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Registered: March 2005
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Cut and Polishing
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Mon, 18 July 2005 08:46
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Ok, I've been thinking for awhile about either getting my car detailed by a professional or doing it myself. Now since I'm a poor ass student i think i want to go the later option when i have a lonely weekend sometime. Now the question is, how do i go about this? I have an 89 GZ20 and have no idea were to begin. Should I buy one of those cheap buffs from autobarn etc? What compounds do i use? What is the general procedure etc?
Pretty much what do most self respecting lovers of their Toyota do to bring the luster back to their paint? How do they take car of it and protect once they have done that?
Thanks guys
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Location: Sydney
Registered: September 2003
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Re: Cut and Polishing
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Mon, 18 July 2005 09:45
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I would say get a pro to do it, i paid $170 and they were cleaning the car for 5 hours, i guarantee you if you detail your car for 5 hours top to bottom, youll be tired, sore and your back will hurt .
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Registered: March 2005
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Registered: February 2003
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Re: Cut and Polishing
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Mon, 18 July 2005 11:14
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Bah to detailers!!!!!!!!!!!!
why pay when you can DIY mate !!!!
what i would do for a quick/less costly way of getting that faded, malnutritioned paint back to her former glory while on student deprived incomes is:
- wait for k-mart 15% off storewide sale
- scab a lift when ur folks/partner needs to go that way
- dig up all that loose change you've had sitting in that container on the bedside table and aim for 20's
BUY:
- Polyglaze cut n' polish (approx. $6.95 before discount - comes with free sponge!)
- circular polish buffer (approx. $20 on discount)
and if you have enough savings for that whole months work as a delivery boy:
- McGuires Claybar polish kit (approx. $25)
.........ok ok, this is all from experience
all you need to do is:
Wash the car with practically any car wash suds
Chamois dry in shade
Start from the roof and apply the cut n' polish, work the stuff in and give it a HARD rub with the sponge all over for about 10 mins...once it gets dry and hazy, use the electric buffer and glaze it off - you will DEFINATELY see/feel the difference. Repeat for all panels, section by section
With the claybar, wash the car again, and whilst the car is covered in suds, use abit of the bar and rub firmly on a small section at a time, until it is really easy to glide, it will seriously give u a mirror feel/finish that ur pet cat would find hard to stay on
5 hours later u should have it looking like this:
get rubbing!!!!!
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Registered: May 2003
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Re: Cut and Polishing
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Mon, 18 July 2005 13:04
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Also dude dont forget the maguirs scratch x as well to get a show finnish and get ride of those fine swirls!
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Location: Melbourne
Registered: November 2002
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Re: Cut and Polishing
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Mon, 18 July 2005 13:34
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in terms of detailing, DIY all the way,
ppl get scared of the term cut and polish, but you really gotta be going out of your way really bad to actually screw it up.
Don't forget to apply heaps of wax afterwards.
if you can afford it , go for the 'mothers' phase 2-3-4. (but at 25 bux a bottle, it gets pretty pricey).
if not, just the kitten cabonara wax (at 6.95) looks a treat.
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Location: Sydney
Registered: September 2003
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Location: Melbourne
Registered: November 2002
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Re: Cut and Polishing
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Mon, 18 July 2005 14:33
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GO MOTHERS!!!
/me hi fives smt007
the paint on my car wasn't that great.
Washed the car with morning fresh.
Kitten cut and polish, and mother cabonara wax.. smells like buble gum!!
hehe
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Location: Coffs Harbour
Registered: October 2004
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Re: Cut and Polishing
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Mon, 18 July 2005 14:36
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mate, fuck paying some poor bastard to do it for u, u gotta have better things to spend money on, just go buy some cut, then some polish get a rag get a towel and do it mate, its pretty straightforward, may take a few hours and u may have sore back, but hey its just like sex nah and if the interior is pretty bad go hire the steam cleaner thing from woolies thats wat we did and our cars came up nice
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Location: Sydney
Registered: September 2003
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Location: NSW - Blue Mountains
Registered: June 2004
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Location: Sydney
Registered: September 2003
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Re: Cut and Polishing
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Tue, 19 July 2005 00:37
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hehe shameless plug, does he shampoo the seats?, and its in blue mountains right?.
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Location: Melbourne
Registered: October 2003
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Re: Cut and Polishing
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Tue, 19 July 2005 00:45
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I used to be a detailer for toyota (the Irony )
When i first bought my car, the paint was looking quite dull and ready for a respray, the A pillars had 1cm of white edges and the car was just looking fairly faded.
The carpets inside were a bit dirty with footprints and I used one of those steam cleaning vacumms from work, Came up like new, It sprayed out Interior cleaner then vacummed it.. Very well worth it...
