Paint correction with a random orbital? Possible?

[KrisMas]

The answer is - YES!!!

I'll let the pictures do the talking:

This is the said panel - for Kancil....

Soaked/washed with Meg's Degeraser then Meg's APC

After wash & clay. White spots are paints overspray (or better description would be careless overspray) curtesy from those people doing renovation works for my neighbour

Bosch GEX 270 AE with 3M Trizact p1500 & p3000

p1500 during.....

p1500 results

After which, I decided to forgo the p3000 and see what can these achieve in correcting the p1500 instead

Sonax Profiline Cut & Finish, Meguiars M101 with 3M green light compounding pad, BOTH WILL BE USED WITH THE Bosch GEX 270 AE - a variable speed random orbital buffer.

First off - Meguairs M101, these amount was used

Results after 1 pass

Camera flash

LED torch

A little bit more added for the 2nd pass

Results

Impressive.....

Next up.....

After 1st pass, comparing with M101....

After 2nd pass....

And for the sake of comparison....

Sonax Profiline Perfect Finish on Sonax white polishing pad

After 1 pass....right PF and left M101....

Left if M101 with 3M green pad

After 2nd pass....

No more polishing were done.....the panel afters

From a different angle....

Under the sun....

A little 'reflection' shot

Best thing with these polishes are, they clean out very well....these are the pads after washing them with plain tap water with some gentle rubbing and squeezing...

Just some brief notes and observations. There are still traces of sanding marks left after using all three polishes. But lesser on M101//ROB and PF//RO. If I were to go for a few more passes, I would think that all traces *could* be remove with both of these combo. As for C&P//ROB, I don't think the combination is strong enough to be able to remove the sanding marks and would need quite a few passes for it to do so.

And just another observation as I just aren't able to capture it with my cheapo point-and-shoot camera, the finish on PF//RO is better than M101//ROB, but not by much. No 'refining' was done as my primary intention for this is just to see/gauge defects removal with an ROB. Of which, the result is very very promising.

So, I guess, for those who aren't willing to invest in a rotary and want to 'play it safe', products and pads are now locally available and, with them,correction with ROB are now made possible.

Roughly the costs:

Bosch ROB ~ RM 350
3M green pad ~ RM 36
M101 ~ RM 115 for 1 Litre (guess somebody can buy it and split it)

All in all, with a budget of RM500 or round about that, it's possible to achieve a decent result with today's modern pads and polishes.

Thanks for viewing. Questions and comments are welcome.

 

[cvkit17]

Impressive indeed!! Where can we shop for 3M pads btw?

 

[KrisMas]

I'm not sure where exactly in Klang Valley got sell these. I got mine from my friend which is the 3M dealer in kb...his place sells mostly bodyshop related products. I think I've seen it in one paint/bodyshop supplier in Klang. There's also somebody in LYN selling them. These are great pads btw....for now. The 3M pads are 150mm so the size is just nice for enthusiasts like me who don't much like the larger pads. The Sonax pads are also nice but a tad bit more expensive....I got it for RM56 and the dealer is in SS18, Subang Jaya.

 

[cvkit17]

What about DG pads? Easily available in their website. I'm an amateur in this but it fascinates me into learning more and trying it out as a hobby

 

[paohyean]

Wow..
Just wow..

 

[KrisMas]

What about DG pads? Easily available in their website. I'm an amateur in this but it fascinates me into learning more and trying it out as a hobby

The one DG Malaysia is selling in their web are Lake Country pads. They're good also. But, just a little suggestion, get the 5.5 inch instead of the larger ones if you're planning to use it on an ROB. I have both the CCS and the flat ones, I like the CCS on an ROB but, on rotary, I like the flat ones better. But that's just my personal preferences.

 

[cvkit17]

I have a cheap ROB (B&D) which doesn't do much correction..it's ok for applying wax and very light polish/clean only. It does restore the shine but dats just it. Or perhaps I'm using polish and not compound? A makita on hand would be my ultimate goal so now still saving for one haha..thinking of letting go my B&D and get a Bosch instead as it has variable speed and more pads, for normal waxing as it doesn't hurt the paint. Upon seeing this, I'm actually more eager to get one haha...or should I just aim for a makita instead? A rotary would mean a whole new learning curve haha

 

[KrisMas]

Let me see if I can borrow a B&D polisher from somebody and try the same thing and see what it can do.

