John Deer Hood

[Fishing]

As I am about as new to this as you can be I wanted to try to polish something before attempting my car so My John Deer was my choice. I did the fenders etc. and am happy with them. With the hood being plastic and not paint I was pleased with the results for my first time. I did the tape down the middle of the hood thing so I could see the difference. I used Griots One-Step, Orange Pad. Posted it here just in case someone was wondering how a plastic hood would be. It is far from perfect but its a start. Boy I have a lot to learn.....

[Fishroes]

That looks good. When I get around to it I’m gonna do mine. I have a jd 455 (late 90’s) I’ve only owned it for 3 years. It doesn’t look like it’s ever been washed. But I believe it will turn out ok

[Stokdgs]

Fishing ---
Congrats - that is a great job !!!
Anything plastic is more challenging, because plastic does not dissipate heat well compared to metal, and it is easy to overheat and hurt the paintwork..
You sure made that side look like new ! We are all proud of you !

Keep practicing so you don`t have to practice too much on the car..

What was your process - machine, pads, etc... ?

Dan F

[Fishing]

Stokdgs, Fisheroes Thnx for the response,,wish I could say I did dome real fancy process but it was,,, wash it,,,dry it,,, Griots One-Step on a Griots 6" Orange pad using the Griots Machine. The kit was a gift. Started the machine on 2 spread out the polish and finished on 4. I tried not to push down on the machine to much and just let the 3-1 do its work. I forgot about the plastic not dissipating heat well,,,

[Stokdgs]

Stokdgs, Fisheroes Thnx for the response,,wish I could say I did dome real fancy process but it was,,, wash it,,,dry it,,, Griots One-Step on a Griots 6" Orange pad using the Griots Machine. The kit was a gift. Started the machine on 2 spread out the polish and finished on 4. I tried not to push down on the machine to much and just let the 3-1 do its work. I forgot about the plastic not dissipating heat well,,,

Fishing --

You did good !!!
Yes, be mindful that plastic heats up and keeps the heat way more than metal..

I remember once I saw a picture where someone was correcting a regular painted plastic bumper and got it so hot it actually twisted the paint on that spot almost off..
Can`t remember if that was a repaired and painted bumper or what, but the thing got too hot and the paint came off..

Not that we are trying to scare you..

Keep using the same process, stop sometimes and feel the paint there, be aware of any paint smells, etc., and you will be ok..

Look how good you just did !!
Dan F

[h2chuck]

Cool I have one just like it and this is the 1st post i have ever saw on this.Will try soon as I get the products . Great post and pics although my hood is not quite as bad but now (Thanks to You ) I have something to try and method to make my hood look new again ( 20 yr old hood ).

Thanks !!!!

[Chopper280]

I wanted to try out a coating I had never used. My mower made something good to practice on. Turned out great.
Then I ran over a stump!

[Lonnie]

I will ask the "unintelligent" question about this J-D hood:
You stated plastic and I am wondering if it is a composite plastic or a molded plastic?? Or is it a gel-coated fiberglass reinforced plastic, hence the composite remark??

I say that because gel-coat is an extremely "hard" finish that MAY require a rotary buffer to "properly"` correct it. Not sure that a long-throw dual-action (LT-DA) will be able to do that if it is. I would think a boat-specific (IE gel-coat) compound and/or polish might be a better choice for correction, but if you are happy with what you`ve done, that`s all that matters. Shiny random isolated deep scratches (RIDS) are a lot better than dull numerous scratches.

[skibik]

I would gather it is an injection molded hood. Companies that used fiberglass back when and up to the early 90`s have mainly went to injection plastics. Looking at the surface of the hood it does not appear to be a gel coat and not fiberglass.

You did a fine job on it and don`t know how much better you will get it as plastic used in that hood is on the soft side and will be hard to get glossy. The gloss of the hood from the factory comes from the mirror polished mold. I work in the injection molding facility at our plant as a forklift driver so I am not to in depth in the knowledge of plastics but what I do know is that once molded the cosmetic surface of our parts are not touched by hand after being molded. That surface is covered with either bubble mask or co-seal(thick plastic wrap with a glue back). It mars so easy and once marred before going on the production is usually scrapped as the mars/micro scratches can`t be removed.

Now on the other hand if it were injection molded and painted you could then treat it like car paint but as mentioned be mindful of heat build up as plastic is not a good conductor of heat.

[Fishing]

Well Im 99% sure its not Fiberglass. I don`t know how to tell if it is Injected Molding or Composite Plastic. Its not painted, it is green all the way threw,,,lol I know this because I broke the front bumper and it is same material.