wagonface

My guards red 964T has quite a few swirl marks all over, and the paint is slightly oxidised. Its not a garage queen, and its parked outside my house on the street, so I dont think a professional paint correction & detail is worth the cost. However, I thought I would try to spruce it up a bit myself.

A pro detailer has advised me to use some Menzerna 203 and apply it by hand, using a Zaino tri foam pad. He has told me it will be hard work doing it by hand, and the result obviously wouldnt be as good as if it was done professionally. Has anyone used Menzerna by hand before? Is it hard work that will produce a good result, or hard work that wont make much of a difference?

The other option I have is to use a dual action polisher that my brother has. It runs from his compressor. I am worried this might be too powerful for me and I might burn the paint.

Any advice would be fantastic - thanks, Josh

Marine Blue

I haven't used the Menzerna but I have tried applying polish by hand many years ago and I will say that the results will be average and effort will be very high with application and removal. Some polishes need to break down to work well and others don't, not sure which category the Menzerna falls into.

Why not by a PC for $140 along with some pads. Cheap investment if your time is worth anything.

mongrelcat

Here's a couple links on doing Menzerna by hand,,,

http://www.jackals-forge.com/lotus/993/993_detail.html
http://bbs.scoobynet.com/car-care-38...d-machine.html

... though I agree with Afshin for sure. The amount of $ you'll save by DIY'ing will surely cover the cost of a buffer in no time.

I found the DI pages on polishing very helpful too, they specifically address the issue of hand VS machine polishing...
http://www.detailedimage.com/Auto-De...ide/Polishing/

wagonface

Thanks, it does seem like doing it by hand is a waste of time. The DI pages are excellent - thanks a lot for that link. I will check out my brother's dual action polisher. It sounds more tricky to use for a first timer than a random orbital - anyone care to agree/disagree? A mate of his used it once and overheated the paint he was working on, by applying too much pressure and not enough lubricant according to my brother. Sounds like user error.

If I get scared I can always get this kit for £190.

detailersdomain

it's possible to do this all by hand but it will take a bit of time.

the pc is really the way to go, its very safe to use.

Porter Cable Video and Menzerna Polishes

Marine Blue

The kit you linked to seems to have repetitive polishing products. Might be worth looking around for a similar kit with a two step polishing process. The Meguiars kit is the same as a Porter Cable (rebranded) and is a good machine. Porter cable now has the 7424XP which is really nice and far more capable.

RL911

If you are just doing a small section, you can buy the equivalent of an "orange" hand pad and use Menzerna power gloss on it to remove swirls, it will take some effort, but will work. For an entire car, it's not feasible nor worth the time.