ZMotorsports Shop Projects 2.0

[zmotorsports]

Making it look easy Mike. Nice job.

I don't know about making it look easy Justin, but I appreciate the support. I've been out of the painting scene for so long I was nervous about tackling this one but it turns out it's like riding a bike and comes right back.

 

[zmotorsports]

We were able to get some masking done last night on my son's Duramax in preparation for some paint touch up on the upper sections of the doors. Masking seems to make or break a small job like this and I don't want it to be detected that there has been any paint work done so I spent a bit more time last night on the masking process.

Prior to masking I sanded the couple little areas down where I had applied the UPOL #5 the night before. The UPOL primer sands and blends very nicely resulting in no more exposed bare metal.


I've never used the foam tape before and have always just back-masked using regular masking tape folded back to create a soft edge at a door seam. However, while I was in the local body shop supply the other night I opted to try some as well as a roll of edge trim masking tape to pull the rubber seals back.

Here I have the door jambs masked, doors closed and roofline masked up the back side of the door's top edge. There should be no visible tape edges exposed if I did this correctly.


Rather than mask around the front door window gaskets, we rolled the windows down and pulled the gaskets.


The rear quarter glass got the soft edge trim masking tape to pull the gasket inward. I missed the boat because back in the day in order to pull the gasket away from an edge I would use playing cards inserted into the gasket then taped to the glass in order to create the soft edge down into the window reveal. Had I been thinking and devised this type of tape I could have been sitting back on a beach somewhere sipping Pina Coladas and earning 20%.


The rest of the body bagged and ready for a final wipe down and paint.




Thanks for looking.

 

[WoodsTruck]

Am I seeing things, or do you have a white spacer in the door gaps?

 

[zmotorsports]

Am I seeing things, or do you have a white spacer in the door gaps?

You're not seeing things. That is the foam masking tape that I referenced in the above post. It creates a soft edge similar to back masking but much quicker to mask. This is the first time trying it and so far I am impressed with it.

 

[Jayman17]

Now I see how you create a soft edge on the new paint blending into the existing paint towards the bottom of the window openings. (Door posts?) Thanks for showing how to do that.
I think your son is lucky to have a dad that knows how to fix everything and will show him how to do it. Good job Mike!

Jay

 

[zmotorsports]

Now I see how you create a soft edge on the new paint blending into the existing paint towards the bottom of the window openings. (Door posts?) Thanks for showing how to do that.
I think your son is lucky to have a dad that knows how to fix everything and will show him how to do it. Good job Mike!

Jay

Thank you. I don't think I know how to fix everything but I am sure willing to give most things a try.

Personally, I don't think my son thinks much of it as it's all he knows, we just tear into things. He doesn't know the contrary so unfortunately he will probably never fully appreciate his upbringing.

 

[gearhead1960]

Personally, I don't think my son thinks much of it as it's all he knows, we just tear into things. He doesn't know the contrary so unfortunately he will probably never fully appreciate his upbringing.

Mike,
He might begin to understand and appreciate what you have given him once he has to deal with issues on his own and his buddies won't know Shinola!

 

[macgyver]

I love the Baja Boss A/T Quinn. I opted to try the Mickey Thompson Baja Boss A/T because they had the 3-Peak winter rating but I was torn on sticking with the Nitto's or trying the Mickey Thompson's as I really liked the Ridge Grapplers.

That being said, the Nitto Ridge Grapplers that I ran prior wore good, handled and rode great on pavement and did well off-road. My ONLY complaint with the Ridge Grappler was how they handled in the snow covered roads. They were better than my previous mud-terrains (BFG originals and KM2's) but nowhere near as good as my old BFG KO's or KO2's.

