iDetail
03-24-2009, 12:51 PM
I have a 1995 white Jeep Cherokee. What I love about it is that I do not think that it has ever been detailed. I took the clay bar to the roof and hood just to see what I was dealing with and OMG there was soo much stuff in the paint. It was unreal - unlike any other car I`ve worked on. So I am excited to see the end product.
Here is my problem, Im having trouble getting out all the swirl marks / fine scratches. In my "early days" of detailing I probably would have wet sanded the entire hood - then buffed. But I have a feeling thats the lazy mans way of doing it and I think I would take off way more clear coat than needed. What makes me think I am doing something wrong is I am using lots of product (expensive product) with little results. I would say I spent a good 45-50 min compounding one door - JUST COMPOUNDING!
This is what I am using:
Chicago Electric 7" Polisher (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=92623&xcamp=google&zmam=33951326&zmas=12&zmac=112&zmap=92623)
I know its not `name brand` but im a poor student who is addicted to making paint look as good as possible - I look at it like this, its an upgrade from my pep boys rotary buffer (which i used till it caught fire mid use) but there are still better buffers out there, so my future is still bright.
I dont have any after market pads for it (which im thinking is my problem) so all I am working with is the foam pad it came with and the wool bonet (god damn i hate bonets)
So I throw on the wool bonet and throw on some 3M Super Duty Compound (http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=624&BASE), I keep it on a somewhat low speed but apply a good amount of pressure, I keep the pressure on for maybe a min or two and then i increase the speed and release some of the pressure.
Then, once I feel that all the scratches are at a uniform size I wash the pad off - throw it in the dyer - then put the clean bonet back on and apply some Meguires #9 Swirl Remover 2.0 (http://www.detailyourcar.com/meguiars-swirl-remover-gallon-p-510.html). I use the same process as the compound - pressure at low rpm at first then less pressure and higher rpm in the end.
Then after that I take off the bonet and apply some of the same swirl remover to the foam pad and repeat.
I seem to be using a lot of product. Here are some of my basic questions ive been wondering about for a long time:
-When I lay a bead of product down on the paint (lets say the hood) how long can I work with the product before I need to apply more?
-As for pads are concerned - should i be looking into buying up some more aggressive and less aggressive pads? Or is product choice and technique everything? I just don`t want to buy up a bunch of pads, thinking that is my problem, and then find the same results as before.
I dont know if any of you have working on Jeep`s before but if you can remember your process could you tell me what worked out good for you.
I do remember someone saying something about the purple wool pad and said that had quite some bite. I think my biggest problem is just getting the clear coat to a uniform finish - buffing that is easy - but getting it to that state seems to be the part that is posing to be difficult.
Here is my problem, Im having trouble getting out all the swirl marks / fine scratches. In my "early days" of detailing I probably would have wet sanded the entire hood - then buffed. But I have a feeling thats the lazy mans way of doing it and I think I would take off way more clear coat than needed. What makes me think I am doing something wrong is I am using lots of product (expensive product) with little results. I would say I spent a good 45-50 min compounding one door - JUST COMPOUNDING!
This is what I am using:
Chicago Electric 7" Polisher (http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=92623&xcamp=google&zmam=33951326&zmas=12&zmac=112&zmap=92623)
I know its not `name brand` but im a poor student who is addicted to making paint look as good as possible - I look at it like this, its an upgrade from my pep boys rotary buffer (which i used till it caught fire mid use) but there are still better buffers out there, so my future is still bright.
I dont have any after market pads for it (which im thinking is my problem) so all I am working with is the foam pad it came with and the wool bonet (god damn i hate bonets)
So I throw on the wool bonet and throw on some 3M Super Duty Compound (http://www.jamestowndistributors.com/userportal/show_product.do?pid=624&BASE), I keep it on a somewhat low speed but apply a good amount of pressure, I keep the pressure on for maybe a min or two and then i increase the speed and release some of the pressure.
Then, once I feel that all the scratches are at a uniform size I wash the pad off - throw it in the dyer - then put the clean bonet back on and apply some Meguires #9 Swirl Remover 2.0 (http://www.detailyourcar.com/meguiars-swirl-remover-gallon-p-510.html). I use the same process as the compound - pressure at low rpm at first then less pressure and higher rpm in the end.
Then after that I take off the bonet and apply some of the same swirl remover to the foam pad and repeat.
I seem to be using a lot of product. Here are some of my basic questions ive been wondering about for a long time:
-When I lay a bead of product down on the paint (lets say the hood) how long can I work with the product before I need to apply more?
-As for pads are concerned - should i be looking into buying up some more aggressive and less aggressive pads? Or is product choice and technique everything? I just don`t want to buy up a bunch of pads, thinking that is my problem, and then find the same results as before.
I dont know if any of you have working on Jeep`s before but if you can remember your process could you tell me what worked out good for you.
I do remember someone saying something about the purple wool pad and said that had quite some bite. I think my biggest problem is just getting the clear coat to a uniform finish - buffing that is easy - but getting it to that state seems to be the part that is posing to be difficult.