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  1. #1
    DF VIP Member Little John's Avatar
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    Default Polishing a faded red Astra. (work in progress)

    I thought I would post this on here as there have been posts in the past about machine polishing cars.

    Well a neighbour has a red astra estate, I commented on it a few month ago and offered to have a go at restoring the colour, but the owner wasn't bothered. My dad was intrigued at what I could do with it and was speaking to them and mentioned it but the same response. A few weeks ago someone bumped the rear door and it ended up in the body shop to be sorted out and they ended up with a red rear door and about 2" of the roof where the body shop went over a little. so it was more noticable and thy asked if I could have a look at it. But the weather hasnt been any good to get a good go at it.
    The car is parked facing the same direction every time so one side gets the sun more than the other so one isn't as white as the other.
    It was pretty late when I started, we had been out for a meal for tea and I went round and they moved the car to the back of the house. I plan to do the car as and when I get a few hours spare, yeah repeatedly washing it but never mind.
    So here you go.
    Before shots, Passenger side is the one that has faded more.

    more pinkness


    The other side isn't quite so pink but there is a slight change

    The fuel cover shows there is a slight change of colour

    freshly painted boot has swirl marks where the bodyshop didnt break down the comound enough

    top of the back door where the body shop finished their polishing

    On with the wash, foamed using my sample of Autosmart HD foamwash. it does the job but the foam wasn't that thick probably due to using the karcher yellow bottle lance the proper one is elsewhere but it was removing something by the change of colour in the foam that has run off.

    never doing a single stage paint before I wasnt quite sure how it would work so I started with meguiars speed glaze (#80) on a meguiars polishing pad for my test section and here is the result after a single hit, which was working the polish over the area for about 4 minutes at about 2/3 of full speed.


    I was blown away, I always see people using a very abrasive polish on colour restoreation polishing so wasn't expecting much from just a single hit with #80 and was going to up to meguiars dual action polish (#83) but had no need as the lighter polish was doing what was needed. so I carried on with #80

    The pad was caked with paint after half the bonnet so I rinsed it out and spun it dry and carried on.
    Cleaned the pad again and did the drivers side wing then passenger wing.
    before

    half time

    change ends

    Full time, Little John 1 - pink astra 0

    Well the bonnet, and 2 front wings are done.
    now to clean the pad again

    It really is just a yellow polishing pad not a red cutting pad, See

    Yes I know I have missed the creases on the wing, I will sort them out when I can see what I'm doing. This was taken with out the flash.

    I finished it with a coat of Dodo juice banana armour wax which will be applied at least another time possibly more to prevent it going pink again, I'm sure I will find out how much of the wax I didn't buff off in the morning. It was a little dark.

    I will post more pics as I progress towards the back.

    never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups!:thumbup:

  2. #2
    DF Probation MsDG's Avatar
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    Default Re: Polishing a faded red Astra. (work in progress)

    Hey, LJ.. You missed the creases on the wing!

  3. #3
    DF VIP Member Little John's Avatar
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    Default Re: Polishing a faded red Astra. (work in progress)

    Yeah, I only noticed when I saw the photos, it was too dark I couldnt see what I was doing, I should have started doing it this morning but I wanted to watch the olympics thing and then the GP then we went for somthing to eat the day just disapeared.

    never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups!:thumbup:

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Polishing a faded red Astra. (work in progress)

    That is awesome LJ, you've literally increased the value of that car by tens of pounds.



    No really it is nice to see the proper effects. My bro bought me a mop a couple of years ago, I will deffo try it now. I looked at the astra 'before' photos & thought it was ok, till I saw the end result
    No sympathy for the devil; keep that in mind. Buy the ticket, take the ride...

  5. #5
    DF VIP Member Little John's Avatar
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    Default Re: Polishing a faded red Astra. (work in progress)

    Quote Originally Posted by beansontoast View Post
    That is awesome LJ, you've literally increased the value of that car by tens of pounds.



    No really it is nice to see the proper effects. My bro bought me a mop a couple of years ago, I will deffo try it now. I looked at the astra 'before' photos & thought it was ok, till I saw the end result
    You really think it will add so much to the value?

    The owner drives it early morning to take her dogs out, she is a guide dog puppy walker so always has a puppy to walk and her own dogs hence the cages in the back of the car. I'm not cleaning the inside of this one its full of dog hairs.