After going through one winter now and a lot of off-road miles on the Baja Boss A/T's I can say I think I made the right choice. When I picked them up I was concerned as the lugs and block pattern were somewhat larger than the Ridge Grappler so I was worried about handling and road noise but that was quickly put to bed once I drove the Jeep with them. They ride every bit as good as the Ridge Grappler with only a very slight detection of any road noise, and very minimal at that. Slightly more than the KO2's and the Ridge Grappler's but NOTHING like the KM2's, not even close. Off-road these things are freakin' fantastic. I love how they grip but they do have a tendency to pick up some medium to large sized rocks and toss them at the mirrors or undercarriage. The Ridge Grapplers didn't quite pick up as many rocks but the KO2's seemed to pick up a LOT of small to medium sized ones and that was one of my annoyances with them. As for mud, you may have heard me say how badly I HATE mud and have been known to drive miles out of my way to avoid them, unfortunately last weekend while driving up in the mountains with snow melting and coming across some remaining snow drifts I did encounter some mud on the trails. The large lugs clean out well and produce good forward movement even in the mud. I never had to use 4WD the entire day although it did slip and move around a bit in a few of the "gooey" places. A couple burps of the throttle and they easily cleaned right out.

I have been a BFG fan for several decades up until 2019 when I decided to step outside my comfort zone and try the Nitto's. Now I realize that I may have been missing out on some other alternatives. I know many like the Baja Boss M/T as well but they are a bit more aggressive than I prefer as I do a lot of highway miles as well as my off-road miles.

Sorry for the long explanation Quinn but if I had to make the decision today between the Ridge Grappler and the Baja Boss A/T I would go with the Baja Boss A/T in an instant.

Thanks Mike! That was the info I was hoping for. Snow is a big consideration since we are in it for part of the year in Big Bear Lake, CA.

 

[bugnut]

Mike, I found this statement particularly interesting and intriguing.
I believe one of the greatest gifts we can give to our family and friends is the attitude to "give it a try"
I realized years ago that ALL things done in this world are the results of average people, just like us. So arm yourself with knowledge and give it a try. I could expound on how miffed I get seeing and hearing folks say "I can't do that" without any knowledge or attempt.

Thank you. I don't think I know how to fix everything but I am sure willing to give most things a try.

Personally, I don't think my son thinks much of it as it's all he knows, we just tear into things. He doesn't know the contrary so unfortunately he will probably never fully appreciate his upbringing.

 

[zmotorsports]

Last night we were able to get the color and clear applied to my son's 2002 2500HD Silverado.

The color was an excellent match but I still mixed just a little bit of clear base with some Victory Red base and sprayed it at the transition point. I figured with this blend being right at eye level it may help the transition from old to new paint be less visible. I then applied a medium wet coat of clear and went just past the color blending point. With the sun in my eyes on one side, I opted to put a few Sharpie marks on the masking paper to help guide me as to where to stop the first and second coats of clear.


Here is the first coat of clear applied and allowed to flash.


After the second coat of clear where I went past the first by about an inch or two I applied a blending solvent to melt the edge of the new clear into the lightly sanded area of the door. This created a nearly undetectable blend area but it will still require just a bit of polishing.







After a couple days of curing I'll get to work with a little cutting and buffing and then move on to the remainder of the truck with a good polish.

Thanks for following along.

 

[signcrafter]

Thank you. I don't think I know how to fix everything but I am sure willing to give most things a try.

Personally, I don't think my son thinks much of it as it's all he knows, we just tear into things. He doesn't know the contrary so unfortunately he will probably never fully appreciate his upbringing.

I'm sure he knows and appreciates it. It may be "way of life" for you guys but I'm sure he sees others everyday that don't have the same thinking and realizes it. He may not show it because he knows that is just way of life for you guys, but I think he does know you two are a little different from the average person that has to make a call every time something goes wrong. He is a lucky guy.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Mike, looks good to me!

I've never had to blend in(generally shoot whole panels), what do you use for a blending solvent?

 

[zmotorsports]

Mike, looks good to me!

I've never had to blend in(generally shoot whole panels), what do you use for a blending solvent?

Thanks Marc.

