Commodore maintenance

[AKDetailing]

Gidday guys, this is how my afternoon went..

Selected a few products and was good to go for a standard wash n wax with an engine detail and dressing for my parents 05 commodore. It has some history and is in dire need of proper paint correction when I'm confident and well equiped enough.

The wash was done with these steps

1 - complete prewash with Mint foam (minor spots and engine bay agitated with small brush)
2 - wheels and arches washed
3 - body washed
4 - pressure sprayed complete car
5 - complete car dried
6 - nu finish hand applied and buffed off
7 - wax hand applied and buffed off





Here are some before and after shots. Afterwards I realised they should all should have been in the sun.

... yes the bonnet is a different colour, was repsrayed a couple years ago. Not sure if
It was a shit job or the whole lot needs resprayed to be honest.








Now I thought how bad could it now be in the sun?







Really bad!

I'm also looking for some constructive criticism also.

Few points in particular that I need help with
- how would you approach paint correction with a machine for this car with the pictures provided (hard to diagnose I imagine)
- any useful videos/tutorials/books for machine polishing/sealing and waxing
- what type of products ideally to use and when to use them

(Will probably edit some other points in as I think of them)

Much appreciated!

[Big Damo]

Only a noob here myself but u tube has hundreds of useful vids on machine polishing and some of the most enjoyable I have found are from Junkman2000. goes on a bit but is a good laugh and useful tips
The main things is get a DA polisher lots of pads and some polishes and give it a go
nothing to hard to do just need time and patience. don't try to go to hard to quickly as you can always do a second, third or fourth pass but if you are too aggressive from the start hard to put the paint back on
This car will look a million dollars once the swirls are gone
Cheers and happy new year
Damo

[Luke]

Hey mate,

Firstly to remove swirls, water spots and scratches forget trying to do it by hand.

A cheap DA Polisher like this would be a good start.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/like/2016...pid=107&chn=ps

Alot of member use them as a secondary polisher, they vibrate alot so not ideal for a primary polisher if you're not doing it alot.
http://www.detailparadise.com.au/sho...ll-DA-Polisher

Then I would suggest my favourite compound which is HD Cut.

Slow arm movements with the polisher, Garry Dean, Ammo NYC, Chemical Guys all have videos on youtube on using a DA polisher, with HD Cut you can remove heavy defects easy and aslong as you work slowly it still finishes up really nicely.

I've done quite a few cars with HD cut and never needed to follow up with a separate polish afterwards.

[AKDetailing]

Appreciate the input Damo and Luke!

I committed and purchased a Shinemate 15mm DA and pad kit to suit last friday, honestly can't wait. Big order from ZAS with some concentrated goodies also.

Will post some 5050 and after shots once I tackle this ol holden.

[Big Damo]

looking forward to it

[Luke]

By what I hear, you'll like the shinemate

[AussieTimmeh]

Only a noob here myself but u tube has hundreds of useful vids on machine polishing and some of the most enjoyable I have found are from Junkman2000.

I'd second this, his videos are good.

I remember thinking how fast polishing a car would be with a machine, but in reality, it's a slow process for good results. Starting out can be frustrating and it took me a few cars to get a good work routine and understand my early mistakes.

My biggest tip would be that less is more when it comes to polish. Only a couple pea-sized drops and that's all. If the pores on your foam pad are blocked with polish, it's not going to cut well at all. Keep the pads spurred with a brush regularly to avoid the pad being clogged, and use less polish than you think you need.

Good luck and I look forward to your results.

[AKDetailing]

I'd second this, his videos are good.

I remember thinking how fast polishing a car would be with a machine, but in reality, it's a slow process for good results. Starting out can be frustrating and it took me a few cars to get a good work routine and understand my early mistakes.

My biggest tip would be that less is more when it comes to polish. Only a couple pea-sized drops and that's all. If the pores on your foam pad are blocked with polish, it's not going to cut well at all. Keep the pads spurred with a brush regularly to avoid the pad being clogged, and use less polish than you think you need.

Good luck and I look forward to your results.

Getting among his videos right now, cheers!

"TECHNIQUE TRUMPS PRODUCT"

[AKDetailing]

Shine mate kit arrived today, finally. Impressed with the quality and feel so far but no compounds or polishes! Swear I selected them, ah well good excuse to go shopping locally aha.

[AussieTimmeh]

Looks great!

Meguiars Ultimate Compound is a good polish if you need to source something locally at Supercheap Auto or wherever.

[AKDetailing]

Looks great!

Meguiars Ultimate Compound is a good polish if you need to source something locally at Supercheap Auto or wherever.

Oh yeah, I have a bit of that left over. Will sus, making a trip to CCP in Perth ill pick up some sealing stuff also

[Joel.]

Commodore looks good. Keep us up to date as to how you go with the Shinemate.

[Big Damo]

Any updated photos after machine correction

[Shiny Mew]

Only a noob here myself but u tube has hundreds of useful vids on machine polishing and some of the most enjoyable I have found are from Junkman2000. goes on a bit but is a good laugh and useful tips

Junkman2000 thinks that pressure washers are evil. He was convinced that they somehow scratch the car and use as much water as a standard hose gun. He would not budge in the argy-bargy that ensued between us. I was at least willing to agree that the claims by some companies, that appropriate rinseless and washless methods produce no more scratches than traditional water washing, were bollocks.