One thing that I learned from the above is, it's not just the polisher that plays a role, the newer pads and polishes now also have quite an influence in how much you can correct when using an ROB. Before these new pads and polishes came out, to me, the ROB was only good for applying sealants and paint cleaners.....looks like times-a-changin'.....

 

[cvkit17]

Let me see if I can borrow a B&D polisher from somebody and try the same thing and see what it can do.

One thing that I learned from the above is, it's not just the polisher that plays a role, the newer pads and polishes now also have quite an influence in how much you can correct when using an ROB. Before these new pads and polishes came out, to me, the ROB was only good for applying sealants and paint cleaners.....looks like times-a-changin'.....

I have tried it. It can remove light swirls with the right product. For deeper swirls, I guess it didn't remove them but hide them instead. The last time I did it on my friends 20 years old car was quite some time ago and it brought back the shine..it was almost 2 months ago and I dint see him since so can't inspect the car. But he said that some swirls reappeared thus lead to my assumption above.

B&D only comes with two choices of pads...foam and wool, and I don't even know what range of cutting ability the foam is haha...and oh ya, single speed only 4400rpm if not mistaken. Would you mind to share what speed you were using?:hmmmm:

 

[KrisMas]

I use speed 1 to spread, then bump up to speed 4 with firm pressure to work the polish for a couple of more passes, then a couple of more passes to finish with very light pressure.

I checked the Bosch manual. The no-load speed is 7500 - 12000rpm. The Bosch has numbers 1 - 5 on the speed dial. No information on which number on the dial equal to what speed. Sorry.

 

[cvkit17]

It will be awesome if you can try using B&D on this. Thanks for the advices thumbs up to you

 

[GRexer]

Krismas, I have the modified B&D with velcro backing plate if you want to give it a shot

 

[cvkit17]

Krismas, I have the modified B&D with velcro backing plate if you want to give it a shot

And I can provide the B&D original...we can do a brief comparison =)

 

[GRexer]

Without the ability to adapt proper polishing pads, the original B&D is quite expensive in terms of operational costs(regardless of whether as a hobbyist or as a professional), as the original pads are prone to tearing and doesn't last long. Converting to a velcro backed plate instead costs around the same as a new pack of pads but has the ability to use the more universal 5.5" or 150cm pads which can be used on other machines later on if you decide to upgrade. :santaclaus:

It's been a while since I used mine though.

 

[kyokonitori88]

Great! thanks for sharing that ine

 

[cvkit17]

Without the ability to adapt proper polishing pads, the original B&D is quite expensive in terms of operational costs(regardless of whether as a hobbyist or as a professional), as the original pads are prone to tearing and doesn't last long. Converting to a velcro backed plate instead costs around the same as a new pack of pads but has the ability to use the more universal 5.5" or 150cm pads which can be used on other machines later on if you decide to upgrade. :santaclaus:

It's been a while since I used mine though.

One thing I'm not into B&D is because it only has 1 fixed speed...in fact im thinking of letting go my B&D and get a Bosch instead. And if budget allows, I would love to have a Makita in hand and start learning from there....btw, any detailing clinic coming nowadays?

 

[GRexer]

Well.. The B&D really isn't a "polisher", more like a "waxer"

Well.. I'm not sure how much your workable budget is, but there's already a couple of proper DA polishers in the Malaysian market these days. The Dodo Juice Buff Daddy is around RM650-700, the Ultramate DA for around RM850-900(well,it's almost the same price as a Makita/Dewalt, but it has an easier learning curve)

Not too sure of any detailing clinic, those would have to wait for the Guru(s) to have a say though. :wavey:

 

[cvkit17]

The DA are kinda expensive don't u think so? No doubt they are good and almost foolproof like ROB but it doesn't do as much correction as an RB...so I'm thinking of straight away get an RB and learn. Save some $$ haha...mayb RB for correction and ROB for waxing/sanding

 

[GRexer]

Well.. To each of it's own. Technology today had advanced auto detailing to a state whereby even the DA could do a lot more, especially for the hobbyist, maybe if there's a non-brand-biased detailing clinic, you could give both a shot to see which would be better for your own needs.

Note that I mentioned hobbyist, if you're detailing for a living, other than a good job, a speedy job is also preferable hence using the rotary would be faster in execution.

 

[cvkit17]

Yeah I agree with that. Equipment a and pads are getting better and better...but why lah not cheaper and cheaper hahaha...
I don't think there's any clinic that is brand biased when it comes to equipment. I believe every equipment serve its own special purpose.