GrpA Calais
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Posts posted by GrpA Calais
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Nice job! That came out great!
I am considering buying a rotary for knocking out the bad bits, then using my PC 7424 to finish up (rather than buying a Flex 3401) - it seems to work pretty damn well for you!!
Thanks for sharing!
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This is why I point blank refuse to park my Calais in any form of parking lot, or even angle parking for that matter. If someone can park next to me, I avoid parking there full stop. I parallel park it on occasion, but try and get an "exclusive" spot, between driveways for example. If I know I will be parking somewhere like this, I take the DD instead.... the Calais was built for driving anyway, not parking
Anton - I had a bloke do this to me one day, exactly the same except my car had a tow bar (trailer hitch in the US?). He'd parked me in good and proper by doing this, and I had no way of getting out..... so, with much protesting from my girlfriend at the time, I simply used my tow bar as a pushing tool and "gently" moved his car back far enough so I could get out
Also, in your first pic, aside from your predicament, look at the centre car across the road. How is he meant to get out of there?!?!
I'd say we have yet another worldwide problem here, I wonder if the UN might come up with some sort of "resolution" to help us out
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Ah, Phantom Black, I just last week had an experience with a VX Commodore wearing Phantom Black..... check it out here http://www.adamsforums.com/forums/detailers-write-ups/18070.htm ... that ought to give you an idea of what can be achieved with just a PC and a lot of time & patience.
Mine is VN Calais, wearing a VN Group A body kit (hence the user name) and a coat of Cherry Black paint that was found on VS HSV's. I haven't hit it with the PC and my Adam's supplies yet, but there will be a write up and plenty of pictures when I do.
While you can get great results with the PC, it does seem the general consensus around here is that the Flex is the way to go. With either machine running through the tried and true Adam's line up will make your VX shine! Just watch the Adam's vids a few times and give it a go. As you say, it is almost impossible to damage the paint with a PC, and you'd need to be pretty careless with a Flex too from what I have read.
In your position (which ever machine) I'd grab the full range of Adam's Polishes (Severe Swirl Remover, Swirl & Haze Remover and Fine Machine Polish), plus the appropriate pads (green, orange and white). And for protection it would seem to me you'd want Machine Super Sealant and the grey pad at a minimum. If you want that added Adam's shine
then grab some brilliant glaze and top with Americana (extra protection here too!). Both Brilliant Glaze and Americana are optional, but if your going to all the trouble of machine polishing, then IMO you might as well go all out with the shine side of things too 
If you go PC, then also grab some 4" Focus pads, they are awesome for getting into tight spots that the big pads can't fit. I also find them great on a drill for getting rid of nasty scratches rotary style, but this has it's risks as any rotary buffer does.
Wow, that was longer than I had intended to write, I hope you find it helpfull
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I like the idea of using a variable speed drill myself.
My last correction I used my 240 volt corded hammer drill, around 3000rpm max from memory, not sure on torque, but plenty. It has a dial on the trigger for setting max rpm, I had that set at a touch over half way, so I'd guess around 1700rpm. Then I just bought up the RPM slowly so as not to sling the polish everywhere.
You are correct, the slower the RPM the less chance of damage, but the longer it will take. And at 200rpm you'd be there for a month!
Don't under do yourself. Get a drill that is more than capable. If your going with a cordless, get one with a two speed box, that way you can get comfortable with using it in 1st gear, then switch to 2nd once your ready. You'll need one with good torque too, or it will bog down under load.
If your really worried about using a "mini rotary" then go grab an old fender from a scrap yard, and find out what it takes to actually wreck the paint on that first, then you'll have an idea of just how far you can (or can't) go.
I hope that's of some help.
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Welcome Drew, good to see another Holden owner on the Adam's forum. Stick around, this is a great place to learn some things about keeping that VX shinning! What colour does your Calais wear?
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Mine seems to do this each time, but it is just a matter getting your PC Wrench on the PC's spindle (?), and a 17mm (11/16"??) ring spanner on the plate adaptor, then simply undo it.
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Unreal. What. A. Turn. Around.
I think all of us can tell that a whole lot of love went into that restoration. Nice work.
Love?? Well, I am a Holden man through and through
For the most part it was pure determination, determination to surpass what everyone thought was possible. The best reaction was from my old man, he came for a visit on Saturday to see how it was going (he usually looks after sis's car for her). I was just starting on the Swirl & Haze Remover, he walked down the right side of the car looked, paused, looked again and said "Sshhiiiiiiittt!!!! I didn't think it would look anything like that!" - reactions like that are priceless!!Ohh you removed it, I thought you had some special polish to remove all those nasty scuffs and scratches
There was no way that clear bra was ever getting fixed, it had started to peel away, it was cracking everywhere, and I sure didn't have the urge to even remove all the bug stains off it Looks great! I love wagons. There seemed to be a texture in a couple of the after shots, then I realized it was the reflection.Your not alone on that mistake, I was going through the shots and resizing them for upload, spotted one with the texture and though "How the **** did I miss that?!?!?!?!" - then somewhere someone dropped a penny and I realised it was the reflection of the textured window
Thanks for all the great comments guys, I'm already looking forward to my next project, although the results won't be anywhere near as dramatic as this I'm sure.
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The only words that my client could muster up was "WOW!" x 100. When she finally could form words she said, "It looks better than the day I bought it."
Mission accomplished.
Sometimes it is the reactions that make all that hard work worth it! It can be quite satisfying to simply blow people away with your results.
