Tesla Polish - Need Advice!

M

mckennwa

New member
I recently bought a new to me Tesla Model S. It is dark blue, and the paint looks great, but it has some swirl marks, especially on the hood. I was going to have it professionally paint corrected, but given the quarantine I decided to try it myself.

I ordered a Griots Garage G9 DA polishers and pads. I plan to use Meguiars M110 and M210. However, I can’t decide what LSP to use. I have historically used Zaino and Meguiars Ultimate Wax. I’m thinking it might be time to try a ceramic coating. But it’s impossible to know what is best. I would consider Meguiars Ceramic, but I was curious if there was something better!

Thanks in advance.
 
mckennwa -
Welcome to the Forum !

Congrats on the new to you Tesla Model S ! Such a beautiful car..
Unfortunately, the people that make them are not too dialed in on how to keep the paint nice before delivery..

How many vehicles have you paint corrected, with what machine, pads, and products ?

Or is this your first time ?

Meguiar M110 is a pretty aggressive compound. I would not use it.

I have paint corrected a few new Teslas with my Makita Rotary. I get all the paint issues, ( and they are sometimes, all the way around the entire vehicle) corrected with Optimum Hyper-Polish and lots of Lake Country Hydro-Tech Cyan pads.

What exactly are you expecting your LSP choice to do for you?

Is the vehicle outside 24/7, or inside at night, or what ?

Zaino was a great product before better sealants and then coatings came out.. I was a Zaino expert back then.. I still like their leather cleaner and their glass polish..

Dan F
 
This will be my first time doing paint correction. Should I useUltimate Compound instead? I planned to polish first and see if that took care of it before trying the more aggressive compound. I have heard that Ultimate is less abrasive than M110, so if needed I will try that first.

For LSP I’m just looking for good shine, longevity and value. I used to have a silver car so I just wanted good protection, but with a new car I though I should explore what might be out there that is better.

The car is always garaged, including at home and work.

Thanks.
 
mckennwa --

Ok, you will need at least 1 - 25 ft extension cord, access to great lighting in the garage, and sufficient space on both sides to be able to work all around it, if possible..

Because your Tesla is dark colored, the best lights will help you see the defects in it easier, and help you see your progress...

Have you been watching youtube videos to get an idea how to use the Griots G9 machine ?

Which pads did you order ? Foam pads, or what ? Are you going to try to correct only the hood paint defects ??

I would also recommend a pad cleaner like this one - https://www.autopia-carcare.com/snappy-clean-powder.html#.XpaF4VWpH3g
It will clean foam pads really well, its low foaming so easier to rinse it all out and it does not hurt the velcro backing on the back of the pads..

Last time I measured the total thickness on a new red Tesla Model S, it was around total 127 microns I believe. And that is total thickness not just the clear coat..
I still do not recommend you use a compound on it.. I wouldn`t, and I have decades of experience compounding paintwork..

You may use one anyway and probably won`t hurt it, but you will take more clearcoat off that will of course, leave less on the car..
And then, if it does not finish really good, you will then need different pads and a polish to get the gloss and clarity right..

It is always best to use the Least aggressive product, process first, and see if that is all you need..

Perhaps if you want to stick with Meguiars, purchase their Ultimate Polish and see how it goes.. It is I believe a SMAT polish which means it will continue to work and not break down, until you stop..

Optimum Hyper Polish is also a SMAT polish and it is really easy to use, and does not make a mess, etc., if used correctly..

You will need a lot of microfibers, if you choose to use them, to wipe off your work, and then a cleaner for them to wash them..

There are other ways to do this, and I am sure you will be reading other options soon !

Dan F
 
I have LED lighting in my garage and two Halogen stand lights I used for painting. I also have plenty of space and extension cords.
I have watched hours of YouTube videos to convince myself I could do this and to select the best and safest polisher.

i ordered 6 pads from Lake County, the foam hex logic ones. I got orange, white and black. Plan is to start with polish and white pad. I will start with the hood and likely do the whole car if I’m comfortable. With the glass roof, there isn’t a whole lot more to do after the hood.

I’ve also considered starting with my wife’s 10 year old Honda Pilot to learn there, where a mistake would be much less “expensive”. But from all that I’ve read, so long as you’re not dumb, a DA polisher is pretty safe for a DIY user.

Thanks again for the input.

I will look into the Ultimate polish as opposed to the M210.
 