    If you have a go, I would recomend getting some foam pads rather than just wool pads they are quite abrasive and can't really finish very well, a medium foam like the meguiars one is quite soft and capable of breaking the polish down properly so the abrasives diminish and leave a swirl free finish and don't remove that much paint, this removed about 1-2 microns where a wool pad is capable of 40 microns without out much work on a rotary polisher. bear in mind that paint on modern cars is 80-140 microns 25% primer, 25% colour 50% clear coat at the low end there will be no clear coat left. Vauxhall say 75 microns is an acceptable paint thickness on a new car. This one has no clear coat to start with so its not an issue.

    never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups!:thumbup:

  6. #6
    DF VIP Member super mike's Avatar
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    Default Re: Polishing a faded red Astra. (work in progress)

    Where do you buy your pads from mate? Just looking for the cheapest place really.

    I'm going to do my mates AX when time and weather permits, i'll post up pics.

  7. #7
    DF VIP Member Over Carl's Avatar
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    Default Re: Polishing a faded red Astra. (work in progress)

    I had a similar experience on my 2nd motor - astra belmont sri. Paint had faded terribly. I knew this when I bought it but when I parked it next to my neighbour's celica which was in immaculate bright red, I knew something had to be done. Only problem was that I was young and too enthusiastic - I managed to wear through the paint down to primer in one spot

    Just wondering, I know people in the know despise t-cut. What makes tcut worse than other cutting compounds?

  8. #8
    DF VIP Member super mike's Avatar
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    Default Re: Polishing a faded red Astra. (work in progress)

    It's very abrasive so lots of care needs to be taken. It's actually not that bad a polish if used with cautin but it will need a finishing polish afterwards to bring the paint up properly.

  9. #9
    DF VIP Member emu's Avatar
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    Default Re: Polishing a faded red Astra. (work in progress)

    hello

    my dads fto import is suffering the same

    he has asked me to do it up and sell it on for him, what do i need hardware and polish wise?

    can i fu** it up? last car i did was done manaully using a three stage meguiars polish

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/1136248...7601412565731/

  10. #10
    DF VIP Member Over Carl's Avatar
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    Default Re: Polishing a faded red Astra. (work in progress)

    Quote Originally Posted by emu View Post
    can i fu** it up?
    Likelihood of cocking it up depends on what you use and what you do with it, but my story with tcut was by hand!

    If you aren't sure, I would see if I could scrounge something like a dented wing off an fto owners forum just to see how the paint handles your equipment and technique.

  11. #11
    DF VIP Member Little John's Avatar
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    Default Re: Polishing a faded red Astra. (work in progress)

    Quote Originally Posted by super mike View Post
    Where do you buy your pads from mate? Just looking for the cheapest place really.
    Pads I have tried a few different ones, the meguiars ones are excelent, the one I used for this I sort of expected to be totalled after so its an old one I bought in February the top is a little knackered but the polishing surface is spot on so it will do the job. It is currently orrange due to staining of the red paint. They are pretty expensive at rrp of £12.99 but you can get them from www.cleanyourcar.co.uk for less. I think £10.95 each. I have some black 3M pads that are very good and some sonus SFX 4" pads for tight areas again they are really good and not that expensive well compared to the meguiars ones. The £m range has been colour coded and a few places are selling the older black pads off in large quantities mainly on ebay so take a look there.

    Quote Originally Posted by Over carl View Post
    I had a similar experience on my 2nd motor - astra belmont sri. Paint had faded terribly. I knew this when I bought it but when I parked it next to my neighbour's celica which was in immaculate bright red, I knew something had to be done. Only problem was that I was young and too enthusiastic - I managed to wear through the paint down to primer in one spot

    Just wondering, I know people in the know despise t-cut. What makes tcut worse than other cutting compounds?
    T-cut is very abrasive as are most compounds but it compounds the abrasives are diminishing so they break down with use and the more you work them the finer they get so the result is a really nice finish. Tcut as long as your working the stuff its wearing away at your paint so going through is a possibility.As the abrasives never break down they have the same cut and will scour at the paint which will result in swirl marks (fine scratches) you then need to use a finer polish to remove those marks.

    Quote Originally Posted by emu View Post
    hello

    my dads fto import is suffering the same

    he has asked me to do it up and sell it on for him, what do i need hardware and polish wise?

    can i fu** it up? last car i did was done manaully using a three stage meguiars polish

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/1136248...7601412565731/
    It doesnt take a lot to remove the faded paint, the polish I used meguiars speed glaze is a 4 on their abrasive range (up to 10) they have released a new product that goes up to 12 but I dont have that. it is abrasive so it can go through the paint if not used correctly but it would take a while useing the polisher I have. I use the meguiars G220 which is £150 worth and then you need to buy pads and polish on top your loooking at about £200 for the basic kit to get you going. I also use a paint thickness guage to measure the thickness of the paint, it give me a rough idea to what I am removeing from the surface. The paint read between 125 microns and 135 microns which is pretty even and thick. The tail gate was reading at 160microns+ as it has been repainted. I was reoveing about 1-2 microns of paint so not a lot. there are polishes like the one rated at 12 on the meguiars scale that will remove 40 microns in 1 hit so they are not to be messed with.
    so what to buy, the dual action machines are great to start with, chance of doing damage are slim if your sensible with it a rotary (mop) is a different story they run at very high speeds and take some practice to master. the G220 is the only one on the uk market there are some others that are from the US that run at 110V so require a transformer to run them.

