Advice on Compound Needed! Do I Need it?! HELP!

K

KirschWK2

New member
New to this site and already addicted! I was hoping some of you with more experience than me could help. I get lost in all the product offerings and just need someone to tell me what to buy!

I have a 15` Jeep Grand Cherokee Summit with white paint. Overall, I would say the paint is in good condition with no major defects. With that being said, I do notice swirl marks and light scratches when putting a light to it or if the sun hits it perfectly. I`m very OCD and it`s starting to drive me crazy! I need to find a good/easy compound to help remove minor defects and swirl marks.

Here is my plan:

Decon Wash
Iron X
Clay
Wash
COMPOUND?
Sonax Perfect Finish - w/white pad on DA
Jescar Powerlock Plus - w/yellow adams polishing pad by hand
Collinite 845 - applied by hand

Can someone please recommend a compound? Is it needed? Will perfect finish do the trick? As mentioned, light scratches and swirl marks are only visable in certain light so maybe my paint isn`t as bad as I think?

Thank you all in advance for your input!!!
 
The main thing is to do a few test spots with what you have and to see what results you are able to achieve. So if you try Sonax Perfect Finish with a white pad (guessing a white lc polishing pad?) and you like the amount of defects removed/ finish you achieve then use that around the entire car and all is good. If you still notice defects in the paint and want to further remove then, yup you will need something more aggresive. If you want to stay with Sonax then Sonax Cutmax is a great product. They also have Sonax Cut and Finish which is an inbetween CutMax and Perfect Finish and is more of a one step/ pad dependent product.

The other important factor is how you maintain the vehicle after your spend all that time and money correcting the paint and getting it flawless. Ensure your process for maintenance is not going to introduce any swirls/ scratches back in the paint. You only have so much clear coat you can remove.

Ah the powerlock/845 combo made popular by OG. I have heard people get a lot of ghosting with that combo and the 845 and Jescar may not play well together in some environments. I`d suggest letting Power Lock cure for 12 hours then if you want apply 845 but that is just a suggestion. Curious about the Yellow Adams polishing pad with Power Lock? Any reason why you are using a polishing pad to apply or is it more of a waxing pad? Not familiar with the Adams pads.
 
Welcome to the forum.

I agree with what has been posted about a test spot. Both Sonax Cut Max and Cut & Finish are great products. If you are looking for strictly a compound then Cut Max is a great option. You always have the option to proceed with what you have and if you do need a compound you could always get Meguiar`s ultimate compound locally.
 
I would as you expect say griots correction cream. You can use it with any pad and get LSP ready results. Use it all the time for damage you are describing. Cuts down the need for multiple products.
 
Welcome aboard..
My favorite compound is BlackFire, their Polish is pretty darn good too.
Maybe try the polish first, see how it looks.
By the way what pads are you planning on using ??

:welcome:
 
KirschWK2- Welcome to Autopia!

Usually, people just starting out find that even seemingly minor correction is a lot more challenging than they expect. I`ve never used the Sonax, but I`d sure be surprised if it`s sufficiently aggressive for what you want to do (let alone on a Polishing Pad).

RayDiantdetail said:
Ah the powerlock/845 combo made popular by OG. I have heard people get a lot of ghosting with that combo and the 845 and Jescar may not play well together in some environments....
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I gather KirschWK2 already has his LSPs, and I don`t want to induce Buyer`s Remorse, but what`s the idea of doing the Jescar/845 combo? I don`t know from Jescar, but I do know 845 very well and I simply don`t get it, must be missing something... Gee, I don`t use 845 at all any more unless I have a specific reason to (which I sometimes do have), and/but why put it over anything?

My favorite compound is BlackFire, their Polish is pretty darn good too.
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Are they still tweaked/relabeled Menzerna? The BF SRCPolish was way too oily for me (as per usual with Menzerna), and I`m not using diminishing abrasives much these days, but that`s just me and Menzerna is indeed popular.
 
Accumulator said:
Are they still tweaked/relabeled Menzerna? The BF SRCPolish was way too oily for me (as per usual with Menzerna), and I`m not using diminishing abrasives much these days, but that`s just me and Menzerna is indeed popular.
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All I know is BF doesn`t stink like Menzerna and it actually washes out of the pads easily. Plus I like the oil, less dust.
Now I`m just learning so if BF is Diminishing, might be why I like it , it just disappears and then a wipe.

:dance2
 
Mary B- Ah, OK, different people like different stuff.

No problems removing the Polishing Oils? The BF didn`t seem as bad as the (supposedly) similar Menzerna version, but it was still a challenge.

(Heh heh, yeah..I sure do go on about Polishing Oils :o )
 
KirschWK2 said:
I have the Chemical Guys Hexlogic Orange, White and Black Pads I plan on using.
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I’m not familiar with CG pads so I’ll make an assumption that orange is your cutting, white is for polishing, and black is for sealant application. You may not need to compound. To find out, try a test spot with the white pad and the Sonax polish on a 2x2 spot on your hood. If you have deep scratches you will need a compound. I like Menzerma FG 400. I’ve never had any problems with oils. I just wipe off after compounding with a microfiber and go to my polishing step. After polishing, before waxing I wipe down with a prep product to remove leftover polish residue.

