Hello from Indiana

[Ghurst1122]

Hi all…. Havnt been on this forum in years, but now I’m back!

I haven’t really done any detailing in probably 10 yrs, and just getting back into it! I recently purchased a new to me 21 F150. it’s the agate black metallic and has some swirls and water spotting that I plan on getting rid of.

Couple of questions before I get started.

Can someone tell me if the Ford paint is hard or soft (Will also be tackling my wife’s 2013 Lexus and would like to know about the paint on it as well!)?

Although I’m rusty, I’m not new to machine polishing, so I purchased the Hercules forced action DA polisher, along with an assortment of the Lake Country Force 6 1/2”orange, and white pads , as well as the 4 3/8 inch flex backing plate and 5 1/2 inch pads.

I’ll be using the Blackfire AIO. The thing I didn’t think about on this truck is all the contouring on the hood. Having never used a forced rotation DA, do I need to be extremely cautious with all the contours on the hood and will I be able to use this polisher on edge like I’ve seen done in videos to get down into all those contours, or should I just break down and buy a small 3 inch DA for those?

I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a hood with so many ridges lol. I’m sure I’ll come up with more questions before I actually get started!

Thanks in advance for any and all input!


Greg

 

[Lonnie]

Ghurst1112 : [kinda wondering what this login name means and /or how you chose it. (Yeah, just Captain Obvious being nosy again..... I think of it as being "curious and informed")]
Welcome to the Autopia forum.

Just to clarify a technicality, it is not the paint per say that is hard, it is the clear coat covering it that is.

The hardness of automotive paint is measured on the Mohs scale (same scale used to measure the hardness or softness of graphite lead in drawing pencils!), and the average hardness of the clear coat is H:
1) Clear lacquer: The clear lacquer of a car is usually between 1 and 4 on the Mohs scale.
2) High-end automotive surface paints: These paints can be harder, up to 3H or 4H.
3) Ceramic coatings: Ceramic coatings claim to improve the hardness of a car's clear lacquer to 9H, which would make it as hard as a diamond. However, some say that coatings won't hold up to objects with a hardness level of 9H.

Your Ford black metallic "paint" is probably a 2H, but without a sclerometer tool to measure its exact hardness, I am guess or passing off information from the internet.


As far as contours and edges, just be aware that the edges are paint thickness THIN these days from today's automotive manufacturing techniques using robotic paint machines to reduce labor, time, and paint emissions. The paint thickness of modern vehicle's is an overlooked characteristic until an ignorant and unknowing novice detailer burns through a spot or edge "correcting" a new-car surface with a compound and a direct-drive polishing machine like yours. And yes, they do make paint thickness gauges (measuring tools) to validate (measure) the exact amount (thickness) of paint on a particular surface, but their cost is prohibitive to most hobbyist detailing budgets (including mine!)

As far as a buying a smaller diameter polishing machine, that depends on how often you see yourself using it (IE; do you polish a lot of vehicles in a typical calendar year or just one or two), AND if you can afford it AND how fussy you are in perfecting a vehicle's paint surfaces. It is a nice tool to have for cloudy plastic head-light lens restoration, door jams, wheel rims, and the fore-mentioned odd-shaped contours of today's vehicle panels. There is always the right tool for the job and it is a good investment, but you have to decide that.

 

[Ghurst1122]

Thanks for the response. It’s a daily driver, so I won’t be polishing much. Maybe once a year. The paints in pretty good shape… just some really light swirls I notice in direct sunlight. Truck appears to be pretty well cared for by previous owner. As for login…. Just an initial and last name. I’m older and very unoriginal! Lol