Some basic down to earth polishing advice please .

[robrado974 1]

With so many products on the market im a bit overwhelmed . This is not for my corrado by the way . Ive spent alot of time and effort on the corrado and its very near how i want it to be .I want to spend some time on my t4 and the mrs mk5 golf . Ive had a go at a couple of panels on both using autoglym products , first using the paint renovator , then polish and finaly the high definition wax .Both panels came up very well but i know i can get both vehicles looking better if i use a machine polisher . Im looking into using 'g' products such g3 etc , are these easy to use ?. What products do you use ?, i know it takes hard work , im not under the illusion that i can sort one vehicle in two hours , but i dont want to spend forever doing it if that makes sense . Any help and info appreciated .

Many thanks .

Rob

[Jamie 1]

I have tried loads of different polishes over the years but the one I have settled on and use exclusively now is the Menzerna range on Sonus or Lake Country pads, followed by a coat of ClearKote Red Moose Machine Glaze and topped with Dodo Juice Rainforest Rub. Again I've tried LOADS of waxes from all price points, from super cheap to hugely expensive, but for ease of use, value for money, looks and longevity I just can't help coming back to DJ RR. Or if you prefer a sealant I found Opti-Seal to perform brilliantly.

[clumpy1 11]

G3 should only be used in certain circumstances Rob I have never seen your car but I don't think your's is in need of the abrasion G3 provide's you will probably be looking at using something like 3M finesse or ultrafina. I'll do a more informative post 2moro for you as my 3M gear is round the shed.

[Jamie 1]

Or maybe try something like Menz Final Finish, Lime Prime or Klasse All-In-One for very mild correction?

[robrado974 1]

Thanks for the replies , i will be looking into the products mentioned so far . I forgot to mention i use the maguires detailing spray after washing as well .

Rob

[seanl82 23]

I'd suggest the 3m range Rob. Pad colours correspond with the bottle lid, so it's nice and simple to follow and give great results. It's too easy to get caught up with tons of different pads for tons of different applications, backing plates, compounds/polishes/glazes yada yada and it can become overwhelming. Yellow ultrafine plus with yellow pad, and blue ultrafina with blue pad are all you'll need for excellent results. I use a budget but very capable silverline silver storm machine, and seal your paintwork after with a decent wax. (The AG HD is very good but a bit pricey imo). Best of luck with whatever you decide mate.

[robrado974 1]

Hi Sean , I was looking at the silver line polisher on ebay earlier on . When you say yellow and blue products , do you use one first , then use the other , then wax and your done ?

Rob

[seanl82 23]

Depends what level of cutting is required mate. Yellow is a medium cut polish, so will remove the vast majority of swirls and small scratches, and the blue is a finishing polish which will remove any machine induced holograms, buffer trails, and light scratches and swirls. It gives awsome depth of shine, and is Incredibly easy to work too as it doesn't dust up. Only downside is that as its a finishing polish, it needs a little more working in for harder paint types. (VAG as it happens!) It's a little more expensive than rivals, but these are mostly only available in 1L bottles though so by volume, work out much cheaper in the end. You could use ultrafina after the ultrafine plus, but it's not entirely necessary as the medium cut will give a decent level of refinement as it is. When using heavy compounds though, refining using a finishing polish is a must! I'm sure you've seen some very expensive resprays looking very flat and marred, well that's because of crap finishing by machine buffing using G3 which is as said, a heavy cut compound.

 

Oh and yes, all the polish does is cut the paint back, or if it's a glaze, fill the scratches/swirls to mask them. A sealant or wax is a must afterward, or it won't last five minutes. I'm not one for concourse £250 waxes! So I use either finiskare p1000, or Collinite 476s which give a very good depth of shine, but best of all longevity. All for about £25 too!

Using your QD is good during maintenance washes (weekly washes) to top up the wax layer and keep it effective.

Edited March 18, 2014 by seanl82

[robrado974 1]

Thanks Sean , right in a nut shell , I have a white t4 which needs a good going over , because it's a little dull , as I've said from what I've used it looks nice but could be better . The golf is black and has light scratches and swirls , there are a few deeper scratches , but I'm not expecting miracles . So I'm thinking the yellow one with a good wax on top would be the best to use ?