I hate blending clear and I try my hardest to break at a seam or panel so I can clear the panel but unfortunately with todays vehicles that is not always possible so I have had to teach myself to do open panel clear blends. I know insurance companies won't allow them and some shops won't do them at all but I feel that they are necessary and a fact of life at times.

For a blending solvent I have used SPI's #915 Blending Solvent on larger areas where I can use my detail gun. I used the SPI Blending Solvent on the coach slide room as it was quite large of an area and I wanted the larger fan of a gun. On a small section like a sail panel or A, B, or C pillar I actually tried an aerosol this time. It is called Spray Max and actually worked excellent. I was a bit anxious to try something new that I haven't used before on my son's truck but after reading some reviews on it and seeing it had excellent reviews and comments I opted to give it a try. It worked fantastic and was much more convenient than using a gun for a small blend of only a few inches.

When doing an open blend with clear it is all in the prep work and ensuring you have a good tooth for the new clear to bite into but no so heavily sanded that you have to spend too much time on it with the polisher afterwards.

 

[OutlawDrifter]

Good info, I'm storing that in the grey matter for later.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

Nice job, I've always been impressed with guys that can produce legitimate paint work at home. I can't rattle can paint without a run. Someday I'd like to take autobody classes at the local community college as doing your own paint work is a killer skill to have for any kind of custom work.

 

[zmotorsports]

Nice job, I've always been impressed with guys that can produce legitimate paint work at home. I can't rattle can paint without a run. Someday I'd like to take autobody classes at the local community college as doing your own paint work is a killer skill to have for any kind of custom work.

Thanks Ryan. I'm self taught and have definitely made my fare share of mistakes in the learning process.

It does come in handy but I'm not as thrilled about doing paint & body work these days but refuse to take my stuff elsewhere and get less than stellar workmanship or pay through the nose.

 

[zmotorsports]

Well, I did a thing....

Earlier in the week as I was checking on my supplies and getting things ready to cut & buff my son's Duramax after the paint work was complete when I pulled my good ole' B&D Buffmaster from the cabinet that has been my go-to polisher for nearly 25 years now. It has polished a fair share of cars, trucks, bikes, snowmobiles, ATV's and coaches and has never failed me. It has been one of those tools that as soon as you grab it to begin the task all things in the world just seem right. The balance and performance of this old polisher have been second to none which is why I have held onto it and continued using all these years. Even my son made a comment when I pulled it from the cabinet. He said "oh, there's the polishing beast." But as I pulled it from the cabinet and hearing his comment "beast", I got to thinking about the last couple of times that I've polished scratches from my Jeep's A and B pillars and how temperamental it is using a full size polisher trying to avoid burn through as I stand it up more perpendicular to the painted surface on those small pillars and tight areas as well as the fear of catching the items that stand proud such as hinges, door handles and mirrors. I have a small pneumatic 3" polisher that I use on occasion but the trigger is not as variable as I'd like and it is a bit cumbersome even for a small bodied polisher so I thought about the smaller cordless Milwaukee M12 polisher that I've seen and figured that would be a good tool for these small 2-3" pillars where I could control the tool much more precisely. Then I thought maybe I'd also try the Milwaukee M18 Fuel full-size polisher after reading and watching some reviews and thinking about my son's comment.

Many know that I am not over the top on cordless tools and have a hard time justifying something that requires batteries, however, I got to thinking about the cord management that I've dealt with for all those years when polishing a vehicle. I generally throw the cord over my shoulder much similar to when I'm painting and throw the air hose over my shoulder to keep from coming in contact with the body of whatever I'm working on.

In the past on vehicles I've painted with relatively large panels this polisher has worked perfectly and produced show winning finishes but I am kind of excited to try the new lighter battery powered polisher over the weekend.

Here are the good ole' Black and Decker Buffmaster variable speed polisher that I purchased probably 25 years ago next to the newly purchased Milwaukee M18 Fuel polisher.