Paint will most likely be soft. Start with the least aggressive method first. Then step it up from there if needed. You should look into some additional polishes/finishing polishes.
 
mckennwa said:
I have LED lighting in my garage and two Halogen stand lights I used for painting. I also have plenty of space and extension cords.
I have watched hours of YouTube videos to convince myself I could do this and to select the best and safest polisher.

i ordered 6 pads from Lake County, the foam hex logic ones. I got orange, white and black. Plan is to start with polish and white pad. I will start with the hood and likely do the whole car if I’m comfortable. With the glass roof, there isn’t a whole lot more to do after the hood.

I’ve also considered starting with my wife’s 10 year old Honda Pilot to learn there, where a mistake would be much less “expensive”. But from all that I’ve read, so long as you’re not dumb, a DA polisher is pretty safe for a DIY user.

Thanks again for the input.

I will look into the Ultimate polish as opposed to the M210.
Click to expand...

mckennwa -

I only like and use flat foam pads.. Hate anything with dimples.. I want all the pad on the surface, doing the work..

Hope you are using 5.5" pads and not the 6" ones.. You want as much pad rotation as possible to do the correction work.. Bigger pad/backing plate harder to rotate since your machine is random orbital and not direct drive like a Rotary..

There are a lot of good videos and a lot of not so good ones.. Hope you looked at good ones..

There is a lot of vibration from random orbitals, hope you are ok with that..

You ordered 6 pads, and that is about half of what I use to completely paint correct an entire vehicle..

The orange is your correction pad, the white is the polishing pad and the black is useless for anything except applying an LSP, etc., to the finish

As you work the paint, spent product and clear coat is going to gunk up your pads, so plan on having something to wipe them off between the passes sequences, so they last longer before they are unable to do the work any longer, and you have to switch them out.

The 4, - 2 orange, 2 white should be plenty to do the hood of that Tesla, but I do not see how just those 4 pads will ever go all around the vehicle if you are looking to do the entire vehicle.. There is a lot of painted area in the front and back ends of the Model S that takes a while to do..

Sometimes, the drunk clowns that assemble some Tesla`s are a little erratic and they damage the painted areas around the tail lights putting them into the tail light opening, after the vehicle has been painted..

Every Tesla I ever paint corrected was paint damaged by the Factory before it was sold to the Owner..

And Tesla tells the Owners "we are selling you an Electric Car and not a perfect paint car".. Rude, to be sure.. :)

Dan F
 
mckennwa said:
I recently bought a new to me Tesla Model S. It is dark blue, and the paint looks great, but it has some swirl marks, especially on the hood. I was going to have it professionally paint corrected, but given the quarantine I decided to try it myself.

I ordered a Griots Garage G9 DA polishers and pads. I plan to use Meguiars M110 and M210. However, I can’t decide what LSP to use. I have historically used Zaino and Meguiars Ultimate Wax. I’m thinking it might be time to try a ceramic coating. But it’s impossible to know what is best. I would consider Meguiars Ceramic, but I was curious if there was something better!

Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

M110 and M210 are a great combination. M110 is not as aggressive as M100 or M101 and on certain paints it finishes out pretty darn good. M210 will remove any marring or haze in the finish. It is a good system. M210 finishes out better than M205 on softer paints. You would be fine with these two.

mckennwa said:
This will be my first time doing paint correction. Should I useUltimate Compound instead? I planned to polish first and see if that took care of it before trying the more aggressive compound. I have heard that Ultimate is less abrasive than M110, so if needed I will try that first.

For LSP I’m just looking for good shine, longevity and value. I used to have a silver car so I just wanted good protection, but with a new car I though I should explore what might be out there that is better.

The car is always garaged, including at home and work.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

No need for ultimate compound if you pick up M110. If anything you may want to consider picking up M205 which is available at most local stores. It works well as a one step. But you have the right idea with starting off with a test spot with the least aggressive combination.

mckennwa said:
I have LED lighting in my garage and two Halogen stand lights I used for painting. I also have plenty of space and extension cords.
I have watched hours of YouTube videos to convince myself I could do this and to select the best and safest polisher.

i ordered 6 pads from Lake County, the foam hex logic ones. I got orange, white and black. Plan is to start with polish and white pad. I will start with the hood and likely do the whole car if I’m comfortable. With the glass roof, there isn’t a whole lot more to do after the hood.

I’ve also considered starting with my wife’s 10 year old Honda Pilot to learn there, where a mistake would be much less “expensive”. But from all that I’ve read, so long as you’re not dumb, a DA polisher is pretty safe for a DIY user.

Thanks again for the input.

I will look into the Ultimate polish as opposed to the M210.
Click to expand...

I will also say no need for ultimate polish. M210 was designed for soft paints. This is the reason Meguiar`s developed it as M205 does not always finish out well on softer paints. Save your money by not picking up ultimate compound or ultimate polish. Like I said you would be good with M110/210.

