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  1. #1
    Junior Member JFire72's Avatar
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    Vinyl graphics and polishing

    Hope this is the right are to post this. Also did a search before hand, and there was one thread covering vinyl, but it didn't address what I am asking here.

    I have never detailed a car/truck that has had overlays like this before.

    My question is do I skip the vinyl with the orbital, and do sections of it by hand? By sections I mean, I've got words like Hemi on the hood, and Daytona on the rear that are paint. The vinyl is cut to make the words, so I am guessing doing that part by hand would cause less stress on those parts?

    I'm also guessing here, not to use the orbital, which is a Porter, on the vinyl. And one last question, I'm using Wolfgang Paint Sealant, is it ok on the vinyl? My guess here is yes. Just FYI, I apply the sealant by hand, no machine with that step.

    I also have a vinyl wrapped roof and half of the trunk, with 392 graphics on the front fender.

    I am going to be starting on this tomorrow morning, and thought it would be a good idea to ask now, before finding out there was a better way.

    Here are some pictures and a couple of close up's of the cutouts and stuff I am talking about.

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  2. #2
    Newbie Member sinister84's Avatar
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    Re: Vinyl graphics and polishing

    Just a word of caution. That appears to be matte finish. Personally I'd avoid polish or wax on matte vinyl. Abrasives can damage vinyl overlays and wax may give an unwanted finish, avoid the vinyl. I'd suggest taping the edges of the vinyl before polishing and yes, hand polish in the letters.

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  3. #3
    Regular Member Coleroad's Avatar
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    Re: Vinyl graphics and polishing

    If they are matte, like said above no, no.

  4. #4
    Junior Member JFire72's Avatar
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    Re: Vinyl graphics and polishing

    I knew I forgot to mention something in the post. Yep, they are a matte finish, good looking out guys!

    Is here anything that would work like a sealant to avoid water spots and such on it?

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  5. #5
    Super Member osiapstndp's Avatar
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    Re: Vinyl graphics and polishing

    Quote Originally Posted by JFire72 View Post
    My question is do I skip the vinyl with the orbital, and do sections of it by hand? By sections I mean, I've got words like Hemi on the hood, and Daytona on the rear that are paint. The vinyl is cut to make the words, so I am guessing doing that part by hand would cause less stress on those parts?

    I'm also guessing here, not to use the orbital, which is a Porter, on the vinyl. And one last question, I'm using Wolfgang Paint Sealant, is it ok on the vinyl? My guess here is yes. Just FYI, I apply the sealant by hand, no machine with that step.

    I also have a vinyl wrapped roof and half of the trunk, with 392 graphics on the front fender.

    I am going to be starting on this tomorrow morning, and thought it would be a good idea to ask now, before finding out there was a better way.
    I've worked on tons of Mopars with matte decals. What works for me is taping around the edges of the vinyl and then using a one-inch cutting pad to remove defects by hand. You can polish in the same way.

    It's important that compound or polish does not make contact with the vinyl. Apply two layers of tape if you're worried about residue making its way through the tape. If this is your personal vehicle the areas that spell "Hemi" and "Daytona" aren't hazy and scratched to pieces then you may be able to skip using abrasives on them for now.

    I put the pads on this backing plate.
    FLEX 1 Inch Rotary Backing Plate

    And I use these pads.
    1 Inch FLEX PE8 Heavy Orange Rotary Foam Pad
    1 Inch FLEX PE8 Medium Green Rotary Foam Pad
    1 Inch FLEX PE8 Soft Black Rotary Foam Pad

    The pads get "smushed" when you apply pressure to them so you have to be careful to watch how much surface area you're covering.

    I use these on my Flex PE8 already so I figured I could use the pads by hand on super tight areas and turns out it works well.

    The sealant on the matte decals may not be a good idea if you want them to stay how they looked from the factory. You can protect them with all sorts of stuff, including various ceramic coatings. On my Scat Pack and customers' Mopars I've had excellent results with Mckee's Matte Cleaner and Protectant and a ton of other spray-on protection products. I've also used CQuartz, Crystal Serum Light and Mckee's paint coating on matte vinyl and it always turns out great.

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  7. #6
    Junior Member JFire72's Avatar
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    Re: Vinyl graphics and polishing

    Ok cool!

    Ya, the car is an 18' and only 2 months old. It is mostly mark free, with light marks here and there on it.