The smaller M12 polisher next to the M18 Fuel full-size as a full compliment of polishing tools.


I will be giving these a full test over the weekend so I hope I am not disappointed.

 

[gearhead1960]

Well, I did a thing....

Mike,

I hope you find success using the "red" stuff. I got into the M12 line with the stubby 1/2" drive impact gun. It's a beast. For many years I used an old Makita driver drill and always liked the portability and convenience of the battery power. After using the impact a couple of times, I upgraded the rest of my frequently used power tools to the M12 line. I have even moved into the M18 line with the weed wacker and blower. The blower is a life saver. Being in the east, I have trees. I know that might come as a shock to you . They drop a lot of leaves in the fall and what used to take me 4-5 hours to collect and dispose of now takes 1-2 hours. It also helps to blow grass and other debris off the driveway and it even serves to blow off the cars after a washing.....

Have a great 4th!

 

[Mr.zippy]

Hmmmmm……..Mike bought a cordless tool. I’m preparing for snow tomorrow!

 

[zmotorsports]

Mike,

I hope you find success using the "red" stuff. I got into the M12 line with the stubby 1/2" drive impact gun. It's a beast. For many years I used an old Makita driver drill and always liked the portability and convenience of the battery power. After using the impact a couple of times, I upgraded the rest of my frequently used power tools to the M12 line. I have even moved into the M18 line with the weed wacker and blower. The blower is a life saver. Being in the east, I have trees. I know that might come as a shock to you . They drop a lot of leaves in the fall and what used to take me 4-5 hours to collect and dispose of now takes 1-2 hours. It also helps to blow grass and other debris off the driveway and it even serves to blow off the cars after a washing.....

Have a great 4th!

Thanks Mark. Happy Fourth of July to you and your family as well.

As for using the "red" stuff. I have a few Milwaukee M18 tools but very few. I also have a few Snap-on cordless tools but very limited.

I really didn't need a new full-size polisher but thought I'd just give it a try and see if I like it. I'm almost ashamed to be setting my good ole' standby Buffmaster aside on this job. I hope it doesn't mind.

The smaller door pillars were my main focus which is why I started looking at the Milwaukee M12 micro polisher but then the full-size one was actually an impulse buy. I'm ashamed to even say that.

Hmmmmm……..Mike bought a cordless tool. I’m preparing for snow tomorrow!

I know, right? Who'd a thunk it?

 

[4 FN 27]

Well, I did a thing....

Many know that I am not over the top on cordless tools and have a hard time justifying something that requires batteries, however, I got to thinking about the cord management that I've dealt with for all those years when polishing a vehicle. I generally throw the cord over my shoulder much similar to when I'm painting and throw the air hose over my shoulder to keep from coming in contact with the body of whatever I'm working on.

Mike we use to measure the success of a project based on the number of Air Hoses and Electrical Cords running to the project at hand. Don't miss it a bit.

In fact last night as I was using my Cordless Impact to pull the Rims off the '67 I ran into 2 Lug Nuts that wouldn't budge. I dreaded walking over to the Tool Box and grabbing the IR Impact, Walking into the back and firing up the Air Compressor and pulling on the Retractable Air Hose...then having to to put it all away again for 2 Lug Nuts...

Now if only they would make a Cordless Water Pick...I have Cordless sets of tools every where now.

 

[Bob Heine]

Now if only they would make a Cordless Water Pick...I have Cordless sets of tools every where now.

Pat, I commuted between Florida and Washington DC 27 years ago and had a Cordless Waterpik Traveler. It came with a zipper pouch and used the same tips as a regular Waterpik.

Today's cordless Waterpik offerings are much cheaper:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DQSC9B5/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[zmotorsports]

Mike we use to measure the success of a project based on the number of Air Hoses and Electrical Cords running to the project at hand. Don't miss it a bit.

