Polishing newbie

K

kpinks

New member
Hey guys, I just ordered a PC 7424XP polisher, now I have a few questions:

1. What kind of polish should I use?

2. I have a Toyota Tacoma truck, which has plastic panels over the wheels,can I use the polisher on those panels even if they are plastic?

If so, do I need a special pad for that?

I ordered, orange, white and black pads

Thx

Kev
 
Again, I'll parrot what 'most' say.



Look up Meguires Mirror Glaze #105 compound and #205 finishing polish. Get both.



My idea for a staging system: Cut with orange & 105, mix with white (1 pass with 105 and then 1 pass with 205) if you have more than 1 white pad and finish with black & 205.



Then apply some of this with your hands: Amazon.com: Zymol Royale Glaze: Automotive



Am I missing anything?
 
kpinks- As long as the plastic parts in question are body color (as opposed to, say, black textured plastic) you can polish them just like the rest of the vehicle.



The M105/M205 suggestion is pretty much the standard answer these days, but there are other good polishes from Menzerna, optimum, and others. Each has a different set of features/selling points.



The most important advice I can think of is to use pads that aren't too big. Don't try to do correction with some big 6.5" pad.
 
Thanks for the input Accumulator.



I was just throwing sarcasm around with the Zymol, ofcourse ;-). But, the M combination seems to be thrown around quite a bit. The other brands you mentioned also seem extremely solid from reviews. As of now, I am financially 'stuck' with a system which I am used to, but I am seriously looking forward to testing all of them.



So yeah, OP. What he said. :-P
 
If the wheel flares are just textured black plastic, do NOT polish them haha. Mask them off and try not to get any 105 on them, you'll thank me later :).



If it's painted plastic, treat it like any other panel!
 
jono20 said:
If the wheel flares are just textured black plastic, do NOT polish them haha. Mask them off and try not to get any 105 on them, you'll thank me later :).



If it's painted plastic, treat it like any other panel!
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Yeah, they're painted plastic
 
kpinks said:
Yeah, they're painted plastic
Click to expand...



Then you should be fine!



105 on the orange pad until the damage is gone, shouldnt take long! Speed 5/6

205 on the white pad to remove any imperfections remaining Speed 4/5

Wax/Sealant of you choice on the black pad at a low speed. Speed 2/3



I might also suggest you try Poorboy's black hole glaze if the truck is a dark colour.

Apply the BH between the 205 and the wax/sealer, it's applied at low speed and pressure just like a wax or sealant.
 
jono20 said:
Then you should be fine!



105 on the orange pad until the damage is gone, shouldnt take long! Speed 5/6

205 on the white pad to remove any imperfections remaining Speed 4/5

Wax/Sealant of you choice on the black pad at a low speed. Speed 2/3



I might also suggest you try Poorboy's black hole glaze if the truck is a dark colour.

Apply the BH between the 205 and the wax/sealer, it's applied at low speed and pressure just like a wax or sealant.
Click to expand...

Now do I have to clay before I polish, or is it just a matter of preference?

Thx
 
kpinks said:
Now do I have to clay before I polish, or is it just a matter of preference?

Thx
Click to expand...



Some of us think you should *always* clay before you polish. Among other reasons, because it removes contamination that the polisher's pad might otherwise grind into your paint.
 
Yeah exactly. It's always better to clay before, but I only ever do it if after I do my Dawn wash I can FEEL contamination in the paint. If there is only a little bit of roughness, Ill go ahead and polish. If the paint feels like sand paper, ill clay before hand to make sure Im not adding more defects than Im taking away.
 
kpinks- I know this isn't the answer you'd like, but I would rather spend the money on the right stuff and get good results. At least with the M105.



Buy the smaller 8 oz. bottles.
 
I used all Poorboy's products, they are relatively cheap and do an excellent job. Now I'm moving to M105 for my cut; A 32oz bottle of M105 for 30 bucks is about what you would expect to pay for any semi-decent polish. It's a LOT of polish, since it doesn't take a lot of 105 to correct most damage.
 
jono20 said:
.. A 32oz bottle of M105 for 30 bucks is about what you would expect to pay for any semi-decent polish. It's a LOT of polish, since it doesn't take a lot of 105 to correct most damage.
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Yeah, even if you properly prime the pads (KBM-style), change pads frequently, and do many, *many* passes over each area, it doesn't take all that much product unless you're using too much. Even working on Suburban-size vehicles, a bottle of polish oughta last a very long time. I think sometimes people get the idea that you'll use up a pint/quart/whatever of product doing just a few details and that's just not the case.
 
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