Assisting Grumpy

[Russell O]

I reckon it will be around 40 to 60 hours work in total to get it right. We spent 6 hours on the bonnet but know we need to spend at least the same again before it is right. Hence why i got Dave to do as much as possible to get him confident with the rotary so he can do it at his leisure over the winter months.

Great idea and will give Dave massive satisfaction when he stands back after all that work and says...That's bloody lovely...

 

[pgunter]

So when we book at night at @Grumpy and @jue1 's.... the Zeds now get a full valet as part of the service.. excellent news...

 

[DavidM]

The car bonnet is looking great - once the job is complete the car will look exceptional - did you get the alloy repaired?

 

[Eddie Zedder]

Great work @billz & @Grumpy.When can I bring mine round?

 

[billz]

When you tell people not in the know how long you have spent on a panel they look at you gone out lol...

Yes Russ when you start doing this you can certainly understand why it costs so much to have it done professionally, not only in labour costs but in products and equipment. All the stuff i took to Daves comes to around £800, when you break it down it becomes frighteningly expensive. £40 each bottle of compound and polish x3 then the sealant £20+ and the wax £65 and then there are the pads the polisher the masking tape, decent buff cloths and so on and so on. So when someone quotes around £250 to do a car you just know you have gone to the wrong place.

 

[billz]

View attachment 44182 .

I love this shot which is the reflection of the Beams in his carport, which according to Dave he has not seen this reflection for a long time

 

[Grumps]

The car bonnet is looking great - once the job is complete the car will look exceptional - did you get the alloy repaired?

Not yet David, one of the many winter projects!

 

[Grumps]

Great work @billz & @Grumpy.When can I bring mine round?

Never!

 

[Mint]

Looking good you two. Great to see the improvement, definitely on the right lines

 

[Uncle_Clanger]

There's alot of terminology in not familiar with here, better start reading some more threads in "Beauty Parlour" I think.. very much looking forward to seeing the end result... Clay?.... "Lube"??

 

[Grumps]

You clay bar the paint using a lube to keep the paint wet. It removes any bits stuck to the paint you may not have seen prior to polishing etc.

 

[billz]

There's alot of terminology in not familiar with here, better start reading some more threads in "Beauty Parlour" I think.. very much looking forward to seeing the end result... Clay?.... "Lube"??

Yes claying removes any contaminants that stick to the body that you can not normally see or remove. After you have clayed a panel it will feel like glass when you rub the back of your hand over it. You use the lube to prevent it marring the paint work. You will not notice as many issues with a Silver car than you do with a dark coloured one.
If you feel your car after washing and drying it you will still feel a slight roughness on the top it is this roughness the claybar removes

 

[oldcarman]

Great thread with some great info included in the posts! Well done boys and hang in there Grumpy, it'll be well worth the pain you're suffering, JIM

 

[billz]

For anyone interested in doing this to their Zed here are a List of products and the order in what we did
Wash panel with Fairy Liquid
Clayed panel with Basics Of Bling Clay Bars (2 pack). Born Slippy Clay Lube (500ml)
Masked sections of the panel off in around 2ft areas 3434 High Performance Masking Tape Blue
We then tested the depth of the paint with a paint depth gauge.
Applied cutting compound to pad and used rotary polisher on low speed increasing to speed 2 75mm (3") PERFECT-IT III Compounding Pad (Green). 75mm (3") Ultra Soft Rotary Backing Plate. PERFECT-IT III Fast Cut PLUS Compound Green (1 Litre)
Applied extra fine compound to pad and used rotary polisher on low speed increasing to speed 3. PERFECT-IT III Extra Fine Compound Yellow (1 Litre). 75mm (3") PERFECT-IT III Polishing Pad (Yellow)
Applied Ultrafina polish to pad and used rotary on low speed increasing to speed 3. PERFECT-IT III Ultrafina SE Polish Blue (1 Litre). 75mm (3") PERFECT-IT III High Gloss Polishing Pad (Blue)
On each stage we wiped away the residue
Wiped the panel down with white spirits and then re wiped the panel untill completely dry.
Applied body sealant Auto Finesse Tough Coat Paint Sealant Used sparingly and applied with ultra soft sponge. This was left to cure then residue wiped off.
Applied Shield Wax with PTFE Applied using ultra soft sponge then buffed off.
As Dave @Grumpy will tell you the microfiber cloths are very plush and i then went over the panel to remove any fluff left behind them.
To do the Z3 bonnet from start to finish will take around 6 to 8 hours depending on the state of the panel and could even go upto 8 to 12 hours if the panel is really bad.
As @Russell O will tell you i am by far no professional, but so long as you are careful then you will be safe using a rotary. You can always take that little bit more off if it is not perfect (so long as there is enough lacquer) but you can not put it back on.
Me and Dave would not of got the same result in using a DA Polisher.To me they are only for light marks and polishing where as the rotary is for heavy marking, cutting and polishing. I do have both but find the rotary more equipped to deal with the jobs in hand and the DA Polisher i only use to keep the buff up.
But that is my opinion

 

[Grumps]

