28 Ford Custom paint - polishing tips?

[Flynnstone]

I recently picked up the '28 Ford below. The paint appears to be in very good shape, however I'm curious what precautions to take when polishing/waxing a custom paint job that I have little background on? I have a griots DA polisher, a bunch of foam pads, and an arsenal of Wolfgang products.

http://i.imgur.com/NJGpoVW.jpg

Thanks!

[Mike Phillips]

Just approach using normal techniques,


Do test spot.
Use the least aggressive product to get the job done.



This A-bone looks like a nice build and chances are a quality basecoat/clearcoat finish.

Start out doing some testing using the Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover with a foam polishing pad. Inspect the results. If everything is removed except for a few deeper RIDS then make the decision to call it good and move forward or break out the Wolfgang Uber Compound with a foam cutting pad and go for it.

Whatever Uber doesn't remove you might think about living with, at least to start with.

After the correction step hit the paint with the Wolfgang Finishing Glaze with a finishing polish, crank the GG Polisher down to the 4-5 setting and re-polish.

Then machine apply a finishing wax and you're ready to show off the paint... and the car...


:)

[rmagnus]

This is a project I'd seriously considering taping off before polishing. Other than that it's just paint with out a hood, lol. Remember to throw a bed sheet over the engine when polishing just to be safe.

[Mike Phillips]

Remember to throw a bed sheet over the engine when polishing just to be safe.




Like this...

Blown 1934 Ford Pick-up - Show Car Makeover - Modeled by Kristin (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/pictures-autogeek-s-car-week/43007-blown-1934-ford-pick-up-show-car-makeover-modeled-kristin.html)


Next we cover-up all the brightwork and there's lots of it. Take my word for it, when it comes to projects like this you don't dare get polish spatter dots on the engine or in this example the exposed running gear in the truck bed. It's not professional and besides that it would take you hours to wipe the little dots of polish splatter off.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1310/Project34024b.jpg


http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1310/Project34024c.jpg


The Autogeek Cover-up Towel is made from soft microfiber and can be washed and re-used. This come in real handy for covering up anything you don't want to get compound or polish splatter dots onto so you won't have to detail these areas with a toothbrush after the the wax has been removed.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1310/Nicks34pics001.jpg



The soft microfiber won't scratch paint or polished metals. Simple cover or wrap around components and then use a little painter's tape to secure them in place.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1310/Nicks34pics002.jpg


Here we've covered the polished aluminum gas tank and the chrome independent rear-end...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1310/Nicks34pics003.jpg



:)

[Flynnstone]

Thanks guys! Appreciate he info!

[rmagnus]

Like this...

:)

LOL, Mike you've got all the cool play toys and logoed merchandise!

[Mike Phillips]

Thanks guys! Appreciate he info!


Any update?






LOL, Mike you've got all the cool play toys and logoed merchandise!




These Autogeek Cover Up Towels were discontinued because at the time they didn't sell in the volume necessary to sustain inventory. Too bad because they come in real handy.

These cover-up towels were a spin-off of my normal practice of using beach towels and bed sheets to cover up and protect things you don't want to detail/remove splatter dots of compound and polish off of after the job is over and you're tired and it's also 8-12 hours down the road.


The Beach Towel Tip (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/tricks-tips-techniques/30894-beach-towel-tip.html)


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... (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/tricks-tips-techniques/28940-here-s-tip-don-t-lift-pad-off-paint-till-you-ve-turned-polisher-off-spinning-pad-has-slowed-down.html)

What not to do when detailing a car! (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-101/28226-what-not-do-when-detailing-car.html)



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/gallery/data/722/BeachTowelTip000.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/gallery/data/722/BeachTowelTip001.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/gallery/data/722/BeachTowelTip002.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/gallery/data/722/BeachTowelTip003.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/gallery/data/722/BeachTowelTip004.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/gallery/data/722/BeachTowelTip005.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/gallery/data/722/BeachTowelTip006.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/gallery/data/722/BeachTowelTip007.jpg


http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/722/BeachTowelTip008.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/gallery/data/722/BeachTowelTip009.jpg

:xyxthumbs:

[Mike Phillips]

Here's the other way I cover up things I don't want to "detail" or remove splatter dots off of after the machine polishing work is finished.


The Soft Flannel Bed Sheet Tip (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/tricks-tips-techniques/34828-soft-flannel-bed-sheet-tip.html)


I like to cover up the engine on special interest cars and especially show cars or restored cars where the engine and engine compartment are clean enough to eat off of. The reason for this is because it's all to easy for stray splatter from either wet-sanding or machine compounding and polishing to spray onto the engine and engine compartment and cleaning these areas can be difficult and very time consuming.

Here's a video I made a number of years ago that explains why to cover an engine and shows my method of using a clean, soft flannel bedsheet to carefully cover and protect the engine. You can also do this for trunks and interiors if you're working on a convertible with the top down or off the car.



Covering the motor on the Panic Parrot

Covering the motor on the Panic Parrot




The Panic Parrot - 1950 Studebaker Starlight Coupe

Keeping it covered, keeps the engine clean...

http://www.showcargarage.com/gallery/files/1/PPFrontShot1.jpg

http://www.showcargarage.com/gallery/files/1/PanicSpeedGlaze7.jpg



Keeping it covered means no detailing the very detailed engine afterwards...

http://archive.meguiarsonline.com/gallery/data/500/2PanicFinished1.jpg


http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/715/PanicParrotMotor.jpg



:)