Newbie having trouble with DA Polishing

W

wbwing

New member
Hello all! I'm a long time lurker around this forum.


 


I have wanted to Opticoat my car for a while now and finally found the time to take on the project this past weekend. I have never actually polished before, but have read up extensively on the topic on the forum and watching videos. When I got to the polishing step, I followed all the instructions I read and watched, but have had a hard time getting results on my test panel. I am wondering if you folks could take a look at my process and offer some tips. Details:


 


My car has light swirl marks and just a few bigger defects. I am not looking for perfection, I just want it to be pretty good before I coat it.


 


My products are Optimum Polish II, Optimum Finish, and the Harbor Freight DA polisher.


 


Of all the reviews I have read about Optimum Polish, I feel a white pad and the polish should be perfect for light polishing. Only need to step up to a higher pad for serious correction.


 


My plan was to use white pads and Optimum Polish II and then finish with blue pads and Optimum Finish.


 


I primed the pads, put three dollops of polish on the pads, and attempted ta 2x2 section... nothing. My method was to spread the product, then go over it about 6 times (and holding the polisher down with some pressure. Didn't seem to effect the imperfections at all. Admittedly, on my first attempt I was probably moving the polisher too fast. But I retried a couple times. Finally, I tried the one orange pad I have and still no effect on the first try. On the second try I really held the polisher down with a lot of force and did about 8 to 10 passes. Finally I saw some reduction in swirls... but the pad looks to be coming apart.


 


I knew it wouldn't be perfect right from the get go... but I get the impression I should have seen some results much easier than this. The only thing I can think of is I put opti seal on in October to give the car protection for the whole winter.But it has been 6 months since, so I figured that should have worn off by now. If it is the Opti-Seal that is making it this hard, will Dawn or Eraser remove it?


 


Note... I am on a budget, so would really like to figure this out with the tools I have on hand. I also would like to take the least aggressive approach that gets me results.


 
 
Welcome to active duty on Autopia!!!   Any OptiSeal left over would be easily removed by the Polish so I doubt that is the problem.


 


What is the year, make and color of your car--that will help members to formulate some suggestions.  Also, what speed were you using on the HF DA?
 
wbwing- Welcome to Autopia!


 


I suspect that your approach is simply far too gentle for the seemingly minor marring. It can be amazing how aggressive you sometimes have to get to fix even light flaws.


 


If you're using a ~6" plate/pad combo, you will probably need to switch to something smaller.  And I like to work areas much smaller than the "usual" (scare-quotes intentional ;) ) 2 x 2..that's too big an area for most people/approaches, at least when starting out.  And some pads just don't respond well to applied pressure, so you might need to use different ones.  But if you switch to a more aggressive pad/product combo you won't need to press so hard.
 
Thanks for the feeback! I have a Chevy Cruze 2011 in Gray. The pads are chemical guys hex logic. And I am using the 5 inch backing plate from Chemical guys. I'm hoping to do two step correction. Can you guys which pads to go with to remove defects and buff to perfection?
 
wbwing- I'm not up-to-date on the latest hotness in pads, but I usually do heavy correction with either Meguiar's MF Cutting Disks or their burgundy foam cutting pads.  For less aggressive work I use orange light cut pads from Lake Country.  After such work you should be able to finish out with the polishing and finishing pads you're using now.
 
So based on what I described earlier (in my opinion, this paint does not need heavy correction), which kind of pad would you recommend? What pad has 'medium' cut? Microfiber or orange? I notice Chemical Guys lists their orange pad as a 'heavy' cutting pad. Would a lake Country CCS orange work better for me
 
microfiber is said to have more cut and it seems to be recommended for peeps who have more experience. If you are starting, It may be safer to stick with foam until you get the hang of it. 


