PO8RD on single stage paint - tips please!

**Spilchy** · 05-05-2006, 02:56 PM

Anyone have experience with PO8RD on single stage paint?

I need to clean up some light marring on an original single stage finish from 1978.

I wanted to know if a finish pad works well to break it down or should I use a polish pad with the PC. What speed?

This will be my first experience with PO8RD.

Thanks

**wannafbody** · 05-05-2006, 03:00 PM

on single stage paint wouldn`t an oily polish work better-maybe Megs#80?

**SpoiledMan** · 05-05-2006, 03:00 PM

Polish pad on a PC should be just fine for what you`re attempting.

**Accumulator** · 05-05-2006, 03:42 PM

Noting that I have absolutely *no* experience with the product in question:

Unless you`re dealing with ss *white* paint I wouldn`t use that. The same qualities that make it great for hard b/c *might* make it the exact wrong thing for old-school ss, which tends to cut *very* easily. Not saying it`s a :nono just that *I* wouldn`t do it.

I too would use Meg`s-type stuff. If it`s *light* I`d use #9 if it takes more I`d use #80. I might use my PI-III stand-by products (especially the MG 05937), only because I`ve used them on ss many times, but NO way would I use anything that cuts fast or needs any real friction to break down.

Given my fondness for original paintjobs, I just couldn`t let this thread go by without commenting, remember that it`s only original once.

**Spilchy** · 05-05-2006, 04:15 PM

Thanks for the heads up guys.

It`s the 1978 Mercedes that I`ve been caring for the last 4 years and commented on here a few times.

The owner did a "wipe down" himself as well as his Mercedes mechanic. The owner later regretted and admitted he made a mistake when I scolded him on proper wiping techniques.

I do own the #80 and 3M 05937 as well as 1Z MP that entered my mind. Any tips on working the 05937 Accumulator? What about the 1Z? I`d like to try something new this year as my first step, light polish to clean it up.

I was in for a real treat today. The owner picked me up and we drove over to the mechanic in the Mercedes to have a headlight assembly replaced. It was slightly cracked.

What a shop! It was awesome - LOADED with all sorts of Mercedes of all makes and models from every decade. The shop was crammed full of tools, parts and all sorts of neat stuff like half assembled engines and wheels, etc... You guys would have loved it.

The owner had a MAJOR overhaul done to his car even though it has 27,000 miles. Every year he gets like $1200 worth of work - every fluid, filter - you name it, replaced, drained, flushed and filled. He gets all new, original parts put on. Since he barely drives it, he had the gas tank plasticized to prevent rust buildup from condensation. He`s a bit looney about the car, but cares for it like a newborn. I don`t think we got above 32 miles an hour the whole trip over to the shop! It`s immaculate.

He`s entering it in the Mercedes jubilee show held at Mercedes headquarters here in Jersey. He`s taken first place each of the years I`ve detailed it so he expects first place in June this year. He has every last piece for the car, down to the original contents in the medical kit. I have to admit, I have a real cream puff to work on so it isn`t that hard.

I`ll post pics like last year, tomorrow night after the detail.

**Setec Astronomy** · 05-05-2006, 05:25 PM

Wow, sounds like a cool shop, Spilch--care to drop the name?

**Scottwax** · 05-05-2006, 06:19 PM

I agree with the others, while 085 is an amazing final polish, Meguiars products just seem to work better on single stage paints. The trade secret oils do wonders for old ss paints. DACP, #80 and #81 give amazing results.

**stilez** · 05-05-2006, 07:44 PM

I`ll put it this way...

If you can`t finish up dead perfect with a rotary, finessing pad, and PO85RD @ 1500 rpm, that paint needs to be glazed.

**SVR** · 05-05-2006, 09:44 PM

I have used both Intensive RD and Final Polish RD on a 1935 MG with single stage paint and the result was better than anything else I tried

Give it a go

Sadly the pics I took were when the camera was playing up, taking shots at 14 mb a photo and not in JPEG

**porta** · 05-06-2006, 06:39 AM

Go for the PO85RD, I have used it on my black volkswagen golf -85 with great results. PO85RD is a superb polish!

