Polishing tips

[Murrayhe]

A few questions regarding polishing with PC and 3M SMR.



- Am I supposed to keep polishing with the PC until the polish clears or is it enough that I just go back and forth a few times?



- It seems to be working pretty good on my black car. However, I still see small swirls. Should I keep on polishing till 99% of it is gone? Or is that impossible to do?



- What should I use to buff out the excess polish? MF towel or wax pads?



- I washed my MF towels in the washing machine and dried it using a machine dryer. Is this ok?

[paco]

For Starters:



I would watch, rewatch, and rewatch again DavidB`s video. A gem even though it isn`t very long.



Tip:

Work it horizontally, then vertically, then on the diagonal. Keep the pattern up until the product practically disappears. Then wipe with a MF and some QD.



Examine the area.



If you are looking to hide the swirls, then the following isn`t required.



To ensure that the swirls/scratches are fully gone, wipe the area with a 50/50 mixture of Water/IPA (isopropyl alcohol) to remove any oils that remain from the polish to ensure the swirls are removed and not masked.



If further polishing is required, either complete another round of SMR or move up an abrasive level (in 3M line`s - that would be the Finesse It II or Perfect III RC/Machine Glaze).



Note: It`s very important to work the product fully! Today`s products feature diminishing abrasives which helps bring out the high gloss without having to go to another product after compounding. The 3M products do require a lot of working to get optimal results. To often, people just work it for 10-20secs and complain about hazing etc. For myself, I typically work FI II for 3-4 minutes (or longer) before it powdered and was fully removed. I`ll probably move onto the Perfect III line (RC and Machine Glaze) after my FI-II bottle is completed. However, the Meguiars Dual Action cleaner polish is rated very very highly and I`ve only used it a bit was very impressed. That`ll probably become my standard this spring/summer.



Make sure to work it good either way.



If you`re using a rotary rather than a Dual Action, the product will break down much faster so the 3-4 minutes I spent is dependant on the pad, speed, temperature, machine (DA/Rotary/Orbital), technique etc.



There`s some pretty extensive posts so search the archives and you should turn up quite a bit of information...



About the washing/drying of towels.

Tip: Use liquid detergent as the granular version may not fully dissolve and could become embedded in the towel and potentially a rogue granual scratching your vehicle. Most likely not as today`s detergents are designed to dissolve pretty quickly and fully but still, better to be safe than sorry.



Drying, I suggest not using a machine as it will weaken the towels quicker and then you need to spritz it with water after the drying to get rid of the static charge.



Also, don`t use a softener (sheet or liquid) or anti-static sheets. They put a film on the towel that will decrease the absorbancy, weakens the towel and may lead to smiring when removing or apply products.



Best of luck!



Paco

[Murrayhe]

Ok I`m shining a big halogen lamp on my BLACK car, and after I polish and wipe with MF towel, I see some uneven paint haze (corresponding to my PC moving up and down strokes). This is very vague and only seem to show under direct halogen light exposure. Not sure about under direct sunlight though because I`ve not tried it yet.



Anyways, what is causing this? Is this normal? I wiped all of the polish off with a MF towel.

[imported_Intel486]

Originally posted by Oggle

Ok I`m shining a big halogen lamp on my BLACK car, and after I polish and wipe with MF towel, I see some uneven paint haze (corresponding to my PC moving up and down strokes). This is very vague and only seem to show under direct halogen light exposure. Not sure about under direct sunlight though because I`ve not tried it yet.



Anyways, what is causing this? Is this normal? I wiped all of the polish off with a MF towel.



I think I know what you are referring to. It is difficult to describe. I`ve always gotten rid of it by speeding up my motions with the buffer for the last couple of passes. If you still get them, then apply some wax and see if they go away. Sometimes marks on the paint can be oils from your polish.



Also, with an orbital you rearlly have to work a polish a long time before it completely dries out. I would suggest just working it awhile until you fell it has been worked completely and then stomp. Rarely do I use the orbital and buff it all the way down to no polish. A rotary on the other hand will do it all the time.

[C. Charles Hahn]

another thing that may help if you`re getting streaking is to spray with distilled water before you buff off the residue with your MF.... it makes it easier for the MF to pick up all the particles and oils. :up

[Murrayhe]

Excellent tips. Thanks guys!:bow For a minute I thought I`d done some damage to my paint.