Velvet Revolver Correction
We already have released hundreds of articles, many with instructional videos on the topic of professional paintwork correction, this one is specific to the Velvet Revolver, our first DA polisher.
Correction with the Velvet Revolver is very simple and very similar to correction with a rotary, but we'll demonstrate the differences and exactly how to achieve the same results with this new 8mm orbit, dual action polisher so you can maximise the potential of your new Velvet Revolver.
The Velvet Revolver will give you the exact same results as a rotary polisher, however, it will achieve those results slower. Whilst the Velvet Revolver doesn't correct imperfections as fast as rotary polisher will, it will provide correction in a much more forgiving manner than the aggressive rotary action, therefore, the Velvet Revolver is a much safer alternative to a rotary for those operators that aren't as experienced with polishing.
If you're attempting to polish your vehicle for the first time with a machine, you want to be using the Velvet Revolver, not a rotary polisher, which is a far less forgiving professional tool.
With that out the way, let's get into it and start making your ugly paint imperfections disappear. Now, this is an 8 minute long demonstration, you may want to make a cup of something and find a comfy chair.
Click on the video to watch on a mobile device, if you're on a desktop, click here for your choice of quality/size.
First things first, anytime you are about to polish a vehicle, you want to make sure you've got the important, basic foundation where it should be and that's starting with clean, dry and decontaminated surfaces.
If you're skipping one of those steps, you're taking shortcuts that will give you problems during the paint correction process.
If you don't know what decontamination is or how to carry it out, here's a video to get you up to speed:
Click on the video to watch on a mobile device, if you're on a desktop, click here for your choice of quality/size.
We suggest you watch that and come back to this after you've understood decontamination.
Why is decontamination important?
Just quickly, decontamination smooths paint and allow your polishing action to be more efficient, it stops chattering of the pad on the surface and yields better results. Polishing does NOT properly remove contamination, in fact, it usually makes it worse by building heat and fusing contaminants, sometimes pushing them further down into the film build and sometimes even making them permanent.
There's a lot more to it, but we'll try not to deviate from the topic of paint correction too much in this instructional.
With your surface clean, dry and decontaminated, we can now inspect the imperfections and assess how much work is necessary for correction of it.
Let's understand scratches a little better, scratches are almost always sections of paint that is missing.
They are usually 'V' or 'U' shaped and are always created by mechanical action along the surface.
If you took a knife and ran it along a gloss surface *shudder* you would (most likely) create a V shaped indent in the surface reducing the gloss on the surface by transforming a perfectly flat surface to a surface with angles which scatter light.
Physics states that the angle of incidence of a ray of light = angles of refraction, provided that surface is 100% flat. So, a ray of light entering at -45 degrees will leave at +45 degrees if it has bounced off a surface with a perfect 100 gloss units, which is a perfectly flat surface with no imperfections, ripples, orange peel texture etc. Technically possible, realistically, every single surface has less than 100 gloss units.
When we correct an imperfection, we are reducing the hills to the valleys and we're rounding-off the edges of the scratches to re-level that area and avoid having the V or U shapes in the surface.
In the video, we're attempting to correct the U and V shapes with the Velvet Revolver and C.A.P Heavy polish by rounding those edges and re-levelling the paint (well, clear-coat, polishes only work within the clear-coat layer, not the colour layers unless it isn't a clear-coated car).
Let's not delve too far into the technicalities of polishes and stick to Velvet Revolver usage.
So, we apply our CAP Heavy to the pad, we've applied it to the panel in the video to demonstrate the amount we've used to prime the new pad and increase cutting power, but we recommend to apply polish, always, to the pad, not the panel.
Then we place our Velvet Revolver on the surface, check that the machine is on the lowest speed and with a little pressure on the machine to keep it steady, we pull the trigger and start to polish. Remember to introduce the machine to the surface smoothly and try to use the best Attack method. If you're unaware of the Attack phase or what that means, here's a quick tutorial on the 3 phases of machine polishing:
Click on the video to watch on a mobile device, if you're on a desktop, click here for your choice of quality/size.
When you're comfortable and your polish has been spread over the area you're intending to polish, increase the speed to about 4-5. Apply enough pressure to keep the machine flat, don't be shy, but don't apply enormous down force as it does not make polishing faster or better in any way, it simply loads your machine up reducing its ability to spin and reducing its life by putting strain on the motor and gearing.
After 1 to 3 minutes, depending on the size of the area and the speed you're working at, your C.A.P polish should be almost clear, which is a sign that it has reached the temperature required for the abrasives to have broken down. The lubricant is designed to turn clear with about the amount of friction required to reduce your abrasives down to a point where they no longer provide you with corrective abilities.
Remove the polish with 'Paint Cleanse' and a NanoFibre Paintwork Cloth to reveal your corrected surface.
Paint Cleanse, also known by Final Inspection loyalists as 'Truth Serum' is important, it removes all traces of polish to reveal the 'truth', when polish isn't removed correctly, it can 'cover' imperfections give you a false indication of the correction quality. Paint Cleanse removes all oils, all polish, all debris and cleans the surface to show you exactly what imperfections you have. If you're not happy with the correction than you can go at it again.
Continue to correct the rest of the vehicle including headlights, tail lights, glass, acrylic trim etc.
Do not polish bare plastics, mask them to avoid damaging them.
Finally, seal your external surfaces with a quality, long lasting hydrophobic paint protection such as Full Metal Jacket.
Comments
0 comments