Tech Tips Thursday
Mark your backing plate to make it easy to see if it's rotating or not...
By Mike Phillips Place a mark on your backing plate like this, http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...ckingPlate.jpg If you want to remove swirls and scratches the pad needs to rotate on the 5-6 speed setting when firm pressure is applied to the head of the polisher. To make it easier for your eyes to detect if the pad is truly rotating or simply vibrating or jiggling, place a black mark using a Sharpie Permanent Marker onto the back of the backing plate. If you have a black backing plate like the Meguiar's W68DA Backing Plate or the Edge DA Backing Plate, use a light fingernail polish or get a small bottle of white paint sold for painting car models. |
Best Practice - Avoid buffing on top of body lines and edges
By Mike Phillips Buff up to body lines and edges but try not to buff directly on top of body lines and edges A good best practice whenever you're machine cleaning is to buff up to hard body lines but don't buff on top of hard body lines. There are two reasons for this, 1. Paint tends to flow off high points a little after it's sprayed but before it's set-up, so paint will tend to be thinner on edges and body lines. 2. There will be increased pressure from your pad onto the paint because the body line or raised edge will be higher than the rest of the surrounding paint. This is what can happen, if you look carefully at the hard body line on the hood of this VW you can see where someone has remove too much paint and exposed the primer under color coat. This is an older VW and has what appears to be a single stage finish but the principal behind avoiding buffing directly on top of an edge or hard body line still applies. http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...ThroughVW1.jpg This is a little out of focus, sorry I was using my iphone... http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...ThroughVW2.jpg As Benjamin Franklin once said, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. A good best practice is to avoid buffing on top of hard body lines and edges and instead just buff up to them. You can also tape them off using thin painter's tape so in case you get your buffing pad close to the raised body line or edges you have a measure of extra protection. This is where either slowing down and focusing on the task at hand comes into play or using smaller pads when working on thin panels. Here at Autogeek we have a great selection of smaller buffing pads and backing plates as well as the Griot's Garage Professional Random Orbital 3 Inch Polisher for working thin panels. Lake Country Beveled Edge 3.5 Inch Pad Pack http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/autogeek_2067_42693478 Griot's Garage 3 Inch Orange Polishing Foam Pad http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/autogeek_2066_108030431 Griot's Garage 3 Inch Mini Red Wax Pad http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/autogeek_2066_104968033 Griot's Garage Professional Random Orbital 3 Inch Polisher http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/autogeek_2066_108054776 2-3/4 inch Hook & Loop Rotary Backing Plate http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/autogeek_2067_29995755 D.A Adapter 5/8" X 11 http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/autogeek_2069_58727767 Lake Country 4 Inch Low Profile Foam Pads http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/autogeek_2069_27956421 CCS 4 Inch Spot Buffs Foam Pads & Accessories http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/autogeek_2069_25226577 3.5" Dual Action Flexible Backing Plate http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/autogeek_2069_51075714 Rotary 3 ¾ inch Backing Plate http://ep.yimg.com/ca/I/autogeek_2066_89979010 |
The Beach Towel Tip
By Mike Phillips Here's a tip I use on some cars I detail to cover and protect the plastic surrounding the wiper arms at the back edge of the hood of cars, just before the windshield. Beach Towels tend to be longer in one direction than the average bath towel; on average, beach towels run around 60" or 70" in length. Where this comes in handy over a bath towel is that your average car, truck or s.u.v. windshield is around 5' to 6' across so a Beach Towel is usually long enough to cover and protect the plastic, wiper arms, and glass in one fell swoop whereas the average bath towel falls short. See if you can relate... Sometimes it seems like splatter, that is the little white dots of product that land on the glass can be some of the hardest little things to remove 100%, not to mention time-consuming. So with this technique you can avoid the hassle entirely. This tip is mostly for working with rotary buffers as they will tend to sling-out splatter more than machines like the Flex 3401, the Cyclo and DA Polishers like the Porter Cable. I have seen people lift these other non-rotary buffers off hoods while the pad is still spinning at a high rate of speed and completely cover a windshield with splatter so it does happen. See these threads, Here's a tip... don't lift the pad off the paint till you've turned the polisher off and the spinning pad has slowed down... What not to do when detailing a car! I know detailers that never tape-off or cover anything up and that's okay too, it's personal preference and it could be that you're just incredibly careful as well as incredibly good at this craft. It could also mean the cars you're working on it won't matter if you do get spatter into hard to detail areas. For the rest us, here's how you use a Beach Towel to cover-up and protect areas you don't want to get splatter onto or into and then have to "detail" these areas and components later, after the polishing and waxing is over. This is a stylish Beach Towel I found at Walgreens for around $6.00, my normal towel is white and ugly so I thought this would make for a more fun how-to article. Just to note you could also use paper or plastic, whatever works for you... I like Beach Towels for a number of reasons that paper and plastic don't offer but I have used both plastic, (2 mil painter's drop cloths), and paper, (usually newspaper but painter's masking paper works great too). http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...owelTip000.jpg Here's the area I'm talking about that you want to cover up on modern cars, they often have plastic material with grill or vent openings that if you get splatter onto and into these areas it can be difficult and time consuming to remove. http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...owelTip001.jpg In most cases, if you're restoring the paint on someone's daily driver, not only is the paint neglected but the plastic is neglected meaning it's weathered, dried and dull and it seems like splatter really likes to stick hard to plastic in this condition. If you do get splatter on these areas, it's also very unsightly and your customer might not appreciate it if you don't remove it. So with this technique, you never get splatter into and onto these areas in the first place. The old an ounce of prevention idea... http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...owelTip002.jpg Not only does a Beach Towel work well for this type of job you can also re-wash it and use it again... so it's green technique... http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...owelTip003.jpg Start by opening the hood and locating a place to tape one edge of the towel too, make sure the ends of the towel don't bind in the hinge mechanism and don't place dry cloth anywhere on a hot engine where it could be a fire danger or get caught into any moving parts. In other words, use common sense. http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...owelTip004.jpg After carefully closing the hood, then use some Painter's Tape to affix the towel to the windshield so it