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Polishing: before and after pics

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Old 03-18-2006, 08:44 PM
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Polishing: before and after pics

A couple weeks ago, I was off-roading in the El Dorado National Forest. It was getting late and I was frustrated since all the trails I found were closed for the winter. I finally found a 7 rated trail and went for it. After getting up on 3 and sometimes 2 wheels (damn IFS, sway bar disconnects are already ordered, thanks WabFab), I finally got through the crux. I continued on, only to discover the trail NARROWED in to a motorcycle path. :pat: Since was getting dark, and I didn't think I could get back the way I came, I forged ahead, griting my teeth like Brock Samson. I had 7ft brush on both sides scratching the ever living ลลลล out of both sides of my black 4Runner. After getting through the 200yds of horrible nail-on-the-chalkboard sounds, the trail widened and I decieded to call it a day.

I came home and immediatly got on to the Yotatech forums to find out how to get rid of the scratches. The consensus seems the Griots has some very good products. Thank you Corey for your expert advice!!
http://pnw4runners.com/tando/wax/wax.htm

I picked up a Porter Cable 7336 random orbital polisher, Griots #2 and #3 polish, Griots Best of Show wax, Griots clay bar and holder, and a polishing pad and wax pad.

I spent a good six hours today working on the rig. First, washed and dried. They clayed the entire surface. Moved onto the #2 polish. Worked the sides of the truck 3 times each with that. Then the #3 polish on all surfaces. Finally power waxed all the surfaces.

All but the deepest scratches were removed. I'm going to get Griots #1 (medium grade) polish to see if I can get the last 5%.

Here's the pics:

Hood BEFORE:


Door BEFORE:



Hood AFTER:


Door AFTER:
Old 03-18-2006, 09:15 PM
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very nice, you did an AWESOME job, wanna do mine ? lol
Old 03-18-2006, 09:21 PM
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wow thats amazing!! i should do that to mine
Old 03-19-2006, 01:27 AM
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What kind of polisher did you use? What type of polish? What type of pads, etc, etc. ? Fill us in on the details here dude!
Old 03-19-2006, 05:01 AM
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wow... I'll be trying this on my black too.
Old 03-19-2006, 05:19 AM
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Man, that looks like your looking at Silver on the last pic, amazing.
Old 03-19-2006, 07:45 AM
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Some full body shots:







Old 03-19-2006, 08:00 AM
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wow those were terrible scratches.. and now it looks amazing
Old 03-19-2006, 08:30 AM
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Col. Mustard, I can't believe the difference between the pics of the door before and after. That stuff is amazing.

You said it took six hours. Do you mind telling us where you got the stuff and what was the cost? I normally go to a detail shop once every six months or so to have them do the dirty work but yours looks so good that I may stop going to a shop.

BTW, FilthyRich was inquiring about Sacramento so you being in Folsom may be able to shine some light on living conditions up there.
Old 03-19-2006, 08:48 AM
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that looks great. i have always wanted to do that to mine, but i have heard that you can easily mess up a black car using a polisher (if you dont know what you are doing). maybe i should just pay someone to do it that knows what they are doing.
Old 03-19-2006, 10:46 AM
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Originally Posted by ebelen1
Col. Mustard, I can't believe the difference between the pics of the door before and after. That stuff is amazing.

You said it took six hours. Do you mind telling us where you got the stuff and what was the cost? I normally go to a detail shop once every six months or so to have them do the dirty work but yours looks so good that I may stop going to a shop.

BTW, FilthyRich was inquiring about Sacramento so you being in Folsom may be able to shine some light on living conditions up there.
I got the Porter Cable 7336 from an online store for $45. Check eBay and Lowes.

The products came from http://www.griotsgarage.com/index.jsp.

Whose FilthyRich?

