a few weeks ago i got another used stock hood to replace my kinda overly paint chipped and DEEPLY scratched hood (that was my fault). problem was that when i went to pick it up, it was standing vertically and had some cardboard rubbing against it or something. whatever it was, caused some very visible surface scratches right between the [missing] washer nozzles, and near the front. but you really couldnt feel them with your fingers. and i was told if you cant feel them, you can buff em out. so i bought it anyway, it was a good deal, not much to lose.

so i take the hood to kenji. at first pass, we used the porter cable. we actually thought it did a pretty good job, but the next day i realized it was still very much there. then he got a rotary for himself and my hood was the perfect candidate for him to test on.

here's results.

before


after


kenji himself (he loves to wash cars!)


in action


final shot


sorry it took so long to post up. i needed something to cheer me up after someone backed into my front bumper this weekend...
story

 

Cool! Is that the Hitachi? Hey Kenji!! Get that cord up on your shoulder!! Don't drag it on the paint.

Anyway, great job especially if it was the first time using a rotary.

 

very nice job- a black mirror if i have ever seen one!
love the first two pics, and someone's mom loves the next two!

pretty funny mikeyc-
we have to forgive him based on his results! and i am impressed that this is the first rotary effort-

(and sorry to hear about your front end)

 

I see you have a big blower too

 

love that last pic

on the scratch removal. good luck with black!

 

wow- gotta apologize here...

just got a message that i missed my chance to offer the coveted w&w wacko badge to tysoncrx- for his pics of the process.
so i am doing that right here!
with those pics, you earned the right to the wacko badge if you pm me with that request...

there- absolved of all wrong doing!

 

lol. i dont deserve the badge. kenji has been helping me learn to use the porter cable. on my own car of course! i did the trunk that day, turned out great. that manzerna stuff is pretty damn good.

i attended the meguiars class too. that helped.

btw, those spots in the pics are dust on my crappy antique digital camera. of course it didnt take long for real dust to completely cover my car... so much effort to clean the car, wasted in 12 hours... its just owning berlina makes you so obsessive!

 

now who is the real wacko here...
the one who is turning down the badge or the one who offered it? !!

offer stands, based on nomination- i guess that the trunk and the class qualify you- more importantly your post-
but a pm is required... unless you still disagree with the nomination!

 

ok ok, you got pm.


"Hi Five!"

 

Yes, it's the Hitachi I picked it up a couple of weeks ago and am FINALLY getting the hang of it. It's nothing like using a PC at all... much harder to control and much easier to screw things up with. It's also VERY easy to leave holograms and other micromarring in the paint. However, it cuts polishing time in half and gets better results than I could have gotten with a PC. After a couple of weeks of use I feel much more proficient and have figured out how to polish without leaving any holograms/micromarring. If anyone has any questions or hesistations about upgrading to a rotary, feel free to ask me. It's got a steep learning curve compared to a PC, but with a little bit of practice, you'll find that it's an amazing tool

Regarding the cable dragging across the paint, I was too focused on keeping the rotary under control and found out first hand exactly how soft Honda paint is The cable left very light scratches in the clearcoat, which I then cleaned up with a quick pass of FPII. I keep the cable wrapped over my shoulder at ALL times now