Fun & Games This is why I do not use wax anymore

Yup and the best part is Todd and the team at Esoteric ONLY sell the stuff they test an use everyday when detailing high-end cars. They are also great guys to talk with and provide great customer service as it's all done at Esoteric buy the guys that use the products.

Unlike Autogeek which has become the on-line Wal-Mart of detailing car care. :incazzato::nonod:

 

Hummm those are fun. :mad2:

I clean the spot with a Q-tip and some lacquer thinner and touch them up with factory paint a few times over several days.

Then I wet sand down the sport with 3000 grit and buff / compound them out with a yellow pad or MF cutting pad using Sonax Perfect Finish.

Then wax or coat them depending on who car it is. I always coat my car, no more wax for me.

I use very fine paint brushes from a craft store like the 3 at the bottom of the below picture ( 0 , 00 or 000 ) to fill the chips. You want the touch up to be above the paint level before you spot wet sand it to blend it in.

 

That's not going to happen. :lol::lol::lol:

I like doing what I do for the people I detail cars for but I do not to start my own business. I think it would be too much like work and take the passion and enjoyment out of it for me.

 

First of all MINI paint strong and thick. You cannot burn it with a DA.

* Exception * maybe if you put 80 grit dry sandpaper on the DA but that would just be silly.:lol:

One reason DA's are very safe for paint is they do not generate enough heat because they move in a pattern and not just a circular motion like a rotary polisher at 3k -6 k Roma.

Two foam and MF pads do not spin at high speeds ( more like 1500 - 300- Rpms) and the compounds are not as abrasive as they once were.

Technology with pads, products and the paints themselves are much better now then when we used lacquer paints.

You can burn right through MINI and any other paint job with a Mikita rotary buffer. This happens because of the course cut of a compound and the abrasiveness of the wool pad and the heat generated. It took me months to learn to polish with Rotary DA on old junk yard panels and hoods. When you can test and train on junk parts and try to burn them you learn how much force it takes to damage auto paint.

I would highly recommend the Portal Cable 7424 XP DA or the Griots DA for any diy / starter polisher for anyone.

The Griots is the one cost a little more but it comes with a excellent backing plate for pads. I also love the torque the Griots has to keep the pads spinning at low speeds. I still have my Griots and use it a lot because it is strong, well made and very reliable.

https://www.amazon.com/Griots-Garage-10813STDCRD-Orbital-Polisher/dp/B009UKUUWE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1490837500&sr=8-1&keywords=griots+garage+6+inch+random+orbital+polisher

One more thing about DA's on paint, the softer the pad the less cut you get, so even with a compound on the pad you will have to run the pad on the car a longer time then you would with a Orange or Yellow pad.

So if anyone is worried about your paint and damaging it start off with just plain wax or polish on a soft pad like white or lower from the lists above to get the hang of using the DA machine. Practice make perfect and you will love cleaning your car and the results.

Slow and even polishing will achieve better results in the end then high speed and a very abrasive compound. The more you use a DA the better your results will be.

 

They are both kind of the same thing the way compounds and polishes are being made these days but they can be confusing.

Buffing can mean different things. You buff a car with a machine and compound. Or while you are taking hand wax off a car with a towel you are buffing the paint to make it shine.

Polishing is more inline with the steps after compounding. After you compound the paint to take out the major defects the next step is fine polishing / jeweling the paint.

After you get paint is perfect you apply wax or sealant or a coating and let it setup and then buff it off.

This way all your hard work is protected. Wax last the shortest, about 2-4 months tops, sealants last about 6 months and coatings are good for a year easy and can last up to 2 + years with proper cleaning.

 

I started with that in HS. :lol:

 

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

 

I fill them up over a few days to a weeks allowing them to dry and cure. I end up with a little paint pimple where the rock chip was that needs to be wet sanded down with 3000 grit.

I level sand with wet 300 grit sandpaper the chip repair and maybe 3 to 6 inch's around it. After I am done wet sanding the chip pimple down and the area around the chip it will blend in with the area around it. It will look dry like a chalkboard when you are done sanding.

After this stage I compound and polish the wet sanded area to bring back the gloss and blend the area in with the rest of the hood or door. Since I am very picky I compound the whole area and polish the whole area so you can not see the area where I did the rock chip repair. You may know where the chip was but you will not be able to see the repair unless you used the wrong color OEM paint from the beginning.

Note/ Caution: If you have never Wet Sanded before get a junk yard panel and try and practice the process the whole process above first.

It is very simple to wet sand and 3000 grit paper is very fine grit. You just have to keep the area wet with soapy water and a sponge. Do not be scared because if you wet sand an area with 3000 you can always polish it out. You would need to wet sand the same area very hard for over an hour to even sand though the clear coat.

You will see very quickly that 3000 grit cuts very slooooowly.

Just so you know I use 1500 an 2000 grit to remove "orange peel" and refinish headlight lenses and can still compound / polish them out with a make them look flawless again with a DA polisher products from earlier post above.