In fact last night as I was using my Cordless Impact to pull the Rims off the '67 I ran into 2 Lug Nuts that wouldn't budge. I dreaded walking over to the Tool Box and grabbing the IR Impact, Walking into the back and firing up the Air Compressor and pulling on the Retractable Air Hose...then having to to put it all away again for 2 Lug Nuts...

Now if only they would make a Cordless Water Pick...I have Cordless sets of tools every where now.

Not sure I'll ever be fully converted over. I still love my air tools but I have air drops all over the shop so air is always within easy reach.

Now I will admit, I went to do a quick welding job for the neighbor the other night and I couldn't get the TIG to light up when I depressed the foot pedal. I made sure I didn't bump the controls from foot pedal over to panel or ramp slope settings which I hadn't and then the next thought was the cordless foot pedal with the dongle. I replaced the batteries in the foot pedal and I was off arc'ing away.

If memory serves I purchased my cordless foot pedal/dongle setup in about 2009 or 2010 as it was just a couple of years after I purchased the Miller Dynasty 300 TIG welder, which was around 2007/2008~ish. This is only the second time I have replaced the batteries in the foot pedal in all that time. Now my welding helmet is a different story, which is probably why I seldom use it and stick to my ole' trusty fixed shade welding helmets.

 

[rattle_snake]

Interested in evaluation of the polishers... could snowball on purchases of other red things though.

 

[Mr.zippy]

Interested in evaluation of the polishers... could snowball on purchases of other red things though.

Indeed……an absolute blizzard of battery powered toys. But I cannot see Mike having more than 2 electric cars. He will draw the line in the sand right there!

 

[zmotorsports]

Interested in evaluation of the polishers... could snowball on purchases of other red things though.

I don't know if this will fuel any more Milwaukee purchased Justin. This was merely a need for a smaller polisher, filling that need and the full-size polisher was an impulse purchase. I'm pretty well set on most other tools so doubtful this will prompt much additional.

Indeed……an absolute blizzard of battery powered toys. But I cannot see Mike having more than 2 electric cars. He will draw the line in the sand right there!

Yeah, I seriously doubt that.

 

[rattle_snake]

I don't know if this will fuel any more Milwaukee purchased Justin. This was merely a need for a smaller polisher, filling that need and the full-size polisher was an impulse purchase. I'm pretty well set on most other tools so doubtful this will prompt much additional.

Yeah, I seriously doubt that.

I meant purchases of red things for myself. but, yes.

 

[Kiwi Canuck]

I don't know if this will "fuel" any more Milwaukee purchases.

Nice Pun.

I was always a Makita tool guy until I used an employees M18 Brushless Fuel Drill, it left my Makita for dead, I was drilling into a beam with a 1" auger and the Makita had over heated , so he passed me his drill and I was blown away by how much more torque it had.
I have a few Milwaukee products now but am still hanging onto a few of the teal blue ones.

David.

 

[don long]

Mike
I just read thru your truck paint job and enjoyed all the info that you shared. It reminded me of the time My son came down from SLC and we painted his truck from blue to black and how much I enjoyed working with him (the baby of the family)

 

[stinkity stoink]

I tho enjoy this thread with the knowledge that is passed on and the comments that are made. I’m just sitting back and waiting on the review of the new tools. I think a few more of those might get sold in the next few weeks. Lol
Keep it up
Dave

 

[bigdave_185]

Mike for some reason the website hasn’t updated me that I was five pages behind !!

Glad your up on your feet!
Seen the boys jeep around still looks amazing!
The roof top of that gorgeous red duramax will be a blessing to him for many many years to come!

On to polishing! As I sat here today with a whole lot of nothing to do !

I’ll drop off that rupes 6” if ya wanna give the DA a try! For the paint correction

 

[zmotorsports]

Thanks for the comments guys and thanks for stopping by to check out my various projects.

