La Bella Firma by Bella Macchina (100+ pics/video)

[Todd@RUPES]

From what I understand, certain (all?) polishes contain various amounts of oils that can fill the scratches and give you a false sense of accomplishment. And thus you`re saying its important to clean these oils off after you do your correction to get an accurate gauge of the work you did, does this sound correct? What product does one use to remove the oils? Will my PH-neutral car soap do the trick or do I need something more specialized?

It is my understanding that all polishes have the potential to fill products. My theory, which I developed with several detailers (esp. with Ryan Blanchette aka Rydawg) and several product developers and manufacturers is that the polishing process itself can create microscopic marring in the paint that is extrememly small. Certain oils and lubricants can "lodge" into these small openings and act to hide the defects from being visible. In my experience, PH neutral soaps would not remove help. Even aggressive measures such as a solvent or alcohol wipe down can be ineffective in removing these oils. The best measure seems several hours in hot, direct sunlight, which is unrealistic for so many different reasons.



Water based polishes don`t seem to fill (ZPC, System 1) but then again I don`t think they are very good polishes.

From listening to the pitch of the polisher, it sounds like you did a bell curve as far as RPM`s go. That is you started low, ramped up to a high speed and then ramped down again as you neared the end. So the ramp down at the end is to slow the rate of fracture of the polish to get more useful life out of it? Does this principle apply to DA and rotary alike?



Also, as far as instructional videos are concerned, if these videos are any indication I think you would do a great job and it would be extremely helpful for newbs like me and experts alike.

In general I will start the polisher at low rpm and spread and lightly work the polisher in (amost holding the pad off of the paint, very little pressure) to warm the lubricants and get a nice even coat of polish on the working area. Then I will quickly come up to speed and increase pressure until the polish starts to break down, then feather it down the rest of the way. The specifics are extrememly dependent on the type of polish and how it is reacting with the type of paint I am using, as well as the pad type and what my goals are for the detail.



Example one: The paint needs two application(series of passes) of Menzerna PO83 to remove all residual marring from the previous step. On the first application I would not focus on feathering the RPM back down, but instead keep it higher and flatter until the polish was the all the way broken int. This might not leave the finish at its highest potential, but since I will be doing an second application, it would be pointless since the fresh abrasives of the second application will ruin the finish that I worked longer to get (but that will be restored by working the final application of PO83 longer and stepping down the RPM).



I really don`t start "polishing" the paint until I get it completely swirl free and free of defects. To a lot of people, polishing means removing the defects, and once that it is done, they are done, that is when I begin. Then again I have clients who want world class results and "good and shiney" isn`t good enough, so I am paid to spend an additonal amount of time on the cars, even if it only means a 2% improvement.

[Bert]

Todd, what do you think of FK1`s Decontamination System compared to claying? Do you prefer one over the other?

Honestly I think claying does more...

Really? I you planning to stop offering Decontamination as a service of yours since you feel claying is more effective? Have you ever tried Auto International`s ABC Decontamination system?

[Todd@RUPES]

Really? I you planning to stop offering Decontamination as a service of yours since you feel claying is more effective? Have you ever tried Auto International`s ABC Decontamination system?

Hey Bert, I am not sure to be honest. I still have some of the FK1 decon, so I will use it up. I do feel claying offers a greater bang for the buck, but here is my experience so far...



-Decon systems will not remove the same amount that claying does (this is visible contaminents such as rail dust. It may be more effective then at cleaning the "pores" of the paint, I have no idea.



-Decon DOES make claying much easier. Even with a soft and mild clay (Zaino Z18 for example), one or two swipes of the clay bar seems to remove everything. This means that on softer paints, incases where you do not want to risk the potenital for clay marring, the decon system has a strong merit. I used the FK1 system on a Lambo that his tracked regularly and had all types of contamination. After the decon, all the deposits wiped away with ease.



The way that I answered the question was wrong. Example-Soft paint with little marring, the decon system would work.



Paint that has a lot of contamination and has a lot of paint damage (that is going to require an aggressive go with a polisher), it would be more time effective to grab some really aggressive clay (and in such cases this would limit the benefit of the decon system).



I have not tried the ABC system. Have you, and if so what did you think?! Thanks.

[steck]

i was hoping for a `straight-on` shot of the rear end of that 512...so i could have posted "that is one of the nicest rearends in the biz..`



but, no such picture :bawling:







cool car, cool write up, cheers.

