Follow these rules for polishing:

-

 Work in a cool, dry environment away from direct sunlight.

-

 Apply the polish with a terry cloth applicator and remove it with either a

100-percent USA cotton Fieldcrest or Cannon brand towel or a quality

microfiber towel.

-

 Use back and forth motions when polishing, not circular motions.

Polish with a light touch. It is better to go through multiple passes than to

muscle your way through it and mar the finish with too much pressure.

You can polish a car by hand or with a special polisher:

-

 Hand polishing is what I recommend. It’s safer for the paint and more of a

bonding experience than going at it with a machine.

-

 Machine polishing with a random orbit polisher may save some time in

preparing your car’s finish for the final protective coating. (But why

would you want to spend less time with your car?)

A random orbit polisher (like those sold by Porter-Cable or through

Griot’s Garage) is the only kind of power polisher that beginners should

try. It’s virtually impossible to damage the paint with a random orbit pol-

isher if you follow the instructions with fresh pads and a quality polish.

A high speed rotary buffer quickly burns through your paint if you make a

mistake. If a high speed rotary buffer is the only tool that has a chance

of salvaging badly oxidized or damaged paint, leave it to the pros. Once

they’ve done their best, you can either

• Maintain the paint with non-destructive hand polishing.

• Have either the bad areas or the whole car repainted, and then

maintain the new paint with non-destructive hand polishing.

Popular posts from this blog

 Tuning for the real world Many tuners spend quite a bit of time going for a perfect power curve on the Dyno. The problem with this approach is that the Dyno is an artificial environment. If no time is invested in logging data on what the car is doing in the real world, you may end up with terrific full-throttle acceleration maps and horrible part-throttle maps (where you’ll likely be doing the majority of your driving). Tuning is a science, and a good tuner works with you to ensure that your car is set up to meet your goals: -  If your car is nothing but a straight-line drag racer, then the only time it ever goes any- where, the gas pedal is buried in the carpet, and part-throttle response may not matter much to you. -  If your tuner is accustomed to going for the gusto with wide-open throttle (WOT) tuning only, and your car is only driven at WOT a fraction of the time, then spend the extra time to ensure that the part-throttle response is tuned properly for your driving...
Read more
 Free Advice As the old adage goes, free advice is worth what you pay for it. People edu- cate themselves and train to carry out expert modifications, and when they have become competent and recognized in this arena, tend to charge for their services either as tuners, crew chiefs, or build consultants. If someone offers you their advice on how to create the perfect fuel map, properly set up your suspension, or take out a stain on your hood with a Brillo pad and a jar of mayonnaise, they may know what they are talking about, or they may be certifiably insane — but one thing remains clear: They will not take liability for any harm you cause to your car or yourself. This point may seem fairly obvious, but too many people rely on free advice because it is free and available everywhere. Your mailman, your mom’s friend, and your local priest probably all have opinions on what would look/work great on your car. Are you going to listen to them? The funny thing is, if you are getting your i...
Read more
 Warranty Concerns Modifications that are easily reversible and undetectable are also of para- mount importance when it comes to maintaining your new car’s warranty. Let’s face it: Cars break. They are mechanical objects consisting of highly complex systems, some of which fail prematurely. If a new car dealer can find a way to void your warranty — even if in outright violation of the Magnuson- Moss Warranty Act — you better believe that it will. If a number of cars are suffering from, for example, a main bearing failure which would otherwise be covered under the manufacturer’s powertrain warranty, and your car happens to have a modified air intake — something that has noth- ing to do with the longevity of the main bearing — you better believe that your local dealership service center is not only going to deny the warranty coverage that would otherwise have applied to fixing your car, but is going to log a note in your file accessible by all dealers in your region (some can even do ...
Read more