Paints and finishes

[Washout]

Hi Guys,

Watching Wilfy's thread on his computer desk I thought I would start one here (as suggested by Lee), so the knowledge isn't lost "off topic".

I have a question - what is HVLP?

Also some contribution - I have been a member of and absorbed a bunch of information over a number of years from www.detailingworld.com and must admit I do have a case of Obsessive Car Detailing (OCD ;) ). If you look at the "pros" doing their stuff on their you should be able to (with the right tools and compounds) get a shiny finish from almost any paint/lacquer combination and also what to look for in terms of "no no's" in spray finishes i.e. the stuff alot of these guys have to correct on quite frankly car finishes, which the manufacturers should know better about.

For the beginner I would recommend a random orbital polisher, as it is the safest way of polishing paintwork/lacquer, or if you have the time and patience to learn a rotary polisher. More importantly though is the use of decent "dinimishing abrasive" polishing compounds which essentially (if worked correctly) break down into finer and finer abrasives which get the results the guys on that forum achieve. I have succesfully used the techniques (with some expense on polishes and polishers) on a number of materials from my car (pic attached of what is now a 7 year old vehicle - 5 years old when the pic was taken), composites (carbon fibre/kevlar etc) to mild steel and the use of the right abrasives and tools will get a mirror finish every time. I also use detailing spray and especially Megs APC (All Purpose Cleaner) for many domestic cleaning and protective chores (detailing spray on windows for example is awesome as it shines like you wouldn't believe and prevents "dirt" build up in the rain as the rain doesn't get to stay on the windows to deposit the crap that's often in it.

BTW for polishing I use the Menzerna polishes (various grades) and Lake Country pads, dependant on what I am polishing and how shiny the finish needs to be.

Apologies for the ramble, but if you look at some of the finishes/restorations achieved on that forum the knowledge there is well worthwhile, even though there are not many actual spraying experts there.

Cheers


Chris