First time poster, want HD Polisher and a couple questions.

[I'm_ILL]

^ impressive, talk about huge improvement! awesome work

Thanks I appreciate it! Funny I just saw your Marauder post. Great job!

[I'm_ILL]

^ impressive, talk about huge improvement! awesome work

Thank you I appreciate it. Just took time and proper technique. This made me a bid fan of HD products

[blnewt]

Ok, just received the HD buffer today (well packaged, sturdy case, seems to run well). The extra pads also came today so I`m thinking for my virgin run I`m just going to wash the truck real well, Clay Bar, then use the HD Speed w/ about 3 different pads, then a final finish w/ the carnauba wax. Would this be a good way to get a feel for the polishing process? I really want to get a bit of confidence before using a machine on my Infiniti.

Thoughts?

[Accumulator]

blnewt- IMO you`ll find the learning curve is nice and steep; you`ll get the hang of it in no time. Your proposed approach is OK (and it`s good to be cautious) but IMO you might as well do a polishing step too so you get the hang of *that*. The correction part of this stuff is the thing you really need to get a handle on; using the Speed and wax is gonna be sooo foolproof that IMO there won`t be much learning involved.

[blnewt]

blnewt- IMO you`ll find the learning curve is nice and steep; you`ll get the hang of it in no time. Your proposed approach is OK (and it`s good to be cautious) but IMO you might as well do a polishing step too so you get the hang of *that*. The correction part of this stuff is the thing you really need to get a handle on; using the Speed and wax is gonna be sooo foolproof that IMO there won`t be much learning involved.

OK, will do. I`ve got the Maquires Ultimate Polish already so I`ll start with that and finish up w/ the Carnauba. My Toyota has been neglected far too long so I know it will need much more correction than just a light polish, but if I have any screwups it`s no biggie.

When I get ready to tackle the Infiniti I`ll be much more careful (and paranoid)

[Accumulator]

blnewt- That sounds sensible :xyxthumbs

[blnewt]

Ok, is this the right plan for my first time~

Maquires Ultimate Polish~Start w/ most aggressive pad, polish one 2x2 section, go to the next 2x2 section and so on until I do the whole truck, then switch to less aggressive pad, repeat, then switch to the finishing pad? Or should I do one 2x2 section w/ the three different pads to see if this is the finish I want, then if so go back to plan A? Sorry for the simpleton questions but I want to get off to a good (and right) start.

Thanks!

[Accumulator]

.. Or should I do one 2x2 section w/ the three different pads to see if this is the finish I want, then if so go back to plan A?

Do that on the initial test-spot, and maybe also on any areas that appear to be perhaps problematic. Be *CERTAIN* to inspect under various and good lighting conditions so you don`t end up with a nasty surprise when...say, you see it in sunlight.

Sorry for the simpleton questions but I want to get off to a good (and right) start....

No, no...these are good questions! You`re thinking about this stuff and not just jumping in blindly. And some of what you`re asking/we`re discussing oughta be helpful for others in your position.

[pwaug]

Ok, is this the right plan for my first time~

Maquires Ultimate Polish~Start w/ most aggressive pad, polish one 2x2 section, go to the next 2x2 section and so on until I do the whole truck, then switch to less aggressive pad, repeat, then switch to the finishing pad? Or should I do one 2x2 section w/ the three different pads to see if this is the finish I want, then if so go back to plan A? Sorry for the simpleton questions but I want to get off to a good (and right) start.

Thanks!

I think I read your question differently than Accumulator so just ignore my answer if I`m confusing you or read it wrong. When you do your test section you start with the least aggressive pad and polish combo to see if that will remove the defects. If not the move up say in pad aggressiveness, it that doesn`t work go back to the less aggressive pad with more aggressive polish. If that doesn`t work go to the more aggressive polish and the more aggressive pad and so on.. Trying to get to the least aggressive combo that gives you the finish you want. Once you get that polish, pad, polisher speed and pressure down then continue on to the rest of the car. Perhaps Accumulator or someone can verify I`m giving you the correct info.

[Accumulator]

pwaug- We`re just kinda discussing different things at the same time maybe....



Yeah, the general idea is to start gentle and ramp it up so you don`t start off using something more aggressive than necessary.



In this case, if blnewt decides to go ahead and do the "big correction" job, I`m pretty confident that the Meg`s Ultimate Compound won`t be too aggressive (9-year old car, never corrected before..) and I don`t see any problem with just starting there. Consider how many people say "I did [whatever] numerous times with minimal improvement!".



But your advice is the safer, and perhaps much smarter, approach and the one we generally recommend to newbies.



But I`m going so far as to say to just skip that whole thing for now and give it a good AIO-ing for starters. I myself would take a few days and really *DO IT* to that car, but I don`t want to turn this into a huge ordeal for blnewt, rather something that`ll give really good one-day`s-effort results.



blnewt- OH, almost forgot to mention...when it does come time to compound/polish/correct the car, I always work *MUCH* smaller areas than the usually-recommended 2` x 2`. Just works out better for me, even after all the years I`ve been doing this stuff. So much better that I recommend everybody try doing smaller areas and only work larger ones (like that two foot square) as they gain experience. And even then, even if you do like that, I`d sure watch that it doesn`t lead to sub-optimal results.