[Bert]

I have not tried the ABC system. Have you, and if so what did you think?! Thanks.

I haven`t tried ABC either but I am temped to try one system or the other. Accumulator has often sung the praises of the ABC system so I am not sure which to try.



While you probably don`t get this type of work often, but for detailers who do large vehicles such as buses, RV coaches, or large boats where claying those giants would take half a day (and the customer wouldn`t pay for it), I wonder if a decontamination would give them the similar results of claying w/o the hours and hours of actual claying??

[Todd@RUPES]

i was hoping for a `straight-on` shot of the rear end of that 512...so i could have posted "that is one of the nicest rearends in the biz..`



but, no such picture :bawling:







cool car, cool write up, cheers.

Sorry, next boxer will get some "butt" shots!

I haven`t tried ABC either but I am temped to try one system or the other. Accumulator has often sung the praises of the ABC system so I am not sure which to try.



While you probably don`t get this type of work often, but for detailers who do large vehicles such as buses, RV coaches, or large boats where claying those giants would take half a day (and the customer wouldn`t pay for it), I wonder if a decontamination would give them the similar results of claying w/o the hours and hours of actual claying??

I don`t know the answer to your question in terms of time saving but I would assume (always dangerous) that you could save a signficant amount of time using the system if it worked even moderatly well. I know it`s not good practice in autmotive style `perfection` detailing, but I would imagine that a polisher and pad would remove whatever remained on the surface after the decon system.

[Todd@RUPES]

i was hoping for a `straight-on` shot of the rear end of that 512...so i could have posted "that is one of the nicest rearends in the biz..`



but, no such picture :bawling:







cool car, cool write up, cheers.

Sorry, next boxer will get some "butt" shots!

I haven`t tried ABC either but I am temped to try one system or the other. Accumulator has often sung the praises of the ABC system so I am not sure which to try.



While you probably don`t get this type of work often, but for detailers who do large vehicles such as buses, RV coaches, or large boats where claying those giants would take half a day (and the customer wouldn`t pay for it), I wonder if a decontamination would give them the similar results of claying w/o the hours and hours of actual claying??

I don`t know the answer to your question in terms of time saving but I would assume (always dangerous) that you could save a signficant amount of time using the system if it worked even moderatly well. I know it`s not good practice in autmotive style `perfection` detailing, but I would imagine that a polisher and pad would remove whatever remained on the surface after the decon system.

[chromecarz00]

Amazing Amazing Amazing Turnaround

[MarcHarris]

s i c k



no other words.



well... stupid. so yea - stupid sick

[akimel]

Sir, my compliments on your extraordinary work and my thanks for a most instructive write-up.



Cheers,

Al

[yomiuri]

excellent work and nice write up, too.

[pdisme]

Why is someone who did work this incredible banned from a detailing site? He just did my new Murci too, same exact quality of work, amazing.

[Accumulator]

Why is someone who did work this incredible banned from a detailing site? He just did my new Murci too, same exact quality of work, amazing...

Glad he did nice work for you. No surprise there, he`s *VERY GOOD* by any measure.



Don`t get me wrong, I have nothing but respect for TH0001 and I wish him all the best. I`m only posting here so you get an answer to your quite reasonable question.



I never got mixed up in the whole thing, but it`s my understanding that TH0001 allegedly violated rules related to multiple accounts and/or other regulations that bind all of us here at Autopia. It came across as something quite severe, not just some overreaction on the part of Autopia`s powers-that-be.



As you`re acquainted with TH0001, perhaps you could get a more balanced view by asking him about it, though not, I suspect, without the risk of rubbing a sore spot if you get my drift.



Again, I`m not on one side of this or the other and I`m just glad you have somebody of his caliber working on your vehicles. You`re certainly in good hands there.

[imported_JoshVette]

Why is someone who did work this incredible banned from a detailing site? He just did my new Murci too, same exact quality of work, amazing.

The truth is, the whole "multi accounts" thing was just the tool to do the job that a certain someone wanted done.



Todd`s mistakes were blown out of proportion.



When someone is out to get you, it`s really just a matter of time before they find a way.



I would elaborate more cause I know the inside truth, but it`s really water under the bridge at this point.



Josh

[David Fermani]

Wow - You really stuck your neck out for that statement Josh. :secret