what to buy

[HighFidelity]

i got the 7336sp at lowes. now im looking at the pads on the excel website. they have some good bundles there. now i need help finding the polishes. i have a white pearl car and i read EX-P is nice for that particular paint. My car being 10 years old has a decent amount of swirl although its hard to tell in white paint. now to a few questions.



1. Im thinking about starting with SSR2.5 and working from there. Should i then use SSR2 and then SSR1....or should i use something like Klasse AIO instead of the SSR1?



2. do most of you polish with 4" or 7" pads?



3. do most of u apply the sealant/wax with the machine or is it better by hand?

[HomicidalSloth]

1.) SSR2.5 would be a good start. If you work it properly, letting it break down as you work it on the paint, it should produce a haze free surface, and you shouldn`t need to use another polish after. If you do, I`d use SSR1. Klasse AIO is just a cleaner polish, and won`t be of any use to you after you`ve already polished, unless you`re planning on laying down acrylic sealants and need a good base.



2.) The larger pads are what we usually use, just 4" pads for hard to reach areas (I usually don`t use them personally)



3.) You can do either one. I prefer to do it by hand, because I can usually do it just as fast by hand as with a machine, and I find it to be easier and more relaxing to do by hand.

[HighFidelity]

thanks that helps a lot. I guess i`ll buy the AIO next time when i dont have to do abrasive polishing. what about claying, should i still clay or would that process be unnecessary with the SSR2.5.

[NeReTe]

1.) SSR2.5 would be a good start. If you work it properly, letting it break down as you work it on the paint, it should produce a haze free surface, and you shouldn`t need to use another polish after. If you do, I`d use SSR1.



SSR2.5 left me a very visible haze in my nighthawk black Civic, but SSR1 got things in place. :)



Mabye SSR2 doesn´t leave that haze I got...

[scottabir]

did you work it long enough NeReTe?

[NeReTe]

did you work it long enough NeReTe?



Yes, I think it was done properly... now I´m at university, when I get home I´ll post a few pics I have, where you can see it perfectly ;)

[HighFidelity]

me again. I figure i will be using this process:



WASH

CLAY

SSR2.5

EX-P - 2 coats

Collinite 845



I`m now unsure what strength of propel pad to use for the SSR2.5, Is green the standard or yellow? Also, if i get some hazing should I try the SSR1 with a blue pad?

[aaron33]

I found that for swirls on a never polished before car, I needed the yellow pad. The green was too mild. You could try it with green first and if it doesn`t work, go to yellow. Remember to work SSR2.5 thoroughly. It takes quite a while to get it to break down by PC.

[imported_Neothin]

I do all my polishing with 4" pads. you can apply more pressure to the smaller pads and still retain the dual action motion. This helps remove defects faster IMO. I also apply all my sealants and liquid waxes by hand. pastes i use a foam applicator by hand. For a really bad finish, I`d bump up to a yellow pad w/ 2.5 and then follow up with ssr1 on a blue/green pad to remove the hazing.

[HighFidelity]

wouldn`t u get a better, more even coat of wax by using the machine?

[imported_Neothin]

I find that it`s more of a pain in the rear end to apply pastes by hand. You have to sit there and pop the paste out of the container, apply it, etc etc etc. Besides, I feel more of a connection with the finish when applying that final LSP coat by hand :D

[aaron33]

I do sealants by PC and carnaubas by hand. I don`t want to waste my P21s on a PC sponge.