Ahhhh. Just Waxed.... - Page 4

greg · 20th January 2001, 05:57

C4 - I respect your opinion - but clearly some of us disagree with you. I quote MAH from an earlier post:

Quote:

I have worn out on orbital polishier and had to purchase a second. They are the best as you have pointed out. I still have a black 1985 Toyota Supra with 325k miles on it and the original paint looks almost new after using Meguires polish and wax. I hope the paint on my M5 holds up as well as the Toyota.

The orbital polish is worth every penny.

Menthusiast - the polisher is a Porter Cable model 7424. The kit I ordered came with "DuroFoam" pads from "Lake Country Manufacturing" and I am sold on them - I've never seen them before. They attach to the polisher with velcro so you can easily swap your wax and polishing pads. I quote from their blurb:

Quote:

The revolutionary DUROFOAM(tm) Variable Contact pad is the newest innovation from (blah blah.) Our unique patented design features a graduated, concave buffing surface that "encapsulates" compounds and glazes during the buffing process. As a result, unwanted splatter is virtually eliminated."

Lake Country's graduated, concave "dish" also gives operators more control over the pad area that comes in contact with the work surface, and the ability to vary pad pressure to obtain the desired polishing results"

These pads really work.

The technique: The glaze is liquid, the wax is paste. I apply the liquid to the pad, I apply the wax a bit heavily and very quickly to the car with a foam pad. You don't need to get it everywhere. The polisher will spread it evenly.

You place the pad onto the surface BEFORE you turn it on - this is important as without any resistance the pad will spin instead of orbit. Switch on and move the machine back and forth, overlapping the previous path by about 1/2 the diameter of the pad. You can move it pretty fast - somewhere near a foot per second. Let the weight of the machine do the work - you do not need to press except on vertical surfaces. The entire hood takes only 30 seconds or so - and voila, you have rubbed the material very evenly and very thinly into the paint with THOUSANDS of strokes. Wait for it to haze and then buff off manually with a good 100% cotton terry towel. That's it.

One note - paint is thinnest on the high spots and ridges - it flows off of these naturally during the painting process. But a polisher contacts these same surfaces FIRST. Therefore you should move the polisher to approach the high spot or ridge from both sides, as opposed to working over the top of it.

[This message has been edited by greg (edited 20 January 2001).]

KnightRider · 20th January 2001, 09:43

Greg,
you said bonnet in 30 secs??? so how long does it take to polish an m5 totally? 10 mins max? this sounds like a really good thing then.

------------------
SL

durango · 20th January 2001, 14:36

greg - i find your comments on the board to be among the most considered and thoughtful of the regular contributors - and that's saying something on this messageboard. i'm in the agonizing holding pattern of the m5 wait list - been on since august. i've always been a black car guy, my 97 m3 was carbon black. i don't have much time in my life and had a dickens of a time trying to keep it clean. because of you, i've given some consideration to anthracite and now i'm thinking it will be my color - handsome, understated. of all the colors i've seen so far, it seems to accentuate what i like most about the m5 - the fact that it can be a supercar without telling the world who it is. as you also have a black porsche, do you have any regrets about the anthracite? is it harder or easier to keep clean than black? if you were going to buy another m5, would you get the same color? thanks in advance, i enjoy your comments.

greg · 20th January 2001, 15:40

Knight - I do a panel at a time and the buffing-out takes more time. Still, you can easily polish AND wax in under an hour.

Durango - thanks for the nice words. I LOVE the anthracite - I think it is a great color on the M5. I would go crazy trying to keep a black M5 pretty - it's hard enough on the Porsche, which is much smaller and I drive it less. I have no regrets, and i have gotten many more compliements on the anthracite from others than I ever expected.

MAVERICK · 20th January 2001, 18:26

Greg:
I'm curious about your shoulder problem. I polish and wax my car by hand and have taken my arms for granted. Did you have a sports(maybe football?) injury that led to the eroded acromioclavicular joint? Do you experience a lot of pain during day-to-day life?

greg · 20th January 2001, 18:35

Maverick - I don't think the shoulder thing is sports related. Racketball-induced tendonitis in my elbow is, but not this. I just happen to come from a family with osteoarthritis - my mom has two artificial shoulders, and her two sisters both have stainless steel hips.

The x-ray shows a bit of erosion in this "AC" joint- which is a tight joint connected by very little tissue - and it doesn't move much. But the erosion causes some inflammation when it is overstressed. I'm now doing all kinds of shoulder exercises to strengthen the surrounding muscles, which I think is helping.

I don't have a lot of pain from it except in weird positions, like reaching way around behind me to put on a jacket, for example. I can do most things without aggravating it - but for some reason, the polishing motion really sets it off. Then my shoulder aches for days. And my left hand just isn't as good at it as my right is!

c4m5 · 20th January 2001, 19:03

The machines are MUCH harder on the high spots as noted in the post you reference and they leave more residue in the crevices that must be removed by hand. When you own a car for an extended period of time/miles as I do you see the thinning of the paint at the high area's and the build up of residue in the hardest to access crevices. I don't think the issue of time has any place when you are striving for quality alone. The last time I clayed, glazed, waxed, and treated the exterior rubber on "BABY" I spend a wonderfull 16 HRS in the garage in Palm Springs ( Indian Wells CC )over the course of a four day vacation just the wife, car and me, sort of a Zen thing, like Golf... DG

[This message has been edited by c4m5 (edited 20 January 2001).]

Nikev · 20th January 2001, 19:37

Dear Greg,
THANK YOU once again. I was talking "shine and look" for the comparison posts. Unbelievable. I think my black 996 C2 must have come with the matte finish.....OK, I admit it, I'm lazy. I will check out the orbital though.
Your original M5 vs -tt comparison post helped convince me to order an M5 (due 3/15).I have a spot for an 02 996-tt in Oct. but may hold off till life settles down some(new kid etc.).
Congrat.'s on getting DONE...jobs suck...the work we can choose is cool.I went 2/3's time last year...now only 2/3's of my life sucks.
Are you SURE your shoulder is not a rotator cuff problem?

P.S. I think you scared off Dick Trickle.

Kevin

Chase · 21st January 2001, 05:22

Thanks everyone and especially Greg for the dialogue re waxing. I've been inspired and motivated to hand wax my M5 for the first time (took delivery 12/14/00). And I have'nt hand waxed a car in 3 years ('97 M3). I'll try the products mentioned.

Thanks again on this inaugural day,.....A new beginnin.

'01 M5 Jet Black/Caramel

MAVERICK · 21st January 2001, 15:53

Since Chase mentioned inaugural day, I was wondering if anyone noticed the new presidential limo with license plate USA 1? It's based on the latest Cadillac and has less chrome around the windows(I prefer the previous version with a little more chrome--looks more stately).

Also, it seemed to me that the roof and pillars seemed thicker, and the black border on windows looked wider. Does this mean that the armor plating and window thickness has been increased, i.e. more weight and probably more powerful engine? I wonder how safe the Pres. is inside that car? Do you think a stinger-missile could penetrate the armor? I would think it could definitely penetrate the windows. What do you guys think?