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Equipment & Product for Polishing Paint

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Santa came early with the Griot's random orbital. I am very IMPRESSED and am looking forward to starting on the daily drivers this winter. I think if you sign up for the e-mail alerts and those are ever on special, you could probably get it for a good price.

As for the Made in USA stuff, which I am always on the lookout for, Griot's does have a lot of it and makes a point to list that in the catalog where applicable.

Merry Christmas everyone!
 
Now do yourself a big favor and watch the DVD BEFORE you start to use the polisher. It tells you things that you will do wrong if you assume that you will use this tool like you would a high speed buffer,

And go easy with the polish and wax. You really don't need much, as shown in the video.

Pay attention to the speed selector. Polishing is different from waxing.

You will be VERY happy with the results,
 
I would get a 3M Perfect-it set with all sorts of rubbing compounds and polishings, towels, buffs and stuff.

It does give exceptionally good results.
But be aware: This is professional stuff, you are absolutely able to ruin your paint with it when applied wrong!!

Cheers
Chris
 
That's why it's best to go with the Griot product line. If you read the instructions and watch the video, it's very easy to do and you will not screw anything up. Unless you don't have any paint left and nothing will help in that case.
 
Foam pads. God are those things wonderfull. With foam, you do not burn through the paint. And god knows, I've burned through enough with wool pads over the years.

I also took the plunge with the foam pads to a big variable speed grinder. No random action, straight rotary. Couldn't be happier. Works far faster and better than the random units.

Good chemicals. I've used Klasse, Megs, etc. All are far and away better than things like Turtlewax. Made quite a difference. From the polishes to the sealants. I do like the Diamond series from Megs for polishing due to its quick breakdown.
 
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]When you coming to do my Wedge?[/QUOTE]

Shhhhh!! Not too loud Don. I'm getting closer to having a heated garage. The price from the heating company came in today and my wife didn't seem too concerned. I'm planning to go with a ceiling mounted hot water unit with multi-speed fan/thermostat, 24K BTU's, hooked into a new zone on my oil furnace. No flames, no problems. Once I get the price from the insulator, Ill know for sure if it's a go.

Then you can bring it over and I'll be happy to help you do it.
 
Brosky said:
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:]When <span style="font-size: 26pt">you coming </span>to do my Wedge?
Click to expand...

Shhhhh!! Not too loud Don. I'm getting closer to having a heated garage. The price from the heating company came in today and my wife didn't seem too concerned. I'm planning to go with a ceiling mounted hot water unit with multi-speed fan/thermostat, 24K BTU's, hooked into a new zone on my oil furnace. No flames, no problems. Once I get the price from the insulator, Ill know for sure if it's a go.

Then you can bring it over and I'll be happy to help you do it.[/QUOTE]

Paul you seem to miss the important part of my message.
Hmmm, maybe on purpose? :wink:
 
If you are physically fit or at least pretty active hand polishing is certainly an option, I like Meguires products, not the consumer stuff, but the various grades of polish you get at body shops and some of the better stocked parts shops, they have a wide range of polishes from fairly agressive to barely does anything at all, what you should start with depends on the paint on your car a lot, some paints polish a lot easier than others, if it is just a little rough or oxidized a good hand polish can do wonders, more work, but less worries about burning through the paint, and you don't have to buy a polisher, and you can work on it a little bit at a time as time permits, make sure you have several clean soft cotton cloths to work with if you go this route.
 
Re: Equipment & Product for Polishing - Follow-up

Thanks for all the excellent advice. In the end I obtained and used the Griots polisher and machine polishes.

I was determined to do this myself but I was admittedly skeptical. I always considered Griots to be an auto-boutique and was hoping I could get similar products at local stores for much less.

Machine polishing old original paint can be nervous work but I have to say WOW -- the Griots polisher and machine polishes worked great and I never felt I was in danger of burning the paint or polishing thru to primer.

Thanks again for pointing me in the right direction.
 
Re: Equipment & Product for Polishing - Follow-up

Hello,

Is the Griot's kit enough to remove 1500 or 2000 grit sanding scratches? I need to sand out a little orange peel and some bug tracks. Will I need more aggressive polish and/or do I have to use a strictly orbital machine?

The RO machine sounds so much safer I would rather use it even if it takes a little longer than a traditional polisher.

Thanks....Dennis
 
Re: Equipment & Product for Polishing - Follow-up

Dennis,

It will work just fine. You can call them and ask them which grade polish to start with. It will probably be #2 and then down to the #3 and then #4 to finish it up.

George it will be nice to see a few pictures of your work.
 
I ordered the Griots polisher and products a couple years ago.
Will admit when it arrived that it sat on the shelf a few days before opening it. The thought of messing up the paint job flat scared me! Finally (As Paul said) sat down and played the DVD. Bingo...I can do that! The TR3 came out very nice. And then the party started! There was the friends TR2...and the 3B...and several American cars...and a reorder to Griots!
Bottom line...really nice equipment products.AND...yes...you can do it! Gil
 
doates said:
Is the Griot's kit enough to remove 1500 or 2000 grit sanding scratches?
Click to expand...

Yes. I had some touch-up spots that I had sanded w/ 1500 then used rubbing compound on. I followed that with Griots #1, the #2 the #3 machine polish.

Even their most aggressive compound (#1) was quite manageable -- and quite necessary for some areas I was dealing with.

The kit I bought (and that is typically sold) only has #3 -- probably so you don't do anything to wild right out of the box -- but a friend lent me bottle of 1 & 2. I have not tried 4 but will need to, particualarly on the TR3A which has a clear-coat finish.
 
Re: Equipment & Product for Polishing - Follow-up

Geo Hahn said:
.... I always considered Griots to be an auto-boutique ...
Click to expand...
They are. But a very good one.

Their products are generally considered to be of very high quality but their target market is the enthusiast, basically the general public. So their products lean toward mild and forgiving.


Geo Hahn said:
....was hoping I could get similar products at local stores for much less...
Click to expand...
You can certainly get similar products locally, if you know where to look. But Griot's products are reasonably priced. Other products may or may not be somewhat less expensive, but they won't be a lot cheaper.


doates said:
...Is the Griot's kit enough to remove 1500 or 2000 grit sanding scratches? I need to sand out a little orange peel and some bug tracks. Will I need more aggressive polish and/or do I have to use a strictly orbital machine...
Click to expand...
<span style="font-style: italic">It depends</span>.

There are huge differences in workability between any given finish and the next. It's impossible to make blanket statements (accurate ones anyway).

A new finish also takes months to cure completely. There can be a big difference in workability between the first week and the next.

By and large, most people who try to buff out sanding scratch from modern finishes (like 2K urethanes) with an orbital fail. That's just not what they're meant for. But if your paint is soft and you're patient, it <span style="font-style: italic">might </span>work for you.

Before you go to town on the whole car, do a test spot on a small area to see if it works on <span style="font-style: italic">your </span>finish. I can't tell you how many horror stories there are about guys who sanded a whole car only to find out they couldn't buff it out.

Stack the deck in your favor and only use abrasives specifically designed for paint finishing. (hint: you aren't likely to find them at a hardware store, go to an auto paint supplier.) And by modern standards, #1500 is <span style="font-style: italic">course</span>, even when rotary buffing. Your odds of success with an orbital will increase dramatically if you continue to #3000 or #4000 (or even finer).


pc.
 
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