doesn't fall down and if you're also taping off other plastic, vinyl or rubber trim, then tape-off these components accordingly. http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...owelTip005.jpg In this instance the towel did not reach all the way to the top of the windshield; this is okay however because the sling and splatter is mostly an issue for the lower portions adjacent to the hood where the buffing is taking place. You can also use this for the rear window. Side windows are not usually a problem for the glass because the panels are vertical. http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...owelTip006.jpg Notice how I've run a couple of strips of wide tape along where the Beach Towel meets the rear edge of the hood? http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...owelTip007.jpg http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...owelTip008.jpg In some cases, the design of the vehicle means there's no gap or air space between the edge of the hood and the glass or wiper arm area, in these cases, you have to be careful when running your polisher not to run the buffing pad into the Beach Towel because the nap is grippy and your buffing pad could grab it and yank it into itself. So for cars with a low or no air-gap between the paint and the area you're trying to cover up, being careful when buffing these areas is important, but I also run a couple of strips of tape across this area as a buffing pad that's lubricated with product will just bump into the tape, it won't snag it and possibly pull it off the area and into the pad. Just an extra safety precaution, you can decide how DO or AR you want to get. http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...owelTip009.jpg Then continue working around the car taping areas off you don't want to get compound or polish residue. http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...owelTip010.jpg Classic and Antique Vehicles For classic cars, there's usually zero plastic around the windshield, wiper arms and edge of hood but you may still want to cover-up the windshield glass so you can use the Beach Towel Tip for classics too... http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...owelTip012.jpg http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...owelTip013.jpg And of course... since most classics have air vent grills in front of the windshield, so Tape it off and avoid a lifetime of ugly... http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...owelTip014.jpg And any other areas that you don't want to run a toothbrush or some kind of detailing brush... "Polishing paint is polishing paint, detailing is getting the wax out of the cracks" http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...owelTip015.jpg http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...owelTip016.jpg I've also used the extra large Guzzler Waffle Weave Drying Towels and while not always long enough to reach across 100% of a windshield, they do work as you can see in this thread, Damp-Sanding Tools, Tips and Techniques by Mike Phillips http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...camino_015.jpg The Beach Towel Tip... simple and effective plus a real time saver... On the Autogeek.net Store Meguiars Professional Masking Tape Combo 3M Automotive Performance Masking Tape 3 Pack The Ultimate Guzzler Waffle Weave By Cobra 28 x 44 inches |
How to remove dried bug spatter or bug guts
By Mike Phillips Bug Spatter can actually eat through and remove paint if left on too long... http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...oneTest003.jpg Tip: Water soften the dried bug guts and splatter with water first. Trick: Use a towel to hold water in place on a vertical panel. Here's a tip I posted in 2005, the idea being to use the towel to hold the moisture onto the paint and thus the bug splatter where it can go to work softening and loosening the splatter. A large beach towel works well for this... This was my Honda Pilot in our garage where I would also wash the garage because it's pretty hard to wash a car in the desert without the dry heat or the wind drying water before you can dry your car. Take a wash rag and saturate it with water or your car wash solution. http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/ga...WetWashRag.jpg Place the wet wash rag on top of the dried bug splatter and allow it to sit for a few minutes. A variation of this would be to use warm/hot water. http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/ga...etWashRag2.jpg To speed up the process, apply some gentle pressure while drinking a cold soft drink and if need be, hum or whistle a little diddy. http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/ga...etWashRag3.jpg A variation of the above but for a larger area would be to use a larger cloth such as a bath towel. Saturate a clean, soft 100% cotton towel with water and place it over the affected area. http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/ga...2WetTowel1.jpg Another variation for headlights and fenders... http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/ga...2WetTowel2.jpg Big Picture The idea being to use some type of bath towel or microfiber towel or even wash cloth or wet chamois to trap and hold water onto the dried bug splatter in order to soften and re-liquefy it so you can more easily remove it without causing damage to the delicate, scratch-sensitive clear coat finish. :) |
Tips for working in warm/hot weather or direct sunlight
By Mike Phillips First the facts... Paint care products will always work best on a cool surface in the shade, this is true even for products that state they can be used in full sun. Even if a product can be used in full sun, working on a cool surface in the shade will always be easier and maximize the performance of the product because warm and/or hot temperatures, plus the heat from direct sun rays will always be trying to dry out your product before you can effectively work it over the surface. Also, there's a HUGE difference between working in full sun in the morning in a fall or winter month and working in full sun when working in August, in Arizona at noon on a black car. The temperature of black paint in August, in Arizona at noon can easily exceed 180 degrees and any liquid product applied to the paint will tend to want to dry very quickly even if on the label it says, "can be used in the sun" . A few tips... For those times when you don't have shade and it's warm or hot outside and you don't have a cool surface to work on, here are a few tips... Borrow some shade... First, look around and see if you can borrow some shade, by this I mean the shade created by a large building? Maybe under a large tree? Working under a tree can present a potential problem for debris falling out of the tree and on to your working surface but that's the trade-off for getting out of direct sun, so if you do work under a tree be sure to clean any panels immediately before working on them. Portable Canopy... If it's in your budget, invest in a quality EZ-Up type Canopy to create a shaded, protected work area. Shrink your work area down to a smaller size... Anytime a product becomes difficult to work with, one tip you can try is to shrink down the size of your work area. This means you spread the product out over a smaller area and only work this smaller area. Be careful not to allow yourself to do what I call Buffer Creep. This is where you creep outward from your original small section and end up buffing out a larger section. Avoid Buffer Creep. Especially if your product appears to be drying up and becoming dusty. Why a smaller area? Because when you're working only a small are you're continually engaging the working film of product over the area more quickly as you move the polisher and by doing this there's less time for the product to dry and dust. Clean your pads often or switch to a clean dry