Bought some stuff. Hopefully it improves stuff. (Suitably vague?) N00b here.

J

JaimeZX

New member
Hello, hopefully more-experienced members! Scottwax sent me this way.

For 20 years I have been washing with a bucket and a clean rag, drying with old bath towels, and hand-waxing with Turtle Wax, or Pinnacle (on my old Z), or Meguiar`s Cleaner Wax, or whatever seemed best when I needed a new can. Finally I have seen the light, as it were.

I have been going about this all wrong. I have purchased some ONR, but to be honest I haven`t opened it yet because I still have about 1/4 bottle of Meguiar`s car wash left and my OCD doesn`t let me start something new until I`ve finished the old... Nevertheless, I`ve purchased a PC 7424, some Meguar`s 105, Optimum black and white waffle pads, Hyper Polish and Opti-Seal.

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One of the patients... (post wash & hand-wax)


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Overall I think it looks pretty good, but certain areas can be a lot better. For example, look how the hood (poorly) reflects the tree:

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I don`t expect a mirror on 19 year old silver paint, but that`s pretty faded. The sides look better but still have some scratches here and there:
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Do you think I need the M105 for this? I was thinking about starting with Hyper Polish on the firmer pad and seeing how that does; if it looks good I`ll do another pass with the HP and the softer pad before Poli-Seal with the soft pad. Otherwise I could jump up to the M105.


Then, unrelated: Any value to keeping my old cheap $20 buffer around? I`ve only used it a handful of times and am perfectly willing to dump it if it`s just taking up space. Ditto for the remaining Maguire`s Cleaner Wax... although I guess I could use that on the rims.

Also. Is the pad that came with the PC good for anything, or should I just chuck it?
 
First off, welcome! Scottwax set you in the right direction, and he does some great work. I still do a search every once in a while to read his old posts.

1. Start with the less abrasive method first (Test Spot). Try the hyper polish first and work from there.
2. No real reason to keep the old buffer; I`m assuming it`s one of those 10" orbitals that resemble a steering wheel. You could use for wax removal, but thats about it. Megs cleaner wax isn`t bad, there are just better options out there. It`s a mild "one step", but really doesn`t knock it out of the park in cleaning or protection.
3. Chuck the pad from the PC.
 
JaimeZX- Welcome to Autopia!

Heh heh, no reason why that silver paint can`t shine like a mirror, oughta turn out literally blinding in bright sunlight...note that I have (old) silver vehicles ;)

1) We`ve just been discussing the importance of a test-spot on another thread. Until you know *exactly* what to expect in a given situation, always do that first- see how things go on a small representative area before going all-in.

FWIW, I strongly suspect that you`ll need the M105, and there *is* a learning curve to that stuff; some of us (myself included) think it`s easy as can be, others...well, not so much.

Be sure to do your work in *GOOD* lighting so you can accurately evaluate what`s going on. IMO this is utterly critical.

See how you like the Waffle Pads (I prefer flat ones)...IMO you`ll need numerous pads of each type (more of the most aggressive ones) to do your vehicle without stopping to clean/dry them all the time (don`t plan to do an entire panel with the same pad unless you do clean/dry it). Remember that some products (e.g., M105) don`t "break down", they merely "dry out". So between dried-out product and cut-off clearcoat, the pad gets contaminated quickly, which renders it less than effective (to put it nicely).

Also, see how the ONR/rinseless washes go. I can`t wash marring-free with (only) that approach, but it apparently works OK for others (including ScottWax).

2) No, I`d toss that old buffer unless it holds some sentimental attachment. Ditto for the Meguiar`s A12 Cleaner-wax, which IMO has been utterly eclipsed by superior products...though I still have mine around here somewhere :o I`d certainly want something far more durable on wheels. And yeah, as noted, don`t use the PC-supplied pad on automotive surfaces (at least not those you care about).
 
Guys, thanks for the replies so far. Yes, absolutely planning on a test area. I`m thinking for the start I`ll do the Hyper Polish on the stiffer waffle pad and see how it goes? I don`t want to go to the M105 unless I need it. I will probably need it on my 1995 Jeep. lol Had not considered needing more than one pad of a type. Looks like Imma be washing them out frequently. Thanks for the response on the PC pad.Y`all are also correct about the $20 buffer being the big steering-wheel looking thing. Happy to ditch it.
 
JaimeZX -ScottWax is a great resource on the boards (and not the only one by far). Keep reading and trying new things as it will only help you understand the lingo and process that the pros use to get the results they do (and quite a few of the non-pros produce stunning arts of work - they know who they are :)
 
If you don`t have the budget or time to wait for more pads, definitely consider picking up one of those orange-handled pad brushes and some dedicated pad cleaner. Poorboys makes some Tornado pad cleaner, which gets good reviews on here, and their products are very cost efficient. Brushing the pad with the brush (research "cleaning on the fly") can extend your polishing session. Concentrate on doing one panel start to finish; polish-> lsp - > enjoy. Don`t feel like you have to tackle the whole car in a day - yeah, your car may look a little "checkered" for a while as you move from area to area doing a panel or two at a time, but you would have a driving "transformation" to show how awesome you improved the paint condition! :)

Good luck!