    Polishes there are so many and a little confusieng, there are a few types, abrasives like meguiars #105 (12 on the scale) #83 (6 on the scale) #82 (2 on the scale) and #80 which is at 4. there are other companies that make abrasive polishes 3m, menzerna, sonus and farecla are a few names the last being more body shop use. all have varying abrasiveness.
    the next type of polish is the glazes, they have no abrasives in them, they add oils to the surface to get that wet look shine. meguiars deep crystal step 2 is a glaze. You have used that in the 3 step system, it is a very good glaze actually and I still use it the step 1 is also a decent product too but bin step 3 its not a very good wax.
    The other one that anoys me is people call wax polish there are some products that claim to clean the paint polish and add wax but they dont do it very well compared to useing the seperate products. A wax only protects and seals the other stuff you have done it adds a little gloss to the finish but not as much as some companies want you to beleive. one of the best waxes available is collinite 915 £23 a tin in a receint test it was prefered finish wise over the zymol royal which costs £7118 a pot. and no i didnt miss and point in that 7 grand for a pot of wax.

    I have loads of different polishes, I like to try different ones on different pads and different cars as all cars are not painted the same, some cars have soft paint like honda, some are not so soft like vauxhall and others are like concrete like BMW, VW, audi so require polishes that can work them. some polishes caouse a lot of dust like farecla and menzerna, 3m have lots of oils in them so don't dry out as quick do don't dust. the meguiars polishes are in the middle they can dust if used when its too hot but normally they behave.

    Once you have polished the car you need to seal the finish in, you can use a synthetic sealent like zaino Z2 or a carnauba based wax. The reason it fades is either bleached by UV or oxidisation as the paint is open to the elements with no clear coat to protect it. so a layer of carnauba which has UV blocking properties sort that out but a few layers is much better than just one. apply it by hand not machine as the machine will dry it out. Liquid waxes? I wouldnt bother they have little carnauba content no make them liquid so go for a paste wax. re apply every few month to keep the protection going.

    If your round my way I will give you a demo and your welcome to have a play. or any questions just ask.

    never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups!:thumbup:

  12. #12
    DF VIP Member super mike's Avatar
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    Default Re: Polishing a faded red Astra. (work in progress)

    I'm trying to get a few black 3M's ATM from DW (I assume you are the same Little John on there?), but after that I might get a few more polishing pads. I'm interested in trying out different pads and polishes as all I have at the moment are the megs buffing pads and the Sonus spot pads.

    Looks like soon, Clean Your Car will be getting another chunk of my pay check

  13. #13
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    liveseytowers's Avatar
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    Default Re: Polishing a faded red Astra. (work in progress)

    Top job there, i didn't think you could restore the colour as well as that! Wish you was my neighbor the paint on my Lancer is fooked i've still not got round to fixing the big scratch down one side

  14. #14
    DF VIP Member Little John's Avatar
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    Default Re: Polishing a faded red Astra. (work in progress)

    Mr Singh's pads they are ok, feel a little small if your used to the megs pads. I have a few of them. they are really good though.

    Livsey, Darwen isnt that far away unless its the one in Australia then it is a little too far. the A666 sort of runs along the bottom of my street ish if you cross a few other roads.

    never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups!:thumbup:

  15. #15
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    Default Re: Polishing a faded red Astra. (work in progress)

    Quote Originally Posted by Little John View Post
    Mr Singh's pads they are ok, feel a little small if your used to the megs pads. I have a few of them. they are really good though.

    Livsey, Darwen isnt that far away unless its the one in Australia then it is a little too far. the A666 sort of runs along the bottom of my street ish if you cross a few other roads.
    lol you are right i live on the A666 as well! Would you be interested in a little scratch repair? I'd pay obviously. I've got a bad key scratch that goes from the back panel where its not too bad along the passenger door where its quite deep and then onto my front passenger door.

    I can't remember what I was quoted, i think it was £250 for a respray of the 3 panels if I paid cash.

    If you are interested in having a look i can dig out the pics I took when it happened.

  16. #16
    DF VIP Member funkyg's Avatar
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    Default Re: Polishing a faded red Astra. (work in progress)

    Woh! That's pretty spectacular, especially the difference on the first bit of bonnet you did.