pad... It's vitally important to work clean and this means cleaning your pad often and often can mean cleaning your pad after each Section Pass no matter which type of polisher you're using. The warmer or hotter the temperatures and the worse the working conditions, then the more often you want to clean your pads. Rotary Buffers When cutting with a wool pad on a rotary buffer it really helps to have a pad washer, but if you don't have one you can get by with a Spur. When using foam pads you can use a pad washer or the "Cleaning your pad on the fly" technique" using a clean, terry cloth towel. How to clean your foam pad on the fly DA Polishers - Porter Cable - Meguiar's - Griot's When cutting with a DA Polisher you can get by with "Cleaning your pad on the fly" using a terry cloth towel, but a pad washer will clean a foam cutting pad better. Of course you can always switch to a new pad or a clean dry, used pad. The "Cleaning the pad on the fly technique" does not work with the Flex 3401 or the Cyclo Polisher. For these two types of polishers you'll need to use a pad washer, wash your pads by hand, or substitute clean new pads, or clean, dry used pads. Keep in mind that anytime you us ANY product that abrades the paint, you will have two substances building up on the face of your pad,
Back when cars were painted with single stage paints, you could easily see the removed paint build up on the face of the pad because it was pigmented or colored. This would be a strong visual indicator to help remind you to clean your pads often. With modern clear coats, you're still removing paint when you're abrading or doing correction work but because the clear layer is clear, it just doesn't show up as dramatically as single stage paint. The important point is to understand that clear paint is building up on the face of your pad and to clean our pad often. You also want to wipe off any residue from the area worked before adding fresh product if you're going to work the area again. Use an "ample" amount of product When I say use an ample amount of product this means don’t use too much product and don’t use to little product. From The Free Dictionary.com Out of the above definitions, I'm using the 3rd definition. Using too much product You want an AMPLE amount of product when first starting out because you pad is dry and some of the product is going to seep into the pad leaving less on the surface to LUBRICATE and ABRADE the paint.If you use too much you can hyper-lubricate the surface and this will make it more difficult for the abrasives to abrade the surface as they’ll tend to want to glide or slip over the surface instead of bite into the surface. Using too little product If you use too little product there won’t be enough lubrication to enable the buffing pad to rotate and thus engage the abrasives against the surface so they can bite into and remove small particles of paint. Another option is to use a Pad Conditioner to lubricate and condition the surface of a dry pad, this will improve the buffing cycle and provide protection to the paint surface to help prevent micro-marring. XMT Polishing Pad Conditioner Cut down on the amount of product AFTER pad is broken-in... After your pad is broken in with product, clean your pad after each section pass and when you apply fresh product you can cut down on the amount of product you actually apply to the face of your pad. The key it to have enough product on the surface as you're working a section to have a film of product that you can see on the surface behind the polisher as you move the polisher in a direction. http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...eProduct10.jpg Start before the sun comes up... Do your machine compounding and polishing early in the morning when it's the coolest. Start setting up while it's still early in the morning while it's cool, then as soon as there's enough light to safely work, begin working the horizontal panels first. The reason for this is these will tend to get the hottest later in the day as the sun is over head making any correction or polishing work more difficult. When it comes to the vertical panels, you can usually move the car in such a way that the side you're working on is shaded to some degree by placing the sun on the opposite side, thus the surface temperature of the panel will be cooler. Use smaller, thinner pads The 5.5" pads are thinner than the 6.5" pads and should rotate easily with a PC 7424XP, Griot's Garage and Meguiar's DA Polishers under on the 5.0 to 6.0 Speed setting. Together with working a smaller size section and ample product this will make working on a warm or hot surface easier. Why to only work small sections at at time The larger the area you work the more the product is going to dry up on you because while you're working one portion of the area, the portions not being worked will tend to start drying via evaporation. By shrinking your work area down, shrinking your pad size down and using ample product you'll better be able to maintain a wet buffing cycle over a smaller area. Note: The larger the area you work the less abrading action each square inch of paint will get in relation to the time spent working the total area. Exception to the rule... While most instructions state to work a 2' x 2' area, when removing swirls in a warm or hot environment, it's usually more effective to work a smaller area. I tend to stick around the 20" squarish area and even smaller if the paint is harder, the swirls are deeper and it's extremely hot and windy as the heat and the wind together will both act to force your product to dry more quickly. Hope this helps.... |
Finger Painting Technique when using a Rotary Buffer
By Mike Phillips I call this Finger Painting - It's where you take your product spreader and spread out a thin layer of compound or polish to, A: Spread the product out over the section of paint to be buffed. Normally I use the 10 @ 10 Technique to lay down a bead of product directly onto the paint to be buffed but for tight areas like you see below, you want to lubricate the paint and even the pad because buffing out thin panels like this or buffing into tight areas will put a lot of cutting power into play.B: Lubricate the area being buffed. It's all about getting a film of compound or polish on the paint you're going to buff as this film of product not only contains the abrasives to abrade the paint but the film also lubricates the paint and especially the edges to help prevent burn-through. http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...e_Nova_061.jpg http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...e_Nova_062.jpg http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...e_Nova_063.jpg http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...e_Nova_064.jpg You can also apply some compound or polish to the outer edges of the pad and work this product into the fibers, (or work it into the foam if using a foam pad), to moisten and lubricate the outside edge of the pad. Like shown here, Rotary Buffer Tip - Prime the side edges of foam cutting pads Just be careful when turning the polisher on as centrifugal force will kick in and you can sling any excess product out of the pad and onto surrounding areas and even your eyes. |
Tips on Taping Off Thin Paint and Chipped Paint
