Achieving a "deep gloss"
Discussion
Hi al. I have just done some repair work on some nasty scrapes someone kindly made to my bumper this winter. Overall for an amateur who was slightly hungover most of the day I did it i am very pleased with the outcome; the blend of colours on a single panel is only really noticeable when you actually point it out; certainly it was worth the £250 saved...
Anyhow, one thing I am missing is the deep, thick gloss you get with the OEM or a professional sprayer. What can I buy or use to achieve a similar effect and the section painted is by no means matt but is certainly less glossy and "thick" as the original...
P.S: I understand why professionals/sprayers might not want to help and will just say "shoulv'e use one of us"; maybe you are right and for a bigger job I would have but thought "worst case is I f
k up and take it to a pro anyway". I like to try and do things myself and this was one of those occasions.
Cheers
Anyhow, one thing I am missing is the deep, thick gloss you get with the OEM or a professional sprayer. What can I buy or use to achieve a similar effect and the section painted is by no means matt but is certainly less glossy and "thick" as the original...
P.S: I understand why professionals/sprayers might not want to help and will just say "shoulv'e use one of us"; maybe you are right and for a bigger job I would have but thought "worst case is I f
k up and take it to a pro anyway". I like to try and do things myself and this was one of those occasions.Cheers
I think anyone that attempts a repair themselves is not necessarily cutting corners, well done for having a crack at it mate...regarding deep gloss, and some painters on here may cuss at me for this but the gloss is pretty much down to polishing techniques, having spent 20 odd years as a painter, from cellulose to high sold and then water base....each painted panel will need some sort of machining to drag the gloss out,the difference being facilities, a pro painter would have better more well equipped premises to do the work in resulting in a better finish....
a machine polish would most likely sort out your lack of gloss and depth to the paint....
a machine polish would most likely sort out your lack of gloss and depth to the paint....
Don't use a Halfords polisher! You are wasting your time, and could possibly do more harm than good.
If you want to machine polish, buy a decent Dual Action (rather than Rotary) such as a DAS6.
I'm not convinced how could a finish you will get, but it might improve it if you have 'orange peel' etc.
If you want to machine polish, buy a decent Dual Action (rather than Rotary) such as a DAS6.
I'm not convinced how could a finish you will get, but it might improve it if you have 'orange peel' etc.
JFReturns said:
Don't use a Halfords polisher! You are wasting your time, and could possibly do more harm than good.
If you want to machine polish, buy a decent Dual Action (rather than Rotary) such as a DAS6.
I'm not convinced how could a finish you will get, but it might improve it if you have 'orange peel' etc.
Halfords is in the bin then but I already have a random action machine, just need a decent polishing head now and polish...If you want to machine polish, buy a decent Dual Action (rather than Rotary) such as a DAS6.
I'm not convinced how could a finish you will get, but it might improve it if you have 'orange peel' etc.
R500POP said:
Very carefully wet flat, starting with 1000g, then 1500g then 2000g, then machine polish.
Be warned however, if there's not much paint on there you could well go through.
On that basis then qould a quick flatting of the area followed by another couple of clear coats be a good safety measure?Be warned however, if there's not much paint on there you could well go through.
Also, how long to allow everything to dry and set before attacking it with the polish. Its been 3 days now...
best thing to do is post a pic of your repair... you might not have orange peel or any defects therefor a wet sand may be excessive.... a wet sand is something that can be hard to polish out and if youve never dne it before you could create deeper more noticeable scratches which in turn ruins the repair you have made.... post a picture up here and from that we should be able to see what needs done... where abouts are you based... if your near ill pop over and do it for free if you like..
refineddetailing said:
best thing to do is post a pic of your repair... you might not have orange peel or any defects therefor a wet sand may be excessive.... a wet sand is something that can be hard to polish out and if youve never dne it before you could create deeper more noticeable scratches which in turn ruins the repair you have made.... post a picture up here and from that we should be able to see what needs done... where abouts are you based... if your near ill pop over and do it for free if you like..
Will definitely get a picture. Thanks for the offer by the way, really appreciated, but North Kent is a wee bit far 
Going out at lunch to get some photos. Been away from my car for a few days...
Quickie question. I have some primer which claims to blend into the existing primer (adheres straight to dry stuff, old or new) but can only be used in one hit. Reccomend me putting a few layers of that over the area before I get polishing.
Quickie question. I have some primer which claims to blend into the existing primer (adheres straight to dry stuff, old or new) but can only be used in one hit. Reccomend me putting a few layers of that over the area before I get polishing.
Reflectology said:
typical appearance from aerosol paint mate....it does drop significantly....give it a polish first and see how you go but be wary that you painted it and you know how much or little clearcoat you applied....
Lol I'm glad i did no worse than anybody else 
To be honest the camera doesn't pick it up very well but the colour match is very good... I have about 4 or 5 good layers of clearcoat on it but would keying it with so 1000 grit wet and dry, followed byu a couple more layers of clear (week to dry) then a 2000 grit wet sand and a good polish be OK. I have an old body panel to practice polishing on. See what results I can get...
Gassing Station | Bodywork & Detailing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff