Getting the Edges

[Mike Burke]

Saw this pic of Mike polishing with the flex. I thought it was interesting and was wondering ..... do you worry about getting edges of this panel ? Do you go back with the Flex and get them or do they get done by Hand ??



Thanks,
Mike

[Mike Phillips]

Saw this pic of Mike polishing with the flex. I thought it was interesting and was wondering ..... do you worry about getting edges of this panel ? Do you go back with the Flex and get them or do they get done by Hand ??



Thanks,
Mike

I was just starting that panel when that picture was taken. Sometimes I edge a car first and sometimes I Major on the Majors first.

Major on the Major means to major or focus/buff on the major portion of the panel, that is the big section.

Then after you've made the best use of your liquid, (the compound or polish), go back and major on the minors, that is go back and buff the edges or surrounding portions of paint.

A lot of time when you're buffing the major section of a panel some perfectly good compound or polish will tend to spatter to the perimeter edges or even curved portions, you can come back and buff these section using this perfectly good compound or polish for both its abrasive characteristics and lubricating characteristics.

I need to set up a GoPro Camera one of these days and just capture what a complete buff jobs looks like.


Another style of buffing out a car is to Major on the Minors first and then Major on the Majors, for this style you would buff out the edges first and knock them out then come back and buff out the major portions of the panel. I used this style for the AMX when compounding out the sanding marks.

Wetsanding a car from start to finish - Time Lapse Video


In these two pictures here, I'm edging, that is I'm compounding the scratches out of the edges and after I remove them I then moved on to buff out the major, wide-open areas.

[Audios S6]

I would add that getting the edges may not be necessary or even a good idea depending on your goals, experience, paint condition and available tools.

Paint tends to be thinner at the edges and there is less material to conduct heat away from the area being worked. As such, there is a much higher likelihood of burning through at edges, especially if you are only using a rotary + wool pad.

When a person looks at a panel, their eyes tend to be drawn to the center of the panel, not the edges. If the paint is badly oxidized, you will still notice the edges being different, and it would be wise to remove the oxidation, which generally would not remove as much CC as a full correction and could be done with very little chance of burn-though if you're using the right tools and products. Swirls on edges are much less noticeable than in the center of a panel and in some cases are best left alone or slowly worked down over the course of several mild corrections.

So ask yourself:
1. What is my goal? Am I chasing 100% correction?
2. Do I have the tools and experience?
3. Is there enough paint left at those edges to safely remove the defect without risking burn-though?

[Mike Burke]

I have a PC (and in the near future a Flex 3401 ) and do mostly production work. My customers just want something shinny..

I experience with my PC that getting up next to the edges (perimeter) of a section is a touchy place to get. The PC will stop spinning and the pad will smash and sometimes get damaged.

Thanks for the advise and suggestions....I'm learning

[Mike Phillips]

I have a PC (and in the near future a Flex 3401 ) and do mostly production work. My customers just want something shinny..

Anytime you buff a panel that puts more pressure to just a section of the face of the pad on a PC it's going to tend to stop the pad from rotating. That's the safety feature most people forget about.


IF you're doing production work, then do "Big Picture" detailing, know out the car as best as you can and for the smaller, more complicated areas you're buffing either do the best you can with the tool you have to do a little hand polishing with a one-step cleaner/wax to make the paint shine again.


And for anyone reading this thread into the future, here's the write-up for the picture above...


New Menzerna FG 400 - One-Step Show Car Makeover

[explorerlyon]

I need to set up a GoPro Camera one of these days and just capture what a complete buff jobs looks like.

Please do, that would be helpful. Even if it is not the entire car, at least a few panels from start to finish.

[Mike Phillips]

Please do, that would be helpful. Even if it is not the entire car, at least a few panels from start to finish.

I wish I could have done it for this 1951 Mercury, I chopped on this with a wool pad on a rotary buffer for hours to remove the oxidation and deep swirls left by the last guy that buffed it out...







I always have new projects coming up...

[Hoytman]

Wow!!! I really like that old school Mercury.