By Mike Phillips When I first brought the 1970 Oldsmobile Cutlass to the shop I had originally planned to carefully Dampsand the paint to remove all the swirls and sanding scratches left by the other guy... The first project I did was an article on how to restore and preserve antique and original vinyl tops using 303 products. As I worked on the top I became more familiar with the entire car and started to notice all the thin spots on raised body lines, corners and edges. I also found to blend lines. To me these were indicators of trouble if a person were to attempt getting too aggressive with the correction process for the paint on this car, so i nixed sanding the paint and instead decided just to machine clean and polish the paint. When CLOSELY inspecting the hood and front clip I found a number of places where the paint was buffed for too long and primer was either showing, of ghosting through and buffing in these areas will only remove more of the top coat exposing more of the primer underneath. So to avoid doing more damage than has already been done I decided to carefully tape-off any areas with thin paint. In some places I was concerned that when I go to remove the tape, the adhesive on the tape may have more pulling strength over the adhesion of the paint to the panels, for this reason I chose to only tackle JUST the hood from beginning to end and then get the tape off the paint to reduce the potential for pulling paint off with the tape. Short Time Leaving the tape on for only a short time can help reduce the chance of pulling any good paint off the car in damaged areas. Another tip is to take your tape and before you apply it to the paint, place the adhesive side on your pant leg or on your shirt where the adhesive will pull off some fuzz or fiber particles and the effect this has is to reduce the stickiness of the tape. This is a little tip that can also help reduce the potential for pulling any paint off the car when pulling the tape off the car. Also be sure to pull the tape off at an angle, perpendicular to the panel and not straight up and off the panel. Let's get started... First the fresh air intake grills have a trim piece surrounding them with hard, sharp edges. There are a number of places someone else has already burned completely through the paint to expose both primer and sheet metal. http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...hinSpots01.jpg Here you can see bare metal and touch-up paint applied to where paint was chipped off. http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...hinSpots02.jpg Just down a ways from the above picture you can see where paint is lifting and chipping off... I don't want to get compound and polish residue in the seem surrounding the fresh air intake grill but I also don't want to pull off any paint when I pull off the tape. http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...hinSpots03.jpg Here's another area where the paint has been buffed on too long with a rotary buffer and the result is the paint has been burned-through exposing both primer and bare metal. http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...hinSpots04.jpg Same there here in on this edge close to the chrome fins that make up the grill. http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...hinSpots05.jpg Here you can see where no paint was sprayed at all, just red primer. This is an indicator as to the quality of the paint job overall. Not a strong indicator, just something to Raise the Red Flag of Caution . http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...hinSpots08.jpg To be extra careful, I'm going to place the adhesive tape against my shirt a few times to attract some fuzz and fiber off the shirt and onto the adhesive thereby reducing it's stickiness and thus it's adhesive strength. This is called, Burning the tape For any place where paint is seen to be flaking or chipping off, I want to take some extra precautions. http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...hinSpots11.jpg Now I place the painters tape down and carefully work my way to cover all of the grill. http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...hinSpots09.jpg |
Someone asked me how to easily get the tape onto just the areas you want cover and my answer is you can make it as complicated as you want or as simple as you want. If you want to get complicated here's a simple tip, use a pencil to outline where you want to make your cut, (don't push hard on the tape or you might leave an imprint in the paint), then lift the tape up and back a little and make your cut.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...hinSpots10.jpg http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...hinSpots12.jpg http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...hinSpots13.jpg http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...hinSpots15.jpg In this shot I've taped off the fresh air intake grills and also laid out a taped-off section for the Reverse Test Spot . http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...hinSpots16.jpg There are a number of places on the front clip where the paint has been burned-through. Buffing on them just a little will cause the burn-through area to creep or enlarge, so I don't want to be responsible for burn-through-creep so I'm going to carefully tape these areas off. http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...hinSpots17.jpg First I open the door, this makes it easier to tape this area off and actually when I'm buffing this area I'll have the door open too. http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...hinSpots18.jpg http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...hinSpots19.jpg Here's a thin spot along the hood edge... http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...hinSpots20.jpg You can place some tape on the adjacent panel as a marker so you don't forget about it as you buff this area... http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...hinSpots21.jpg http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...hinSpots22.jpg Or tape the edge off, I chose to tape the edge off by opening the hood, taping the area, then folding the tape down the side of the hood. http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...hinSpots23.jpg Just out from the edge of the hood there's a thin spot on the raised body line of the front driver's side fender. This is a COMMON place to find burn-through paint as detailers tend to buff the easy panels too much, easy being the horizontal panels here it's easy to stand their and run the polisher. http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...hinSpots24.jpg If you don't have thin tape you can make thin tape to enable you to only cover the part you want to protect. http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...hinSpots25.jpg Then remove your marker or leave it there as you're buffing the top, the idea being not to forget about thin areas and buff on them too long. http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...hinSpots26.jpg Open doors, hood and trunk lid tip When it comes to classics, a lot of time the body panels don't line up perfectly and you'll have one edge of a panel higher or lower than an adjacent panel. for these situations you can open the hood, doors or trunk lid and then carefully buff the panel in a way that you can safely buff on the paint without the risk of at the same time buffing on an edge that would be higher if the hood, door, or trunk lid were closed. Along the edge where the hood meets the fender there are places where the hood is higher and also lower than the edge of the fender. By raising the hood just a little I can buff on the hood without also having the buffing pad touching, or buffing on the fender. http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...hinSpots27.jpg If I open the hood higher, (and cover the engine compartment to protect it from splatter), I can then buff the edge of the fender without having the buffing pad touching or buffing on the hood. This takes a little more time but will help you from leaving your Signature on the car. Signature = Mistake See this article, Your Signature - Don't leave one... |
How to buff off an edge when using a rotary buffer
How to buff off an edge when using a rotary buffer
