Post 367601 by Wobbly Dave on 2011-03-21 00:35:36
This season I have invested quite heavily in new materials. I live in a hard water area - tap water comes out at 300 PPM TDS (PPM total dissolved solid) - which is considered very hard.
I bought a TDS testing meter a long time ago but it takes no Einstein to see the watermarks - particularly when its warm. I get through a fair amount of QD to remove them.
So I bought a 11.4L De-ionising cylinder
from DAQUA
Anyway I used it for the first time on the last rinse. It made a huge difference to the overall outcome & I feel much happier with the polishing stage, because there is no calcite deposits on the paint - reducing the marring & need for rework.
I have also move up from using a Porter Cable - dual orbital polisher to a new rotary.
http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/polishing-machines/sim180-rotary-polisher/sim180-rotary-polisher/prod_523.html
I have done plenty of reading up. I was amazed how easy it was to use & all the fears about burning the paint were allayed. Compared with the PC the results were far quicker - maybe 75% of the time saved? Perhaps my PC techniques were poor?
Anyway I did 3 panels - top of the bumper, top of boot lid & the rear 3/4 on the nearside. Much flatter than I was able to ever achieve. As it is a 240V machine - I no longer need to lug or setup the 110v transformer needed to run the Porter Cable.
I think when I have had time to do the other panels - the car will look really amazing.
I still need to have to find the cash to have the front bumper redone - as it is too far gone to home repair.