Vinyl graphics and polishing

[JFire72]

Hope this is the right are to post this. Also did a search before hand, and there was one thread covering vinyl, but it didn't address what I am asking here.

I have never detailed a car/truck that has had overlays like this before.

My question is do I skip the vinyl with the orbital, and do sections of it by hand? By sections I mean, I've got words like Hemi on the hood, and Daytona on the rear that are paint. The vinyl is cut to make the words, so I am guessing doing that part by hand would cause less stress on those parts?

I'm also guessing here, not to use the orbital, which is a Porter, on the vinyl. And one last question, I'm using Wolfgang Paint Sealant, is it ok on the vinyl? My guess here is yes. Just FYI, I apply the sealant by hand, no machine with that step.

I also have a vinyl wrapped roof and half of the trunk, with 392 graphics on the front fender.

I am going to be starting on this tomorrow morning, and thought it would be a good idea to ask now, before finding out there was a better way.

Here are some pictures and a couple of close up's of the cutouts and stuff I am talking about.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

[sinister84]

Just a word of caution. That appears to be matte finish. Personally I'd avoid polish or wax on matte vinyl. Abrasives can damage vinyl overlays and wax may give an unwanted finish, avoid the vinyl. I'd suggest taping the edges of the vinyl before polishing and yes, hand polish in the letters.

Sent from my PH-1 using Autogeekonline mobile app

 

[Coleroad]

If they are matte, like said above no, no.

 

[JFire72]

I knew I forgot to mention something in the post. Yep, they are a matte finish, good looking out guys!

Is here anything that would work like a sealant to avoid water spots and such on it?

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

[osiapstndp]

My question is do I skip the vinyl with the orbital, and do sections of it by hand? By sections I mean, I've got words like Hemi on the hood, and Daytona on the rear that are paint. The vinyl is cut to make the words, so I am guessing doing that part by hand would cause less stress on those parts?

I'm also guessing here, not to use the orbital, which is a Porter, on the vinyl. And one last question, I'm using Wolfgang Paint Sealant, is it ok on the vinyl? My guess here is yes. Just FYI, I apply the sealant by hand, no machine with that step.

I also have a vinyl wrapped roof and half of the trunk, with 392 graphics on the front fender.

I am going to be starting on this tomorrow morning, and thought it would be a good idea to ask now, before finding out there was a better way.

I've worked on tons of Mopars with matte decals. What works for me is taping around the edges of the vinyl and then using a one-inch cutting pad to remove defects by hand. You can polish in the same way.

It's important that compound or polish does not make contact with the vinyl. Apply two layers of tape if you're worried about residue making its way through the tape. If this is your personal vehicle the areas that spell "Hemi" and "Daytona" aren't hazy and scratched to pieces then you may be able to skip using abrasives on them for now.

I put the pads on this backing plate.
FLEX 1 Inch Rotary Backing Plate

And I use these pads.
1 Inch FLEX PE8 Heavy Orange Rotary Foam Pad
1 Inch FLEX PE8 Medium Green Rotary Foam Pad
1 Inch FLEX PE8 Soft Black Rotary Foam Pad

The pads get "smushed" when you apply pressure to them so you have to be careful to watch how much surface area you're covering.

I use these on my Flex PE8 already so I figured I could use the pads by hand on super tight areas and turns out it works well.

The sealant on the matte decals may not be a good idea if you want them to stay how they looked from the factory. You can protect them with all sorts of stuff, including various ceramic coatings. On my Scat Pack and customers' Mopars I've had excellent results with Mckee's Matte Cleaner and Protectant and a ton of other spray-on protection products. I've also used CQuartz, Crystal Serum Light and Mckee's paint coating on matte vinyl and it always turns out great.

 

[JFire72]

Ok cool!

Ya, the car is an 18' and only 2 months old. It is mostly mark free, with light marks here and there on it.

I'll be careful when I do it tomorrow, shouldn't be too big of a deal because it's still looking good.

I will also look into the Mckee's matte cleaner and protectant. I was hoping to use the same paint sealant on the vinyls, but that's ok.

Thanks a lot for the help and advice everyone!