As for the Milwaukee cordless polishers, the small M12 micro polisher did an excellent job of the small pillar areas and will work perfectly for what I purchased it for. However, as much as it pains me to say, I was less than impressed with the full-size polisher. As for feel, balance and maneuverability it was excellent. It is a bit lighter than my corded B&D Buffmaster and is easy to move around and I like the way they tilted the battery at the end of the handle. While polished a roof or hood and the buffer nearly level having that batter tilted keeps plenty of room between the polisher and the painted surface so they were in fact thinking there.

Now for the not so good, and believe me, I really liked using this polisher for the most part and this is hard to report out on, however, it eats through batteries like crazy. I had read reviews about how people could polish an entire car on one battery. I think that is hogwash. I have four good M18 4.0 Redlithium batteries and I went through all four twice and still caught up with the charger and ended up switching back over to my old tried and true Buffmaster for the hood, tailgate and part of the bedsides.

The other thing I noticed is that the torque just isn't there compared to my old Buffmaster. I'm sure this is a battery/cordless thing but with urethane paint you have to create enough heat to get the clear to "flow" and cut but it you create too much heat you can burn through in an instant. Compound is a balancing act, you want to use enough to give the grit to cut through the clear, don't use enough and you will burn it with the pad, use too much and you'll just smear it around, make a mess and "float" the buffing pad over the surface. You want to apply enough to do about a 2' square patch with a thin layer, get it cutting and then slowly remove it with the top layer of clear and then the heat comes in where the clear will begin to "flow" out a bit until the panel is free of compound residue. Then wipe the panel to remove the course grit, change pads to a finer pad and finer polish/compound and lather, rinse, repeat. Always make sure to remove any residue of the courser compound before moving to a finer one or you'll be chasing your tail with swirl marks and scratches.

With my 20-year old clear I was nervous that the OEM clear had become too hard to buff out well but the B&D Buffmaster cut it really well and had enough torque to really get the polisher to bite in as I could feel the difference between the two polishers. When I wanted the Milwaukee to really bite in and I applied some pressure as the compound was thinning out slightly it would nearly stall out, well at least slow down greatly. That didn't happen with the corded Buffmaster. When I wanted it to bite in, it just took it and shouldered the duty. The tone would change slightly as I was demanding more torque from the Buffmaster, but it just took it.

Now had I not used these two polishers side by side, maybe I would not have come to this same conclusion. Overall as I was telling my son, I think the Milwaukee will get used quite a bit but probably as a final step or maybe, possibly the second step but I'll definitely use the the good ole' corded Buffmaster for the first step of compounding as it continues to prove its worth when it comes to digging in and biting into the finish.

I will post up some pictures to follow of the full paint correction for your viewing pleasure and to confirm just how well it turned out between the three polishers.

I'm sorry if I offended any Milwaukee fanboys, I didn't mean to but wanted to give you my honest opinion. Then again, I don't paint for a living.

 

[signcrafter]

That m12 polisher is on my long list of things to get. Mainly for roloc discs. Have also wanted to try it for headlight restoration. Since I know you have experience with the 3m kit, how do you think the m12 would do for headlights?

If you know anyone with a bigger battery I would try that. I have a bunch of m18 power hungry tools, chainsaw, hole hawg, mud mixer, 9" cut off saw, and the list goes on. My 5.0 batteries are noticeably less power and less run time then my 9.0 and 12.0s. Another thing I learned when doing that pinion nut is batteries get weaker over time. I had a 5.0 on my high torque impact and it wasnt doing anything. Put one of my newer 12.0 on and it crushed it no problem. Bigger batteries are very expensive so I'd hate to buy one and hope for better results but if you know someone that has a bigger battery and can borrow it for a day to see.

 

[zmotorsports]

Now for the pictures of the cutting and buffing of my son's 2002 Duramax 2500HD truck.

Here is the A-pillar blend area after a small amount of color sanding with 2000-grit and the first compounding step followed by a polishing step. Blend is undetectable.


