T-Cutting the Fibreglass

[SandS]

Hi.
The newly aquired coachbuilt has a lot of dull and smeary
fibreglass where it looks as though someone has been cleaing it
with something inapproporiate. Almost all the fibreglass (except
the roof) is affected. I have tried fenwicks Motorhome cleaner
and Mer polish but neither has any affect whatsoever. This
evening a used a tiny amout of T-Cut on a small patch and
(rubbing very gently) it has worked very well and only a faint
shadow of the original smearing remains.

My questions are:
1) can I now gently t-cut the rest of the bodywork without
damaging it?
2) should I apply something afterwards or will the fibreglass be
OK?
3) if I do need to apply a Sealant / wax / polish how often will
this need to be repeated ?
4) is there a better way ! (bearing in mind I have already spent
about £25 on products that had no affect)?

Thank you
Steve
(PS .. motorhome is 14 yr old AS talisman on Talbot Chassis )

[riccip]

Post by SandS
1) can I now gently t-cut the rest of the bodywork without
damaging it?

Yes, absolutely no problem. No need to be gentle with it and you
may need two or more applications in places. You'll find it much
easier using a lambswool bonnet over a rubber pad fitted to a
variable speed drill. Keep the RPM low or the T-Cut will get hot.

Post by SandS
2) should I apply something afterwards or will the fibreglass be
OK?

Do not apply any kind of sealant. If you can find any use the
old-fashioned hard, beeswax type car polish (Strand Glassfibre
sell it, or maybe your local motorist's shop). Otherwise any car
polish will do, the thicker the better. Build up two or three
layers, again using the drill and bonnet.

Post by SandS
3) if I do need to apply a Sealant / wax / polish how often will
this need to be repeated ?

Not strictly necessary but you can occasionally give it a wax n'
buff whenever you think it needs a shine.

Post by SandS
4) is there a better way ! (bearing in mind I have already spent
about £25 on products that had no affect)?

The trade uses a cutting paste called "Farecla" but it's only a
more expensive T-Cut style product. You wouldn't get a better
result.

riccip

[Tone]

Post by riccip
The trade uses a cutting paste called "Farecla" but it's only a
more expensive T-Cut style product. You wouldn't get a better
result.

Farecla is far far more abrasive than T cut could ever be

[riccip]

Post by Tone
Farecla is far far more abrasive than T cut could ever be

Depends on the grade. It's available in a range of heavy to light
grades as a paste, and also as a T-Cut style liquid. The pastes
are more suitable for preparing moulds.

riccip

[TonyF]

Post by Tone
Farecla is far far more abrasive than T cut could ever be

Sorry but Tcut is shite and is only the laymans equivalent of the proper
abrasive pastes used at car factories. You might as well use toothpaste or
wire whool. It is a more abrasive form of cutting paste than you might
really prefer.
I know because my dad worked for 3m abrasives. If you can get hold of any,
maybe at the 3m shop, try and get hold of Finesse-IT(tm) paste. And also
micron pads which are excellent at taking out scratches.
Use T-Cut only for more heavy duty cutting in jobs where you arent looking
for the perfect finish, or better still dont use it at all.

Tony

[SandS]

Post by TonyF

Post by Tone
Farecla is far far more abrasive than T cut could ever be

Sorry but Tcut is shite and is only the laymans equivalent of

the proper

Post by TonyF
abrasive pastes used at car factories. You might as well use

toothpaste or

Post by TonyF
wire whool. It is a more abrasive form of cutting paste than

you might

Post by TonyF
really prefer.
I know because my dad worked for 3m abrasives. If you can get

hold of any,

Post by TonyF
maybe at the 3m shop, try and get hold of Finesse-IT(tm) paste. And also
micron pads which are excellent at taking out scratches.
Use T-Cut only for more heavy duty cutting in jobs where you

arent looking

Post by TonyF
for the perfect finish, or better still dont use it at all.
Tony

So you're saying t-cut is TOO abrasive ?
Darn, I wish I'd known that before I did the whole of the
fibreglass bodywork (mostly by hand but a couple of bits with a
bonnet on a rechargeable drill). I then put MER polish on the
lot. Very time consuming business.
Mind you there is still some cloudinss in the bodywork but it is
much more shiny than it was after 14yrs and there's no way I'm
doing it again (especially if there is ANY chance of damaging the
body).
I still have the roof to do but I think I'll just use the MER
polish on its own for that. I'm assuming it needs doing ? Its not
shiny but is dull fibreglass indicative of a problem with the
surface needing some protection or would it be ok just to leave
it and clean it thoroughly once a year ?

Regards,
Steve

[Tone]

On Thu, 3 Jun 2004 21:46:29 +0100, "SandS"

Post by SandS
So you're saying t-cut is TOO abrasive ?
Darn, I wish I'd known that before I did the whole of the
fibreglass bodywork (mostly by hand but a couple of bits with a
bonnet on a rechargeable drill). I then put MER polish on the
lot. Very time consuming business.
Mind you there is still some cloudinss in the bodywork but it is
much more shiny than it was after 14yrs and there's no way I'm
doing it again (especially if there is ANY chance of damaging the
body).
I still have the roof to do but I think I'll just use the MER
polish on its own for that. I'm assuming it needs doing ? Its not
shiny but is dull fibreglass indicative of a problem with the
surface needing some protection or would it be ok just to leave
it and clean it thoroughly once a year ?
Regards,
Steve

No T Cut isn't very abrasive at all
You should use Farecla

[TonyF]

Post by Tone
No T Cut isn't very abrasive at all
You should use Farecla

If you want a perfect finish it is.... TCut is NOT the best/ most perfect
you can get- dont you wonder why they dont use it in the car plants???
But if thats all you got.....