**Accumulator** · 05-06-2006, 09:06 AM

Spilchy- Ah, it`s *THAT* car huh? OK, take everything I posted before and put it in bold and a larger font

I could argue that the car needs more exercise (it`s a big issue with time-capsule Benzes- gee, guess how I know with that 75K `70

), but the most important thing is to preserve the originality.

Everyone note: all ss isn`t created equal and some are *very* fragile. The ones that`re fragile need to be treated differently from the ones that aren`t. This one is fragile with regard to compromising the build-film (top surface of the paint). Cut too deep and it`ll fail, period- it`ll start to oxidize and you`ll only be able to effect temporary fixes. GuitarMan posted some great stuff on this a few years ago.

Some of the marring might be too deep to safely remove. It`s one of those where you gotta live with imperfection or else *never* park it in the sun. Sorry, just the nature of the beast.

The #80 shouldn`t be too harsh. It might be a good way to go all by itself, with a glaze and then carnauba over top (even the glaze might be unnecessary but I`d try it).

If you decide to go with the 05937 it`s pretty foolproof. Don`t let it dry completely (just as with most polishes) is about the only thing I can think of. Its initial bite is pretty mild (less than #80) so breaking it down isn`t a big issue. Much as I like the MP, if there`s still marring that`s noticeable I`d use a glaze instead; the 05937 will leave a cleaner surface than the #80 and that`s probably not what you want. I`d top it all off with a heavy carnauba.

But if the marring isn`t bad the MP would sure give a nice gloss and would do a little filling. See which way you want to jump after you do a little work on it and see what you really have there. Either MP or glaze, you won`t know until you do it. I`d lean towards the #80/glaze approach if it were mine.

He oughta do fine at the showing even with the kind of light marring we stress over. Back in, uhm, maybe `93 I saw a 6.3 (in the earlier version of that color) that`d just won the Silver Plate award at StarFest and it was pretty bad by my standards (not that *I* would`ve corrected it either). A little marring won`t hurt his chances.

**Spilchy** · 05-06-2006, 02:37 PM

Well, I finished the exterior today!

I tried the PO85RD (to start for the heck of it) with a polish pad and it didn`t make a dent in the marring although it burnished the surface to a mirror. That`s one heck of a finishing polish for perfect finishes.

So I went to #80 with a polish pad and it made an improvement. I decided to up the pad to an orange pad - mistake! It introduced more marring. So I dropped down to polish pad again and moved at a slow, even clip. That seemed to cut down significantly on the marring which seems only to apear on the hood and trunk.

Although I`ve cared for the car for 4 years, I was hesitant to step up the aggressiveness of the polish. The hack before me took a rotary to it and burned the paint in a couple of high points so I don`t know how thick the paint is nor do I want to risk an original finish! This car is this guy`s baby! It was his first car he bought when he became a doctor.

So I did the whole car in #80 and followed up with Chemical Guy`s Eazy Creme Glaze which is like a VM/RMG combo. I removed it with FK #425 and topped with Souveran and removed that with Duragloss Spray Wax and then did a second coat of Duragloss as a final wipe down. I was thinking of #16, but settled on Souveran. Chrome got VM, windows got FK #425 and bumpers got Autoglym Bumper Care. Tires received no dressing and wheels / tires were washed with Eagle One Bucktless Car Wash Soap.

We`ve talked about taking her out for some exercise. I got to drive it down the block. What a pleasure. It starts on a dime, purrs like a cat and shifts without a clink or jolt when changing gears. The brakes feel a bit "heavy." I mean I had to mash them down to bring this tank to a stop!

We`ll be going to the show together and I`ll snap more pics there.

Here are some beauty shots after the exterior detail today. I`ll be doing the interior tomorrow.

**Spilchy** · 05-06-2006, 02:38 PM

Leaving my house to go back home!

**Scottwax** · 05-06-2006, 03:58 PM

Excellent work Seth-the paint look absolutely beautiful! :up

**Accumulator** · 05-06-2006, 04:57 PM

Spilchy - That sure turned out well! And, well, you already know I feel about that car; make sure I get the first call if he ever changes his mind about keeping it

I`m glad the PO85RD ended up being too mild, I don`t mind being wrong about it being a bad idea on the single stage, live and learn.

Smart move, not getting more aggressive than you did :xyxthumbs

Let us know how it goes at the show.