Polishing precautions

**Eyeon** · 03-15-2008, 09:41 AM

When polishing with a rotary are ther any areas that take extra caution, such as plastic bumpers, a pillers or mirrors?

**imported_Puckman** · 03-15-2008, 11:21 AM

Absolutely! I tape all plastic trim pieces because paint burns, wrinkles etc. MUCH quicker on plastic pieces. Plastic moldings, door handles and things that are plastic I soften up the approach or simply hit it with my ROB and polish or AIO after I`ve finished the vehicle with my rotary and remove the protective tape. On some vehicles I find it sometimes difficult to tell if a part is plastic. When thats the case I treat it like plastic and do it either by hand or ROB. For example, I don`t know if any vehicle manufacturer is using metallic side view mirror enclosures. The problem is these pieces are usually pounded by bugs, road debris etc. and need correction. I usually do them with a more delicate pad/polish combo and slower speed with the rotary (4" spot pads work well for me) or wait for a final buff with my PC ROB.

The heat, forced rotation and combo of pad/polish with a rotary can be almost instant damage to the delicate pieces. On the other hand it is just what is needed as a time saver on the majority of the vehicle that is metal and painted. Just remember that what cuts down marring/scratches perfectly and getting a great shine on metal painted sections is probably WAY TOO aggressive on plastic and generally softer trim pieces.

I`ve burned and wrinkled paint a few times when I first started out with my rotary. I`ve learned the priceless value of the minimal cost of blue painters tape over time.

**metal** · 03-16-2008, 03:19 AM

+1

I learned how fast you can really burn through with the edges of the pads when I started using the rotary and testing. All it takes is half a second on a piece of trim sticking out near a panel you`re working on and its gone or wrinkled.