Assisting Grumpy

[Mrs Mint]

You're welcome to come and clean mine @Mrs Mint There's no prejudice over who cleans my cars

I would but alas Cornwall is a bit far………… but if your ever passing this way pop in, can't promise I'll clean your car but I have well stocked beer fridge

 

[Bozzy]

For anyone interested in doing this to their Zed here are a List of products and the order in what we did
Wash panel with Fairy Liquid
Clayed panel with Basics Of Bling Clay Bars (2 pack). Born Slippy Clay Lube (500ml)
Masked sections of the panel off in around 2ft areas 3434 High Performance Masking Tape Blue
We then tested the depth of the paint with a paint depth gauge.
Applied cutting compound to pad and used rotary polisher on low speed increasing to speed 2 75mm (3") PERFECT-IT III Compounding Pad (Green). 75mm (3") Ultra Soft Rotary Backing Plate. PERFECT-IT III Fast Cut PLUS Compound Green (1 Litre)
Applied extra fine compound to pad and used rotary polisher on low speed increasing to speed 3. PERFECT-IT III Extra Fine Compound Yellow (1 Litre). 75mm (3") PERFECT-IT III Polishing Pad (Yellow)
Applied Ultrafina polish to pad and used rotary on low speed increasing to speed 3. PERFECT-IT III Ultrafina SE Polish Blue (1 Litre). 75mm (3") PERFECT-IT III High Gloss Polishing Pad (Blue)
On each stage we wiped away the residue
Wiped the panel down with white spirits and then re wiped the panel untill completely dry.
Applied body sealant Auto Finesse Tough Coat Paint Sealant Used sparingly and applied with ultra soft sponge. This was left to cure then residue wiped off.
Applied Shield Wax with PTFE Applied using ultra soft sponge then buffed off.
As Dave @Grumpy will tell you the microfiber cloths are very plush and i then went over the panel to remove any fluff left behind them.
To do the Z3 bonnet from start to finish will take around 6 to 8 hours depending on the state of the panel and could even go upto 8 to 12 hours if the panel is really bad.
As @Russell O will tell you i am by far no professional, but so long as you are careful then you will be safe using a rotary. You can always take that little bit more off if it is not perfect (so long as there is enough lacquer) but you can not put it back on.
Me and Dave would not of got the same result in using a DA Polisher.To me they are only for light marks and polishing where as the rotary is for heavy marking, cutting and polishing. I do have both but find the rotary more equipped to deal with the jobs in hand and the DA Polisher i only use to keep the buff up.
But that is my opinion

Great write up @billz I never realised how time consuming it is,you must be a very patient chap and have a strong back .
After going over my van and Sara's car with a Clay bar and a d.a earlier this year,each one taking a very long day my back was shredded .

Steve

 

[Mac Romans]

For anyone interested in doing this to their Zed here are a List of products and the order in what we did
Wash panel with Fairy Liquid
Clayed panel with Basics Of Bling Clay Bars (2 pack). Born Slippy Clay Lube (500ml)
Masked sections of the panel off in around 2ft areas 3434 High Performance Masking Tape Blue
We then tested the depth of the paint with a paint depth gauge.
Applied cutting compound to pad and used rotary polisher on low speed increasing to speed 2 75mm (3") PERFECT-IT III Compounding Pad (Green). 75mm (3") Ultra Soft Rotary Backing Plate. PERFECT-IT III Fast Cut PLUS Compound Green (1 Litre)
Applied extra fine compound to pad and used rotary polisher on low speed increasing to speed 3. PERFECT-IT III Extra Fine Compound Yellow (1 Litre). 75mm (3") PERFECT-IT III Polishing Pad (Yellow)
Applied Ultrafina polish to pad and used rotary on low speed increasing to speed 3. PERFECT-IT III Ultrafina SE Polish Blue (1 Litre). 75mm (3") PERFECT-IT III High Gloss Polishing Pad (Blue)
On each stage we wiped away the residue
Wiped the panel down with white spirits and then re wiped the panel untill completely dry.
Applied body sealant Auto Finesse Tough Coat Paint Sealant Used sparingly and applied with ultra soft sponge. This was left to cure then residue wiped off.
Applied Shield Wax with PTFE Applied using ultra soft sponge then buffed off.
As Dave @Grumpy will tell you the microfiber cloths are very plush and i then went over the panel to remove any fluff left behind them.
To do the Z3 bonnet from start to finish will take around 6 to 8 hours depending on the state of the panel and could even go upto 8 to 12 hours if the panel is really bad.
As @Russell O will tell you i am by far no professional, but so long as you are careful then you will be safe using a rotary. You can always take that little bit more off if it is not perfect (so long as there is enough lacquer) but you can not put it back on.
Me and Dave would not of got the same result in using a DA Polisher.To me they are only for light marks and polishing where as the rotary is for heavy marking, cutting and polishing. I do have both but find the rotary more equipped to deal with the jobs in hand and the DA Polisher i only use to keep the buff up.
But that is my opinion