This is the C-pillar using the same 2000-grit wet color sanding, first step using compound and white wool pad and second step using a milder polishing compound and yellow polishing pad. I left the masking in place to avoid having splatter everywhere.


Door and club cab door up into the blend areas with first and second steps completed.


B-pillar blend areas.



I had a very small run on the driver's side just in front of the rear quarter glass which I knocked the high spot off with a razor blade followed by a few passes with 1500-grit then 2000-grit before moving on to the compounding and polishing.


Run eliminated and no signs of the run nor the sanding that was necessary. The run above was actually just above the Sharpie marks on the rear quarter window in this picture. No more run detectable. This is after the third and final polishing step using a black foam pad and finishing machine glaze to remove any last remaining swirl marks.


Not bad to a 20-year old truck.




Again, the run was on the rear quarter B-pillar about where the overhead garage door is visible in this picture.


More pictures to follow.....

 

[zmotorsports]

Switching over to my tried and true Black and Decker Buffmaster after I had not batteries fully charged for the Milwaukee Fuel M18 polisher. This cut the hood beautifully. Keeping the cord out of the way is the biggest task when using this beast.





After unmasking, wiping the door jambs with a damp cloth to remove splatter and putting door and window gaskets back in place.


No tape edges. Proper preliminary work is needed to make a seamless and undetectable repair to avoid overspray in doorjambs and avoid having tape edges.


Looks OEM, only better.


Door jambs after unmasking and removing the foam tape and backmasking.


Another shot of doorjamb after removing masking tape. Doorjambs are just one of my pet peeves. Taking the proper time to prepare these areas is necessary to make them look OEM. When I see rough edges or overspray in doorjambs it screamed poor workmanship and detracts from the entire car in my mind.




Bedside is turning out well.





More pictures to follow.....

 

[zmotorsports]

Unmasked and ready to back outside for a wash job.






Reflection of the hood is amazing.










All of the blend areas turned out great.




The depth and clarity really impressed me.


So for a 20 year old truck with just shy of 300k miles on it, I think it looks pretty good and should go a while longer yet.

My son thinks he may put it in a local car show later in the year as he is so happy with the way it turned out. Between the blacked out frame/chassis and now the corrected paint, this is probably the best it has looked in years, maybe even better than when it rolled off the showroom floor.

Thanks for looking.

 

[zmotorsports]

That m12 polisher is on my long list of things to get. Mainly for roloc discs. Have also wanted to try it for headlight restoration. Since I know you have experience with the 3m kit, how do you think the m12 would do for headlights?

If you know anyone with a bigger battery I would try that. I have a bunch of m18 power hungry tools, chainsaw, hole hawg, mud mixer, 9" cut off saw, and the list goes on. My 5.0 batteries are noticeably less power and less run time then my 9.0 and 12.0s. Another thing I learned when doing that pinion nut is batteries get weaker over time. I had a 5.0 on my high torque impact and it wasnt doing anything. Put one of my newer 12.0 on and it crushed it no problem. Bigger batteries are very expensive so I'd hate to buy one and hope for better results but if you know someone that has a bigger battery and can borrow it for a day to see.

Scott, I think the micro polisher would do well for headlights as it nice and easy to manage.

I think even with a larger battery it wouldn't have the torque that I like for a first or even second pass with compound. Second pass maybe, but the initial compounding stage I will continue to use my Buffmaster corded polisher, then maybe switch over the Milwaukee M18 for the final polishing as it is lighter and more maneuverable.

 

[MadeByMiller]

Top notch work as usual Mike! Really impressive as is anything you get your hands on. I believe you're right when you say it looks better than it did rolling off the assembly line.

 

[steves_001]

Wow! That looks fantastic. Cool trick with the razor blade, never would have thought to tape it up like that. Nice work!

 

[LXCam]

Wow Mike, she’s gorgeous bud. As always another fine job. As for the battery deal you’d be amazed how much better the higher amperage batteries will make that unit perform. But the trade off is weight and balance which might kill the pleasure of working with it.