Polishing with RO 90 or RO 150

[RonMiller]

What would I need to polish my work vehicle with these sanders? Is it practical to remove small paint rubs and flaws etc? What pads and compounds are necessary? Also, for a large wood table top, are these useful to wax or buff it? I'm new to all that and of course would want to practice (alot!) But is this worth me trying?

 

[Cheese]

I polished out a black Chrysler 300M with a RO 125. It worked well despite the size limitation of the 125, it was just slow going. It was after that job that I decided to purchase a Shinex 150 for the next job.

I still use and recommend using the RO 90 for polishing headlight covers because of its size.

I'd highly recommend you fully "clay" the car before you start to polish it.

I used an orange sponge with Menzerna 2500 polish, a white sponge with Menzerna 4000 swirl remover and a black sponge with Wolfgang sealant.
https://www.autogeek.net/newsletter...source=listrak&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Hero+Image&utm_campaign=Stock-Up+Sale+-+30%25+Off+Code+Inside!

This car was 21 years old at the time and had never been garaged. Check the reflection in the hood.  [smile]

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[semenza]

I polished out a black Chrysler 300M with a RO 125. It worked well despite the size limitation of the 125, it was just slow going. It was after that job that I decided to purchase a Shinex 150 for the next job.

I still use and recommend using the RO 90 for polishing headlight covers because of its size.

I'd highly recommend you fully "clay" the car before you start to polish it.

I used an orange sponge with Menzerna 2500 polish, a white sponge with Menzerna 4000 swirl remover and a black sponge with Wolfgang sealant.
https://www.autogeek.net/newsletter...source=listrak&utm_medium=email&utm_term=Hero+Image&utm_campaign=Stock-Up+Sale+-+30%25+Off+Code+Inside!

This car was 21 years old at the time and had never been garaged. Check the reflection in the hood.  [smile]

  What combination of pads, sponges and polish did you use specifically for the headlights?

Seth

 

[Crazyraceguy]

I use a polish from a company called Novus. It is specifically designed for plastics. It originally was recommended to me for Jeep soft top side windows and did a fine job there.
It is available in a couple of grit levels, depending upon how bad your project is damaged, plus a final clean-up spray.
The thing you have to be aware of with headlights is that it's a bit of a slippery slope thing.
The have/had an anti-UV coating on them when new. If they are hazed/foggy now, it has failed. Polishing can bring them back, but it won't last as long as it did the first time. You will have to keep doing it.
How often will likely be connected to where you live and/or how you store it. That may be as often as once a year, rather than the 10 or more it has already seen.

 

[Cheese]

What combination of pads, sponges and polish did you use specifically for the headlights?

Seth

I keep all the stuff inside a small plastic bag so that I can remember what items I used.  [smile]  Granat 320 & 400, Platin 500, Granat 800, Platin 1000, 2000 & 4000, all used wet with a mist of water. Final buff was the black waffle sponge with Novus 2 (red) and then a spray and hand buff with Novus 1. Novus works well but like CRG said it only lasts for a year or less.

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https://go.rockler.com/tech/Novus-Plastic-Care-Brochure.pdf?

Meguiar makes a headlight coating that's supposed to last for a year and then you just reapply it. That's next on my list.

There have also recently been some ceramic and nano-coat coatings released that are supposed to prevent further hazing.

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[sirhc]

I polish different materials (like paint, plastics and epoxy) with my RO125 (Festool pads+polish), my steps are:

- Put on the green pad (492128)
- Spray with water, sand from necessary grids like 500, 1000, 2000 in Rotex mode (first grid takes longer than finer after)
- Paper rag, clean off
- Check if the scratches are off otherwise go with a rougher grid

- Wool pad, apply orange polish, cover  polish on surface with pad
- Spray a bit water on surface, slow down at first between 2-3 in Rotex mode
- Same cross motion, first horizontal then over vertical. Bump up the speed
- Spray some water, wipe off with microfibre cloth

- Go to finer polishes and pads, polish is always in rotex mode. Also use different microfibre cloths for the different polish grids when wiping it off.

 

[Chainring]

For a very reasonably priced headlight restoration kit, check out the ceramic one from Cerakote.
https://www.amazon.com/CERAKOTE-Cer...084RQKLV8?ref_=pd_bap_d_grid_rp_0_1_ec_t&th=1

 

[leakyroof]

What would I need to polish my work vehicle with these sanders? Is it practical to remove small paint rubs and flaws etc? What pads and compounds are necessary? Also, for a large wood table top, are these useful to wax or buff it? I'm new to all that and of course would want to practice (alot!) But is this worth me trying?

One more thing to remember , when you've been using your Rotex sanders for woodworking, and then want to use them on a vehicle, or to wax/buff something. Blow off the sander pretty well with compressed air, or , vacuum it to remove any dust/sanding grit hiding or clinging to the tool.  This prevents unwanted abrasive particles from getting onto the surface of what you're working on.
It's basically the same as vacuuming a surface between sanding grits that you're working on,  to keep larger particles from screwing with your finer sanding grits as you go along.

 

[hamsey]

After polishing I applied a clear coat from Sylvania and got 5 years before having to do it again. I just redid the headlights and used a clear coat from 3M. Will see how it holds up. Never saw the Cerakote clear coat but it looks interesting. Good luck.

Norm

 

[Bertotti]

What combination of pads, sponges and polish did you use specifically for the headlights?

Seth

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That bag of goodies brings back memories. The novus 1&2 Inused on motorcycle face Sheila’s back in the late ‘70s at the time I just used old tshirts. Worked well and was a bit of a workout.