first PC outing on a black Axiom

I

imported_paradigm

New member
might as well start with a nice, forgiving color right away, eh? :getdown



here are some befores:



hood:



axiom_before_hood1.jpg




passenger door areas:



axiom_before_door1.jpg




axiom_before_door2.jpg




axiom_before_door3.jpg




you guessed it...a tire!



axiom_before_tire1.jpg






exterior process:



Meg's Gold Class wash (i use this for general stuff...Z7 for follow-up washes)

Zaino clay w/ PB S&S for lubricant

QD w/ PB S&S to get rid of clay smudges, etc

PC 7424 w/ SSR-2.5 and orange pad + additional passes on trouble spots

SSR-1 and white pad

QD w/ PB S&S

4* UPP

4* UPPS to assist w/ removal of UPP

DG AW all over (windows too) after UPP curing in sun for a bit

303 on black trim/exterior vinyl

Zaino tire dressing



interior process:



wipe everything down w/ wet MF

303 on dash and misc plastic/vinyl

Zaino leather in a bottle on seats



time: ~8 hours. 7 of that was on the exterior...being a first timer (and an SUV no less) w/ the PC, i took my time...made some mistakes...kept at it, etc. i didn't intend on doing any interior, so that was just a bonus for my friend. i don't have anything to remove stains from carpeting yet, so just a shop-vac was used.



whew!



thanks to everyone on here for all of the tips...i feel much more confident w/ the PC now than before i started. i think i had about an 80-90% success rate w/ it...the really bad marring and scratches are still there. the strongest pad i have is the orange one...and SSR-2.5. i didn't want to use it on speed 6 for too long and probably needed a more aggressive pad and/or polish for some spots.



the vehicle has a TON of rock chips...and the rear bumper has impact cracks and chips which i didn't touch.
 
oh wow, SSR 2.5 left some major marring on that black. YOu definatly need to go over the car with SSR 2 and a polishing pad.
 
i won't be able to hit it again for a while...but believe it or not, most of that was on there before i touched it. as i went along and tried different speeds w/ the 2.5 and orange pad i saw varying levels of hazing, etc. i then switched to a white pad w/ ssr-1 and everything new that i saw went away. i'm sure i left plenty of mistakes on it, but after sitting in front of those #$$% halogens for hours i was dying. :)



oh, and i forgot to ask what you guys think i need to add to my supplies to round out what i may need. i'm guessing:



ssr-2 for cleaning up after ssr-2.5

ssr-3?

yellow pad for deeper scratches, etc



is it safe to say that you need to go 2.5 to 2 to 1 in most cases, just on darker colors like this, or is it mostly my inexperience?



AND...i had quite a bit of dusting w/ the 2.5...the ssr-1 was fine. i generally spread the polishes at 3-4 and then worked them in at 5...rarely at 6 just to see what it was like.
 
Pretty good for a first effort! I'd follow SSR2.5 with Optimum Polish and a polishing pad, should remove any haze and finish down LSP ready.
 
Ya, like Scott said, SSR 2.5 is a polish that needs to be followed with a finer polish on almost any black or dark colour paint. What I've found is that you can't use extreme pressure with it, because the dust produced puts just as many swirls as you got out, back in.
 
so the ssr-1 isn't the best for following ssr-2.5 then...and the Optimum Polish is a better choice? i'm just trying to figure out how to prevent this in the future.



thanks!
 
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