Try not not to overthink detailing. As far as I know there are no “bad” compounds (except maybe CG crap). Everyone has their favorites. Buy a small bottle of any name brand compound and give it a shot. I would suggest Meguires microfiber cutting pads to save time compounding and Meguires D300 compound works great with them.

As far as your Last Step Product (LSP), choose one or the other as I don’t think both are necessary.

Welcome to the forum!
 
Accumulator said:
KirschWK2- Welcome to Autopia!

Usually, people just starting out find that even seemingly minor correction is a lot more challenging than they expect. I`ve never used the Sonax, but I`d sure be surprised if it`s sufficiently aggressive for what you want to do (let alone on a Polishing Pad).



I gather KirschWK2 already has his LSPs, and I don`t want to induce Buyer`s Remorse, but what`s the idea of doing the Jescar/845 combo? I don`t know from Jescar, but I do know 845 very well and I simply don`t get it, must be missing something... Gee, I don`t use 845 at all any more unless I have a specific reason to (which I sometimes do have), and/but why put it over anything?



Are they still tweaked/relabeled Menzerna? The BF SRCPolish was way too oily for me (as per usual with Menzerna), and I`m not using diminishing abrasives much these days, but that`s just me and Menzerna is indeed popular.
Click to expand...

Hey Accumulator -

The Jescar Power Lock and 845 combo is something Matt Moreman from Obsessed Garage made popular as his favorite combo maybe a year or so ago. I also find it unnecessary but to each their own. I would either just apply Power Lock - 2 coats or 845 - 2 coats and you would still have great protection. I know you have a lot of experience with 845 :)

The Sonax compounds and polishes are great. Long working time, little to no dusting, and very easy wipe off. Perfect Finish has a rated cut of 4 and finish of 6 on the Sonax scale. 6 being the highest. Paired with a rupes yellow pad/ or similar polishing pad like HDO orange you get pretty decent correction and a LSP ready finish. It of course depends on the paint type. On harder paints I will usually pair it with a medium cut pad like the Griots orange pads and will get decent cut and a nice finish. Its definitely not going to remove deeper scratches but it all depends on what the OP wants to achieve for the paint.

KirschWK2-
If you already have perfect finish id stick with it instead of buying a different polish. Unless you really want to spend the extra money but you can not go wrong with Sonax CutMax and then following up with Perfect Finish. Agreed on the Megs MF pads. Honestly the choices are endless.
 
RaydiantDetail- Ah, thanks for the info on the Sonax. I`ve never tried it, but gee...everybody who has seems to like it!

On the Jescar/845..I`m stifling my inclination to snipe at "a combo recommended by an Expert (whom I don`t know IRL).." if only because I`m the guy who insisted that a "Collinite Sandwich" with 845 *topped* with 476S and then maintained with more 845 (at least on some colors) was the [stuff] back until I tried the FK1000P. Hey, different people like different things for different reasons, and/so I guess I can skip [usual lecture about Fk1000P alone being all that]. But oh man, would I need a good reason to do more than just apply a coat of LSP every now and then and drive it.
 
I wouldn`t compound a car unless needed and only then where needed. Back when I was polishing my TA on a regular basis, after a few years I started noticing shiny spots where I had actually begun "sanding" the clearcoat smooth. I actually have some spots where the clearcoat has since failed. As with anything you can overdo it.
 
wannafbody said:
I wouldn`t compound a car unless needed and only then where needed. Back when I was polishing my TA on a regular basis, after a few years I started noticing shiny spots where I had actually begun "sanding" the clearcoat smooth. I actually have some spots where the clearcoat has since failed. As with anything you can overdo it.
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That`s why more than correction once you have the perfect finish and lock it in with whatever LSP your maintenance is going to be the most important thing. I typically only like to compound my cars once and then it`s really proper wash methods and trying not to instill any defects in the paint. Every two or 3 years all I need is a light polishing step to enhance the paint and that`s it.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
 
I`d use Griot`s Correcting Cream. I`m just a weekend guy, but this is the best correction product I`ve tried.
Easy, fast, and finishes great.
 
glfnaz said:
I`d use Griot`s Correcting Cream. I`m just a weekend guy, but this is the best correction product I`ve tried.
Easy, fast, and finishes great.
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I think its a great product. Very easy to use, pad sensitive, so pad choice can make it cut well or finish well. Little to no dusting, easy removal. I just used it on a scruffy Scion FRS and it worked beautifully. polished, up cleanly, used carpro eraser to remove residuals. then applied a several stage coating I had not used before, Nano Ceramic Protect, from Poland. Did super, and was easy to apply.

I would start with that( griots correct cream), first, get your processes down to a good comfort level, and then experiment with other stuff. this hobizness is a blast.
 
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