Only problem with cut and polishing is, If you rub too hard and your paint is quite thin, it will fade even more,
Maintaining a detailed car will result in a polish occasionally with some wax and just keepin the car as clean as possible A wash every week helps!
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Location: Wollongong, NSW
Registered: January 2004
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Re: Cut and Polishing
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Tue, 19 July 2005 00:50
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will the cut and polish remove baked on bird crap? (not my fault, previous owner of car )
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Registered: March 2005
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Re: Cut and Polishing
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Tue, 19 July 2005 01:04
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OK thanks guys, pretty good info here. I'm still tossing up with whether i will do it myself or get someone else to do it. It just seems like if i get someone reputable and who knows what they are doing, then looking after it will be a breeze after that. I dont know, lets just see what my tax return says
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Official Cruise Dude
Location: liverpool
Registered: March 2004
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Re: Cut and Polishing
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Tue, 19 July 2005 01:10
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this was done at my uncles work shop buffing my car
before
& after
look how good the reflection is, I can literally see the camera.
i used a big fuck off buff not one of those little $50 ones.
and the compound i used was i for get the name but the bottle is all white with a little purple or blue stripe sorry
then i use "meguiar's nxt generation tech wax"
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Location: Central Coast, NSW
Registered: February 2005
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Re: Cut and Polishing
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Tue, 19 July 2005 01:14
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GreyWolfe wrote on Tue, 19 July 2005 10:50 | will the cut and polish remove baked on bird crap? (not my fault, previous owner of car )
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oh and puzzle man, that looks amazing.
Next time I get my car to a cruise I need some of you to look at it and give me an honest opinion whether a respray is in order, or whether it can be brought back.
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Location: Newcastle, Australia
Registered: March 2005
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Re: Cut and Polishing
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Tue, 19 July 2005 02:35
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Everything you need to know is at:
http://www.waxwizard.com.au/
What products to use, etc etc. I use that Mothers wax that comes in a tin, and just apply it with the foam applicator. Then use the Meguairs microfibre cloth to polish it off. Comes out great!
I rarely do a cut & polish on my cars.
Pic of my old car (for sale!) when I had just finished giving it a good wax
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Location: Central Coast, NSW
Registered: February 2005
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Re: Cut and Polishing
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Tue, 19 July 2005 02:40
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you seem fairly well versed in the art of automotive detailing then...
and you saw my car on sunday, did you notice the fairly kick-arse scuffs that were all over it?
Previous owner was a bit car wash happy methinks.
I dunno if i can get them out thats all...
Some other opinions would be appreciated
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I Supported Toymods
Location: Sydney
Registered: December 2002
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Re: Cut and Polishing
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Tue, 19 July 2005 03:31
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You would be amazed at the scratches you can get out with a decent polish.
The only things you can't remove are etched in stains (bird crap etc.) and scratches that are through to the primer.
Go buy yourself some decent Maguires or Mothers products and go hard at it for a day.
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Location: Central Coast, NSW
Registered: February 2005
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Re: Cut and Polishing
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Tue, 19 July 2005 03:41
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Toobs wrote on Tue, 19 July 2005 13:31 | You would be amazed at the scratches you can get out with a decent polish.
The only things you can't remove are etched in stains (bird crap etc.) and scratches that are through to the primer.
Go buy yourself some decent Maguires or Mothers products and go hard at it for a day.
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We did... we used a german cutting compound called fraecler and meguiars polish, and then meguiar's carnauba wax...
came up "ok" but scratches were still very visible...
hard to explain, you sorta need to see it.
in twilight, night, overcast, or raining, you can't see the scratches
however during broad daylight they show up as painstakingly obvious.
but look at the car from the right angle and you won't see a single mark. It confuses me!
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Location: NSW - Blue Mountains
Registered: June 2004
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Re: Cut and Polishing
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Tue, 19 July 2005 11:52
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smt_007 wrote on Tue, 19 July 2005 10:37 | hehe shameless plug, does he shampoo the seats?, and its in blue mountains right?.
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Yeah they use some kinda of shampoo on the seats/interior, then wet/dry vac, works a treat
Its not in the Blue Mountains, its in Penrith.
cheers
chris
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I Supported Toymods
Location: Sydney
Registered: December 2002
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Re: Cut and Polishing
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Tue, 19 July 2005 21:37
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Merudo wrote on Tue, 19 July 2005 13:41 |
in twilight, night, overcast, or raining, you can't see the scratches
however during broad daylight they show up as painstakingly obvious.
but look at the car from the right angle and you won't see a single mark. It confuses me!
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Try some Techwax, it works extremely well to mask these sorts of fine scratches.
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