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

[Belo]

I had this same question for the z71 decals on my truck. What I did was tape off around them, because as mentioned you don't want abrasives. I just used a one step, but I wouldn't have an issue going over them with a dedicated sealant. These are glossy though, not matte. I wouldn't touch matte. I wonder if there's a spray on non wipe or something like hydro blue that would be ok? I assume you'd be wanting some kind of protection. I think the only downside to taping around them is the line you get, but of course you get that with any taping. Just a little mf buffing and it turned out great.

 

[JFire72]

I've worked on tons of Mopars with matte decals. What works for me is taping around the edges of the vinyl and then using a one-inch cutting pad to remove defects by hand. You can polish in the same way.

It's important that compound or polish does not make contact with the vinyl. Apply two layers of tape if you're worried about residue making its way through the tape. If this is your personal vehicle the areas that spell "Hemi" and "Daytona" aren't hazy and scratched to pieces then you may be able to skip using abrasives on them for now.

I put the pads on this backing plate.
FLEX 1 Inch Rotary Backing Plate

And I use these pads.
1 Inch FLEX PE8 Heavy Orange Rotary Foam Pad
1 Inch FLEX PE8 Medium Green Rotary Foam Pad
1 Inch FLEX PE8 Soft Black Rotary Foam Pad

The pads get "smushed" when you apply pressure to them so you have to be careful to watch how much surface area you're covering.

I use these on my Flex PE8 already so I figured I could use the pads by hand on super tight areas and turns out it works well.

The sealant on the matte decals may not be a good idea if you want them to stay how they looked from the factory. You can protect them with all sorts of stuff, including various ceramic coatings. On my Scat Pack and customers' Mopars I've had excellent results with Mckee's Matte Cleaner and Protectant and a ton of other spray-on protection products. I've also used CQuartz, Crystal Serum Light and Mckee's paint coating on matte vinyl and it always turns out great.

So I am done with it, except for a second coat of the sealant tomorrow. It went well, although because I didn't have tape or 1" pads, I had to be careful around the graphics.

So I have a couple of things to add to my list for the next time. Question about the 1" backing plate and pads, is it still ok to use with a bigger orbital like my Porter Cable? I like the idea of that, then I can get in some if the weird nooks and crannies this car has, especially around the vinyl.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

[JFire72]

I had this same question for the z71 decals on my truck. What I did was tape off around them, because as mentioned you don't want abrasives. I just used a one step, but I wouldn't have an issue going over them with a dedicated sealant. These are glossy though, not matte. I wouldn't touch matte. I wonder if there's a spray on non wipe or something like hydro blue that would be ok? I assume you'd be wanting some kind of protection. I think the only downside to taping around them is the line you get, but of course you get that with any taping. Just a little mf buffing and it turned out great.

Someone mentioned Mckee's for the matte finish I have. Although I haven't looked it up to see if protects or just cleans, I'm hoping a bit of both.

Ya, I didn't have tape, or anything smaller than 5.5" pads, I more or less winged it. It came out good though, I guess I'm lucky LOL! Next time though I'll have the right stuff.

Edit:

So I just looked up the Mckee's stuff, looks like that will do what I'm looking for. It's called McKee's 37 Matte Finish Cleaner & Protectant, it says it has UV protection in it too. So not a sealant, but that's fine, better than not having anything on it. Another one for my list haha!



Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

[Coleroad]

There's protectant products just for matte vinyl. Right here on AGO .Matte Car Care Products

 

[JustJesus]

The pads get "smushed" when you apply pressure to them so you have to be careful to watch how much surface area you're covering.

I use these on my Flex PE8

Good point on those. And to further add, once "smushed" the diameter increases a bit.

Good little pads

 

[JFire72]

Good point on those. And to further add, once "smushed" the diameter increases a bit.

Good little pads

Are these pads universal with all polishers assuming you get the backing plate? I would like to get some for my PC, mainly for the crazy curves I've got in places. Also thinking it would work good on my hood where it says "Hemi".

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

[osiapstndp]

Are these pads universal with all polishers assuming you get the backing plate? I would like to get some for my PC, mainly for the crazy curves I've got in places. Also thinking it would work good on my hood where it says "Hemi".