    Years ago I had a Corsa in the same colour and the roof especially went the same shade of pink. I just used T-Cut and elbow grease to get it back to red. Only issue I had was after a while when it started turning again you could see a line down the centre of the roof where I did it from one side and then the other.

    I'm in two minds whether to do anything with my current car. It's metallic black, and if I wash it it looks mint while it's wet but seems to have a haze over it when dry. I think it's probably the clearcoat that is full of scratches. Is that something you can polish out as well without damaging it?
    There are also a few dings and scratches from shopping trollies that I keep meaning to sort but never get round to it.
    Ooh, ooh, ooh, the funky gibbon.


  17. #17
    DF VIP Member Little John's Avatar
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    Default Re: Polishing a faded red Astra. (work in progress)

    FunkyG
    It is probably scratched/swirled so fcuk and the water on the surface fills the scratches when its wet makeing it look spot on. when it dries the scratches show and looks grey.

    This is a corsa I did a few month ago, it had been treated to automatic car washes every month for its short 24 month life. the result is the "super soft brushes" are constantly scratching the paint or clear coat surface when it gets so compacted with scratches it just dulls the surface. The scratches are not actually circular that is just the light catching their edges and the angle the light bounces off


    right has been polished the stripe down the middle hasnt I taped it up again and I went over the tape a little on the left but you can see the difference between polished and un polished clear coated vauxhall black.


    Reflection after polishing, pretty spot on I think


    Look no swirls


    As for polishing it there are 2 options, use abrasive polish to flatten the paint, removeing the high points of the scratches so it is all flat again and shines or use somthing like autoglym super resin polish they contains fillers that will fill the tiny sratches and flatten the paint again you then seal it in with a few layers of a decent wax (not a liquid wax).The problem with SRP is it isnt a permanent solution the wax layers will wear of over a few months so you either need to keep topping them up but you still need to remove them every so often and reapply as the finish will go off a little. I'm not that sure is SRP would be a solution on the corsa I have pictures of above as the scratches are so tightly packed, I didn't try it I went direct to the machine.

    If you want you are more than welcome to call round and see if a machine polish will sort it out. If it will then I could sort it for you, you could buy the kit yourself about £250 will get you sorted and do it but it isnt just a case of stick a pad on and rubbing it over the car switched on I will help you out with how to get the best out of it if you go this route. or you can pay someone to polish your car, this guy is local and is a really good detailer. I'm not sure about the cost but your probably looking at £250-£300 for paint correction jobs.

    never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups!:thumbup:

  18. #18
    DF VIP Member super mike's Avatar
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    Default Re: Polishing a faded red Astra. (work in progress)

    Those will be swirls, and extremely hard to correct by hand. If you don't fancy being sad, and spending loads of money filling up a room in your house with stuff to clean your car a proffesional would be a good route. If you do fancy spending loads of time and developing OCD over your motor, the shopping list is endless.

    Next time you wash the car use 2 buckets, one with shampoo and one with clean water for rinsing the wash mitt. Throw away your sponge, or save it for alloy wheels only. This will reduce inflicting more damage to your paint.

    And I can't post pictures of the car I have just finished because my 'rents have taken the camera.

    Edit: Damn, not only did LJ beat me to it, he explained it better too.

  19. #19
    DF VIP Member Little John's Avatar
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    Default Re: Polishing a faded red Astra. (work in progress)

    Hey mike you buy products like this to save on space.

    Gtechniq C4, is the ultimate in greying/faded plastic trim restoration and protection.
    this is 15ml and cost £23 for the bottle.



    excluding waxes it is the most I have spent on a single product and the smallest quantity in fact it is the most expensive product I have bought per ml at £1.53 even waxes come in at less than 50p per ml

    I had to buy a new storeage tub again earlier to fit all the stuff I have in it.

    never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups!:thumbup:

  20. #20
    DF VIP Member funkyg's Avatar
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    Default Re: Polishing a faded red Astra. (work in progress)

    Thanks for the info guys.
    That Corsa looks in a similar condition to my Avensis. The after shots are amazing though, looks like a mirror!
    I think I'll try the resin polish for now, as I'm a cheap skate! Plus with the age/milage of the car I have to wonder if it's worth throwing so much money at it.
    You say it would need taking off after so long, how would you do that?

    Oh and that tiny bottle of plastic trim restorer is a joke!!! £23? How many applications would that do on your Vectra?
    That's something else that I need to sort as well. Once you get plastic trim back to black how do you keep it black? Normal car wax?
    Ooh, ooh, ooh, the funky gibbon.


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