 


I also have your DA, well the 3D/HD version of it. I use foam pads with good results thus far. I have not tried the hex logic from CG, but the orange pad from Buff&Shine which is a medium cutting pad if my memory serves me right. Your pad would 'cut more', so it should get those swirls out well enough. When i try to get swirls out, I use speed 6 with medium pressure (for me, that means I can see the foam pad being squished a bit as I am doing my passes)  and do 2 to 3 passes (by 1 pass I mean doing the whole section up/down & left/right once). Then I wipe off, check the paint (and clean pad if needed) and correction and do it again if needed. I also tend to do a 4th or 5th pass with barely any pressure on it as a finishing touch, usually on speed 3. I do this with HD products though, but the general strategy ought to be the same. Since your pad cuts more, I may do 1 or 2 passes and then check your paint. 


 


Hope that helps some. Good luck! 
 
Nah, MF Cutting Disks are perfectly safe for newbies IMO.  Foam is actually the *MOST DANGEROUS* type of pad because foam gets hot, unlike MF and wool (that's right...wool pads are safer than foam!  Though it is a bit more complicated than that...).


 


Maybe Chemical Guys makes/designates/describes/color-codes their pads differently from other makers; I just don't know.  But generally orange cutting pads are the "go-to pad" for significant correction.  Plenty safe as long as you know what you're doing or at least as long as you keep your wits about you.


 


MF Cutting Disks correct faster and leave a nice (well, "nice" for an aggressive pad) finish.  IMO they're easier to use, in part because they're easy to clean, and you need to clean your pads *VERY* frequently and somewhat thoroughly.  I.e., don't do half a panel before cleaning out the pad (or getting out another, clean, pad).


 


Maybe you don't need the MF, or even the orange foam, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if you *do* need such an "aggressive" (scare-quotes kinda intentional) approach.  Hey, the white pad/Optimum Polish combo wasn't aggressive enough, right?


 


FWIW, I'm more in favor of mild pad/aggressive product combos than the converse.  Wouldn't surprise me at all if the Optimum Polish just isn't aggressive enough, can't imagine a situation with *my* vehicles where that would be sufficient; I always end up using something more aggressive for the first passes, and I really do mean "always".  But hey, that's just me and my particular situation....
 
Really? That is interesting. I know what you mean about the pad getting warm at times. But for some reason, I thought MF pads were not that newbie friendly because they supposedly 'cut so well/faster' and need 'lots of cleaning'... I guess it might have been my own anxiety that creeped up... Thanks for your input. I'll have to order some MF pads on my next supply order to give'em a try...
 
If you want a system to start out with that is sAfe but effective I would start with Meg's MF Finishing discs and LC Crimson low profile. Add Megs M205 for polish. If you don't have compressed air I would keep 6 of each on hand. A spurring brush or Pennicle Bug Sponge will help clean w/o air but air is best for both. This 2 pad 1 polish combo can do just about anything safely.

BTW have used this combo on the HF da and PC7424 XP on fairly heavy correction work where paint thickness was unsure.
 
The cleaning part is what I am concerned about with MF cutting disks. I don't have compressed air readily available, and get the feeling buying it in can form would get expensive. And keeping so many disks on hand seeks excessive for only doing this sort of work once in a while. Is there another way to clean microfiber cutting disks? they seem excellent for a newbie to get good results, but harder to keep clean compared to foam pads.
 
wbwing- You can just wipe them with a towel (cotton or MF).  IMO the MF Cutting Disks are a *LOT* easier to clean than foam...and I do mean a ***LOT***.
 
That's all you have to do? Good to know! I had only uncovered information saying you need to blow them out with compressed air frequently. Thanks for the info! I may give it a try. Unfortunately, I already ordered orange foam pads a couple days ago. But if they don't work, I will go for the MF cutting disk. Thanks for the help!
 
Blowing them out works better, but wiping with a towel works pretty OK.  Same approach for the orange pads, just (considerably) more of a chore to get the polish/cut-off paint out of the pores of the pad.
 
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