Paint - Hard Or Soft?

[harrylime]

Hi all

I'm thinking about buying a machine polisher with a view to detailing my LS (with extreme caution). Can anyone tell me whether the paint on an LS would be classed as hard or soft?, it makes a difference as to what type of polisher is recommended

thanks in advance

[Colin M]

This does not seem to be a question to which an easy answer can be given.

You might find the article below helpful. I found it by googling does my car have hard or soft paint - the link below was an early one that came up:

Hard Paint and Soft Paint – What are your polishing choices? | Ask a ...

www.detailedimage.com › Ask-a-Pro › h...

Hope this helps.

[harrylime]

I agree, Colin, it's not an easy one. I was hoping someome else might have looked into this, or even be a professional. I'll try that link

[Titch LS]

Hugh, I bit the bullet last year and bought a Meguiars DA (dual action) Polishing System from Halfrauds for £59. This was to address various paint defects on my dark blue Mk4. Using the correct pads and compounds I got some vey good results. Not perfect, as this was my first attempt, but I was very pleased with the performance of the Meguiars products. (And no, I'm not being paid to say this)! I used their Ultimate compound followed by their Polishing compound. The Polishing compound is especially good for surface scratches in the clearcoat. With a bit of perserverance and rubbing by hand, some stubborn scratches can be made to virtually disappear altogether. It goes against your instincts because you have to rub hard for them to go. Obviously, wash the car first (don't wash 'n wax it). I found that the paintwork on the LS responded well so long as I used the right pads and compounds.

[mikeyv]

I did the same as Titch LS, except my DA kit was by Kestrel, but with the same Meguirs products.

I was very happy with the results on my dark blue car, and have just bought some dodo juice leather cleaner, as recommended by Rayaans, to get the beige leather looking as good as the paintwork.

I've used a full fat polisher in the past, and they do require care, to avoid problems, but my da polisher comes to a stop if you use too much pressure, so pretty safe by comparison.

[ambermarine]

The most important aspect of polishing the LS range of cars is that basically you are eroding the clearcoat and unless you are very forceful or inexperienced in using a mechanical buffer electric or air you will never polish through to the basecoat colour.

I honed my technique using buffers on yachts (fibreglass) were it is easy to burn the gelcoat running the buffer too fast, you can do the same on a clearcoat laquer and if very careless cut grooves in it.

There will be occasions that some profiles of the bodywork will lose more of the clearcoat surface and create a optical blemish that looks like a drop of water as been squeezed into the surface a bit like silicone spray invading a new paint job but flatter, this is caused by the virtual removal of the clearcoat surface.

I have never used a mechanical buffer on the LS's I have owned ,the only time I see them as appropriate is after a panel respray to polish out blemishes in the spray job.

If you polish by hand it is very unlikely you will do any damage, using a mechanical buffer the damage can be done before you notice it.

If you are intent on using a mechanical buffer use the advice given by Mikeyv keep away from big variable speed buffers such as record ,nutool etc, they will cut the paintwork to shreds.

3M do a great range of compounds and finishing polishes that are mechanical or hand applied.

[SH20]

The paint top lacquer coat is considered softer than say VW's top coat which is much harder. On average the depth of paint including the lacquer coat is around 125 - 140 microns with the top coat being around 60-70 microns thick so with the best intentions a modern car has a limited number of "cuts".

When cars are polished with cutting polishes you are removing lacquer to get the swirls and fine scratches out. Normally you would use a first pass cutting polish and then a second pass with a finishing compound and even an a third pass with an ultra fine polish if necessary. The cutting pads should be considered carefully as the range and choice is massive. Normally a medium cut pad will be used to make a first pass commensurate with the cutting polish, moving up to finishing pads and ultra fine buffing/polishing pads. Avoid massive speeds and too much pressure on the cutting pad face when polishing.

For novices stay away from rotary polishing machines which simply spin and are used by professionals with wool cutting pads but these take a lot of handling due the higher temperatures they generate. As stated in the post stick with Dual Action (DA) orbital polishing machines although it takes longer to polish paint work and generates less heat but are easier to control. Do small areas at a time e.g tape up 1-2 foot squares to operate in, on a bonnet for example. It concentrates your efforts in one area and you can judge the results better against un polished areas. Take your time as it's tempting to move too fast around the panels. Degrease all polished areas once happy with the cutting/finishing and then apply a quality wax/sealer to protect what you have achieved. A detailing spray is then all you'll need to maintain that shine. You Tube has more paint correction clips than you can shake a stick at and gives lots of useful guidance.

Happy detailing Hugh

[harrylime]

thanks to those of you who responded. I have looked on the detailing world and meguirs products seem to be well liked, although the Kestrel DAS 6 or DAS 6 pro seems to be the polisher recommended the most. This is likely to be a spring project I think because I have no garage yet.

[SH20]

I use a DAS 6 Pro, 1-6 speed settings, fairly light and easy to handle/control. Comes with two backing plates but again out of preference I also use a 3" (75mm) plate for the tighter areas around my car. 5" plates (125mm) are great for bonnets, boot lids, larger areas etc. Go to a website called "Clean Your Car" which sells everything you would ever need in terms of machines, accessories, car cleaning products etc, it's got everything. You can have next day delivery and is an online company based in Huddersfield. I use them regularly.

[harrylime]

Thanks chaps