If you want to build up prior to using a proper polishing paste (not tcut)
use finer abrasives to buff the area in first (like micron wet and dry).
Then use Finesse It. That really gets any scratches out. Thats it I am not
saying any more, my fathers experience in selling it to a lot of the popular
car brands year after year speaks volumes enough.

Tone

[riccip]

Post by TonyF
If you want a perfect finish it is.... TCut is NOT the best/ most perfect
you can get- dont you wonder why they dont use it in the car plants???
But if thats all you got.....
If you want to build up prior to using a proper polishing paste (not tcut)
use finer abrasives to buff the area in first (like micron wet and dry).
Then use Finesse It. That really gets any scratches out. Thats it I am not
saying any more, my fathers experience in selling it to a lot of the popular
car brands year after year speaks volumes enough.

Except scratches weren't the OP's problem. No doubt "Finesse It"
is an excellent product and your old man could sell it to the
Amish but it's not the correct application in this case. We're
talking time-weathered self-coloured fibreglass not cellulose
paint.

riccip

[TonyF]

Post by riccip
Except scratches weren't the OP's problem. No doubt "Finesse It"
is an excellent product and your old man could sell it to the
Amish but it's not the correct application in this case. We're
talking time-weathered self-coloured fibreglass not cellulose
paint.

Thanks grandad. But I have to pull you up and say that 3m abrasives DONT
just apply to scratches, either. So mute point you're making back. Its still
the finest abrasive polish, and if you need more abrasive like I said, you
can get the wet n dry cutting disks to micron level. Whether we are talking
plastics, cellulose, metal......they also use Finesse-It on polishing engine
internals so fo figure.

You'll find they also take that dull, lifeless finish away which is what he
was talking about in the first place. Don't you appreicate that "dullness"
is in fact very very fine scratches, or maybe chemical surface reaction but
therefore can be improved by using these abrasives? Hey dont just rely on my
verdict, ask anyone in the vehicle manufacturing "trade" :o)

But then again, I suppose if you haven't tried it yet, how can you know.

[riccip]

Post by TonyF
You'll find they also take that dull, lifeless finish away which is what he
was talking about in the first place. Don't you appreicate that "dullness"
is in fact very very fine scratches, or maybe chemical surface reaction but
therefore can be improved by using these abrasives? Hey dont just rely on my
verdict, ask anyone in the vehicle manufacturing "trade" :o)
But then again, I suppose if you haven't tried it yet, how can you know.

Are you on commission for this stuff? At nearly 30 quid a litre
it's TWICE the price of Farecla's equivalent product. Little
wonder nobody in the GRP trade uses it. Frankly I can't be arsed
to get into a "my cocopops are better than your sugarsmacks"
argument so let's try a more practical approach.

Here's what you get by dropping GRP and Farecla into Google:
http://tinyurl.com/2v68s

Here's what you get with GRP and T-Cut:
http://tinyurl.com/2hqak

And here's what you get with GRP and Finesse It:
http://tinyurl.com/3ee84

Substitute "Fibreglass" for GRP if you like, the results are the
same. With that I rest my case.

riccip

[Tone]

Post by riccip
http://tinyurl.com/2v68s
http://tinyurl.com/2hqak
http://tinyurl.com/3ee84
Substitute "Fibreglass" for GRP if you like, the results are the
same. With that I rest my case.
riccip

I'm happy with Farecla.
The 2 body shops round here use it (that's where I get mine from)
One of those is a Ferrari main dealer. If its good enough for
them.....................

[Les Rose]

snip

Post by riccip
The trade uses a cutting paste called "Farecla" but it's only a
more expensive T-Cut style product. You wouldn't get a better
result.
riccip

I have just polished a whole car with Farecla G3 and G10. T-cut I have used
for years but it's far too slow for large areas of tough modern paint.
Really meant for cellulose. I bought an orbital polisher for £20 to avoid
tennis elbow. That was for a small sports car - I shudder to think how long
it would take by hand for a motorhome.

[TonyF]

www.profita.co.uk

Post by riccip
The trade uses a cutting paste called "Farecla" but it's only a
more expensive T-Cut style product. You wouldn't get a better
result.
riccip

What trade? You mean the car repair trade (bodge and fix-it trade)?
I bet the car manufaturing trade doesn't. If you think they do, tell me
which brands and I will ask my father if hes aware they use that at those
brands. Most of the car manufacturers use 3M Finesse-It, end of.

Tone

[riccip]

Post by TonyF
www.profita.co.uk

Post by riccip
The trade uses a cutting paste called "Farecla" but it's only a
more expensive T-Cut style product. You wouldn't get a better
result.
riccip

What trade? You mean the car repair trade (bodge and fix-it trade)?
I bet the car manufaturing trade doesn't. If you think they do, tell me
which brands and I will ask my father if hes aware they use that at those
brands. Most of the car manufacturers use 3M Finesse-It, end of.
Tone

The GRP trade, that's fibreglass to you sonny. Read the original
post (or even the subject line) then go ask your dad to explain
what a Gelcoat is.

riccip