3M FI II Buffing Time

[triptonite]

I have a car that is 5 years old and I am ready to take out the swirls (some deep ones) with my new pc.



I plan on using FI II with a yellow foam or wool pad if the 3m swirl remover dosen`t work first.



How long would you spend buffing half a hood with the FI II and at what speed?

I was reading wear it can take up to 10 minutes to break down. Is this right?



Also do you guys have to clean the pad or use a new one when doing an entire car?



Thanks!:nixweiss

[ultrajim49]

10 minutes seems long to me.

2 or 3 minutes is more likely.

David`s advice is to start at speed 2-3 and as the SMR starts to break down move up to speed 7 for final buffing.

I personaly start at max speed (but that`s me:p )



You WILL see when the SMR is gone (or broken down), it kinda vanishes.



You change pad in the event of:

1)you dropped it

2)it became dirty from buffing a "dirty" area (that`s why it`s neaded to wash & clay before!)

3)the pad get`s caked with polish: that is when you use to much polish, after a while you won`t be able to buff out, it will seem like new polish comes out of the blue.A reason to use dime-size drops at a time and work`m `till gone.

4)you change product : very importand: never use a second product on a pad : like after using the pad for SMR , using the same pad (without cleaning) for glazing for instance.That is why most of us write on the back of a pad it`s destiny: we tend to keep a dedicated pad for a certain product.



when done with the pad: put it in a bucket of water with detergent in it,

let soak

gently push the water out (a potato-masher works perfect:up )`till clean

let air-dry = ready for next use



Hope that answers your Q:



Happy detailing



Christiaan



:wavey

[TortoiseAWD]

My experience with FI-II has been that if the residue is tough to wipe off, it needs to be worked longer. Once completely broken down, it`s comes off relatively easily . . . try to remove it before then, and it`s stubborn. I would guess than I probably spend 3-5 working a section of the paint (roughly 2`x2`). Half of the hood might take me 20-30 minutes, depending on the size of the vehicle.



If you follow up the FI-II with SMR, you`ll probably want to have a second pad on hand.



Tort



P.S. 3M`s Perfect-it III Machine Glaze falls somewhere between SMR and FI-II in abrasiveness (closer to FI-II, IMO). The bottle claims no fillers, and it`s much easier to use than FI-II . . . breaks down a bit faster, and residue is easier to remove.

[BradE]

Brakedown time for the product will depend on many things, including surface temp, pad, speed of machine, type of machine, pressure, etc.



On average I would say it takes between 5-7 minutes for FI2 to breakdown with a PC.

[hondaguy2582]

if your swirls look pretty bad, then i would definitely use the finesse it II because i just did my 93 cougar the other day, and i barely took out any swirls at all since the paint was so bad. I did this with the white foam pad though, so i probably should have got the yellow cutting pad instead and used that.

[paco]

5-8 minutes is not unusual for me. Hence why I`m switching over to Perfect III.



FI-2 is old school as is tough to breakdown. With a rotary, I`d recommend it as I tried it with one it and it work very nicely. With a PC DA, it can be tough. The Perfect-It III line is newer, easier to work with, breaksdown nicely and leaves a nice high gloss with much less effort. There`s a bit more powder generated than FI-2 but nothing to really worry about.



FI-2, technique is important or else you`ll get hazing and product removal can be a bit of an issue until you get good with it.



Paco

[triptonite]

Hey guys thanks fo the info. I might have to try FI III. I do have foam pads dedicated for each product that I use. Hopefully I can knock out some swirls.



Where do you get FI III?



Also does buffing off with a mixture of alcohol and water work to help reduce haze?

[paco]

There is no such product as FI-3. Perfect-It III (PI-3) can be found whereever you buy FI-2.



In the US, you can order directly from 3M`s website if you have trouble finding it.



Paco