[pwaug]

pwaug- We`re just kinda discussing different things at the same time maybe....



Yeah, the general idea is to start gentle and ramp it up so you don`t start off using something more aggressive than necessary.



In this case, if blnewt decides to go ahead and do the "big correction" job, I`m pretty confident that the Meg`s Ultimate Compound won`t be too aggressive (9-year old car, never corrected before..) and I don`t see any problem with just starting there. Consider how many people say "I did [whatever] numerous times with minimal improvement!".



Now I understand--makes sense









But your advice is the safer, and perhaps much smarter, approach and the one we generally recommend to newbies.



But I`m going so far as to say to just skip that whole thing for now and give it a good AIO-ing for starters.



You had suggested this to me and it worked out quite well--did my first polishing on my 07 Passat with just HD Speed on an orange pad--it`s a great idea--little chance of doing harm and Speed really corrected well even with the hard VW clear



I myself would take a few days and really *DO IT* to that car, but I don`t want to turn this into a huge ordeal for blnewt, rather something that`ll give really good one-day`s-effort results.



blnewt- OH, almost forgot to mention...when it does come time to compound/polish/correct the car, I always work *MUCH* smaller areas than the usually-recommended 2` x 2`. Just works out better for me, even after all the years I`ve been doing this stuff. So much better that I recommend everybody try doing smaller areas and only work larger ones (like that two foot square) as they gain experience. And even then, even if you do like that, I`d sure watch that it doesn`t lead to sub-optimal results.

As a relative novice at machine polishing there is a question that I`ve had for some time that I think will also help blnewt. As an example-- with my test area I`ve determined I can get the correction I need with an orange pad and UNO at speed 6 on my GG DA, but it`s taking me 6 slow passes with firm pressure. At this point am I better off to go up to HD Cut and/or a yellow or MF pad assuming that then I might only have to do 2 or 3 passes?? I haven`t faced this situation with my own cars which were in good shape to start with, but this spring/summer will be doing some friend`s and relative`s cars that lets say have recieved less than admirable care.

[blnewt]

Thanks both of you for the informative and helpful replies. Luckily this is a 93 Toyota T100 so it`s SOOO in need of help w/ the paint. 20 yr old truck paint on a truck that`s just a work hauler so it`s a great test mule. I WILL follow the more cautious approach when my Infiniti is ready for the DA, but I`m ready to go pretty aggressive w/ the truck. My yellow pad looks like the weapon of choice starting out and I will go with a smaller test area, like a sq. foot rather than a 2x2. I`ll take some before & after pics so you can lol at my results, just be kind w/ your replies

Thanks again, and thanks for giving me a couple different battle plans that I can use for my 2 upcoming jobs.

[Accumulator]

blnewt- OK, that sounds fine. Just be sure to really work at the in-progress inspections so you don`t have any unpleasant surprises when you`re done. And allocate more time than you think you could ever possibly need

.. As an example-- with my test area I`ve determined I can get the correction I need with an orange pad and UNO at speed 6 on my GG DA, but it`s taking me 6 slow passes with firm pressure. At this point am I better off to go up to HD Cut and/or a yellow or MF pad assuming that then I might only have to do 2 or 3 passes??

IF by "six passes" you mean...like, left-right/right-left/up-down/down-up/diagonal/diagonal then I`d keep doing that. Those six "arm sweep passes" are about right to properly work products like M105 and the incremental correction keeps it plenty safe; you can quit after, like...r-l/l-r (one-third of what was expected) if you notice things clearing up really fast.



If, OTOH, those "six passes" were to mean six "work it until you need to stop and clean/reload the pad" then yeah..I`d want to speed things along quite a bit if it were safely feasible. But even with the Flex 3401/M105/cutting pad combo I can often go over an area six times like that when it`s pretty trashed.



Yeah, I might start thinking about getting out the 2-4K grit sanding media, but IME it`s not unusual to need to compound a given area quite a few times when working on serious marring.

[pwaug]

IF by "six passes" you mean...like, left-right/right-left/up-down/down-up/diagonal/diagonal then I`d keep doing that. Those six "arm sweep passes" are about right to properly work products like M105 and the incremental correction keeps it plenty safe; you can quit after, like...r-l/l-r (one-third of what was expected) if you notice things clearing up really fast.

Yep this is what I meant by six passes. I just was thinking that if it was taking me six passes with UNO and an orange pad that perhaps I`d be better off moving up to HD Cut on an orange pad or even UNO on a MF cutting pad to cut down on the number of passes needed to clear things up--based on test spots of course.

[Accumulator]

Yep this is what I meant by six passes. I just was thinking that if it was taking me six passes with UNO and an orange pad that perhaps I`d be better off moving up to HD Cut on an orange pad or even UNO on a MF cutting pad to cut down on the number of passes needed to clear things up--based on test spots of course.

Maybe try both and see which one works best *for you*. Different ways to accomplish this stuff...