Working with AIO right now...got a few Q's

[White95Max]

Here's the deal: I'm removing oxidation on my dad's 94 green Voyager. It's washed about once a year, and sits outside all the time. It may have been waxed once.

This has been my process:

1. Wash

2. Dry

3. AIO by PC w/ LC light-cut pad on spd 6. As far as how fast I'm going, the center of the pad moves maybe 2 inches in 5 seconds.



The oxidation is definitely less, but it doesn't look as clear as I expected.



Am I going to too fast / too slow?

Do I need to do several applications of AIO?

When it dusts, does that mean I should stop working it?



There are lots of swirls in it (I plan to go over it with 3M PI III MG by PC after AIO) so that might explain a bit of cloudiness in the paint.

I've gone over half of the door 3 times at the same rate to see if it improves at all...it doesn't seem to. There is definitely improvement in the area that I have done compared to the area I haven't done.

 

[TW85 HHI]

If it were me, I would decrease the speed to 4-5 to allow the product to work longer. AIO is a great product but it really can only do so much depending on the paint condition. Do not continue working AIO if it starts to dust. I would stop working it just as it starts to become almost invisible.



Seems to me that you could skip AIO for now and go straight to a polish, and then AIO after removing the swirls (it'll also remove oxidation). If you're going to follow AIO with SG or another sealant, you need the AIO base.



Is the LC light cut pad the equivalent of Sonus' blue pad?

 

[White95Max]

Is the LC light cut pad the equivalent of Sonus' blue pad?

I don't know about the equivalence to the blue pad.



I followed the AIO with 3M PI III MG because I thought with AIO / light-cut pad it might leave some new swirls. Would a light-cut pad leave any new scratches or swirls? If not I'll definitely use the 3M polish before AIO.

 

[imported_memnuts]

I would 3M first with light cutting pad and follow with AIO and a polishing pad. You may even want to do a 3-step process since you have some GEPC. 3M(light cutting pad) > GEPC(polishing pad)> AIO (finishing pad). JMHO.

 

[TW85 HHI]

I've always used a swirl remover with a cutting pad followed by AIO with a Sonus blue pad. Haven't found any swirls or marring to date by AIO being my second or third step.

 

[White95Max]

So I should remove any swirls first with the orange light-cut pad, then use AIO with a polishing pad?

If I used GEPC after AIO, wouldn't it remove the AIO? Both will make the paint glossy, but what would be the advantage of using AIO and GEPC?



BTW, what speed should I set the PC to for applying AIO with the polishing pad?

 

[Accumulator]

So I should remove any swirls first with the orange light-cut pad, then use AIO with a polishing pad?

Yeah. If the PI-III MG/orange leaves any micromarring, follow up with PI-III/milder pad. *Then* use the AIO. Get the paint as nice as you want it to be polishing-wise before using the AIO.

If I used GEPC after AIO, wouldn't it remove the AIO? Both will make the paint glossy, but what would be the advantage of using AIO and GEPC?

The idea was to use the GEPC *before* the AIO since the GEPC has a little (very mild) abrasive. Then use the AIO. But I'd just skip the GEPC myself and rely on the PI-III MG to prep the surface.

BTW, what speed should I set the PC to for applying AIO with the polishing pad?

I usually use 5 . Probably nothing wrong with using 6, just watch that it doesn't "flash"/dry too fast and become hard to buff off. I don't work AIO until it's dry, I buff it off while it's still a little wet. It's not a product that needs to break down.