    I'll be careful when I do it tomorrow, shouldn't be too big of a deal because it's still looking good.

    I will also look into the Mckee's matte cleaner and protectant. I was hoping to use the same paint sealant on the vinyls, but that's ok.

    Thanks a lot for the help and advice everyone!

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  8. #7
    Super Member Belo's Avatar
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    Re: Vinyl graphics and polishing

    I had this same question for the z71 decals on my truck. What I did was tape off around them, because as mentioned you don't want abrasives. I just used a one step, but I wouldn't have an issue going over them with a dedicated sealant. These are glossy though, not matte. I wouldn't touch matte. I wonder if there's a spray on non wipe or something like hydro blue that would be ok? I assume you'd be wanting some kind of protection. I think the only downside to taping around them is the line you get, but of course you get that with any taping. Just a little mf buffing and it turned out great.
    2009 Pontiac G8GT
    2015 Ford Explorer Limited
    2019 Chevy Silverado RST Z71

  9. #8
    Junior Member JFire72's Avatar
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    Re: Vinyl graphics and polishing

    Quote Originally Posted by osiapstndp View Post
    I've worked on tons of Mopars with matte decals. What works for me is taping around the edges of the vinyl and then using a one-inch cutting pad to remove defects by hand. You can polish in the same way.

    It's important that compound or polish does not make contact with the vinyl. Apply two layers of tape if you're worried about residue making its way through the tape. If this is your personal vehicle the areas that spell "Hemi" and "Daytona" aren't hazy and scratched to pieces then you may be able to skip using abrasives on them for now.

    I put the pads on this backing plate.
    FLEX 1 Inch Rotary Backing Plate

    And I use these pads.
    1 Inch FLEX PE8 Heavy Orange Rotary Foam Pad
    1 Inch FLEX PE8 Medium Green Rotary Foam Pad
    1 Inch FLEX PE8 Soft Black Rotary Foam Pad

    The pads get "smushed" when you apply pressure to them so you have to be careful to watch how much surface area you're covering.

    I use these on my Flex PE8 already so I figured I could use the pads by hand on super tight areas and turns out it works well.

    The sealant on the matte decals may not be a good idea if you want them to stay how they looked from the factory. You can protect them with all sorts of stuff, including various ceramic coatings. On my Scat Pack and customers' Mopars I've had excellent results with Mckee's Matte Cleaner and Protectant and a ton of other spray-on protection products. I've also used CQuartz, Crystal Serum Light and Mckee's paint coating on matte vinyl and it always turns out great.
    So I am done with it, except for a second coat of the sealant tomorrow. It went well, although because I didn't have tape or 1" pads, I had to be careful around the graphics.

    So I have a couple of things to add to my list for the next time. Question about the 1" backing plate and pads, is it still ok to use with a bigger orbital like my Porter Cable? I like the idea of that, then I can get in some if the weird nooks and crannies this car has, especially around the vinyl.

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  10. #9
    Junior Member JFire72's Avatar
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    Re: Vinyl graphics and polishing

    Quote Originally Posted by Belo View Post
    I had this same question for the z71 decals on my truck. What I did was tape off around them, because as mentioned you don't want abrasives. I just used a one step, but I wouldn't have an issue going over them with a dedicated sealant. These are glossy though, not matte. I wouldn't touch matte. I wonder if there's a spray on non wipe or something like hydro blue that would be ok? I assume you'd be wanting some kind of protection. I think the only downside to taping around them is the line you get, but of course you get that with any taping. Just a little mf buffing and it turned out great.
    Someone mentioned Mckee's for the matte finish I have. Although I haven't looked it up to see if protects or just cleans, I'm hoping a bit of both.

    Ya, I didn't have tape, or anything smaller than 5.5" pads, I more or less winged it. It came out good though, I guess I'm lucky LOL! Next time though I'll have the right stuff.

    Edit:

    So I just looked up the Mckee's stuff, looks like that will do what I'm looking for. It's called McKee's 37 Matte Finish Cleaner & Protectant, it says it has UV protection in it too. So not a sealant, but that's fine, better than not having anything on it. Another one for my list haha!



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  11. #10
    Regular Member Coleroad's Avatar
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    Re: Vinyl graphics and polishing

    There's protectant products just for matte vinyl. Right here on AGO .Matte Car Care Products

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