Overcoming Fear of Polish

Buffing the paint...  this scares me a little, because it is easy to ruin a good paint job with a poor buffing job.  "Burn-through" is what happens when the paint gets completely rubbed off in one spot, showing the primer underneath.  This is easy to fix on edges, but a pain in the middle of a panel.  I'm not confident in my abilities with a buffer.  I buffed an oxide layer off the paint of an of an old MG some 25 years ago, but this is completely different.  There is a lot more at stake here.

I chickened out and asked Paint Guy to buff out the car.  Paint guy took a first crack at it in October, but he didn't finish.  The hood and trunk still show sanding marks from rubbing out the paint, and it's really noticeable under artificial light.  I've put about 600 miles on her since then, and I've been eager to finish the buffing process and give Nell a good shine! 

I called Paint Guy before the holidays, and he's booked solid for the next few months.  I got the distinct feeling that it was time to "man up" and face my fear of polish!  I have researched buffers and polish, and finally felt that I knew enough to proceed.  But I was still a little afraid.  Have you ever felt that you knew the right thing do do, but were afraid of screwing it up?

I got a buffer kit and professional polish from TCP Global, some micro-fiber towels and buckets from Harbor Freight, and got to work.

First step was to carefully wash the car.  Twice.

 

I started in back.  As an amateur, I taped all the edges.  This is where burn through happens first, so masking is cheap insurance.  I will have to hand polish the edges later.

Note the scratches in the paint.  These are really noticeable under bright artificial light.

 There were three grades of professional polish available.  This stuff isn't cheap, but it's "the best"!  The guy at the paint store suggested starting with a medium grade, instead of heavy cut.  He also suggested using a medium foam waffle pad instead of a heavy-cut wool pad.  This slows down the polishing process, but it helps avoid the dreaded burn-through!

#2 Polish is a good start.  Heavy cut may cut too fast.

For the initial buffing, I was advised to use a variable speed rotary buffer.  Fine finishing and detailing may use a Dual Action (DA) buffer, but only a rotary will remove sanding scratch marks.

I used the heavier-cut "red" pad to start, and applied the polish in an "x" pattern

I stared in slow speed, of course! 

 To avoid splatter, I kept the pad on the work when starting and stopping.  The buffer has a slow start feature, which starts the motor gradually and avoids flinging polish everywhere.  Here's what the trunk looked like after two passes with the red pad:

First pass

Second pass

The scratches weren't getting any better at this point.   Are these "swirl marks" from the buffer, or deep scratches that need a more aggressive compound/pad?  I decided to play it safe and try a finer compound.

#3 finish polish, a compliment to the other stuff.

The blue pad is a finer cut.  I also used the black fine-finish pad.

After one pass, the difference is dramatic.  Note that there are still a few deep scratches, however.  Oh, well.

This is as good as I can do with a rotary buffer.  I then got out my Christmas present, a DA buffer and heavy pad.   Dual Action buffers don't spin like rotaries, but rather giggle like an orbital.  The pad also rotates slowly to prevent heat buildup.  DA buffers don't burn through, but do provide a very fine finish for final polishing and waxing.

The DA buffer is smaller, but still pretty heavy.  I used #3 polish.

Results are impressive!  Note the deep scratch remaining.

So there are still some scratches in the paint, but the appearance is greatly improved.  I'm quite happy with the results, especially since I want to drive and enjoy this car.   Now, for hand polishing the edges.

Good shine in the middle, but the paint is dull where the tape used to be.

Close up of the previously taped edges.

#2 polish on a pad, and...

Apply liberal amounts of elbow grease.

The results were good, especially after following up with #3 polish.  

Pink clouds reflected in the trunk lid.

Looking good!

Another day, time to buff the hood. Same procedure for masking the edges and buffing...

Before buffing.

After rotary buffing the driver's side with #2 polish

After DA polishing.  Pretty shiny!  Of course, there are still some scratches.

Here are some celebration shots.  Note how the color seems to change based on the lighting... florescents make the car look blue, incandescents make it look turquoise.

There are still some minor areas to buff out on the sides, but I am very happy with the results!  The car is ready to be enjoyed!

I will try to visit Uncle Toronado this week.  He's about 200 miles away, but he owned this car for 20 years.  He's 92 years old, and a WWII fighter pilot.  Auntie Toronado has been in the hospital.  I need to make this visit a priority.