Spit and polish

This is a picture of the rear left quarter when I initially started rubbing down the flashlines. Since then I had quite a bit of practice ! and I've also treated myself to an electric DA polishing machine so I thought I go back and see what I could achieve with a bit more experience under the belt and the means to finish the panel to a high standard.

Firstly I rubbed down the whole panel with 600 grit wet n dry in a horizontal plane, keeping the panel wet at all times. Next I used 1200 grit in a vertical plane, the idea here being that if any horizontal scratches are still showing after this process, they are from the 600 grit and you've still got more work to do. Next was 2000 grit horizontal again with the same idea in mind i.e. any vertical scratches are from the 1200 and you need to keep going. I used a microfibre cloth to dry the panel down and a very bright light in order to see any scratches left between grades.
After the 2000 grit I used Farecla G6 with the polishing machine again keeping the panel wet at all times. After G6 I used G3 which is a bit finer and after that some polish I had previously used on my other car called Menzerna Final Polish PO85RD. I believe the Farecla equivalent is G10. For a really excellent guide to using a DA polishing machine, head over to the Detailing World website and have a read of this:-http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/images/misc/dapolishing.pdf it's aimed at "correcting" paint finish but the basic principles are the same.

Not bad eh!