By Mike Phillips Correctly buffing off an edge... ***Proactive Preface*** When I say, buff off an edge I don't mean remove the paint off the edge but instead how to best hold the polisher when moving a spinning pad over an edge to reduce the risk of causing harm to the edge and to prevent the spinning pad from grabbing the edge and yanking your grip on the rotary buffer potentially causing you, the paint or the car harm. I know there's a lot of persnickety fellers out there that like to twist words on purpose for their own nefarious reasons so this first paragraph is to ensure anyone that can read and think understands the context of the title. I never mind helping those that are easily and/or willfully confused. :laughing: Now let's move on to the how-to part... How to buff off and edge when using a rotary buffer This is kind of tricky to type about but here goes. First it’s always a good best practice to not buff directly on top of an edge. This is because paint tends to be thinner on high points as it flows downward due to gravity plus there’s always the possibility that some other detailer has buffed the car out before you and doesn’t practice the best practice. It’s also a good best practice to hold the pad flat to the surface and not hold the pad at an angle so you’re only using a portion of the pad on edge. That said, sooner or later all panels come to an end at the end of the panel is an edge. Your goal is to buff the paint up to the edge but not buff with firm pressure directly on top of the edge. When your rotary buffer is turned on and you’re looking down on the back of the buffing pad and backing plate, the pad spins in a clockwise rotation. You need to understand the relationship between the direction the buffing pad is rotating and the way you run the pad next to an edge. You want the pad touching down in a way that the pad is rotating over and off the edge, not rotating into the edge. See the pictures below as I think they will do a better job of showing you what to do and what not to do. Right Technique In these pictures the body of the rotary buffer is held in a way so that when the pad is spinning it is buffing or rotating OFF the edge. https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-u...0/rotation.jpg http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...RightWay02.jpg Wrong Technique In these pictures the body of the rotary buffer is held in a way so that when the pad is spinning it is buffing or rotating INTO the edge. http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...WrongWay02.jpg http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...WrongWay01.jpg Make sense? A good way to really understand what it means to buff off an edge or to buff into an edge is to get a junker panel or a beater car that no one cares about and PURPOSEFULLY perform both the correct and incorrect technique. The technique will make complete sense immediately when you try to buff into and edge. |
Why it's important to clean your pads often...
Why it's important to clean your pads often...
By Mike Phillips When you're buffing out a car it's important to clean your pads often. By cleaning your pad often you will work faster and you will enable your pad and product to work more effectively. Be sure to have both clean terry cloth towels on hand and also a nylon pad cleaning brush. It's also a good idea to have plenty of pads so as a pad becomes wet with product you can switch over to a clean dry pad. Dry pads work better than wet pads. ANYTIME you're abrading the surface whether you're using an aggressive cutting compound of an ultra fine polish, you have two things building up on the face of your buffing pad...
That's the whole idea behind cleaning your pad on the fly... you can remove a majority of the spent product and removed paint and then get back to running the buffer... buffing out an entire car already takes a l-o-n-g time... stopping to do some kind of pad cleaning procedure that isn't quick and easy keeps you from buffing on the paint. Fast methods include,
Slow methods, (they might work well but they take you away from buffing on the car)
How to clean your pad with a nylon brush Here's how to clean a pad with a nylon brush. NOTE: you do this with the polisher turned OFF. http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...illips_056.jpg How to clean your pad on the fly using a terry cloth hand towel Cleaning your pad on the fly is where you take a terry cloth towel, usually a medium size hand towel works best, you fold it in two and then simply hold the towel against the face of the pad and then turn the polisher on and use your hand that’s holding the towel to push the towel into the foam. This will act to draw any excess liquid out of the foam and any excess residue off of the face of the pad. This is me using the Clean your Pad on the Fly Technique to clean my pad on the fly as I'm working around a car buffing it out. http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...dgeNeon010.jpg http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...dgeNeon011.jpg http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...dgeNeon012.jpg http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...dgeNeon013.jpg This video explains the above technique in detail and shows you exactly how to use this technique to clean your pads. How to clean your pad on the fly :) |
A tip for working with waxes, paint sealants or coatings that are new to you
By Mike Phillips Tip: Test to small area first Anytime you're going to use a wax, paint sealant or coating that is a product you've never used before, especially if you're planning on applying it to the entire car... to get a feel for how the product applies and most important, how it wipes off, first test the product to a small area. This way you'll be familiar with the application and wipe-off characteristics for the specific product before applying to the entire car. A small area = about a foot squared The average size square microfiber towel is 16" by 16", which is a little larger than a foot squared. So for your test section, lay a clean microfiber towel out flat, like this, http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...erTowel001.jpg Then use this area as a guide as to how large of an area to apply the product onto in order to get a good feel for both the application and wipe-off characteristics of the new-to-you product. Follow the manufactures directions Manufactures know their product formulas best so take a moment to read the directions for application and removal on the label and then follow them as recommended. Waxes and Paint Sealants that dry If the directions state that you should allow the product to dry to haze before removal then allow the product to dry before removing it. The Swipe Test Here's a handy test to check and see if a wax or paint sealant is dry and ready to remove, The Swipe Test Wipe-on, wipe-off waxes and paint sealants Some products are formulated to be removed before they dry, these are called wipe-on, wipe-off waxes. If you're using a wipe-on, wipe-off wax then immediately after applying the wax to the entire car go ahead and remove it. Products vary and climatic conditions vary The chemistry between products can be very different; some products wipe off a tick on the difficult side while some products wipe off incredibly easy. Products perform differently in different environmental conditions; a product that applies and remove easily in a humid area may apply and wipe off with great difficulty in another geographical location that's hot and dry. The idea behind this tip is for you to become acquainted with a product you've never used before in your specific geographical, environmental and climatic location. For some people, what this may teach them is the importance of applying a thin coating and if you're new to the world of detailing in general and waxing by hand in specific, you might not know 100% exactly what is meant by a thin coating and you don't want to learn what thin means the hard way. |
Knock out painted roofs first, then tackle the rest of the car...
