Polishing outside

N

neighborsenvy

New member
Im pretty new to polishing but have brought some pretty messed up cars to 95%+ level. Over the course of 2 days I did my wife's 2011 Toyota highlander. What the dealership did to the car was pretty ridiculous. This what the entire car looked like. Actually, it was worse. These are with my cell phone and no flash.



2011-03-20133800.jpg






Anyway, I used 4" surbuff with 105 with my griots followed with 205. I did a test spot to make sure everything was good to go. I ran out of time when I finished so I couldnt wax and the following day it rained. I come home to see some very minor swirls still in the paint. Probably only I would notice because I was looking at all different angles. This is the first time polishing outside relying on the sun to see the defects. Big mistake! I was using IPA to get the oils out after the 105 as well. I wasnt as concerned with the oils in the 205 because 1) I knew it was going to rain and would do another wash before sealing and 2) Didnt want to mar the finish repeatedly wiping off the 205 with IPA.



What do you guys recommend for people that polish outside. Is there a certain light that out performs the rest in these conditions? I most upset that theres even 2 light swirls in my test section when I stared at it from like 4" away for several minutes in different angles to make sure I wouldnt have this problem.



I should also point out that this wasnt mid afternoon, it was around 3 and the sun is down by 7.
 
No tips?



Im fine when its bright but when the sun isnt at the peak and theres some clouds, thats when there were problems with seeing defects.
 
Neighborsenvy, about the only thing thats going to come would be sun gun. Metal hallides work pretty good also.
 
AeroCleanse, Ive been noticing a lot of talk about these lately. Ill definitely be checking them out.



Maxepr1, Thanks, I hope that I can afford to spend $350 on a light at some point. BTW, how has business been since I talked to you last?
 
AutoCleanse,



- Do you buy direct from the manufacturer?

- I just set up a deionized system. Can I just spray the polish with water so that I dont have to wipe it? Or should I wait until I do the finale step and then just do a dawn was with a pressure washer.
 
neighborsenvy said:
AutoCleanse,



- Do you buy direct from the manufacturer?

- I just set up a deionized system. Can I just spray the polish with water so that I dont have to wipe it? Or should I wait until I do the finale step and then just do a dawn was with a pressure washer.
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I buy directly. GTechniq P1 is my favorite.

You can wipe it, spray with water then wipe it or I assume rinse it off.



With P1, you don't need to remove it between stages, so if you go from a wool pad to a foam pad, you use the same polish so you don't need to remove "reside" before switching pads. In fact that's true of System 51 as well. Also if they start to dry up on you, you can mist some water one and bring it back to life.
 
How are you guys getting a swirl free polish while polishing outside? I tried once and there was so much dirt and dust and it was rather windy that I ended up as swirly as I began. I won't be doing any machine work outside anymore
 
[quote name='RZJZA80']How are you guys getting a swirl free polish while polishing outside? I tried once and there was so much dirt and dust and it was rather windy that I ended up as swirly as I began. I won't be doing any machine work outside anymore[/QUOTEe]



This is exactly why I don't polish outside. Even on a calm day with no wind there is still going to be stuff flying in the air.
 
cptzippy said:
So for those of use with no choice but to polish outside, other tips?
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Making sure to polish on non windy days will minimize the risk of inducing additional marring. Work one panel at a time and blow off each panel frequently with compressed air, or if no compressor handy lightly dust the panels off with a damp microfiber to clear the surface of any debris that may have blown onto the finish. Be sure to visually inspect pads and buffing towels for foreign debris. Or if your really adventurous, you can get one of those canopies with walls and pull the car inside.
 
I just made sure that i cleaned each panel again before polishing.



If i can help it, I will never polish outside again. So much more time consuming finding swirls.
 
I've polished outside all my life. Keep all your pads and cloths sealed in bags only to take them out as you're using them. A pad sitting in the open air outside or in your vehicle can become contaminated very quickly. Only polish on sunny days. Overcast or cloudy days, do something else...



