Incredibly Stupid and Impatient

G

GP Infinity

New member
I need your help... I was out with my new PC and my new Griots Garage Machine Polish 1-3 and Best of Show Wax working on my 1989 Mustang GT Convertible, getting it ready to sell.. Well the thing has been sitting in the garage for the last 5 yrs and the paint really showed it.. it had some deep scratches, water spots, etc.. so I washed it and started the detailing routine.. after following all the directions, I was getting nowhere fast in terms of making headway on the paint.. so in my frustration (and immense stupidity.. and you guys dont have to pile on here although you would have the absolute right to) I grabbed and opened and used some Turtle Wax Rubbing Compound. Well, now I have a shiny hood with a bunch of little scratches in it.. I even tried using that ColorMatch wax (by the way this thing is black) to fill in the scratches.. (didnt work very well) I do have to say the rest of the car now looks great and the trunk lid hasnt looked this good since I bought it.. but the hood is one shiny, scratchy piece of work..

So I am seeking any and all suggestions, and yes I do know that painting is one of them.. although I just want to get this thing looking decent to get it sold and out of the garage..

Suggestions?
 
Don't feel bad - I made this mistake myself on my old '90 LX 5.0 with the black single stage paint job. It's fixable.



Simply put, you need to replace those big visible scratches with smaller, less visible ones. One of the favored products here is 3M Finesse-It II Machine Polish. Available at most any NAPA.



Try it first with a white pad but know that you may need to go to the yellow cutting pad to get this done. Start on speed #4, press firmly to work in product, bump speed to #5-6 and work it in fully. You'll know you're done when there is virtually no product to wipe off.



Do this in sections; no more than a 1/4 of the hood at a time.



You might have to follow up with a SMR or glaze to fill in and remove the swirls left from FI2. But let the paint tell you what it needs.



Good luck. Let us know how things go for you.
 
Since the only pads I have are the ones from Griots and the one that came with the PC.. where would I get a white and yellow pad?

thanks for your help...
 
I agree with Bretfraz. Work a small section and be patient. I have the 3 Griot’s polishes and Finesse-it 2. Griot’s #2 is about the equivalent FI2, you may have to go down to #1 but I’d try #2 1st.





What pad do you have from Griot’s? If you have the orange one it’s between the white and yellow from CMA and very good for big flat surfaces since it’s flat and more rigid.





SJS
 
I'm not completely familiar with the Griot's pads but I believe they make a general use one (orange?) and a cutting one (red?). Start with the general use and evaluate results. If you need more "bite" go to the cutting pad but keep everything else the same.



The white pad I refer to is the stock Porter Cable pad. The white pads offered by CMA are very similar. I also use yellow pads from Meguiar's, available at most any auto body paint supply store.
 
I have the orange polish pad (firm) and a couple of red wax pads (soft). But it looks like I will be making a trip to the store.. It will be worth it if I can restore/fix the hood..

I do still have the white pad that the PC somes with, so if that pad will work better, let me know and I will change pads and weights on the PC for this job..

Thanks for your help..
 
A buddy of mine just did the same thing 2 weeks ago on his 90 GT (black). I used (all with a pc ) 3m fine cut compound, 3m FI-II, 3m SMR, and last was Z-5(in that order), and now the thing looks incredible. I wouldn't worry so much about the pads as they seem to make very little difference.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top