By Mike Phillips 1952 DeSoto - Roof has been sanded, cut, polished and waxed and is now protected with a soft flannel sheet http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...1Desoto001.jpg This topic has come up in the past on this forum and other forums so here's a quick article on a technique that I use when doing multiple-step machine polishing procedures for show car work. The idea is to knock out the roof from start to finish and then after the roof is completely polished and sealed, then cover it with something soft like a soft flannel bed sheet, and then tackle the rest of the car from the roof line downward. Here's a couple reasons why to polish out the roof all the way to the wax or sealant step and then work down... 1. Reduce the potential No chance of getting splatter on previously cleaned and polished surfaces below the roof line and then having to wipe the splatter off. This is part of "reducing the potential" for re-instilling scratches that have already been removed. While it's important to be careful and if you are careful then this isn't an issue, it's just my personal preference to know out the roof all the way to wax and not ever have to worry about wiping any kind of residue off a lower panel when moving onto any step after the first step... 2. Marketing Doing a multiple step process to a car requires a lot of time. From the time you start to the time you've wiped the first coat of wax off could be anywhere from 10 to 12 hours to a couple of days depending upon the project. Now follow me on this... If while you're working on the car you have not "finished section", then you have no way to showcase your work and talent to anyone that happens by, this could be the owner or a potential customer. If all they can see is a "work in progress", there's nothing to get too excited about... Now if you quickly work the roof all the way to the first application and removal of the wax or paint sealant step, now anytime someone walks by and comments or asks questions about your work you can make a "Presentation". You talking to owner or potential customer... "Well I still have the lower portions of the car to finish but come here and check out the paint on the roof, this is how the ENTIRE car is going to look after I wipe off the last coat of wax..." Then you carefully remove a little piece of painter's tape holding the soft, flannel sheet onto the roof and then pull the sheet back carefully and let whoever is standing there check out a perfectly polished, high gloss finish.In my experience, anyone looking at the finished results can then usually imagine how the rest of the car is going to look and that puts the "Big Picture" together enough for them to appreciate the work you're doing even though the rest of the car maybe taped-off and covered with compound residue... That can be pretty powerful and even more so if there's any "original" paint or un-polished sections left that you can then show them before-and-after, even more so, you can leverage this if you have a Brinkmann Swirl Finder Light handy... I found this picture of a 1952 DeSoto that Richard Lin and I dampsanded using Porter Cables before dampsanding was a commonly used detailing term. The flannel bed sheet is covering the roof because at the point in time this picture was taken the paint on the roof had been sanded, compounded, machine polished twice and machine sealed. We didn't want any airborne dust landing and settling on the paint while we continued to work downward. http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...1Desoto001.jpg Of course, it goes without saying that this "style" of doing a multiple-step process to a car is "personal preference" and each person can find a way that works best for them... this is just what tends to work best for me... |
20 Attachment(s)
How to clean your foam cannon
By Hamza7 I first thought I owned a Riccardo Foam Cannon but after closer inspection it's just a MTM Hydro. What you'll need for this
Attachment 1085 This is the first pin you need to push out with your small diameter tool Attachment 1086 Attachment 1087 Now slowly YANK the black spray adjuster out Attachment 1088 Attachment 1089 Attachment 1090 Next take your 7/8th inch spanner and grab hold of the the brass thing you see in the picture Attachment 1091 After you release the initial tension you should be good to just loosen away by hand Attachment 1092 Attachment 1093 Can you see the little metal filter inside that piece Attachment 1094 I use the end of a L key to push it out Attachment 1095 Pop, it came out Attachment 1096 Can you guys see that filthiness Attachment 1097 Next put that piece inside disposable bowl, if you have a plastic one it's way better as I found out that CLR eats away at these things so I changed it Attachment 1098 Attachment 1099 Attachment 1100 Make sure you coat everything Attachment 1101 Here I changed the bowl Attachment 1102 After 12 hours of dewll time Attachment 1103 Attachment 1104 I then ran it under warm water with an old toothbrush to really make sure I got it clean. It's good as new now. Reassemble in reverse order. |
Re: Edging - Buffing the paint around edges
Edging - Buffing the paint around edges
By Mike Phillips Edging or Edge - Buffing along an edge to knock it out before buffing out the rest of the major portions of the panel. By edging a panel first you don't have to buff near the edges as close when you switch over to a larger pad to buff out the panel. http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...livery0031.jpg Edging I edged the entire car, edging means to go around and remove the sanding marks from all the edges leaving only the major portions of the panels left to compound. Most people just compound the entire panel from start to finish and that approach works and is used in body shops all the time, but I like to edge all the panels for a couple of reasons. 1) This isn't my car and for that reason I want to be very careful. If it were my car I would edge it, even though it's not my car I treat it like it is my car. 2) Removing the sanding marks around all the edges using a 4" pad is actually very easy to do and gives you GREAT control over the process, especially if you have the Flex 3403 or a lightweight and small rotary buffer to work with. You remove most of the risk for burning and edge or a high point due to the control factor. Here's the roof edged, http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...ingRoof001.jpg http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...ingRoof002.jpg http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...ingRoof003.jpg http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...ingRoof004.jpg http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...ingRoof005.jpg http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...ingRoof006.jpg http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...ingRoof007.jpg After I finished edging the roof, I was finished edging the entire car. The next step is to remove the sanding marks out of the center portions of the roof, the major portions of the panel. Using #3000 Grit Foam Finishing Discs, means it only takes a just a few minutes to compound out the major flat portions of the roof using the Makita with a W5000 Double Sided Wool Cutting pad with the M105. The above taken from this thread... If it has paint... it gets polished... |
How many pads do I need to buff out my car?
