autogeekonline car wax, car care and auto detailing forum Autogeek on TV
car wax, car care and auto detailing forumAutogeekonline autogeekonline car wax, car care and auto detailing forum HomeForumBlogAutogeek.net StoreDetailing Classes with Mike PhillipsGalleryDetailing How To's
 
Thanks Thanks:  0
Dislikes Dislikes:  0
Results 1 to 3 of 3
  1. #1
    Mike Phillips
    Guest

    Using an AIO to Polish Single Stage Paint - Least Aggressive Approach

    Using an AIO to Polish Single Stage Paint - Least Aggressive Approach


    I see the question of how to do paint correction or in simple jargon, how to compound and/or polish single stage paint. Often times I will see people recommend one of my articles on polishing single stage paint,


    All Mike Phillips #7 Show Car Glaze Articles in one place


    While I appreciate all the referrals and recommendations to the techniques I share for using Meguiar's #7 I find there's a tick of confusion?

    Here's the deal,

    The #7 Rub Down Technique is for CHALKY visibly neglected and oxidized original or antique single stage paint.

    The #7 Rub Down Technique is NOT for a modern or newer single stage paint that presently has a good shine or what I would call a hard shine. The opposite of paint hat has chalky looking oxidation.


    With the above said, over the weekend I had the good fortune to work on a couple of old 2-door Fords. The first old Ford had a modern basecoat/clearcoat paint job. It was my understanding that whoever did the restoration to the blue Ford also did the restoration to the green Ford. That could be accurate or wrong, it could be the cars were restored and thus painted by different shops or restored and painted by the same shop but for some reason, when the green Ford was painted they used SINGLE STAGE paint.

    I buffed out the blue Ford first and while buffing it out I also did some testing for some new stuff about to be introduced to the market. The testing went great and when I did my Test Spot, that's when I confirmed the paint was in fact basecoat/clearcoat. Later when I moved onto the green Ford, I kind of assumed it would be a basecoat/clearcoat paint system because the blue Ford had this type of paint and because you can't always EASILY tell if a paint sytem is single stage or basecoat/clearcoat simply by looking at it.


    The value of a Test Spot

    Years ago, I started using the term Test Spot on the Internet, back when the first car detailing discussion forum was created. I'm sure I'm not the first guy to figure out to "test" a process to one small area before buffing out an entire car but I can document I am the first guy to coin the term and make it popular via the Internet.

    No big deal, I just tend to share what I call, car detailing history in all it's forms on this forum and other social media platforms including my classes. Some people find it fun and interesting how we got to where we are today from when car detailing started with the invention of the car. I also cover this in my how-to book, The Complete Guide to a Show Car Shine.

    Here's the thing about a Test Spot. You're NEVER so good at paint correction that you don't need to do one. Never. I always do a Test Spot to any car I've never worked on before. Always. The only time I might skip a Test Spot is if I've already worked on the car previously and in most cases I'm going to use the same products, pads and tools. Thus nothing has changed.



    What the Test Spot shows you

    I'm typing this out and may turn this into a dedicated article because I often see people recommend to others to do a Test Spot and I see people talk about Test Spots, but I rarely see anyone explain the two reasons as to WHY to do a test spot. So I'm going to share that here.


    1: To dial in a process that gets the job done to your expectations

    A Test Spot will show you whether your choice of product, pad, tool and technique will remove the defects to your satisfaction while leaving behind a finish that meets your requirements and satisfaction. Now the quality of results can be different for different cars and different people.


    For example,


    Production Detailing or Daily Driver Detailing

    If you're doing production detailing, using a one-step cleaner/wax also called an AIO or All-in-One, you probably are not trying to remove 100% of the swirls and scratches so you won't be as picky about the results from your Test Spot as someone doing show car work.


    High-end Paint Correction or Show Car Detailing

    If you're going to prep a car for display at a car show like SEMA or TV, or you're installing the latest 11h hardness Ceramic Paint Coating and the package you sell including removing all the removable paint defects, then your Test Spot will show you if you are in fact removing 99.9% of the defects - or not.


    So a Test Spot is used to show you if your choice of product, pad, tool and technique are removing the defects to your satisfaction level and expectations. If it's not, then before you buff out the entire car you do a second Test Spot only for this second Test Spot you alter something in the process. For example if you're not removing enough of the removable defects you could switch to a more aggressive product, or more aggressive pad or a more powerful tool and possibly change all 3 of these things. You could also modify your technique, for example shrink the size of your work area down, that is buff a smaller section of paint or make more section passes over the paint. The BIG PICTURE is to find a way to remove more paint faster to more efficiently level the surface - without of course, buffing through the paint.

