please help with polishing interior trim

G

glen e

Retired Geezer
Guys :

Need your advice here...the vette comes with a cheap plastic piece for the center console that was easily painted with metallic black and 5 coats of clear acrylic lacquer...it came out great, there are no runs and just a hint of orange peel but I want it to look like a piano...so I'll let it out-gas for a month and then what do you suggest?

Here's what I own:
3 inch griots
6 inch griots
flex 3403
carpro denim and velvet pads
fg400
ultimate compound
many finishing polishes; menzerna 4500, megs 205, etc

I think all my power tools will be too hard to use on the curves but you tell me what you would do:

Here's the finished product:

the original piece:


thanks in advance
 
glen e said:
Guys :

Need your advice here...the vette comes with a cheap plastic piece for the center console that was easily painted with metallic black and 5 coats of clear acrylic lacquer...it came out great, there are no runs and just a hint of orange peel but I want it to look like a piano...so I'll let it out-gas for a month and then what do you suggest?

Here's what I own:
3 inch griots
6 inch griots
flex 3403
carpro denim and velvet pads
fg400
ultimate compound
many finishing polishes; menzerna 4500, megs 205, etc

I think all my power tools will be too hard to use on the curves but you tell me what you would do:

Here's the finished product:

the original piece:


thanks in advance
Click to expand...

I would first see if the Carpro denim pad could fit in the area you are wanting to polish if so then I would use the carpro denim pad with flex 3403 with meguiars ultimate compound but if it cannot fit then you are going to have to hand polish therefore you will have to use the Carpro velvet pad with meguiars ultimate compound when it comes to the curves you will want to do them by hand cause those areas tend to be the thinnest no matter how many coats of paint, and to finish it off you can use meguiars m205
 
Maybe spray a test panel with the same amount of paint. And do some testing. Spray paint tends to run on the thin side even with several coats.
You could also see what combo works best.
 
I would NOT use your Flex 3403 on that plastic part...

Your Flex starts off at 1100 rpm, which is way too high to compound that part safely..

First of all, you are going to have to find a way to secure that with something that wont damage it while you polish...
Since the Flex starts off at 1100, this can be a challenge...

That plastic will heat up quickly at that speed and as we all know, plastic does not dissipate heat easily...

Be careful, lightly touch it briefly and see what it does..

Did you say you sprayed clear over the paint ?

Good luck !
Dan F
 
5 coats of wet clear as I knew I was going to polish...I think the verdict is in...I'll hand polish it....it looks almost perfect now, won't take much...
 
The 3inch gg, orange pad an fg400 should work fine.

Why? 2010 Cadillac ctsv sedan piano interior completely finished down.
 
glen e said:
5 coats of wet clear as I knew I was going to polish...I think the verdict is in...I'll hand polish it....it looks almost perfect now, won't take much...
Click to expand...

As suggested, mount it to something to hold.

Then wetsand, using the finest grit you can, at first. I would like 2000 grit, followed by 3000 grit.

Then hand polish it using something like Wolfgang Uber Compound and a microfiber towel until all the gloss has been restored.

Then hand polish it using Uber Compound and a foam pad until all the "scratches" from the microfiber have been removed.

Finally hand polish it with BLACKFIRE SRC Finishing Polish and a foam pad.

Most importantly, document it with pictures as I would love to see something like this!!!
 
Todd Helme said:
May want to hit it now (how long since you painted?) It's MUCH easier to polish by hand when the paint is still "soft".
Click to expand...

nope...tried a small piece that is the removable insert for the cupholder, polishing it just "gooed" the surface...called the paint maker and they said 30 days...
 
You could always wet sand and polish by hand...doesn't take that long with such a small part and the results should be night and day...







 
so I did a test spot and it was hard enuf to polish - came out perfect -1000/3000 wet dry, menz fg400 then menz sf4500 by hand:
 
Any idea how the painted surfaces will hold up compared to just the plastic? Easier/harder to clean? Easier / harder to damage?
 
adama31 said:
Any idea how the painted surfaces will hold up compared to just the plastic? Easier/harder to clean? Easier / harder to damage?
Click to expand...

How does car paint hold up? None of these parts move, or are in any stress type situation...I expect for the life of the car... -->automotivetouchup.com
 
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