First Attempt Compounding and Polishing - 1982 VW Rabbit

[thebeastofrock]

Hello all. Just wanted to share my first experience with compounding and polishing with a DA and hopefully get some feedback. I just got a GG6" (my first DA) over the weekend. Today I finally had some free time to go into the garage and put it to use. My intent was absolutely not perfect paint or even perfect technique since I have no experience. I just really wanted to put the pad to the paint and see what happened. This car is over 30 years old and has many cosmetic issues. It has sat outside without running for months at a time in the past and has been repainted at least once. I polished the hood today to get a feel for using a machine. I have a paint inspection light in the mail, but I couldn`t wait for that to arrive to start polishing.


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My technique and products were:


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<ul> Wiped down hood with ONR, clayed with Nanoskin red sponge
GG6" with BnS yellow 5.5", HD Cut, four section passes, speed 6
GG6" with BnS green 5.5", HD Polish, three section passes, speed 4
Hood divided into 8 sections
Cleaned the pad "on-the-fly" with a terry towel after each section
Applied HD Poxy with black BnS pad
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The paint was absolutely filthy. I believe that the majority of the improvement was not from the scratch and swirl removal, but more from the cleaning action of polishing. My yellow pad was pretty dirty from just one section of the hood. There were some RIDS and etching left over after polishing but overall I`m happy since this is my first attempt. I apologize in advance for my cell phone camera and poor garage lighting.


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Dirty Hood


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http://i.imgur.com/ellQcfQ.jpg


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Dirty Hood Up Close


http://i.imgur.com/jhBgErx.jpg


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Swirls


http://i.imgur.com/gfJW9XP.jpg


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Clayed Hood`(Color difference is probably just the camera adjusting)


http://i.imgur.com/i5xOwXy.jpg


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Test Spot


http://i.imgur.com/lWpiRZa.jpg


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Finished Hood`(Tape left on intentionally)


http://i.imgur.com/IPEtCWn.jpg


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Some Clarity


http://i.imgur.com/P3ds0SC.jpg


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From the Side


http://i.imgur.com/IMPD8dc.jpg


A few hiccups:
<ul> I first tried a test spot with a green pad and HD Polish and the pad seemed to have delaminated almost immediately. This was my first attempt ever polishing on my first ever section and the pad separated from its hook and loop backing halfway, then after another section all the way. I`m not sure if it was because I was not holding the DA flat against the hood at first or if this was just a defective pad. Any ideas?
I noticed my yellow pad seemed to develop a depression in the middle of it about halfway through compounding the hood. Is this normal? It seems to have mostly returned to flat after hand washing.
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http://i.imgur.com/krNAPmB.jpghttp://i.imgur.com/l3ut4uK.jpg


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Thanks for viewing!

[Accumulator]

thebeastofrock- Welcome to Autopia!` Cool car, I really like those early Rabbits!


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I haven`tused the B&S pads, but that immediate failure doesn`t sound like user-error to me.` I wonder if the depression in the yellow pad might be related to the need for a more thorough cleaning, especially as it returned to normal after that washing.


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I think you`ve learned how it can pay to have plenty of pads on hand!

[thebeastofrock]

I haven`tused the B&S pads, but that immediate failure doesn`t sound like user-error to me. I wonder if the depression in the yellow pad might be related to the need for a more thorough cleaning, especially as it returned to normal after that washing.


Thanks for the input. I`ll definitely try cleaning more thoroughly and switching pads more often in the future. :)

[dschribs]

Nice job! Great car. Those cars bring back tons of memories from my high school days. Don`t forget to clay the paintt prior to polishing. Especially on a car that`s sat oitside unprotected for any length of time.

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[dschribs]

Sorry...u did clay. Missed that.

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