Escort Deck Lid

[Joshua Centanni]

Here's a before and after shot of part of the deck lid on my dad's Escort. I didn't do the whole car as I plan on using it to try out different products.

I wet sanded this area, then followed that with M105 on a wool pad and M205 on a finishing pad.

[StephenK]

looks good just not sure if you needed to take the extrra step and wet sanded it. 105 should take it out without sanding

[C. Charles Hahn]

looks good just not sure if you needed to take the extrra step and wet sanded it. 105 should take it out without sanding

Definitely worth a shot to try polishing without sanding. Remember, ALWAYS start with the LEAST AGGRESSIVE pad/product combo and work your way up until you find what removes the defects you are trying to remove. Removing more of the film build than you have to is just a bad approach.

[tuscarora dave]

While I agree with the above comments, it is nice that you are not afraid to try things out and that you were smart enough to do it on an escort and not a Jaguar. It appears to me that there was a pretty deep scratch towards the top of the before photo. Your results look perfect!! Keep up the testing and respect the process don't fear it. Great job.

[Joshua Centanni]

looks good just not sure if you needed to take the extrra step and wet sanded it. 105 should take it out without sanding

Definitely worth a shot to try polishing without sanding. Remember, ALWAYS start with the LEAST AGGRESSIVE pad/product combo and work your way up until you find what removes the defects you are trying to remove. Removing more of the film build than you have to is just a bad approach.

I totally agree. You are both right. In fact, M105 did take out virtually all of the removable imperfections.


In the sanded area I was going after a slightly deeper scratch along with comparing results with other parts of the trunk that I didn't sand. Sanding that area was essentially the culmination of an evening of experimenting.

[Joshua Centanni]

While I agree with the above comments, it is nice that you are not afraid to try things out and that you were smart enough to do it on an escort and not a Jaguar. It appears to me that there was a pretty deep scratch towards the top of the before photo. Your results look perfect!! Keep up the testing and respect the process don't fear it. Great job.

You beat me to the "Submit Reply" button!

Yep, I figured if I was to do some wet-sanding on an actual car (as opposed to a panel from a junk yard), this would be the car (a '97 Escort that's a daily driver with over 230,000 miles...).

And you're right on about the scratch. That was what I was trying to remove. While you can't see it in the picture, it is still slightly visible - but it lightened up significantly.

Thanks for the encouragement!

[tuscarora dave]

Thanks for the encouragement!

You are quite welcome. That's what we are here for! Keep those test photos coming.