How many pads do I need to buff out my car?
By Mike Phillips Some guys try to buff out entire cars with a single pad per product. That's usually due to inexperience. Thus when they make their initial purchase they don't know to get more pads versus less pads. Once a person gets into the middle of the correction step and their one or two foam pads are wet with product, (pad saturation), and if they're paying attention they notice it's taking longer to get the same work done than when they first started with a clean, dry pad, then it starts to sink in that more pads are better. The correction step is the most pad intensive step so get more correction pads, these would be cutting pads. Polishing goes faster as you're only cleaning up what the correction step left behind and maximizing gloss and clarity. If you machine apply your waxes and sealants then you really only need one pad for this step. For a 1965 Mustang or for a 2015 Honda Accord and the paint is trashed, that is filled with swirls, scratches, water spots and oxidation, then here's a good rule of thumb for the optimum number of pads to have on hand assuming you're using a Porter Cable type dual action polisher. Porter Cable 7424XP Correction = Orange LC Flat Pad Polishing = White or Black LC Flat Pad Sealing = Blue LC Flat Pad Correction step = 6 pads 1 for the hood 1 for the roof and trunk lid 2 for driver's side 2 for passenger side Polishing step = 4 pads (You could probably get away with 3 if you use 1 for hood, roof and trunk lid) 1 for the hood 1 for the roof and trunk lid 1 for driver's side 1 for passenger side Sealing the paint step = 1 waxing pad Use over entire vehicle For a Flex 3401 Correction = Orange Hybrid Polishing = White Hybrid Sealing = Black Hybrid From experience, you can push the orange hybrid pads further than most pads plus the Flex 3401 simply doesn't care if the pads are wet with product it's going to rotate them no matter what. Not that using a squishy wet pad is a good thing just saying... One thing for sure, a fresh, clean, dry orange hybrid pad with a top notch compound cuts fast on the Flex 3401. Correction step = 6 pads 1 for the hood 1 for the roof and trunk lid 2 for driver's side 2 for passenger side Polishing step = 4 pads (You could probably get away with 3 if you use 1 for hood, roof and trunk lid) 1 for the hood 1 for the roof and trunk lid 1 for driver's side 1 for passenger side Sealing the paint step = 1 waxing pad Use over entire vehicle For Rupes Bigfoot Same as pads for a Porter Cable. Basically, more is better and as soon as any pad starts to become wet with product it's going to be faster and more effective to switch to a clean, dry pad. Big picture... Being able to switch to a clean dry pad always trumps plowing through with a wet soggy pad. Foam pads become wet or saturated with product the longer you buff, that's just the nature of foam and liquids. A fresh, clean dry pad works better, whether it's for major correction work or minor polishing work. A fresh, clean dry pad make you and your time more effective and enables you to do any paint polishing process as fast as possible. Switching to a fresh clean, dry pad OFTEN means less wear-n-tear on pads in general and you'll get more use or extended life out of each pad overall. Pushing a pad to the point that it's completely saturated with product wears out the foam, the Velcro and the adhesive faster than stopping the use of the pad after a panel or two. Buffing with wet pads increases the heat retention inside the pad and to the backing plate and heat is never a good thing in any buffing process. There's only positive aspects to having more pads as compared to having less pads. Buffing Pads on Autogeek.net |
Lubricating the Felt Ring on the Flex 3401
Lubricating the Felt Ring on the Flex 3401
By Mike Phillips First there is no official recommendation from Flex on this procedure but most owners of the Flex 3401 like to lubricate the Felt Ring to ensure there are no issues between it and the hard plastic backing material that it comes into contact with during operation. For preventative maintenance reasons, it's okay to lubricate the felt ring after purchase and periodically depending upon how much use your Flex 3401 sees. What to use?I went to NAPA and purchased some Air Tool Lubricant, (see picture), but any light machine oil should work including the traditional 3-in-1 Oil. Here's the felt ring on the Flex 3401 http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...3401Flex01.jpg Here I've placed some oil on my finger ... http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...3401Flex02.jpg and then spread it onto the felt ring... http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...3401Flex03.jpg You can see the oil penetrate into the felt to lubricate it and from here it will migrate through the felt... http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...3401Flex04.jpg You could also place some drops around the felt ring and then spread it and work it in using your finger... http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...3401Flex05.jpg This brand new Flex 3401 is ready to go to work for a new project next week... http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...3401Flex06.jpg http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/.../xyxthumbs.gif |
Factors that can cause a pad to stop rotating on a DA Polisher
Factors that can cause a pad to stop rotating on a DA Polisher
By Mike Phillips Below are a list of factors that can stop pad rotation tools like the Porter Cable, Meguiar's, Griot's and Shurhold DA Polishers. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, just a characteristic that also represents how and why these tools are so safe to use especially for people new to machine polishing. The factors listed below can stop pad rotation and instead what you'll experience and see is a pad that more or less only vibrates or jiggles against the paint instead of rotates. Pad rotation isn't important if you're applying a finishing wax or paint sealant to a finish in excellent condition but if you're trying to remove any type of below surface defect like,
Then to be most effective you need the pad on these types of tool to be rotating under firm pressure.
