No matter how you try to keep the body in its original form, sooner or later scratches will form on it. Unfortunately, this is a natural phenomenon. Of course, a scratch noticeably worsens the appearance of the machine. But there is a way to get rid of it. Regenerative polishing of the car body comes to the rescue. How to do it and what it is, you will learn from our article today.
What does she give?
Unlike conventional polishing, restorative has a more effective result. This is due to the fact that part of the paintwork is removed during the work. An ordinary polish fills microcracks with its composition, making the surface smoother and more uniform. But the problem is that the result is effective only until the first wash. Further, the previous scratches that previously tried to hide appear on the body again. What does restoration polishing of a car body give? In addition to the gloss and saturation of the paintwork, such polishing is characterized by a long duration. In fact, we remove a certain layer of varnish, under which there remains an unburned, even paint. If the task of ordinary polishing is to hide unwanted flaws, then abrasive removes all visible defects. The body can be washed many times, without fear for the fact that after washing old scratches on the car again “grow”.
With regard to specific numbers, depending on the amount of damage, 3-10 microns of varnish is removed. The total thickness of the paintwork on different vehicles is from 90 to 150 microns.
Underwater rocks
Despite the fact that restoration polishing of the car body has a good result, it can not be often used. Experts recommend performing this procedure no more than once every five years. It must be remembered that after each abrasive restoration polishing, a layer of varnish is removed, which is not at all unlimited. This is especially true for Japanese cars, where the thickness of the paintwork is the smallest. On such cars, no more than three to four microns of the layer is removed. Also, during the work, a special paste and an angle grinder with a felt nozzle are used. Unlike abrasive, the usual polishing of a car body can be done with your hands using a piece of soft rags.
Instruments
If you perform restoration polishing of a car body with your own hands, you need to prepare not only an abrasive paste, but also an eccentric machine. An important point - it should be with a speed controller. This is necessary in order to exclude excessive heating of the surface and not to “comb out” the excess layer. We also need nozzles - felt and foam, as well as an adapter with Velcro.
Please note that restoration polishing of the car body is performed with a disk rotation speed of not more than 2.5 thousand revolutions. In addition, we need
masking tape. We glue them to the contacting body parts. These are gum, glass, gaskets. Why not use regular stationery tape? In its structure, it leaves traces of glue on the body. It is quite difficult to remove them, unless with a specialized degreaser. Therefore, in order not to waste time and effort in vain, we use only masking tape.
Room requirements
Car body polishing is always carried out indoors. It is important to exclude sun rays. Because of them, the paste will dry quickly, and you will not achieve the desired result. Another reason polishing should not be done outside is dust. Its concentration on the street is very high. Therefore, we do the work in a clean garage or in a similar room.
Getting to work. Washing
The quality of the result is 70% dependent on how you wash the body before processing. When polishing, the presence of dust, dirt and other deposits on the surface of the paintwork is unacceptable. It is best to use a pressure washer. Pay attention to hidden cavities - places of joints with bumpers, headlights, arches and other elements. Particularly carefully inspected areas for mud flaps.
Bitumen often sticks to the bottom of the body. It is quite difficult to wash it off even under pressure. How to be in this situation? You need to purchase a specialized tool. It is called so - a cleaner of bituminous spots. Sold as a spray. After application to the surface, it softens the bitumen. You can remove it with a piece of clean rags. You should also clear the area of midges and other insects. Next, the body must be thoroughly dried.
A few words about clay
Recently, blue clay for cleaning paintwork has been very popular. It is able to absorb all the dirt that could not be cleaned with a normal sink and degreaser. By its structure, blue clay is a kind of antiseptic. Experts recommend using it before every abrasive wash. Also note that this clay is disposable. If it fell to the floor, it is no longer subject to further use. The same goes for polishing wheels. In the presence of the slightest dirt on the body there will be a noticeable cobweb.
Remove gross scratches
So, we proceed directly to the processing. We take out the paste and apply it to the surface of the foam rubber circle. Then we set the machine to 300 rpm and evenly rub it on the surface. Then you need to wait until the paste dries a little. Then we set the mode to 2-2.5 thousand revolutions and begin to rub the polish. We move the machine smoothly, but without delay in one place. Otherwise, you can overheat the paint (it will turn pale) or remove excess.
We process large sections in several stages. So, the hood and roof are visually divided into two parts. If you try to do everything at once, there may not be enough paste (or it will dry out very much). Periodically check the condition of the circle. If it is dark, it should be replaced. This suggests that dirt has absorbed into the material. Because of it, there will be small round scratches on the paintwork. To completely eliminate this phenomenon,
experts recommend treating the body with blue clay, which was discussed above.
Give shine to the coating
At the end of work with abrasive, we proceed to the finishing of the car body. To do this, wash the car again and dry it. This is done in order to remove the remaining particles of abrasive from the surface, due to which during re-polishing there may be scratches.
Next, change the nozzle and use a softer polish (non-abrasive). We put on the machine one thousand revolutions per minute and work in the same way. Make sure that each new layer lies parallel to the previous one. Avoid excessive pressure - this will damage the paint that has just been restored. This completes the procedure for the restoration of the paintwork. The car is ready for everyday use.
As for the price
Now many workshops offer professional body polishing services. The price depends on the type and class of car. So, B-class cars and below can be processed for 5-7 thousand rubles. Station wagons and crossovers - for 8-12 thousand.
And polishing off-road vehicles and premium cars costs about 15 thousand. Most are taken for minivans and vans. The price of polishing the body reaches 20 thousand rubles (due to the large coverage area). Workshops work with materials such as ZM, Rivaks, etc.
Conclusion
So, we found out what is especially abrasive polishing. As you can see, this is a great way to restore your old car without repainting. You can buy such a polish in any store. But with the search for a grinder, you may have to torment.