PC w/ orange pad vs black paint

[bpfoley]

I am planning on tackling my 02 black jetta this weekend.

After my wash & clay I am planning on going over the car with my constant pressure orange pad from properautocare with Megs #9 swirl remover. I figure this will be more aggresive than with my white constant pressure pads.

the car has minor swirling and defects and I have heard varying things about VW clear. Should I step up the product? (mothers power polish)? then follow with #9 on the white pads? I am sticking with OTC products since I am doing this during the weekend. I was unable to find any #80 at pep boys.

Afterwards I plan on finishing with the red pad and mothers reflections wax, then top it off with a hand application of #26.

Certain areas such as the door handles will get scratch X from nail marks.

Also, is it ok to use one pad for an entire car? jetta's arent that big, but my properautocare directions in my pad kit says 2 pads per car, but only supplied me with one orange pad.

thanks!

[Accumulator]

I'd think you can do a Jetta with one pad, but you oughta keep an eye on it and clean it if necessary.

I too have heard so many conflicting reports about the VW clear that I don't know what you oughta expect.

But I wouldn't use a sorta-aggressive pad like the orange with a *very* mild polish like the #9. Those combos usually don't work as well as using a more aggressive product with a milder pad. If you get micromarring from the orange pad the #9 won't be able to correct it. IMO it's just not a good combo.

If you need the bite of the orange pad, use a more aggressive product, and follow up with something on a white pad if needed. So your second idea is a lot better IMO.

Wish I knew more about the Mother's Power Polish I can't tell you how good it'll work for you, sorry. People do seem to like it, but IIRC it does a fair bit of concealing so some of the marring might appear to "come back". Don't know for certain though, and it's not a biggie IMO anyhow.

Oh, and I'd concentrate on the polishing, even if it means you only end up putting one coat of wax on. You can always add the next one after the next wash, which I often think works better anyhow. It's like most LSPs need a little time before you put anything over top of them.

Oh#2, work a limited area and inspect your work in different types of ligh (especially sunlight). In case something doesn't go well, you want to find out before you do the whole car. Pick a panel and get it nice so you know what works/doesn't. Too many people spend hours doing the whole car only to discover something didn't go right and they need to do the whole job all over again, very disappointing. Remember that this one's gonna be a learning experience.

[RAG]

Excellent advice from Accumulator!

Though the orange LC pad isn't as aggressive as any of the other orange pads out there...black is a tricky beast - I wouldn't finish with the orange. As accumulator said, maybe use the orange pad with a more aggressive product and then follow up with a finishing pad and a finishing polish. Since you have black (actually my specialty) do yourself a huge favor and by the new Blackfire SRC polish from CMA - this stuff is stronger than #9 and yet finishes down better (with less marring). Pad selection really depends on how hard your clear is...if your clear is hard you can go with the SFX-2 or if it's soft you'll want to go with the blue or green Propel II. The firmer closed cell pads (like the white sonus SFX-2 and the white Wolfgang ETS) work much faster than the Propels with a PC, but depending on the clear they can leave micro-marring. Alternatively, the more "airy" or porous propels have less of a tendancy to "slam" the abbrasive particles in the polish into the paint...will take longer to remove the same level of defects, but the end results is sometimes better.

#9 used to be one of my favorites, but with the orange LC...it will leave micro-marring on all but the very hardest clears. Alternatively, #9 with a green, blue, or white propel will not leave any micro-marring, but it will take you a long long time to get the job done. So if you value your time at all the Blackfire polish from CMA, Propel pads from exceldetail, and SFX pads from Autopia. The SFX-2 pads also make great cutting pads with a more aggressive polish like IP (oh yeah, if you think you might need a more aggressive solution for your first go-around, get IP - it is the best solution for sensative black paint).

Ryan