More noob polishing questions

[BlkSapphire]

So I have a pretty good idea of what I can do with SIP/CCS orange and this rotary polisher on my `95 Avus BMW M3. I can take out about 90% of the RIDS - some of the deeper scratches remain - and I can sort of level down the deep etches and pocks that have come with 13 years of driving. A few of the deepest scratches are all the way through the clear and some of the others that remain are probably 90% through it, so I do not want to try to polish them out.



The question is, given that these pocks and scratches are remaining, is there any point at all in going to a finer polish? I have some gray pads and Nano, and some blue finishing pads and Ultrafina, but I am not sure that they`ll add much to the SIP given that the surface is still not perfected. What do you guys think?



Finally, when doing a two-stage, what do you guys do in between? I can think of some different options:



-Just go straight from the SIP to the next polish, don`t even remove the SIP residue.



-Remove the SIP residue with IPA/water and a microfiber and stay away from the tape edges with the finer polish so as not to pick up grit.



-Wash the car with the masking tape on it.



-Remove the masking tape, wash the car, then remask and repolish. I imagine the Gallardo-type detailers do this but if you guys tell me it`s the standard procedure I will probably just not even attempt the second stage.



Sorry for the ignorant questions, thanks for your advice so far! It`s been awesome.

[Accumulator]

So I have a pretty good idea of what I can do with SIP/CCS orange and this rotary polisher on my `95 Avus BMW M3..



Note that I have an e36 M3 that I bought in *VERY* used condition that I`m working on now and then when I have time to kill.



I`m going a lot more aggressive than you are though, so mine is a real multi-step job.




The question is, given that these pocks and scratches are remaining, is there any point at all in going to a finer polish?



Absolutely yes. The residual marring, while it looks awful to you (and I bet it`s not as bad as mine ;) I have entire panels that simply need repainted) is still only a small % of the paint. The vast majority of the paint will benefit from the additional finer polishing.



I never stop at the orange-pad-combo point even on really nasty beaters, the subsequent polishing is *ALWAYS* worth it to me.






Finally, when doing a two-stage, what do you guys do in between? I can think of some different options..



Note that I don`t use Menzerna, but the following responses are based on the products I do use.




-Just go straight from the SIP to the next polish, don`t even remove the SIP residue.



I`d only do that if the next step was SIP/white, which might not be a bad step-down but I dunno that much about SIP. I leave the residue when the next step is done with the same product on a milder pad (or with a different machine, such as the Cyclo).




-Remove the SIP residue with IPA/water and a microfiber and stay away from the tape edges with the finer polish so as not to pick up grit.



I`d be using the SIP for the worst marring, so any filling of very fine stuff wouldn`t bother me (I`d let the next polishing step fix that). So I wouldn`t bother with the IPA, I`d just buff the residue off as I go with a MF, maybe using a little spritz of #34/etc. to help me be gentle about it.




-Wash the car with the masking tape on it.



Nah, I wouldn`t do that. Wet tape can cause all sorts of problems. I`d remove the tape if I were gonna wash it, and I wouldn`t wash it after the SIP under normal circumstances. SIP isn`t all *that* nasty-aggressive, not like a really heavy correction with 3M Extra Cut, for instance.




-Remove the masking tape, wash the car, then remask and repolish. I imagine the Gallardo-type detailers do this but if you guys tell me it`s the standard procedure I will probably just not even attempt the second stage.



That would make more sense, but I`d only wash it if you have a *LOT* of SIP residue. Otherwise, judging by your Qs, I`d clean off the residue as best you can (again, I`d use some #34), then either just go on to the next polishing step or take the tape off and decide whether you need to retape before that next step.



REPEATING FOR EMPHASIS: Man, there`s just *no way* I`d stop polishing after using *anything* on an orange pad. Even though it looks good now, you`re gonna see a huge improvement when you do some finer polishing. I always do, even on really trashed paintjobs. The difference will *really* show when you step back a few feet and see it under normal, day-to-day conditions.



I sorta get the impression that you might be using too much product :think: I do an area, buff off the residue, and check my work...then I either move on to the next area or work that one some more. There`s never all that much product residue left, I`ve wiped it off to check how I`m doing.




Sorry for the ignorant questions...



Hey, not ignorant at all! You brought up some good topics.

[BlkSapphire]

Thanks for your answer. The residue comes off fine with a little IPA/water and a terry towel; I can tell when I`ve used too much. I also learned that you have to clean the pad from time to time if you want it to finish down nice and clean; if the pad is too loaded up the product will clump.



I have been checking intermittently with wipedowns. There is a fine line between perfectionism and never getting finished :)



I just re-did one section of the hood with Nano on the PC. One thing I noticed is that the product felt much `happier` this time, if that makes sense. I am getting a feel for when the product is cutting right and it seemed to cut much more smoothly and evenly on the after-SIP surface.



I can`t actually see a difference under fluorescent light, though, and one of the problems with this car is that if you let it sit for a week (as it has been, all masked off) the battery will run down, so I can`t pull it out into the sun until I recharge the battery, and I can`t open the hood without taking the masking tape off the hood and the doors, which I`m not ready to do yet. Maybe I will go flash it with a camera instead.

[BlkSapphire]

It`s easy to forget how much progress you`re making, I guess.



Here`s a before shot of the front hood edge, after claying, before any correction:



http://homepage.mac.com/d_halgren/detail/clay-only.jpg



And here is a pic of the bird dropping etch that was there for 6 years, resisting about 20 attempts to polish it away by hand with Meg`s Fine-cut:



http://homepage.mac.com/d_halgren/detail/11.jpg



And here is a link to a rather large picture (http://homepage.mac.com/d_halgren/detail/polishes.jpg) of the exact same area of the hood with different polishes applied to it. The pristine, crystalline area labeled "SIP/nano/ultrafina" is exactly where that large bird dropping etch used to be. Now it looks pretty good, actually.



Ultrafina appears to do something to the edge of scratches that makes them much less visible. I can`t tell if it`s filling them or just dulling them. The Ultrafina was applied using a big 7" blue CCS finishing pad and it went on pretty smooth; Nano was on a dark grey pad; the SIP was, as I said, on an orange pad.

[Accumulator]

BlkSapphire- It sounds like you`re making progress, and yeah, when you get things right you do get that feeling that everything is working happily.



Don`t be in a hurry to move on from your most aggressive combo. It`ll take more time in the long run if you try to do work with a not-aggressive-enough approach.



That bird bomb is there forever...hey, it happens.



Get some better lighting! Fluorescents are good for seeing texture but are *lousy* for spotting swirls/etc. and I mean *LOUSY*. A halogen or better yet a plain incandescent bulb, used in a *dark shop* (turn out the fluorescent when doing inspections) will work a whole lot better. I have dozens of fluorescent tubes in my shop and while things are nice and bright I simply cannot see marring until I turn `em out.



Since pulling it outside isn`t feasible (now I understand, thanks for explaining), I`d put a better light right at the top of the list. It`ll be worth it, I assure you.



And yeah, it`s a fine line between good-enough and, well...never-good-enough ;)

[BlkSapphire]

That bird bomb is there forever...hey, it happens.





No, actually, check out the third pic, the one I linked to because it`s so huge. It`s gone!



Thanks for your advice. It`s been quite helpful!

[Accumulator]

No, actually, check out the third pic, the one I linked to because it`s so huge. It`s gone!+-



Heh heh, you caught me slacking off :o



I scrolled around that pic for a while and quit examining it before noticing that it came out.



Guess I was primed to be pessimistic as I recently did a car with bird bomb etching that was *REALLY* severe.