Is the Sonus SFX-1 doing its job correctly? Pics posted

[ev01ut10ndt]

Hi everyone,



I`m tackling my mom`s 2002 CR-V before polishing my Infiniti this week. It has never been waxed before. Its a garaged car, so its not that bad.



So far, I washed with Gold class, and used pinnacle clay to remove 4 years of grime. The paint before felt like sandpaper after I compared it to the newly clayed areas. MAN, it was like a day & night difference!



Then I used the Sonus sponge and polished till my arm fell off with the SFX-1. (spent $100+ on chemicals/accessories, so no $$ for a PC). The paint practically was as smooth as a piano`s laquer finish...to me it is so far. Anyways, my main concern is that there are still a crap-load of swirls and scratches on the hoods and doors that didn`t budge. Its a heck of a lot better than before, but the swirls are still there. Here are some pics of the hood and front fender: (sorry, its kinda blurry, so i sharpened it a little on all the pics)



http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g31/ev01ut10ndt/P1010048.jpg

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g31/ev01ut10ndt/P1010037.jpg

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g31/ev01ut10ndt/P1010039-1.jpg



An overall pic of the car (the shine was accentuated by my camera)

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g31/ev01ut10ndt/P1010040-1.jpg



So is that all I could really do by hand with the SFX-1? Or are there more aggresive chemicals like SSR2.5 or the 3M ones?



Oh yea, when I`m polishing, there`s dust coming out of the sponge. Is it something to worry about? Would it marr the paint? Heres a pic of it on the grill of the car:

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g31/ev01ut10ndt/P1010052.jpg

http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g31/ev01ut10ndt/P1010054.jpg



I plan to go with the SFX-3 next, then do the AIO and a couple of coats of SG. Would these last steps increase the shine/gloss?



Whoa...sorry bout the many pictures and noob-ish long post. I appreciate the help you guys have provided...the forum really taught me a lot about car care. I`m spreading the "joy" to all my friends who are "lucky" enough to know me.



Only YOU can prevent paint swirls. (ahem...smokey the bear?, :sosad )

[ev01ut10ndt]

found this: http://autopia.org/forum/showthread.php?t=74066



answered many questions....i`d appreciate any inputs in terms of which polish I should use.

[ev01ut10ndt]

bump...I`d appreciate any inputs. Sorry if the OP is a little confusing.

[imported_hooked]

I haven`t used the Sonus products, but I`ve read somewhere here that they should really be used with a polisher to get full benefits (even though the directions say that it can be applied by hand.)



Another thing is that since SFX-1 is the most aggressive (for Sonus) polish, it`s recommended to follow up with the SFX-2 to clean up any marring that it might have caused.



Experts, please help the OP out.

[racingbeat]

I had mixed results with teh SFX-1 not enough bite. Better results with Poorboys SSR 2.5

[ev01ut10ndt]

actually, if done by hand as in my case, the sfx-1 is fairly mild. It made the car shiner and glossy (as opposed to removing the swirls/minor scratches like I`d expected). The sfx-3 simply made the paint as smooth as possible. Then the aio and 1 coat of sg made the paint the best it has ever been. Thanks for the suggestion...ill try the ssr 2.5 next time i order online again.