    The above is the first half of the answer as to WHY to do a Test Spot.



    2: To figure out the least aggressive approach


    The second half of the answer, and this is the part that most people either don't know or understand or they simply cannot explain it or verbalize it and that is,


    Use the least aggressive approach to get the job done


    The words get the job done means what I explained above, that is remove the defects to your expectations and satisfaction. The part about using the least aggressive product, this is the part the people can't or don't explain. I'm sure they understand why at some level it's just not everyone is good at speaking what they mean or in the case of a forum, Facebook, comments on YouTube, when talking in person, they don't include the actual heart of the matter as to why to test and when testing, using the least aggressive process to get the job done.

    Here's why,

    To leave the most paint on the car


    Simple huh? Sure it's simple but I've been in this industry all my life now and I NEVER hear some say or explain this portion of the reason to do a Test Spot or use the least aggressive process to get the job done and I also never see anyone type it anywhere.

    So in case you didn't know, the reason you do a Test Spot is to dial in a process that removes the defects to your satisfaction while leaving the most paint on the car..

    Paint is thin, especially factory paint. A custom paint job will tend to be thicker. Even so, no matter what type of car you're working on, production car with factory paint or a custom car with a custom paint job, as a professional you still approach the paint correction process the same way, you do a Test Spot and dial-in a process that removes the defects to your satisfaction level or expectations while leaving the most paint on the car.



    That's the two reasons why you should ALWAYS do a Test Spot to a car before buffing it out.


    Now let me bring this full circle back to the topic of working on single stage paint.


    Question: How do you work on single stage paint?

    Answer: Treat it like any other paint, i.e. modern basecoat/clearcoats and follow the above rules for doing a Test Spot.

    Start by doing a Test Spot. Hopefully you have a collection of quality compounds, polishes and cleaner/waxes, product that use great abrasive technology. Hopefully you have a collection of buffing pads, some cutting, polishing and finishing pads so you can do some proper testing. And if you're asking this question, I hope you already have some type of polisher. The day and age of working by hand has long passed us by.


    Lets Dive a little deeper

    So when I'm asked,

    What do I like to use on single stage paint?

    If the single stage paint has a good, hard shine, that is it's NOT old original paint or antique paint that is chalky from decades of neglect, then what I will test is a simple one-step cleaner/wax or AIO. In most cases, a quality AIO will do what it's supposed to do and that's 3 things,

    1: Compound or clean. This means some form of chemical cleaners and/or abrasives remove defects.

    2: Polish the paint to be smooth, clear and glossy.

    3: Leave something behind to protect it. I use the term cleaner/wax but this is a generic term to means something the cleans and protects in one step. Could be a cleaner/SEALANT, that is a product that cleans and leaves behind not a "wax" but some kind of synthetic protection ingredients. Make sense?



    The two products I like best right now, and this could change as companies are continually introducing new technology, but I like BLACKFIRE One Step, and 3D Speed. They but work great. I show BLACKFIRE One Step in all my detailing classes since it was introduced back in October of 2017.


    Single Stage Paints Tend to be SOFT except Single Stage White Paint. I'm not going to go deep on paint chemistry except to say, the hardness of any paint is affected primarily 2 things,


    1: The actual resin - what it is chemically.

    2: Whether the paint is single stage and if so -the type of PIGMENT used to give it color.


    Some modern clearcoats, that is RESIN - are really hard. And some modern clearcoats are very soft. There's a mix of both on the market in the world and doing a Test Spot PLUS EXPERIENCE is how you determine the difference. I cover this in my how-to book, The Complete Guide to a Show Car Shine.

    When it comes to single stage paint - you first have to understand the paint or resin has it's own hardness or softness characteristic. Now when a pigment is added and mixed into the resin, the resin can either become harder of softer that it was without the pigment depending upon the softness or hardness of the pigment.

    Examples.

    Single Stage Black Paint
    The pigment for black paint is carbon black - the soot inside the lid of your barbeque is simple form of carbon black and it is very soft as far as pigments go thus, generally speaking the softest single stage paints to work on are single stage black paints.

