POTD- PROJECT OF THE DAY: What Did You Make In Your Shop Today?

[BGHansen]

Today i continue assembling the white elephant No : 2. My brother did buy a set of used headlights because the old ones were just gone as for the "new " ones he was told they are in perfect shape, well all the tab are here but the lenses are much worse. So i install them took off the side indicator and started sanding them someone has clearcoat them and the paint fails. So after 2 hours of sending drivers headlight was much better you can see the light different, than the other side got the same stops and finally both got a good polish and 2 coats of carnauba wax. Then i continue assembling the front end bumper got is inserted, it got installed with all new stainless bolts even the ones all mechanics forget, new inner fenders for the wheels with new push pins. And finally its licence plate.

Seems like a better idea would have been to paint them black. I've followed your posts and the MANY repairs on your bro's car(s). At least if he was driving with NO headlights, he'd have a good excuse for hitting the stuff he seems to run into.

Bruce

 

[GoceKU]

Seems like a better idea would have been to paint them black. I've followed your posts and MANY repairs on your bro's car(s). At least if he was driving with NO headlights, he'd have a good excuse for hitting the stuff he seems to run into.

Bruce

Yeah you've are probably right, this is the same car he or who ever was driving it drove this same car into a ditch and size the engine with an inspection hole in the oil pan big enough to do a rebuilt with the pan on. I really don't know why he is dumping money in it but he seems to like to drive it. I've changed almost every part on it some more then one's.

 

[great white]

Today i continue assembling the white elephant No : 2. My brother did buy a set of used headlights because the old ones were just gone as for the "new " ones he was told they are in perfect shape, well all the tab are here but the lenses are much worse. So i install them took off the side indicator and started sanding them someone has clearcoat them and the paint fails. So after 2 hours of sending drivers headlight was much better you can see the light different, than the other side got the same stops and finally both got a good polish and 2 coats of carnauba wax. Then i continue assembling the front end bumper got is inserted, it got installed with all new stainless bolts even the ones all mechanics forget, new inner fenders for the wheels with new push pins. And finally its licence plate.
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get yourself a rotary buffer and an assortment of different grade pads. Go at 'er with the buffer and pads and those lenses will come up crystal clear. I use a Dewalt DWP849X and can bring lights that are "dead" back to near new with it.

I also use the rotary for polishing and paint correction, but you need to know what you're doing with a rotary buffer (vs and orbital) because you can just a s easily mess up the paint as correct it. Biggest issue beginners get with a rotary is something called "holograming", which is essentially the buffer leaving trail marks in the paint that are near impossible to correct. But, nothing works better for paint correction (IE: removing imperfections and damages) than a rotary, not even an orbital.

This is my 88 vette and that's the original paint after running a full paint correction process (takes a couple days if you're older like me) with the Dewalt:



Only way to get it any better would be a full color sand and complete re-polish. Does the same thing with plastic light lenses.

They will, however, dull/haze much faster than when they were new. The sanding/polishing removes the factory surface layer, which usually contains a hard layer and a UV protectant....

 

[GoceKU]

No buffing paint is not my strong side i'm know to have the dirtiest and most scratched car but they always work and go where i want. I spent 20 minutes on that spot and only managed to make it shiny at the top, there is no good quality polish pate here. I do prefer the rotary polish but i only have an cheap orbital and i often use my cordless drill for finishing with a soft pad.

 

[great white]

No buffing paint is not my strong side i'm know to have the dirtiest and most scratched car but they always work and go where i want. I spent 20 minutes on that spot and only managed to make it shiny at the top, there is no good quality polish pate here. I do prefer the rotary polish but i only have an cheap orbital and i often use my cordless drill for finishing with a soft pad.
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Oh man, could I ever make that neglected paint shine! You can also correct that with an orbital, you just need to use the right pads and compounds and it takes a bit longer than using a rotary. But an orbital definitely can get the job done. An orbital is actually what I recommend to beginners or guys who just do thier own cars on weekends: easy to use, hard to mess up the paint and can still get some serious work done.

Any chance you can get Meguire's products in Macedonia or Greece?

They're a retail product in NA and can be bought at most autoparts stores. That's what I use. I go from compound to polish to carnuba, all in their gold series and all really good stuff. Same with the pads, I go from aggressive with the compound all the way to buffing with the carnuba.

paint correction requires a bit of practice to get the technique down, but when you do, you can add thousands of dollars of value to even old clunkers. Everybody likes shiny paint....

 

[pontiac428]

Any chance you can get Meguire's products in Macedonia or Greece?

They don't have anything close to Meguiars in Europe. Only an American will spend $40 on a tin of polish! Remember Turtle Wax? It came in two flavors, smooth and chunky style. That's what they're working with in EU. You can get it if Nigrin makes it:

 

[Dhal22]

They don't have anything close to Meguiars in Europe. Only an American will spend $40 on a tin of polish! Remember Turtle Wax? It came in two flavors, smooth and chunky style. That's what they're working with in EU. You can get it if Nigrin makes it:

More disposable income here.

 

[pontiac428]

More disposable income here.

Precisely. 50% income tax rate is a game changer that we can't even fathom. But they have guaranteed health care and a shocking lack of potholes, so it might be worth it.

 

[Dhal22]

The more money moves the more it gets taxed. Supply side economics fascinate me.

 

[GoceKU]

No Meguiar's is available here in Europe, even Nigrin is now hard to get they are sold in germany, some of the newly open stores will bring a shipment in. But once they see nobody is spending half there pay check on a polish or on a can of wox they stop. As for income tax, Its becoming a rob peter to pay paul, government is adding new taxes just to stay afloat, prices of everything have gone up 150%.