Polishing a newly-painted shell

[Grrrmachine]

I've got a bare shell and all the panels in fresh metallic paint. All the panels are off the car (doors, wings, bonnet, sunroof), and everything needs denibbing, flatting and polishing.

I'm planning on using Meg's 105 and 205 to polish up with an old rotary buffer I have, but I've got two questions:

a) should I reassemble the car BEFORE polishing? I'm worried about damage to panel edges, so I don't know whether it's safer to do the car in one go, or while it's in pieces.

b) Can anyone explain pads and sponges to me for the rotary? All the advice I find relates to specific brands of pads, which we don't get in Poland.

[Kos]

i'd re asemble first then mask up the shuts so you do not get close to the edges and burn through and so your shuts are not covered in compound dust

also, by being bolted on, they are in a stable rigid position to be polished.

you will need a polishing pad to work with the 105 and finishing pad to work with the 205

[Grrrmachine]

That was exactly my concern about burning through Kos, so cheers for clearing that up for me.

[Kos]

if in doubt start with a mild/less harsh compound and if needed step up to the more abrasive one

also, watch out for heat build up. it may be worth having some water in a misting bottle on standy by and damp microfiber cloth to wipe and cool down the panel as you go along

[craggsyE30]

all right im new here but i work in a body shop. many scratches can be polished out no problem some take a bit more work. if you just want to give the car a full polish use a polish machine with either wet or dry polish head (both are good but i prefer dry less to clean up after), anyone can polish so don't worry about burning through on edge don't work along them work into them and mask up plastics unless you don't go too close to them you will be fine. g3 for fareclla is top notch stuff really good you will also need a soft pad i call a waffle pad to remove swirl marks the yellow pads normally use. any scratches the polish doesn't bring up try flattening with so p1200 or p1500 paper (wet). then polish it up after your done. give it a nice wax also a thing called colour magic wich gives darker colours build also covers minor scratches too but is filled with silicon but not a problem unless you work in a paint and body shop.

hope this helps any one needs and advice on body work give me a shout happy to help.

[Kos]

you work in a body shop and you recomend the use of colour magic????

as for G3, its old technology and crap in comparison to the likes of 3M or merenza. you do not need to wet the pad or use water a lubricant

as for "any one can polish" well i've seen horrendous buffer trails and holograms left by body shops. its the lack of skill with a mop/machine that lead to this

before any one ever picks up a machine and using it on their own car let alone some one else's car i'd strongly suggest that you work on an old panel to practice

as for flatting back, i'd start with 1500, work back to 2000

[Grrrmachine]

I appreciate all the tips Kos. I've got some old Farecla stuff (G3 and G10) but was reluctant to use it because it's old technology now. I also don't have a fancy DA machine, just an old variable-speed rotary buffer, so I need to go gently with it and see what results I get.

Do you put any value on wool mops, or should it be various sponges all the way through?

[Kos]

you dont need a fancy machine, i'm perfectly happy with my £50 silverline one. a bit noisy and a bit heavy but they do the job. variable speed and the handle is adjustable

G3 and G10 do a job but its old technology, dusty and dries up where as the the others i mentioned and the Megs are much improved

as far a wool goes, its good but can generate a lot of heat and are quite abrasive. use foam heads and soft backing pads

[Mark-W]

If your worried about burning through do not use wool mops!!

With the 105 use a firm sponge, keep it moist ( wet your hand an slap the mophead a few times an spin the polisher at high speed in the bucket to get rid of the excess water ), do a bit at a time, keep the speed low an you wont burn through, you might want to buy a medium compound like megs 083 an use a slightly softer pad, although the same one would be ok if its clean an not too worn, i would use a mophead like this ( ebay item No 140625168870, cant copy an paste links on this computor) with the 205, think thats right, ive only ever used 3m stuff but its pretty much the same, an get yourself some meguairs gold class wax to finish, its good stuff!
Got your work cut out though, blacks a nightmare

Also, do your sunroof seperate, easier to keep the seal clean

[Kos]

Got your work cut out though, blacks a nightmare

AMEN to that, when perfect black is stunning but a pain in the arse to maintain and correct

if good it can look like glass