polish before JW Prime ?

[steve_bris]

I have just washed and clayed my 03 silver AMG, and will apply JW prime and AJT over the next few days, all by hand. The finish has come up really well after the clay, but it seems there is a polish step missing in the Prime/AJ combo. I know Prime is supposed to clean/polish...... but would a better result be achieved with a pure polish product as an extra step ?



So clay->Polish Product->Prime->AJ ??

[victory]

My general rule for polish is "does the car need it?" If the finish is defect free, you`re just removing clear for no reason.

[Rob Tomlin]

I would guess that a 2003 model year car may very well need a polishing if it hasn`t been done in the last year.

[imported_themightytimmah]

If you check it in the right lighting (incandescant at night usually works best for silver), you`ll almost certainly find that the car could benefit from an abrasive polishing.



A "pure polish" in the Meguiars` sense of the word would not work, as Prime would remove any oils or glazes on the surface. Only an abrasive polish via machine would make much of a difference, it`s a bit of a time investment for a kick up in gloss - it may just not be worth it to you.

[wfedwar]

You can use any abrasive compound or polish you like, it just depends on what the surface needs.

[abbeysdad]

I like comet with a fine steel wool pad!



okay, maybe NOT! lol



Did you happen to notice areas where your clay magically lifted grime from the freshly washed surface? And clay really just grabs contaminants like break dust, fallout and tar...

I view polishing as a fine scrubbing step before the LSP. Even if it`s more chemical than truely abrasive (like my comet joke). The idea is to put the LSP over a sqeaky clean surface giving you the most pop.

BTW, I have a frost white color on my ride that contains two different silver colors to give the off-white appearance. Silver, like white (unlike darker colors) is more difficult to get bragging rights for sheen and pop. But the absolute cleaner/polished the surface before applying the LSP, the better! Oh....and don`t forget - after Prime and AJT have cured for at least 24-48 hrs, I`d wash or QD and put on another layer of AJT - as it will appear deeper and protect longer.

[Gopher]

I have a titanium silver bimmer (e39) and use KAIO as my cleaner, which I understand to be pretty similar to Prime and follow with AJT.



Though I`ve only use a PC (my rotary was delivered today!!!!) in the past I`ve used Menzerna IP/FP prior to application and been happy with the results.



Silver is an easy color to get lazy with IMO. I don`t have halogen lights yet, but defects in my paint only show up under very certain lighting. I`m curious as to what a truly defect free silver shine will look like, but the natural look of clean silver has had me lazy about detailing my own ride, and I find myself detailing my family and friends` cars instead to witness more of a transformation.