Code:
Item        Description                                     Qty     Total
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
 10628  	Red Wax Pad                                      1      $12.99 
 10626  	Orange Foam Polishing Pad                        1      $10.99 
 11023  	Ultra Thick Micro Fiber Towel                    1      $16.99 
 10631  	Paint Cleaning Clay Pad                          1      $19.99 
 11153  	Paint Cleaning Clay                              1      $19.99 
 11163  	Polish 3 (Very Mild Polish) 16 Oz.               1      $14.99 
 11162  	Polish 2 (Mild Polish) 16 Oz.                    1      $12.99 
 11171  	Best Of Show Waxฎ, 16 Ounces                     1      $19.99 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
						Subtotal:              $128.92
						Shipping*:             $16.99
						Tax:                   $0.00
						TOTAL:                 $145.91
Old 03-19-2006, 11:57 AM
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Looks good!
I have all those products, but haven't touched them in 10 months.
Old 03-19-2006, 12:29 PM
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Originally Posted by Col. Mustard
Whose FilthyRich?
He's a guy on the board. He has a post up on off-topic asking about Sacramento?
Old 03-19-2006, 12:43 PM
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Originally Posted by gapguy
Looks good!
I have all those products, but haven't touched them in 10 months.
Me too, but longer for me...
Old 07-23-2006, 01:01 PM
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sorry to dig this topic from the dead, but i would caution people before you get too hog wild with the orbital sander. realize that the reason these pictures look so excellent is because a layer (albeit very small) of clear coat was removed. so be prudent when deciding how long you stay on one spot, and if you're hesitant, just do it by hand. the only reason you would need to use a cutter (such as the #2 and #3 products) is for SEVERE scratches such as what ColMustard had. Do research, be prudent, and take time doing this. I'd hate to see someone come back in 2-3years complaining about how their clearcoat is chipping off (i speak from experience).
Old 07-24-2006, 07:33 AM
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Talking

Originally Posted by Col. Mustard
A couple weeks ago, I was off-roading in the El Dorado National Forest. It was getting late and I was frustrated since all the trails I found were closed for the winter. I finally found a 7 rated trail and went for it. After getting up on 3 and sometimes 2 wheels (damn IFS, sway bar disconnects are already ordered, thanks WabFab), I finally got through the crux. I continued on, only to discover the trail NARROWED in to a motorcycle path. :pat: Since was getting dark, and I didn't think I could get back the way I came, I forged ahead, griting my teeth like Brock Samson. I had 7ft brush on both sides scratching the ever living ลลลล out of both sides of my black 4Runner. After getting through the 200yds of horrible nail-on-the-chalkboard sounds, the trail widened and I decieded to call it a day.

I came home and immediatly got on to the Yotatech forums to find out how to get rid of the scratches. The consensus seems the Griots has some very good products. Thank you Corey for your expert advice!!
http://pnw4runners.com/tando/wax/wax.htm

I picked up a Porter Cable 7336 random orbital polisher, Griots #2 and #3 polish, Griots Best of Show wax, Griots clay bar and holder, and a polishing pad and wax pad.

I spent a good six hours today working on the rig. First, washed and dried. They clayed the entire surface. Moved onto the #2 polish. Worked the sides of the truck 3 times each with that. Then the #3 polish on all surfaces. Finally power waxed all the surfaces.

All but the deepest scratches were removed. I'm going to get Griots #1 (medium grade) polish to see if I can get the last 5%.

Here's the pics:

Hood BEFORE:


Door BEFORE:



Hood AFTER:


Door AFTER:
LOL.. i looked at the reflections in the door.. and said "that looks a lot like my apartment complex"... sure enough, you live in Folsom! haha, send me a PM. I usually have my taco parked around the corner from the office.

Russell
Old 07-24-2006, 07:42 AM
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Smooooooooth... night and day difference. I can't wait until I get a house and can start doing projects like these again.
Old 07-27-2006, 07:49 PM
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Thats some good shi$, I wish it would stop raining so I can do that. Great rescue.
Old 07-27-2006, 08:16 PM
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Originally Posted by TheDeuce
Man, that looks like your looking at Silver on the last pic, amazing.

:bigclap:
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