My White Roadster

[Garm]

^ Awesome and really nice tools as well. Can you post the rough cut to fine polish products you are using?
I'm restoring an old Nash, I need to go through the same process.

[L320]

^ Awesome and really nice tools as well. Can you post the rough cut to fine polish products you are using?
I'm restoring an old Nash, I need to go through the same process.

Hi Garm,
I'm always hesitant to post what I like because there are so many options and combinations that work well. And I don't want to start a 'my product is better than yours" war.

But, since you asked I tell you what works for me.

For that last couple years and several cars I have been using Meguiar's M105 followed by M205 products. I have found them to do a great job. This quote is from a good article written about them.. "These products utilizes ultra-hard non-diminishing abrasives that retain their size and shape throughout the polishing cycle. These abrasives are designed to cut hard and fast, and the fact that they maintain a consistent cut from start to finish means that the process goes much more quickly than traditional polishes or compounds."

If you want to read the article about these products, go here. http://www.detailedimage.com/Ask-a-Pro/ ... m105-m205/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;





The polisher I prefer is called a "Cyclo". Its a double headed heavy duty machine. This was my machine of choice when I owned a couple of polished aluminum airplane. If you've ever polished an airplane to a mirror like finish, you know how much work it is!! Here is a picture of one of my polished planes. (I don't own it any more)



You can also use a more traditional polisher like the "porter cable" PC 7424XP. I like these alot too. I use foam pads, harder stiffer ones for the rough cut and softer pads for the fine polish.

Like I said, I enjoy working with paint (and aluminum) to get a nice looking finish. Hope this helps.

Dale - AZ

[Garm]

That does help. I've been using Turtle "Color Back" on the Nash, which is super mild and taking FOREVER by hand. I'm afraid to cut too much on a valuable old classic, and there is beautiful paint coming up on the areas I've worked on. Any tips (and product recommendations) are helpful as far as I'm concerned.

[L320]

^ Awesome and really nice tools as well. Can you post the rough cut to fine polish products you are using?
I'm restoring an old Nash, I need to go through the same process.

One other note. Just because the old original paint may look bad, don't give up on it to quickly. Here is the way my L320 looked when I bought it.



Here is what it looks like today.... Yes, this is still the original paint!



Dale - AZ

[Dave_Pa]

I am a HUGE fan of 105 and 205. On this old stage one paint it works amazing wonders!!!

Well done!!

[Garm]

Whoa.

[notoptoy]

Wow, great work it looks like a very good paint job now!

[L320]

I finally finished up the detail work on the outside of the car. It looks much better, still a few flaws that I can live with but I'm happy with how it turned out.

The good thing about white is, it hides some "not so perfect" areas. The bad thing about white is, after a whole day of paint detailing and buffing/polishing it's not as dramatic as a darker color. Its hard to get a lot of reflection in white. Anyway, I had a great day with my roadster and the weather was awesome! Here are the best "after" pictures that I could get...





I tried to get one that would show some reflection in the paint, you can see some with the gas can in this picture...


Thanks for looking,
Dale - AZ

[mraitch]

Beautiful - and I love the setting for the 2nd photo - flawed it may be (according to you) but it looks great from here in Van Nuys

[L320]

Thanks everyone for the nice comments!

[Gregs672000]

<The polisher I prefer is called a "Cyclo". Its a double headed heavy duty machine.>

I have never seen a polisher like that, very interesting. I've always used the traditional, variable speed polishers with foam pads (rough cut and softer depending on product and stage, I don't like wool). You really did a fantastic job on all the cars, and I know just how much work that it... but very rewarding! I was introduced to buffing and polishing paint by a mechanic friend I was visiting who took out his set up and started to go to town on my Datsun's fender. He did a great job, until he realized that the paint was far too thin to cut it this hard, and cut through. Still, I wasn't angry as I knew the paint was crap and needed work, and it really showed me how different the paint could look. Be warned however, that you need to talk with paint suppliers WHO KNOW THEIR PRODUCT, as the last time I did my car I was told to let it sit for 5 days to harden the paint. After I sanded it I could not get the sanding marks out! I worked like a mad man for 3 days (like nearly 24hrs straight at one point, trying to get ready for Shasta, living on coffee and Hot Pockets... don't think my colon ever recovered), trying all kinds of different products recommended to me (at another paint supply shop BTW) and finally found the right combo to get it done. I had been given incorrect info; in the past it was correct to let the paint cure or it would be too soft, however the new paint I used hardened much faster and needed to be cut and buffed shortly after being sprayed or it would become too hard to buff out... ah, ya! No crap! And of course the car is black...
Glad that is all a memory now...

Beautiful work!

[L320]

Greg,
Thanks! You are right about different paints. My L320 paint was pretty bad and took a lot of work. I did break through the paint in a few areas. I have leaned a lot since I re-worked the paint on it.

I have painted a couple cars, but I'm no professional. The last one I painted, I color sanded and buffed after a little over 24 hours. It sanded and buffed out great! Then about 8 months later, I was getting the car ready for a magazine shoot and decided I would polish out some light surface scratches in one fender. Thought I would just wet sand it a bit more with 1500, then polish. Wow what a difference that 8 months made. The paint was SUPER hard and almost impossible to polish. I was a bit worried but got it done.

Dale - AZ

[Gregs672000]

It does get scary! BTW, the best product I have found for swirl marks (even better than Miguires swirl remover) is an Eagle One brand of "micro polishing" wax. After I had done all my buffing I still had swirl marks in the sun. This stuff said it would fill in those scratches, and sure enough the stuff worked great! I have never seen it on the shelf since (purchased about 2 yrs ago) and I had already tried a few other products that said they would work but didn't. Every time I go to an autoparts store, especially a new one, I look for that product. I did a quick google search and only found the spray, where as mine is a bottle with an applicator. The spray was well reviewed though and did mention its excellent anti-swirl characteristics, so maybe they just improved the delivery method. Goes on nice, doesn't turn white etc. It is not a cleaner wax, so old or even newer paint that has not been well protected will need to be cleaned, buffed or possibly clayed (wonderful thing to do, makes your paint feel like butter), but after that it does great at maintaining the paint and that buttery feel. Sometimes I see cars running around that have obviously been polished but are swirl monsters in the sun, and if given a chance I will tell them of the "cure"!

[Garm]

I bought the products, but I can't quite afford the Cyclo yet! I'll use my regular polisher and hopefully get some comparable results!

[jamesw]

Love your new avatar Garm!