Cyclo Polisher VS Swirled Hood

[Anthony O.]

Some may recall a thread I started on whether or not a Cyclo can remove swirls and scratches. Many people claim that it cannot do so while many others, myself included, believe that it can.



Now I will openly admit that the Cyclo (CP) cannot remove heavey swirls or heavy, deep scratches. A rotary is needed for that type of paint correction BUT I have said that the CP will do some impressive work if used with the right product and technique.



I am detailing this black Mercedes Benz and it looked like a good canidate for this type of a test. I washed the MB and then drove it outside to take a few pictures.



Here is the BEFORE shot

[Anthony O.]

Now that is a pretty messed up hood, I am sure we would all agree. I then placed some green pads on my CP, the green pads are meduim cutting pads, and I applied some DACP to eash pad and went to work.



I also layed down a strip of tape to seperate the hood into halves. I started on the drivers half of the hood and went over the paint very slowly, really working the product into the paint. I actually built up a great deal of heat with the CP using my technique of slow steady passes.



Here is the hood after the green pads and the DACP, notice that there are still some swirls/scratches but the paint is now more even and also hazed up somewhat.

[bjwebster]

*patiently awaits more pics*

[Anthony O.]

The next stage of polishing was with 3M`s Perfect-It III and the CP white pads. The whit epads are said to be finishing pads but they are more like polishing pads, fine polishing pads more so than a true finishing pad.



Once again I was able to generate a great deal of heat using real slow passes.



Here is the hood after the white pads and the 3M

[Anthony O.]

Now my last step was to use Menzerna FP and again work the product well.



There are still some light scratches but then again I never said that the CP will remove them all BUT if you dont have a rotary it can do some nice work.



There is no glazes on this finish and I also wiped it down with a water/alcohol mixture just any case any product left fillers behind.



I am pleased with the results.



Thanks,

Anthony

[Anthony O.]

One last pic....this is a shot of the untouched half of the hood right after taking the FP side.



The FP side has no wax or sealant on it either



It shows the difference between the two.

[lisricka]

Very Nice and thorough!:xyxthumbs

[JoshABI]

Thanks for the post Anthony. How long would you say you spent on each section with the DACP. How long did this half of the hood take you in total? Sorry...just full of questions today.

[Anthony O.]

Originally posted by StickKing1

Thanks for the post Anthony. How long would you say you spent on the DACP and how big an area were you working with? How long did this half of the hood take you in total? Sorry...just full of questions today.

I would say I spent about an hour to 45 minutes on the one half of the hood. It takes you longer with a Cyclo than say a high speed rotary and I will finish out the rest of the car with my rotary because it will be faster and also level more paint than the CP.



I would guess that I spent the longest time on the first and the last step. The DACP took about 15 minutes for the one half of the hood, The key is slow stead passes with a fair amount of pressure on the CP.



Anthony

[stilez]

Anthony:



Excellent work and write up! Thanks for such the documentation. I`m sure it will change many minds of Autopians who were skeptical about the cyclo.



How long did the whole car end up taking to do?

[Anthony O.]

Originally posted by GSRstilez

Anthony:



Excellent work and write up! Thanks for such the documentation. I`m sure it will change many minds of Autopians who were skeptical about the cyclo.



How long did the whole car end up taking to do?

Sean,



I only had time to do the hood test today. I will, or should, finish the whole exterior tomorrow but I will most likely use my rotary for the first initial steps of cleaning/polishing.



Thank you for the compliments,



Anthony

[Sveta]

Thanks, Anthony. Always read your threads to learn something I didn`t know. :up

[imported_WCD]

Very well done Anthony! If anyone ends up selling a Cyclo, someone should pay you a "finders" fee!



Robert Regan

[Scottwax]

Nice work and thanks for the step by step process, including pads and polishes. Very helpful!



How much quicker will the process go using your rotary for the rest?



BTW, you did give the owner a swift kick in the shins for letting a Benz get like that right?

[imported_aqua]

Woooh..



Many thanks. I have learned a new application for my cyclo. I also have the green pads, but never used.



I will test maybe with 3M fine cut compound and see what happens.



Congratulations, good thread!!