    Single Stage White Paint

    The pigment for white paint is titanium dioxide and this mineral is very hard. When it is added to resin it makes the paint very hard. In my experience, single stage white paints are the hardest paints I've ever worked on. I have worked on some very hard clearcoats and at some point, it's a moot point which is harder if you can't or can barely get defects out of the paint. I've also worked on a clearcoat paint system that was so hard - it could NOT be corrected.


    Big picture is this, when working on a car with a single stage paint job, unless it's single stage white paint, treat it CAREFULLY. Use the least aggressive approach. If the paint is thin and you buff through it you will expose the primer.



    Raised body lines and edges
    Also keep in mind not everyone that has buffed out the car before it came to be parked in front of you is knowledge and careful. I use the term Caveman Detailers to describe detailers that don't know much and don't use good stuff. If a Caveman Detailer buffed out a car with single stage paint BEFORE you - it could have what I call,

    Whisper Thin Paint

    That is, when you look at the paint it's all there. But it's SO THIN - that if you made one pass over a section of paint, a raised body line or an edge even by HAND you could rub or burn through it - that's called Whisper Thin Paint. In fact, I have at least one article with some good pictures about the term, Whisper Thin Paint.


    Whisper Thin Paint on Classic Cars by Mike Phillips - Be Careful!



    So always use the least aggressive approach when working on any older single stage paint job on any car that you don't know anything about.



    The good news!
    The good news is that most quality one-step cleaner/waxes with the right pad, and a LOT of the right pads, and a quality random orbital polisher will remove the swirls, scratches, water spots and oxidation to reveal an incredibly gloss, deep wet look shine to most single stage paints.


    So THINK when you have before you a car with single stage paint and do some testing. Re-read what I wrote above, enter the project carefully. Because single stage paints can and do tend to be softer than modern basecoat/clearcoat paint systems, if you get too aggressive you will remove too much paint very quickly and you will be hating life.




  2. #2
    Mike Phillips
    Guest

    Re: Using an AIO to Polish Single Stage Paint - Least Aggressive Approach

    Continued....

    When doing a Test Spot on a 1968 Shelby Mustang GT500KR - I was surprised to find out it had single stage paint. I took these pictures for this article to hopefully share some insights with others into the future.


    In the picture below is a well-used, but with plenty of life still in it, a 6.5 inch Lake Country Force Hybrid White Polishing Pad on a FLEX 3401








    Single Stage Metallic Paint
    Here's the passenger side of the hood that I buffed. I already did my Test Spot on the driver's side. When I did the passenger side, I used BLACKFIRE One Step, a one-step cleaner/sealant. After finding out the paint was single stage I chose go very NON-AGGRESSIVE. This is a metallic single stage paint system and when you're buffing on single stage metallic paint you're buffing ON the flake. If you remove too much paint you can dramatically alter the appearance of the paint and leave what I call, Tiger Stripes in the paint. The stripes are where more paint is removed in that area and it mimics or copies the way the buffer was moved over the paint.





    Pad kind of looks blackish but that's dirty, green metallic paint that has come off the hood as I buffed.





    The product I ended up using for the entire car was BLACKFIRE One Step. A simple but effective one-step cleaner/sealant and I stayed with the white foam polishing pads. This was the safest approach that removed the defects to my satisfaction while leaving the most paint on the car.


    BLACKFIRE One Step 32 ounce bottle



  3. #3
    Mike Phillips
    Guest

    Re: Using an AIO to Polish Single Stage Paint - Least Aggressive Approach

    More....


    Never discount the power of a well-worked, quality one-step cleaner/sealant....











  4. Likes mc2hill, Aaryn NZ liked this post

Similar Threads

  1. Newbie ? - Polish on original single stage paint?
    By Kepico in forum Auto Detailing 101
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 04-13-2019, 04:25 PM
  2. Best finishing polish for single stage black paint?
    By Airror in forum Auto Detailing 101
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: 07-10-2013, 10:00 AM
  3. Replies: 7
    Last Post: 08-23-2010, 03:40 PM
  4. single stage paint polish
    By cadd in forum Auto Detailing 101
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 07-23-2010, 10:48 PM
  5. How do you polish SINGLE-STAGE paint?
    By m4gician in forum Auto Detailing 101
    Replies: 10
    Last Post: 04-03-2008, 09:29 PM

Members who have read this thread: 0

There are no members to list at the moment.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  

» March 2024

S M T W T F S
2526272829 1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30
31 123456