For anyone interested in doing this to their Zed here are a List of products and the order in what we did
Wash panel with Fairy Liquid
Clayed panel with Basics Of Bling Clay Bars (2 pack). Born Slippy Clay Lube (500ml)
Masked sections of the panel off in around 2ft areas 3434 High Performance Masking Tape Blue
We then tested the depth of the paint with a paint depth gauge.
Applied cutting compound to pad and used rotary polisher on low speed increasing to speed 2 75mm (3") PERFECT-IT III Compounding Pad (Green). 75mm (3") Ultra Soft Rotary Backing Plate. PERFECT-IT III Fast Cut PLUS Compound Green (1 Litre)
Applied extra fine compound to pad and used rotary polisher on low speed increasing to speed 3. PERFECT-IT III Extra Fine Compound Yellow (1 Litre). 75mm (3") PERFECT-IT III Polishing Pad (Yellow)
Applied Ultrafina polish to pad and used rotary on low speed increasing to speed 3. PERFECT-IT III Ultrafina SE Polish Blue (1 Litre). 75mm (3") PERFECT-IT III High Gloss Polishing Pad (Blue)
On each stage we wiped away the residue
Wiped the panel down with white spirits and then re wiped the panel untill completely dry.
Applied body sealant Auto Finesse Tough Coat Paint Sealant Used sparingly and applied with ultra soft sponge. This was left to cure then residue wiped off.
Applied Shield Wax with PTFE Applied using ultra soft sponge then buffed off.
As Dave @Grumpy will tell you the microfiber cloths are very plush and i then went over the panel to remove any fluff left behind them.
To do the Z3 bonnet from start to finish will take around 6 to 8 hours depending on the state of the panel and could even go upto 8 to 12 hours if the panel is really bad.
As @Russell O will tell you i am by far no professional, but so long as you are careful then you will be safe using a rotary. You can always take that little bit more off if it is not perfect (so long as there is enough lacquer) but you can not put it back on.
Me and Dave would not of got the same result in using a DA Polisher.To me they are only for light marks and polishing where as the rotary is for heavy marking, cutting and polishing. I do have both but find the rotary more equipped to deal with the jobs in hand and the DA Polisher i only use to keep the buff up.
But that is my opinion

Yep that's what we did lol!!!

 

[billz]

Yep that's what we did lol!!!

Why are you not out doing the Zed ???????????

 

[Grumps]

Why are you not out doing the Zed ???????????

It's going to have to wait until next Saturday now as the bloody Rover sprung a water leak when you left yesterday so we now only have the zed thats running. Off out shortly to get a new hose and coupling. Me and cars have a very stained relationship at the moment!

 

[Mrs Mint]

Interesting post @billz you make sound so easy even us women could do it lol
But wait just remembered we wouldn't be allowed any where near your beloved Zeds
Phew that was a close thing

 

[Mint]

For anyone interested in doing this to their Zed here are a List of products and the order in what we did
Wash panel with Fairy Liquid
Clayed panel with Basics Of Bling Clay Bars (2 pack). Born Slippy Clay Lube (500ml)
Masked sections of the panel off in around 2ft areas 3434 High Performance Masking Tape Blue
We then tested the depth of the paint with a paint depth gauge.
Applied cutting compound to pad and used rotary polisher on low speed increasing to speed 2 75mm (3") PERFECT-IT III Compounding Pad (Green). 75mm (3") Ultra Soft Rotary Backing Plate. PERFECT-IT III Fast Cut PLUS Compound Green (1 Litre)
Applied extra fine compound to pad and used rotary polisher on low speed increasing to speed 3. PERFECT-IT III Extra Fine Compound Yellow (1 Litre). 75mm (3") PERFECT-IT III Polishing Pad (Yellow)
Applied Ultrafina polish to pad and used rotary on low speed increasing to speed 3. PERFECT-IT III Ultrafina SE Polish Blue (1 Litre). 75mm (3") PERFECT-IT III High Gloss Polishing Pad (Blue)
On each stage we wiped away the residue
Wiped the panel down with white spirits and then re wiped the panel untill completely dry.
Applied body sealant Auto Finesse Tough Coat Paint Sealant Used sparingly and applied with ultra soft sponge. This was left to cure then residue wiped off.
Applied Shield Wax with PTFE Applied using ultra soft sponge then buffed off.
As Dave @Grumpy will tell you the microfiber cloths are very plush and i then went over the panel to remove any fluff left behind them.
To do the Z3 bonnet from start to finish will take around 6 to 8 hours depending on the state of the panel and could even go upto 8 to 12 hours if the panel is really bad.
As @Russell O will tell you i am by far no professional, but so long as you are careful then you will be safe using a rotary. You can always take that little bit more off if it is not perfect (so long as there is enough lacquer) but you can not put it back on.
Me and Dave would not of got the same result in using a DA Polisher.To me they are only for light marks and polishing where as the rotary is for heavy marking, cutting and polishing. I do have both but find the rotary more equipped to deal with the jobs in hand and the DA Polisher i only use to keep the buff up.
But that is my opinion

Great info Bill, a bit out of my league but good to read.

 

[Jack Ratt]

You're welcome to come and clean mine @Mrs Mint There's no prejudice over who cleans my cars