Too much or not enough? (SSR 2.5)

2.5RS

2.5RS

New member
I just finished my first attempt at polishing an entire vehicle over the weekend, my '04 Subaru 2.5RS. I ended up using about half of a 16 oz bottle of PB SSR 2.5 for the entire vehicle. I did have to make two passes on about 3/4 of the panels. Does this sound like about the right amount or am I way off? Like I said, it was a first run for me and I'm just trying to decide if I am in the right ballpark on product usage.



Thanks

- Andrew
 
i haven't used ssr 2 but that sure sounds like a LOT of product. i usually do one circle around the outside of a pad for a 1' x 2' area. my intensive polish bottle is still quite full. the most important thing is if you're working the product enough. if it's still sloppy or wet when you finish then it's not working in enough.
 
admac said:
i haven't used ssr 2 but that sure sounds like a LOT of product. i usually do one circle around the outside of a pad for a 1' x 2' area. my intensive polish bottle is still quite full. the most important thing is if you're working the product enough. if it's still sloppy or wet when you finish then it's not working in enough.
Click to expand...



I agree...It shouldnt take half a bottle to polish a car, instead of making 3-4 passes just make sure you work in the product long enough and a majority of the swirls should be taken out. For the remaining haze/micromarring just use a lighter polish to clear the paint up. This should cut down on your usage of 2.5 Good luck, hopefully this helps.
 
Yeah, unless you are buying from me that is a lot! I was joking. ;) For real it seems like a lot of product to use.
 
On a related note, how does one determine wether or not you've worked a polish in long enough? I figured if I worked it to the point that it was turning into dust, I had worked it way to long, but I suppose I really don't know. Is there some sort of physical change or can you just "tell" with experience?
 
I would also liek to know how long i need to work the polish. Alot of people say work it until it starts to haze, but i am not sure what hazed looks like. When i polishing yesterday i used Optimum Polish on speed 5 and after like 30 seconds i thought i was done because i could barely see the polish on the car, yet i hear people say i need to work it for about 5 minutes on a single pass :hairpull
 
well if you are doing it by hand it probably will end up costing you more product. With a Porter Cable you'd probably do an excellent job with 1/5 of the product you used.

If your going to stick with manual route I would get applicators and towels with a little more bite. Sonus Der Wunder polishing towels and applicators work well.
 
With the PC and the SSR line you should work it in until you can hardly even see anything left. I do all of my polishing on speed 6 as well.
 
It's hard to tell because all polishes act differently and break down at different times. Generally you want to work a polish until it is clear, you can take your finger and run it across the polish and if it doesn't smear, generally this means you have worked it long enough. Here is a website that has videos and pictures of polishes being broken down - It is a great site you will want to bookmark.



http://paintcare-n-detailing.com/ssr.html 2.5rs This website shows how much 2.5 you should be using.
 
Ahh... Thanks for the replies from Joshua and Danase. Those pics help a ton, I wish I'd seen those before I started :p . Oh well, I'm ok with chalking this one up to a learning experience, far from the worst thing I could have done right? I may have to order my next bottle of SSR 2.5 from Danase just for being such a nice guy. Regardless of my poor technique my car came out really pretty good, much better than I expected for my first attempt. Thankfully it is white, and rather forgiving :bow



In my defense though, I did apply two coats of KSG without any issues removing it, so at least I did something right! ;)
 
You know its worked when you've reached the desired results. Some products will haze up before theyve

There is no "one" speed, or "amount of proper" passes one needs to make. You need to evaluate your progress, as you proceed.

At a minimum, I find 3 passes adequate for initial evaluation. If I need more swirl removal, I make another pass or two, and alter machine speed and actual movement speed. Normally, hoods, roofs, and rear decks are the most demanding (at least thats been my experience) and this is due to the there rate of inspection. I mean where does one normally look for problems...on the hood, and roof areas.
 
I used half a bottle of 2.5 on a black escalade with medium to major swirls. It all depends on the conditon of the paint. 2.5 will eventually get the job done, but you may have needed a more abrasive product.



Steve
 
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