Advice for a newbie please

[lexusfan]

Hi



Having recently receive a UDM kit with SFX pads and polish as a present i would like to tackle the paint on my Lexus. Its a black LS430 and i understand that the black ones dont have a clear coat just a solid paint.

The car has been washed and clayed and i have read many posts on how to polish etc, but almost all of them discuss polishing a car with a clear coat finish.



Is it more risky to polish a solid paint?

Is the paint softer than a clear coat?

Which pad and polish combination? The UDM came with SFX 1, 2 and 3 pads and polish.



Any advice would be welcome



thanks in advance.

[Jscort98]

Welcome to Autopia!



Single stage polishing is the same as CC polishing except that paint will transfer to the pads, so don`t be scared when your pads turn black. It`s very hard to damage the paint with a UDM so don`t worry about that.



From what i`ve read SS paints tend to be softer. Start with the sfx2 on white and see if that removes the defects. If not just move up to a stronger polish/pad or both.



Have fun with the detail!

[Accumulator]

lexusfan-Welcome to Autopia!



I`m not familiar with either Lexus paint or the products you`re using (gee, I`m a lotta help ), but some general thoughts:



IIRC the ss paint on the Lexus is kinda thin, just something to keep in mind for the long-term.



Black ss is usually pretty soft so you should do OK with regard to getting the scratches/etc. out.



If something goes wrong (no, I don`t expect it to so please don`t get all worried) you want to know about it right away, not after you`ve done it to the whole car. So make sure your lighting/etc. is OK to *REALLY* show what`s going on. Do lots of inspection so you don`t have any surprises later.



Along those lines, I`d pick an area (e.g., the trunk lid) and work on it until you think it`s OK. Then move heaven and earth to ascertain how well things *really* turned out. IF you`re not happy, ask about it here; if you are, congrats...move on and do the rest of the car.