See this article for more information on how the drive mechanism for these tools works.... The Free Floating Spindle Bearing Assembly - The Story Behind The Story... The Spindle http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...sembley004.jpg Watch the below TV show starting at the 10:30 mark and I will show you not only why the PC style tools are so safe but how too much pressure will stop the pad from rotating. (against my hand :D ) What's in Autogeek's Garage - Episode 3 - Season 2 |
Modified 10 @ 10 Technique for the Rotary Buffer
Modified 10 @ 10 Technique for the Rotary Buffer
By Mike Phillips At the last Detailing Boot Camp Class I had the opportunity to do a lot of work with Tyler who at age 15 is keenly interested in the craft of detailing cars and the art of polishing paint. Seriously, this kid is after my job... :D Modified 10 @ 10 Technique IF you look closely, instead of picking up his bead of product at the 10 O'clock mark on his buffing pad Tyler is going to reverse directions and thus pick his bead of product up at the 4 O'Clock position. For this version of the 10 @ 10 Technique you move the polisher left to right and this way you pull the product into the pad instead of splattering it all over the place. http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...mpClass041.jpg http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...mpClass042.jpg http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...mpClass043.jpg After passing over the bead of product he then quickly lays the pad flat to the paint and starts removing his sanding marks. http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...mpClass044.jpg http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...mpClass045.jpg Here's Tyler, learning to hold the pad flat while holding the head of the Flex PE14 Rotary Polisher http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...mpClass046.jpg http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...mpClass047.jpg Freestyling.... http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...mpClass048.jpg http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...mpClass049.jpg And here's Tyler moving to the other side to continue removing sanding marks. He makes it look so easy and that's the sign of a future Pro! http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...mpClass054.jpg Nice work Tyler... :xyxthumbs: |
The 4 minimum categories of wiping cloths
The 4 minimum categories of wiping cloths
By Mike Phillips Wiping cloths Just as important as any product or tool in your detailing arsenal are your wiping cloths. You can use the best compound, the best polish, the best LSP and of course the best buffing pads and top of the line polishers but if you're using any type of wiping cloth that is in some way, shape or form contaminated then you risk putting swirls and scratches into your car's finish. For this reason it's important to separate your wiping cloths into dedicated categories and have some type of labeling system so that you or others know what a collection of wiping cloths can be used on safely. The ultimate goal is to have confidence that when you go to remove your LSP of a finish you've toiled over all day long, that the end results will giddy with glee, not because the paint looks fabulous, not loathsome and infuriated because you just instilled scratches back into the paint you've worked on so hard. More than that, you want friends, family and even employees to be enabled to choose the right cloth in case they're are to perform any kind of detailing task with or without your supervision. For example, you're gone, a bird leaves a bird dropping on the hood of your girlfriend or wife's car and in their attempt to remove the bird dropping you don't want them grabbing the wrong microfiber polishing cloth and remove the bird dropping but create a new Saturday Detailing Project for you in the process. 4 Categories Minimum Everyone should have at least 4 types of wiping cloths, some of you may have more categories like a dedicated collection of glass wiping cloths, or wiping cloths dedicated towards leather and vinyl dressings. These are the minimum, feel free to separate your wiping cloths as much as you like and places like Target offer plastic roll-around bins with drawers that you can label and store your different groups of wiping cloths. It's important to separate any cloth deemed worthing of wiping a high gloss finish from all the rest. Good Microfiber Polishing Cloths You can 'touch' paint with microfiber polishing cloths from this collection. These are the microfiber polishing cloths in your collection that are new or you have washed and dried and you trust them to be safe on a high gloss, polished finish. Tatty Microfiber Polishing Cloths These are washed, dried and clean, but their quality has fallen to a level that you have deemed them not worthing of touching a high gloss, polished finish. You don't throw them away because they still have value for wiping spray detailers or cleaner/waxes out places like door jambs, chrome wheels or bumpers, a roll bar, the paint on a boat trailer, or some components in the engine compartment. You might even keep them around for checking the oil or wiping grease off your hands after changing the oil. The point is they are still great at removing residue, just not off a swirl-free, scratch-free, high gloss surface. Good Cotton Towels While microfiber is superior at removing polishes, waxes and paint sealants off paint, and especially trace residues off smooth, high gloss finishes, there's still a place for good quality cotton towels. For example, cleaning you pad on the fly. Cotton towels with a large nap work better than microfiber towels. Some people prefer a cotton towel with a large nap to remove compounds because they offer a more aggressive bite but then switch over to microfiber for removing polishes and LSP's. Your good cotton towels should be clean and soft and worthing of working on paint in good condition or better. Tatty Cotton Towels Tatty Cotton Towels are cotton towels that are washed and dried but for whatever the reason, their quality is fallen off to far from what's acceptable to touch paint in good condition or better. They still have value however for mundane tasks like wiping excess tired dressing off the face of a tire, applying or wiping cleaners and dressings in the fenderwell area, applying or removing cleaners, dressings or cleaner/waxes in the trunk area or door jambs and engine compartments. They have value because they are absorbent, clean and ready to use and paid for. After some projects you might be better of discarding them versus trying to clean them well enough that they can be used again. http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...lies/smile.gif |
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