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

The pads are one inch in diameter and won't fit a Porter Cable. You can use them with a rotary and a one-inch backing plate or I suppose the Rupes iBrid with its smallest backing plate, but I don't have an iBrid to test that thought.

I tackle very small areas like what you describe by hand with the foam pads. Sometimes I'll use a microfiber towel wrapped around my finger to cut away defects and then I'll use one of the one-inch Flex pads to remove the scratch pattern installed by the microfiber towel.

 

[JFire72]

The pads are one inch in diameter and won't fit a Porter Cable. You can use them with a rotary and a one-inch backing plate or I suppose the Rupes iBrid with its smallest backing plate, but I don't have an iBrid to test that thought.

I tackle very small areas like what you describe by hand with the foam pads. Sometimes I'll use a microfiber towel wrapped around my finger to cut away defects and then I'll use one of the one-inch Flex pads to remove the scratch pattern installed by the microfiber towel.

Ok, thanks for the info!

I do the same with with a microfiber to get in the areas I can't get into with the polisher. So for now, I'll continue using what I have till I upgrade the Porter.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

[Belo]

unless you have bad scratches, don't forget you can always hand apply any compound, polish or sealant. Maybe for the few spots that need a 1" you can just hand apply and save money on buying another machine and backing plate. Will be interested to hear how the mckee's works for you. I still might try one of those spray on wipe off or spray on rinse off products.

 

[JFire72]

unless you have bad scratches, don't forget you can always hand apply any compound, polish or sealant. Maybe for the few spots that need a 1" you can just hand apply and save money on buying another machine and backing plate. Will be interested to hear how the mckee's works for you. I still might try one of those spray on wipe off or spray on rinse off products.

Ya, that's actually how I do it. I have 2 vehicles that have a low and curvy front end spoiler, areas around the hoods, trunks, and then of course my vinyl on one to work around. It's no big deal really doing these areas by hand. I think my biggest problem is, I tend to detail them back to back, so I'm pretty cashed out near the end LOL!

I need to order the McKee's stuff yet. I'll update here and let you know how it works out when I get it and try it out.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

 

[Belo]

Ya, that's actually how I do it. I have 2 vehicles that have a low and curvy front end spoiler, areas around the hoods, trunks, and then of course my vinyl on one to work around. It's no big deal really doing these areas by hand. I think my biggest problem is, I tend to detail them back to back, so I'm pretty cashed out near the end LOL!

I need to order the McKee's stuff yet. I'll update here and let you know how it works out when I get it and try it out.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

I hear that. I did my g8 and my silverado in one weekend. Never again haha.

 

[Powerman]

I've worked on tons of Mopars with matte decals. What works for me is taping around the edges of the vinyl and then using a one-inch cutting pad to remove defects by hand. You can polish in the same way.

It's important that compound or polish does not make contact with the vinyl. Apply two layers of tape if you're worried about residue making its way through the tape. If this is your personal vehicle the areas that spell "Hemi" and "Daytona" aren't hazy and scratched to pieces then you may be able to skip using abrasives on them for now.

I put the pads on this backing plate.
FLEX 1 Inch Rotary Backing Plate

And I use these pads.
1 Inch FLEX PE8 Heavy Orange Rotary Foam Pad
1 Inch FLEX PE8 Medium Green Rotary Foam Pad
1 Inch FLEX PE8 Soft Black Rotary Foam Pad

The pads get "smushed" when you apply pressure to them so you have to be careful to watch how much surface area you're covering.

I use these on my Flex PE8 already so I figured I could use the pads by hand on super tight areas and turns out it works well.

The sealant on the matte decals may not be a good idea if you want them to stay how they looked from the factory. You can protect them with all sorts of stuff, including various ceramic coatings. On my Scat Pack and customers' Mopars I've had excellent results with Mckee's Matte Cleaner and Protectant and a ton of other spray-on protection products. I've also used CQuartz, Crystal Serum Light and Mckee's paint coating on matte vinyl and it always turns out great.

I used crystal serum light and EXO on my vinyl decals and they turned it fine, but mine were not matt but high gloss. Polished everything by hand.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro