Polishing - Passes?

[WillF]

Incoming noob question :)



When you guys refer to `passes` Do you mean

1. Apply polish to pad , work polish into paint with whatever machine , wipe off residue. Repeat this again = TWO PASSES





or



2. Apply polish to pad, work polish into one particular area, then eventually enter another area and the make your way back to area you started (without wiping off residue or reapplying pressure or even lifting the machine off the car) = TWO PASSES



I`ve been wondering this for awhile when i lurk the forums.

[imported_Ivan Rajic]

Incoming noob question :)



When you guys refer to `passes` Do you mean

1. Apply polish to pad , work polish into paint with whatever machine , wipe off residue. Repeat this again = TWO PASSES





or



2. Apply polish to pad, work polish into one particular area, then eventually enter another area and the make your way back to area you started (without wiping off residue or reapplying pressure or even lifting the machine off the car) = TWO PASSES



I`ve been wondering this for awhile when i lurk the forums.



Generally, at least for me, passes means how many times you do a pass over a specific area during 1 step of the polishing process... so if you choose a 18x18 area on your hood, apply polish to the pad, then with a 6.5" pad go up on the left side of the square, down through the middle, and back up on the right side, is considered 1 pass.. when you`ve done 5-10 passes like this on that one area, you`ve done a 1 step polish on that area. 2 step means another 5-10 passes with same or different pad and/or polish



Make sense?



ps... many times people will use the word "passes" instead of "steps" to state how many times they`ve gone around the car with a given pad/polish combo.. in this case 2 passes would mean 5-10 of the passes mentioned above on every area of the car, twice.



pss... Now I`m confused too :p

[Less]

My understanding:



1) Apply product to pad

2) Spread product on 2x2 section of the car with the machine off

3) Turn the machine on

4) Work the product using moderate pressure and medium speed. Alternate vertical and horizontal movement through the area

5) Increase machine speed and decrease pressure. Continue working the product horizontally and vertically until it is fully broken down and leaves a dry-ish haze on the surface

6) Buff and inspect results

= 1 pass



Maybe I`m wrong, maybe you`ll get 10 different answers on this thread. But ultimately, it doesn`t matter what constitutes a " pass". Just complete the steps above until you achieve the results you want then move on.



There is no rulebook that says Polish A requires two passes, and Polish B requires 1, etc. It`s all relative to the particular paint you are working on, and the results you are trying to achieve. If you can do it in 1 pass, fine. If it takes two, that`s ok too.



Just be patient and experiment with different combinations of pad, product, pressure, power, and passes until you find what works for your situation.

[imported_Ivan Rajic]

haha see Less defines "pass" differently that I do... what do you call my `pass` Less? the alternating up down left right etc motions until polish breaks down?

[Garry Dean]

A "pass" to me is working the product until its broken down. A second pass for me would be repeating that process.

[Less]

haha see Less defines "pass" differently that I do... what do you call my `pass` Less? the alternating up down left right etc motions until polish breaks down?



I thought this might happen.



Basically, when I polish a section of my car, there is a process and elapsed time between the polish in the bottle, to the polish being broken down on the paint surface. I call that one pass.



Sounds like we do almost the exact same process, we just have different names for each step.



But like I said, who cares. It doesn`t really matter since there is no rulebook that dictates how many passes need to be done.



All that matters is that there IS a defined, correct, process to take the polish from the bottle, and make it correct paint before its ready to be buffed off. Whether we call that 1 pass or 15, it`s still the same amount of actual work.

[imported_Ivan Rajic]

I thought this might happen.



Basically, when I polish a section of my car, there is a process and elapsed time between the polish in the bottle, to the polish being broken down on the paint surface. I call that one pass.



Sounds like we do almost the exact same process, we just have different names for each step.



But like I said, who cares. It doesn`t really matter since there is no rulebook that dictates how many passes need to be done.



All that matters is that there IS a defined, correct, process to take the polish from the bottle, and make it correct paint before its ready to be buffed off. Whether we call that 1 pass or 15, it`s still the same amount of actual work.



Oh I agree... I was just out of curiosity wondering what you call what I call a "pass" (when you move the buffer around for a few minutes working in the polish on a single area)



The actual physical process is in fact always the same :2thumbs:

[imported_Ivan Rajic]

Just to clarify it even further, in case we confused the OP even more, to me the polishing process is this...



Apply product to pad,



Do 1 PASS at 600 to spread,

another pass at 900 to spread,

another 2-3passes at 1200,

etc.

etc.



Once I`m done with these passes, I`ve finished a 1-step polish on that area... so once I do this on the whole painted surface, I did a 1-step correction on a car.

[Less]

Here`s a related question that I`ve always had.



Assuming that "pass" is defined as I have above. Do you NEED to buff the residue between "passes".



In other words, once I`ve polished an area and the polish is ready to be buffed off, can I do a second pass with a new dose of polish without buffing?



What if I change to a milder polish from one pass to the next?

[imported_Ivan Rajic]

Here`s a related question that I`ve always had.



Assuming that "pass" is defined as I have above. Do you NEED to buff the residue between "passes".



In other words, once I`ve polished an area and the polish is ready to be buffed off, can I do a second pass with a new dose of polish without buffing?



What if I change to a milder polish from one pass to the next?



You should always buff between STEPS :p because even if you`re sticking with the same pad/polish for the 2nd step you don`t want to be polishing with the dust from the previous step as the abrasives have broken down and there`s no lubrication left usually... Also, buffing the residue off helps to see where you are with the polishing process regarding paint condition.



With something like M105 you could keep going like that from 1st to 2nd step considering you didn`t `overwork` it and have too much dust everywhere

[LSC300]

My understanding:



1) Apply product to pad

2) Spread product on 2x2 section of the car with the machine off

3) Turn the machine on

4) Work the product using moderate pressure and medium speed. Alternate vertical and horizontal movement through the area

5) Increase machine speed and decrease pressure. Continue working the product horizontally and vertically until it is fully broken down and leaves a dry-ish haze on the surface

6) Buff and inspect results

= 1 pass



Maybe I`m wrong, maybe you`ll get 10 different answers on this thread. But ultimately, it doesn`t matter what constitutes a " pass". Just complete the steps above until you achieve the results you want then move on.



There is no rulebook that says Polish A requires two passes, and Polish B requires 1, etc. It`s all relative to the particular paint you are working on, and the results you are trying to achieve. If you can do it in 1 pass, fine. If it takes two, that`s ok too.



Just be patient and experiment with different combinations of pad, product, pressure, power, and passes until you find what works for your situation.



That is what I also call a pass..

[imported_Ivan Rajic]

That is what I also call a pass..



Ok then you tell me what you guys call my `pass`... It takes me about 8-10 passes to break down M80 on a 2x2` section.. how many "________" does it take you?



Might sound like I`m being a smartass but, again, I`m just curious.

[LSC300]

well for me a PASS is one portion of breaking down the polish within the area you are working in. With my repainted Lexus i found that 1 pass of SIP and 106FA and two passes of PO85 to reach a good correction



To me a pass=a step of correction

1 pass=one step

but thats just me

[imported_Ivan Rajic]

well for me a PASS is one portion of breaking down the polish within the area you are working in. With my repainted Lexus i found that 1 pass of SIP and 106FA and two passes of PO85 to reach a good correction



To me a pass=a step of correction

1 pass=one step

but thats just me



I understand, but when someone asks you how many times you need to go over that one area with SIP for it to break down once... what do you call that going over?



For example... Me: step= 10 passes, you: pass= 10 "______"... fill in the blank



I can it the way I call it simply because I don`t have a better word for `pass` to fill in that blank, so a pass becomes how many times I go over a certain area

[LSC300]

yeah i call it going over..like normally i go over a spot 10-15 times to fully break down/jewel the paint