Brilliant entry @billz , thanks. All my detailing so far has been by hand as the zed paint is in quite good nick but I fancy getting involved in machine stuff and practicing on my daily driver.

I've googled paint depth gauges and this one came in quite reasonably priced.....

 

[andyglym]

Interesting post @billz you make sound so easy even us women could do it lol
But wait just remembered we wouldn't be allowed any where near your beloved Zeds
Phew that was a close thing

That would be considered "Off-Side" Pauline and would Warrent a yellow card at least

 

[andyglym]

One section done.
Before
View attachment 44172
After

View attachment 44173

Impressive work, top effort.

 

[Sean d]

Good to see its getting its shine back mate, a bit long winded for me though,

 

[Grumps]

Is going to take a good while but that said the bonnet is looking pukka compared to the rest of the car so it's going to be worth it.

 

[billz]

Is going to take a good while but that said the bonnet is looking pukka compared to the rest of the car so it's going to be worth it.

Dave have you pulled it completely out from under the carport and can you notice the difference compared to the other panels ????

 

[Grumps]

Ye @billz, used the car this morning. The difference is so obvious. Can't wait to get stuck in but it'll be Saturday now before I can do anything.

 

[Sean d]

I used the Autofinese sealant then just coated the swissvax shield on top. It should hold up untill we do it one more time to remove the rotor marks. The depths are shocking. I would of expected around 160 to 280 microns with it being painted but in a lot of places we were getting 380 to 420 microns which in away tells me it has probably been painted twice since manufacture or the last respray was that shocking they just kept applying it to hide the bad areas

I'd forget about the paint depth as it will be measuring previous repairs so some area will have been primed hence the different readings, it may well have only been painted once.

 

[Grumps]

I'd forget about the paint depth as it will be measuring previous repairs so some area will have been primed hence the different readings, it may well have only been painted once.

The readings were massively different mate.80-380 in places. Even on the bonnet alone we had 160-380.

 

[Sean d]

The readings were massively different mate.80-380 in places. Even on the bonnet alone we had 160-380.

That will be area's of primer where they sanded out stone chips etc, you will get massive variants on a car that has been painted mate, the top coats will pretty even is all the stuff underneath that varies.
It also measures the depth of any filler that has been put on the car.

 

[billz]

That will be area's of primer where they sanded out stone chips etc, you will get massive variants on a car that has been painted mate, the top coats will pretty even is all the stuff underneath that varies.
It also measures the depth of any filler that has been put on the car.

Sean you can actually see in the paint the different levels. In some places it looks like looking down through water at a barrier reef where it falls away to deeper water

 

[Sean d]

Sean you can actually see in the paint the different levels. In some places it looks like looking down through water at a barrier reef where it falls away to deeper water

Sounds like the base coat has sunk around repairs.

 

[Antm72]

You can see alittle hazing on the drivers side rear panel where its sunk alittle around the filler.
Had this on a car i had painted along while back it does polish out as the guy did it but it seems to reappear or in my case it did not to the same degree and more noticable to me rather than anyone else.
Its looking good hopefully it will all pull together be nice to see when complete