Nice work, that's how black should look!
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Thanks for all the fantastic feedback guys!! Wow!
In the States they make PLASTIC razor blades that may have worked? Don't know if they have em down under?Awesome job on the car... now all you need to do is upgrade to a Flex!
Yeah, I know the ones..... and agree it would have been a better/safer option. I also thought of grabbing the soft plastic spatula from the kitchen, but would have ruined it. Razor blade just happened to be what I had laying around.... and I'm a sucker for just making do with what I got
As for the Flex..... I'd like one, but I'm thinking a cheap rotary might be the way to go. Do the bulk of the cutting quickly, then finish things of with the PC. It's been 10+ years since I've used a rotary thought.... so might have to find a junker to practise on
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That is exactly what I did. Got my Swirl & Haze Remover, Revive, Buttery and a couple of applicators. Used them once, then ordered the whole lot for the PC and haven't looked back!
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Thanks guys!!
Dave - Yep, the onlookers sure were please with their "new" car.
Anthony - The clear bra was a bit of a P.I.T.A...... or was it just that I was hung over when I removed it??
I started out by using a heat gun to warm it up (not too hot, didn't wanna burn my fingers!). As it was old - I guess original to the car from new - it was kinda delicate, and came off in lots of small pieces.
Of course this left me with a ton of adhesive on the hood. I drowned that in K&H Wax & Grease Remover (better known to me as Prepsol), a solvent you would normally use for cleaning prior to any paint work. This softened the adhesive, but there was way too much for a rag to wipe off. So I took to it with a razor blade!!
This basically scraped the glue off and left only a minimal residue to remove with a rag. It also put 3 or 4 light scratches in the paint.... but what the hell, I was correcting the whole thing anyway -
You've been warned, some of you may find the before pics a bit hard of your eyes!!
Meet my younger sister's '01 VX Holden Commodore Station Wagon, finished in Phantom Black. Yeah, I know, black, for a daily kiddy transport wagon.... I'm sure some of us have had nightmares about this scenario!
That is how it looks now. Here's a run down on what I did during the 25 hours I spent on the paint correction.
Day 1:
I started with a good hose down with my pressure washer (1900 PSI from memory).
I cleaned the engine bay and door jambs with the pressure washer and some APC.
Single Bucket wash, with an old "jumbo sponge" - I could have used a pot scrubber, could not have made the paint any worse!
Dried the car, and put it in the garage for the night - I'd already used up the day flushing the engine coolant, engine oil, and brake system.
Day 2, 3 & 4 (evenings after work):
Removed Clear Bra - messy job! I used so much solvent getting the glue off that I unstuck the Holden badge too - opps!
Spot treated the worst scratches as best I could with Adam's 4" pads mounted to my 240volt hammer drill.
I took to a few defects with some wet & dry sand paper (Meg's Unigrit 1500 - Swirl & Haze Remover & 4" pad took the sanding marks out if seconds!)
Applied colour matched touch-up paint to the many scratches I could not sand/polish out.
Day 5 (again, after work):
Out came the PC
2 or three passes of Severe Swirl Remover
Day 6 (Saturday!):
2 Passes Swirl & Haze Remover
1 Pass Fine Machine Polish
Re-attach Holden Badge to Hood
1 Coat Machine Super Sealant
Day 7 (Sunday - today):
1 Coat Brilliant Glaze
1 Coat Americana
Doesn't seem much to write down, but that was around 25 hours of my time. I think it was worth it, but I'll let you judge for yourselves from the pictures......
Clear Bra before....
...during....
...after (or course it rains when you get the car outside!)
Hood before...
...during...
...after
Left Rear Door before...
...during...
...after
Right Rear Door before...
...during...
...after
Left Front Door before...
...during...
...after
Right Front Door before...
...during...
...after
Right Quarter before...
...during...
...after
Right Guard before...
...during...
...after
Left Guard before...
...after (dunno what happened to my during shot?!?!)
Roof after (no before or during, opps!)
And I'll finish this up with a few after shots outside.....
The paint is still far from perfect, but to the average person looking at the car, it looks great. People like us on here will still see the defects.
Needless to say, my sister was pretty happy with the result, it came out much better than she was expecting that's for sure. Now, if only she can keep her 8 year old boys (twins, double trouble!!) and their push bikes away from the car.
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Just used these for the first time with a corded drill on my headlights and I don't know if it was me or what but man did they get warm fast. The polish would flash really quickly as well. I had to stop several times because the panel was getting warm. It did remove the oxidation that was on there though. Seems like every video I've watched the person goes over the panel almost twice as long as I was able to without it getting warm.
I'm guessing your heat generation is coming from using a corded drill rather than a cordless. Every video I've seen they use a cordless drill, and typically a cordless runs about half the RPM of it's corded counterpart. If your drill has a dial adjustable stop built into the trigger, try running it at a lower max RPM and see how you go.
My 4" Kit is on the way, so I can't speak from experience with them, but more RPM = more heat.
then grab some brilliant glaze and top with Americana (extra protection here too!). Both Brilliant Glaze and Americana are optional, but if your going to all the trouble of machine polishing, then IMO you might as well go all out with the shine side of things too 
Prank Call
in Lounge
Posted
Fortunately, here in NZ, we don't seem to get the telemarketers like you blokes in the US.... which is probably a good thing, as I am neither as creative or as polite with the odd one or two we do get!