Questions about paint hardness on a few cars I`ll be detailing...

**Nopstnz8** · 08-17-2010, 01:03 AM

Ok guys well I`ll be detailing a few cars over the next week, one of them tomorrow, and I`d like to know what combo`s you guys would recommend to remove the swirls?

First car is an `06 Honda Civic sedan in Galaxy Gray. This is my moms car, and it has some swirls in it, but nothing major. Some are a little deep on the flatter areas though. I know Honda has soft paint, so I`m trying to figure what combo to go with for this? I have a Meg`s G110 V2 with M105, M205 , and some Menzerna 106FA. I have 6.5" pads in orange, yellow, 1 blue, burgundy (not wool), and red for sealant. I also have some 4" pads, but only orange and white.

The next car is my brothers `09 Ford Escape in grey, but the color is similar to the Civic, just a little darker. This car has a fair share of swirling under halogens, but under sunlight it isn`t present. I`ve heard Ford has hard clear, so what in my arsenal would be best to attack this one?

Final car, is my friends recently acquired E-36 M3 in Cosmo Black. This car being black has a descent amount, but I don`t think it`s hacked or anything. Looks like type wash induced swirls. Since it`s my friends, and I`m going back to school in a month, and am also busy with work, this is a low priority. I know BMW`s have hard clear, but I`ve seen some guys get away with Ezcreme glaze on Orange that looked great for the time being, but that was on silver cars obviously. Since this car is black, I don`t think it`ll do much of anything, but if it works for a few weeks, that`s fine because we just want some pictures together before I go back to college. I`ll probably correct it next summer if it takes too long now. I`ve tried researching this paint, but unfortunately, all the detailer are using Rotary, which is irrelevant for my DA process.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

**Accumulator** · 08-17-2010, 10:18 AM

Rx8 Fanatic- Re the Honda and the Ford, people with more experience on those paints can advise you a lot better than I can. I`d expect the Honda to be fairly soft and the Ford to be on the soft side of medium (I`ll know more if/when I finally get my Crown Vic back from the tuner).

The e36 will be *HARD*. My e36 M3 was the most difficult-to-correct paint I`ve ever struggled with, and note that I don`t find my Audis all that tough.

For all of `em, I wouldn`t bother using the 6.5" pads for correction, only the 4" ones. 4" orange/M105 via PC and do most anything that`s safe to do.

**Scottwax** · 08-17-2010, 01:22 PM

Start with a moderately aggressive combo and adjust as needed. There is no way without having the car in front of them (and maybe trying a test section or two) for anyone to tell you specifically what pad and polish/compound to start with.

**tssdetailing** · 08-17-2010, 11:49 PM

scott`s right, each car is different-hell, each panel is different.

**vtec92civic** · 08-18-2010, 01:25 AM

generally speaking:

honda = soft

ford = medium

bmw = medium/hard

that should be a good starting point for you. always start with the least aggressive method first and make the call on what needs to be adjusted at that point.

**Nopstnz8** · 08-18-2010, 01:34 AM

Thanks guys. I really appreciate the info. What i`m really wondering though for the Honda paint is due to the fact that it`s soft, most people say you can get away with a 2 step polish instead of 3. I needed 3 for my Rx8 which is harder clear, but I started with M105 on Orange 4" pads speed 6, then went to M205 speed 5 with little pressure 4" pads, and finally Menzerna 106FA on 4" pads white speed 4. Basically since this is soft, I`m wondering if M105 on 4" orange speed 6 will be too agressive on the Honda paint? I don`t want to F it up more. Lol. From your guys` experience, can the M105/ M205 combo finish to an LSP ready stage on a car in pretty descent shape? I`m thinking of starting with M105 speed 6 on orange, then M205 on white (speed 3 or 4, will figure that out when time comes tomorrow). So is speed 6 too much on a soft clear, or should I be safe and not worry about it and just determine my process from there?

**Nopstnz8** · 08-18-2010, 01:36 AM

Oh and Accumulator... I took your advice on the 4" pads for my Rx8 and it worked great! Thanks. I got the correction I wanted and then some. What i`m wondering though since I have all these 6.5" pads, what is their real use now since they don`t really correct that much?

**Accumulator** · 08-18-2010, 10:27 AM

Rx8 Fanatic- Glad the 4" pads worked so well. FWIW, I usually dial the speed back a bit with 4" pads, even though I`m more or less a "use the highest speed!" type of guy. But if what you`re doing works, don`t worry about what *I* like to do

I honestly think you oughta just sell those 6.5" cutting/polishing pads to somebody with a Flex or a rotary. Yeah, I know, but I just don`t see `em having any use with your machine.

I think that the M105/4" orange is a bit too aggressive for your "first try" combo on the Honda. I`d see if M205 will do the job. On the Ford, well....while people say to "start with a gentle combo", I know that *I* am gonna hit my Crown Vic with M105/orange (or even something more aggressive) right off the bat. But then that car`s in pretty, uhm...."used" condition.

And yeah, M205 can finish out very nicely, despite what some of us (myself included) sometimes say about doing a subsequent step with something milder. Such diffs, when they occur at all, will be completely transparent to any "normal" person in real life. Don`t get too "Autopian" about this stuff, at least not all the time/every time

**Nopstnz8** · 08-18-2010, 12:41 PM

Ok. I`ll definitely give the M205 a go as a first step. I`m just used to it not really doing anything on my car which was why I figured M105 first. Thanks for the detailed explaination. I totally get what you`re saying now. Thanks again.