JaimeZX said:
Guys, thanks for the replies so far. Yes, absolutely planning on a test area. I`m thinking for the start I`ll do the Hyper Polish on the stiffer waffle pad and see how it goes? I don`t want to go to the M105 unless I need it. I will probably need it on my 1995 Jeep. lol Had not considered needing more than one pad of a type. Looks like Imma be washing them out frequently. Thanks for the response on the PC pad.Y`all are also correct about the $20 buffer being the big steering-wheel looking thing. Happy to ditch it.
Click to expand...
 
For some reason I`ve *NEVER* found those Pad Brushes to be of any use with a RO/DA polisher! Heh heh, not just because mine have always had yellow or black handles instead of orange ones either ;) I rub my pads with a towel, usually cotton (Kevin B. and I *have* discussed the potential downsides but I do it anyhow), when I can`t use air or get out a fresh one. SO....see what works/doesn`t for you.

JaimeZX- Yeah, I`m a bit of a fanatic about the clean/fresh pads, but it`s a result of first-hand experience and I`d sure like to save you my Learning the Hard Way!

nickclark08 brought up a *GREAT* point: doing the car in sections over a period of time can be the perfect approach, especially when you`re first getting dialed-in. Just do a panel/two after each of a series of regular washes and you`ll make progress without getting burned out or otherwise driving yourself nuts. No worries about it "turning out even" or anything like that.

FWIW, and this can be a personal preference thing, I DO NOT like using aggressive pads with mild(or mild-ish) products, it`s just never worked out for me. I can`t help but wonder about those waffle pads...I simply wrote mine off as I couldn`t see any reason why they`d be a good idea, not in theory, not in practice...did want to give `em a try though, so it`s not like I`m being all critical of your buying them (just like I did :D ). Watch out for dried-product getting built up in them, that can be a genuine problem with stuff like M105 (aggressive stuff that doesn`t break down into less-aggressive).
 
Thanks again for the additional thoughts. I`ll definitely read more, pay attention to pad loading and spend time on the pad cleaning as appropriate. Will look into some of these other products. I`m also ok with doing the car in sections. Had not considered that, but I also hadn`t considered needing to stop and clean the pads every panel. haha

Accumulator: I guess I`m also unsure about using the same product on different pads, but I watched several videos and read more than one review about the Hyper Polish and they specifically mention getting different (equally great) results using differing pads, so I figured it was worth a shot. :)
 
I wish scottwax would post here more often, I used to enjot his posts.

Before you even polish the paint you have to decon, or minimum clay the paint. You are at the very beginnings of paint corrections, and a long ways off, at least a couple weeks from paint polishing imo...
 
JaimeZX said:
Accumulator: I guess I`m also unsure about using the same product on different pads, but I watched several videos and read more than one review about the Hyper Polish and they specifically mention getting different (equally great) results using differing pads, so I figured it was worth a shot. :)
Click to expand...

The pad *can* be a significant factor, IME more often than not, but that`ll really depend on what products you`re using. I try to avoid pads that have cut (in-and-of themselves) unless I`m doing *VERY* aggressive work as I prefer to have the product do all the cutting. And/but, I generally like kinda "open" pads with large pores and some firmness (just not too much!) over "tight" pads with tiny pores that`re really soft...just a personal preference but it`s really significant *to me*.

I think you`ll figure out what *you* prefer pretty quickly, which might be another upside to doing it incrementally.
 
Welcome! Lots of good information on polishing so far!
If you end up polishing a few panels at a time, after doing the decon wash, cleaning the next panel is a perfect use of the ONR. Maybe mixup a batch in a container with a seal-able lid, and use the `bucket of towels` wash method.
 
Thanks again guys. Washed the car today, did both passenger`s doors. Wash -> Clay -> Polish. Boy, I forgot how smooth a clay bar makes the paint feel!

Got out a lot of the smaller scratches. Might need to use the M105 next time though, since some of the bigger scratches are still visible. (Not to mention the few you can catch a fingernail on, but there`s nothing I can do about those.)

Looks great but still kind of hard to tell the difference between doors since they`re also the least-faded panels due to solar angles...

I guess I have one question now; the videos say the pressure to use is "until the PC slows down a little, then let up a smidge." At that pressure though, the pad doesn`t spin, it just vibrates. So is that appropriate, or do I want a lighter pressure still, so that the pad spins and vibrates? :o
 
Pad should definitely spin. If it`s just vibrating, it`s not doing anything. Try marking a dot or something on the backing plate so you can verify it`s spinning. You will hear a slight "bog" in the motor, but it shouldn`t sound like it`s struggling.
 
JamieZX- Uh-oh, you`ve run into the unit`s primary functional shortcoming...applying the needed pressure turns it into a "jiggle-machine" and applying less pressure makes stuff take forever.
 
Hm. Yes. Okay, so I tested it just on my hand. I was surprised how much pressure it took to stop the velcro spinning in my palm. Kind of surprised that I was applying that much to the car... will have to watch more closely next time I do this. I was using the Scottwax technique of "add pressure until you hear the motor bog a little, then back off a smidge." Apparently it wasn`t enough.

Then, for coverage I did a horizontal bidirectional raster scan moving at about 1"/second, followed by a vertical bidirectional raster scan at the same speed.

Also. Two weeks after everything else in this Amazon order, my 10-pack of tire swipes shows up from China.
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JaimeZX- I dunno if there`s any correlation between how it feels on your hand vs. how it works out (with pad/product/etc.) on the vehicle. I`d try a smaller backing plate/pad combo, that`s the only way I could come close to what I wanted with the PC.
 
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