I've never had a problem with introducing swirls into the paint due to air born contaminants. I even do a lot of polishing on gravel driveways, depending on the customers location. Get into the habit of quickly wiping each panel down just before polishing. I just keep my cobra MF cloth draped around my neck for easy access. Use a high quality microfiber cloth here, with a decent nap, to pick up contaminants and protect the paint as you're wiping residue.



You have to change your style from polishing inside under lights. It takes some time to get used to polishing under variable light conditions. Sometimes cloud cover blocks the sun out for a while and if you are doing this as a business you learn to keep going because time is money. You have to reduce relying on your eyes and learn to trust in your technique, products, machine, and pads to feel what you are doing as you go along without being able to see your results right away. Check the vehicle over and take care of visible scratches first with wet sanding and compounding, then move on to the swirls. I always start off a job at the best lighting angles where I can see in the sun exactly what I'm doing. That way I get the technique down in the first few minutes. I get a feel for how quick the polish is finishing, how much pressure I need to use, etc. I set this in my mind and continue the whole job based on this initial phase. Check your progress where light permits. It will frustrate the hell out of you at times, however with practice you can get the results you want in one shot. One of the main rules of buffing has been said to check your results every time to make sure you got it right before moving on to the next panel. If you wanted to be really careful you could just keep turning the vehicle so that the appropriate panels are facing the sun. This would be too time consuming for my purposes. I just turn the vehicle around and check it over when I'm done, go back if I missed any areas. I have better results by going a little more aggressive during the first step than I would normally feel necessary. More aggressive could be simply adding an extra couple of pounds of arm force into the buffer during the first pass or so. Don't get caught up in being too aggressive during swirl removal (but be reasonable). You could do swirl removal many times over the life of the vehicle before the clear coat would complain. Keep in mind in direct sun the paint is softer which you must compensate for.



Hope this is helpful, good luck!
 
OnTheSpotMobile said:
I've polished outside all my life. Keep all your pads and cloths sealed in bags only to take them out as you're using them. A pad sitting in the open air outside or in your vehicle can become contaminated very quickly. Only polish on sunny days. Overcast or cloudy days, do something else...



I've never had a problem with introducing swirls into the paint due to air born contaminants. I even do a lot of polishing on gravel driveways, depending on the customers location. Get into the habit of quickly wiping each panel down just before polishing. I just keep my cobra MF cloth draped around my neck for easy access. Use a high quality microfiber cloth here, with a decent nap, to pick up contaminants and protect the paint as you're wiping residue.



You have to change your style from polishing inside under lights. It takes some time to get used to polishing under variable light conditions. Sometimes cloud cover blocks the sun out for a while and if you are doing this as a business you learn to keep going because time is money. You have to reduce relying on your eyes and learn to trust in your technique, products, machine, and pads to feel what you are doing as you go along without being able to see your results right away. Check the vehicle over and take care of visible scratches first with wet sanding and compounding, then move on to the swirls. I always start off a job at the best lighting angles where I can see in the sun exactly what I'm doing. That way I get the technique down in the first few minutes. I get a feel for how quick the polish is finishing, how much pressure I need to use, etc. I set this in my mind and continue the whole job based on this initial phase. Check your progress where light permits. It will frustrate the hell out of you at times, however with practice you can get the results you want in one shot. One of the main rules of buffing has been said to check your results every time to make sure you got it right before moving on to the next panel. If you wanted to be really careful you could just keep turning the vehicle so that the appropriate panels are facing the sun. This would be too time consuming for my purposes. I just turn the vehicle around and check it over when I'm done, go back if I missed any areas. I have better results by going a little more aggressive during the first step than I would normally feel necessary. More aggressive could be simply adding an extra couple of pounds of arm force into the buffer during the first pass or so. Don't get caught up in being too aggressive during swirl removal (but be reasonable). You could do swirl removal many times over the life of the vehicle before the clear coat would complain. Keep in mind in direct sun the paint is softer which you must compensate for.



Hope this is helpful, good luck!
Click to expand...



Nice write up without preaching. I also like your company name.
 
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