Rob

[Jim Bowen 1]

I tried a 3m pad and it was shafted after one use. I sticck to merzerna stuff that I already had.

 

I do like the dodo juice stuff. Slowly using up stuff and buying the dodo equivalent.

[seanl82 23]

That would do a pretty darn good job mate! :thumbleft:

As I said, glazes are filler heavy, so you could add a coat of that in between polish and wax to hide anything not removed by the polish if you wanna go balls out.

I don't envy you doing the t4 though, that's gonna be hard work! Prepare for aching arms! That's the only downside to a budget machine. Heavier, slightly noisier, and a shorter cable. But for a tenth of the price of a top of the range festool, it'll give just as good results.

[seanl82 23]

I tried a 3m pad and it was shafted after one use. I sticck to merzerna stuff that I already had.

 

I do like the dodo juice stuff. Slowly using up stuff and buying the dodo equivalent.

 

 

I did that first time round tbf. It comes with research and a bit of experience though, let the pad do the cutting, not your weight behind it. It's too much pressure and incorrect masking of shuts that destroy pads. Read the guide on Detailing World a few times, and watch a couple of vids on youtube and you'll be fine Rob. Rotary machines have a bad rep as they can be damaging if used incorrectly, but by being cautious, will produce unrivalled results.

[robrado974 1]

Thanks for the info everyone , Sean I'm a plasterer by trade , so plenty of upper body strength , I know I will still feel it by the time I'm done though !

[loepan 11]

its all for **** if your not claying it first!

ive used so many polishes wax's and sealents and glazes.....and have come to the conclusion that every paint work is different even if you had two cars the same make and colour, I have products that work wonders on my daily's but are damn right awful on the rado, if your t4 is white id go for light specific glazes and wax.

when it comes to paint correction, only on site viewing can judge

is this your 1st time?

are you using a da or a rotary polisher? (da 'dual action' are excellent amateur tools where as rotary's are best for pro or bodyshops)

are you looking at removing swirl marks or heavy/light scratches?

 

swirls can almost certainly be removed every time using cutting compounds and pads + finishing polish glazes, every scratch is different and needs to be approached differently dependent on depth, e.g. wet sanding may be required on deeper scratches

glazes are like a filler if you will, there's only so much clearcoat/paint (paint dependent) you can take off so you get it as best you can then 'fill' it with a glaze (easy way to describe it)

if its just a daily id probably be tempted to use the best budget type...for example when finishing poorboys do a light wax and glaze, and chemical guys jet seal 109 is a good all round sealent

if its your first time, I would probably go with a light to medium cutting pad (chem guys hex logic orange for eg) with a medium/light abrasive compound, see if what you want removed has gone and then adjust from there accordingly. I use this as you can tend to finish out on this combination pad...which is ideal for dailys

 

unfortunately it is trial and error

Edited March 19, 2014 by loepan

[seanl82 23]

Thanks for the info everyone , Sean I'm a plasterer by trade , so plenty of upper body strength , I know I will still feel it by the time I'm done though !

 

 

Haha, that thought was in my head when writing it actually! You either need to do detailing by profession or be a plasterer to be ok!

 

What Leopan says is correct too. At a minimum, give it a good clay. I de-tar and decontam (metal fallout) along with claying before I break out the machine. It's starting to get expensive isn't it!

Don't worry about dedicated clay lube though, I use demonshine diluted 1:1 which will last ages and works perfectly well.

[robrado974 1]

Thanks loepan , yeah the bottom sections will defiantly need a clay bar as it's got a lot of road tar and bits on it .

Rob

[clumpy1 11]

Don't use the clay bar to remove the tar use a tar and glue remover first to get rid of the tar then use the clay bar.

[loepan 11]

haha yeah......this sounds exactly like when I first got into it.......

 

you'll soon find there is a spray, pad, potion, bar, towel, or cloth for just about everything! all I know it can turn into a rather expensive hobby

 

recently seen a clay towel, haven't used one yet

and saying that rob, washing and drying is another issue....once you've perfected the paint you'll be using the grit guard two bucket method for sure ha ha

 

its a never ending list

[robrado974 1]

Clumpy , thanks mate , yeah i have some tar remover , Loepan , i have a huge box full of cleaning products that is starting to overflow lol, bought some more large microfibres the other day as they are great for drying the car .