Keep us posted on how things turn out.

George

 

George,

A follow-up question to the procedure on how to restore headlights. I saw a thread here in the G35driver forums where a guy just used his PC7424 w/ LC pads and some SIP and/or some IP, and polished his headlights w/ no wetsanding or other type of work on them. Would you recommend this process, and if so, what approach would you take to headlight polishing w/ just the PC, LC pads, and a polish? Thanks again!

 

You can certainly go this route. Wet sanding is used primarily to remove pitting and other heavy defects in the lights. If you're just looking to remove oxidation and swirl marks, then using the PC, LC pads and polish will do the trick. Simply treat it the same as you would the paint, start with the least aggressive combination and work your way up as needed. Tape off the paint surrounding the lights so that you can focus just on polishing the lights. After polishing, I like to follow up with some sort of all in one product to give it a final clean and protect them as well.

If you have any other questions, let me know.

George