Polish, PC Speed, and other Tips????

B

Beach15

New member
Okay, I had started a thread before describing and showing how swirled our pure black Chevy Avalanche has gotten in the past few months, and now I have the supplies to fix it. I just need some quick tips.



First of all, I ordered and have the PC 7424 with bonus kit from Coastal Tool. I also got a yellow, a white, and a gray pad from CMA. And a few days ago, I bought a bottle of Meguiar's #9 at the auto parts store. I also have a pretty much full bottle of 3M SMR.



Right now, the truck has AIO, a few coats of Platinum UPP, and a topper of S100. It needs washed, and I'm hoping to get some polishing done with the PC afterwards tomorrow to help get rid of the swirls. I'm thinking that I should first use the yellow pad with #9. If that doesn't work well enough, I'll try the 3M SMR, right?



Considering the products I have, what should I do? The yellow pad is a given, but should I try the #9 or the SMR? I haven't ever used the #9, but would still probably be more comfortable with that than the SMR, unless it works better. So:



-What polish?

-What PC speed?

-Basic tips on how to do this right, as I've never used the PC yet. There's a lot of instructions on here, but I don't have the time to look them up and figure out what to do. I just need some quick tips!



Swirls--no more (hopefully)!!
 
I've used both products and, in my opinion, they are substantially similar products in terms of abrasiveness and effectiveness. They are not very abrasive and are quite safe to use with your yellow pad without worrying about taking off too much paint. Unless you're going to go to a more abrasive product like DACP, I personally would go with the 3M for dark cars as it might hide the swirls a bit better with fillers. As to speed, I would do a pass at 4 and see what happens. If you feel you need a bit more oomph, mist the pad with a bit of distilled water and kick the speed up to 5. Some people have reported having a bit of trouble with 3M, but I find it works very well if you really work it in properly. Have fun.
 
Well, before my Autopia days I was an avid user of #9. I used it with Megs polishing pads and the PC (a relatively benign combination). Once I joined here I got myself some 3M SMR.



I have a thread further down the page "DACP Haze, white or yellow pad" where I was discussing with people which pad combo to use to remove slight hazing with SMR. Generally as I've found around here, 3M SMR gets very little respect. People tend to say that it has no abrasives and its just a filler. As yesterday showed me, that was decidedly not so.



Not only can you seriously marr a surface with 3M SMR by hand (which means it HAS to be abrasive) but I had awesome results with the SMR with a white pad removing the haze and some marring from my Lexus. Results easily as good as I had with DACP, but then again I was having a bad DACP day ;)



In my OPINION, 3M is definately an abrasive, and its more abrasive than #9 (I cant marr the surface with #9 by hand, I can with SMR), I really like the product. Just work it in WELL. Yes I used an alky/water mixture to remove the fillers, marring was gone.



So basically I would reccomend that you start with the #9, then move to the SMR as you'd said. I always run all polishes at 5 or 6 on the PC, I find it makes it much easier to break them down.
 
So when u speed it up, the compound breaks down quicker? Does this mean less repititions back and forth? Ive been running SMR on my PC at about 3 1/2, and it takes a while to break down.
 
Here ya go, read this: Beginner's guide to the PC



This will give you an understanding on what and how it works.



As for materials, DACP for swirl mark removal followed by Megs SFP or 3M PIII-MG then Megs Hand Polish on a finish pad.



Make sure you wash, clay and dry prior to all the work. Clay will remove all surface dirt that washing did not and get it ready for polishing. Depending on how bad the finish is, go with the least abrasive first then work up to DACP if you still have swirls.



There are many polishes out there and it's trial and error to find the one that works for you.



Make sure you have a good amount of MF towels as well.



Enjoy!



Regards,

Deanski
 
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