Now you mentioned you are looking into a ceramic coating. The Meguiar`s coating has been delayed due to the corona virus affecting their distribution of products here in So Cal. The date keeps getting pushed back.

If you are looking into getting into a coating but are not entirely sure yet of its performance then consider a coating lite. Be sure to pick up some sort of prep wipe like CarPro Eraser.

Cquartz Lite is great and you can read my review on it

https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/product-reviews/123222-review-carpro-cquartz-lite.html

The other option is Gyeon CanCoat. Which is also great.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gE_fhnno56c&t=6s
 
I`ve done one Tesla. It was a blue SUV.

I found this particular vehicle to have somewhat resistant paint despite what I`ve seen / read about them.

The shop I was doing the job for had the full Adams, and Rupes line of abrasive polishes. They also had Rupes 21, 15 MK2, Mini, Nano, and Adams 15, and Mini. I even brought my usual rig from home.

Long story short - the most effective combination was my old Porter Cable 7424, 3D One Hybrid Compound and Polish, Buff and Shine Uro-Fiber to cut, Uro-Tech Yellow to finish. Other products and tools did well, but this combination got me to the end in the most reasonable amount of time. I attribute this to the almost infinite work time of 3D One. Where other products have a window before they start to dust, 3D One continued to perform, without the need to stop, wipe off, blow out the pad, reapply product, and go in for a second round. With 3D One I was able to until the defects were removed. Usually in that situation I like the Rupes Blue microfiber, and their Blue compound, but it can be dusty, and definitely has a finite work time.

My friend who is a full timer at the shop called me to help with a black Audi last week, and is was almost the same level of difficulty.

I haven`t tried the new Meguiar`s yet though. I will. They have been my favorite since I was 20! (1996). But before that I want to pick 3D ACA 500 and 520, as well as Sonax Ultimate Cut, Cutmax, and Perfect Finish. I have M100 and M205 which still do a great job.
 
Seeing Tesla reminded me of this video I saw a while back by Car Craft. He said this was a brand new car and the paint thickness readings were all over the map. Anybody see a new car with readings this wild? Go to 24 minute mark if video isn`t cued up already:

 
gorram said:
Seeing Tesla reminded me of this video I saw a while back by Car Craft. He said this was a brand new car and the paint thickness readings were all over the map. Anybody see a new car with readings this wild? Go to 24 minute mark if video isn`t cued up already:

Click to expand...

Sorry for bumping an old thread.

Yes I have a 2019 Blue Model 3 that has paint readings all over the map. Maybe not as drastic as Sandro`s readings in the video, but nowhere near any consistency that I`ve seen on typical American, German, or Japanese manufacturers.

There is at least 10 microns less paint on vertical panels than horizontal panels on top of the inconsistency across the panels.

You do not buy a Tesla because of the paint.
 
dwaleke said:
Sorry for bumping an old thread.

Yes I have a 2019 Blue Model 3 that has paint readings all over the map. Maybe not as drastic as Sandro`s readings in the video, but nowhere near any consistency that I`ve seen on typical American, German, or Japanese manufacturers.

There is at least 10 microns less paint on vertical panels than horizontal panels on top of the inconsistency across the panels.

You do not buy a Tesla because of the paint.
Click to expand...

Probably one of select few manufacturers where despite using a finishing polish a PTG is a MUST ... even on a new car! A well respected pro near me has seen readings as low as 60 below the door handles, where there was 130 on the bonnet for example.
 
If you still have the Zaino, there`s nothing wrong with using it. Lots of new products have come and gone but the reality is that most of the hyped up products, other than true coatings, don`t really seem to be any more durable than Zaino. Zaino tends to be on the shine side of the spectrum while some others tend to be on the wetter side of the spectrum. Either is a personal choice. Z5 looks killer on dark blue.
 
As a reference of what a Tesla did look like and what it SHOULD look like, see Sizzle Chest`s Click-n-Brag post of his detail of a new black Model 3:
https://www.autopia.org/forums/click-brag-the-detailers-showcase/192205-2021-tesla-model-3-a.html
He used Griot`s Garage Boss Compound and Polish but did not list his correcting and polishing manufacturer`s and type of pad choices.
AND, here is Merlin`s Click-n-Brag post on a blue 2019 Model 3:
https://www.autopia.org/forums/clic...miracle-detailing-cquartz-finest-reserve.html
He used Rupes DA Coarse High Performance Cutting Compound and Rupes UNO Pure Universal Ultrafine Finishing Polish
 
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