Polishing my black 2018 Acura RDX - seeking advice.

2black1s said:
Here's my opinion... And it's just that... My opinion. I have no hard evidence either way, but it just seems to make sense to me.

Would you take a dry pad and run it on a perfectly polished black panel? Probably not. I know I wouldn't. But if I had a black test panel, I might try it to see the results. I'd expect some level of marring to occur.

Now, take that logic and apply it to your polishing. If the edge of your pad is dry and you're moving into a contour leading up to an edge, the dry edge of the pad might cause some marring in that contour.

That is why I prime the edge of the pad... To eliminate that possibility.

Make sense?
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Yep, i understand you thought process now. Thanks

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Flash Gordon said:
100% would definitely cause marring is the reason that I asked
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I will try again after the holidays with a gentle wipe without any ipa. Hoping it’s that simple!

Do you also just do a gentle dry wipe?

I might order some brand new towels too just so I know they’re fresh and have only touched paint.

Open to any suggestions for gentle towels.


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theTown said:
I will try again after the holidays with a gentle wipe without any ipa. Hoping it’s that simple!

Do you also just do a gentle dry wipe?

I might order some brand new towels too just so I know they’re fresh and have only touched paint.

Open to any suggestions for gentle towels.


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Ive never used anything other than a towel to wipe off abrasives.

What type of towels do you use?

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opie said:
Ive never used anything other than a towel to wipe off abrasives.

What type of towels do you use?

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Rag company spectrum 420s and random assortment of microfibers from a free towel pack I got from auto geek - don’t know the brands.

I was never organized with them in terms of interior vs paint duty so was thinking I could eliminate more variables by just getting a pack for paint only.


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theTown said:
I was never organized with them in terms of interior vs paint duty so was thinking I could eliminate more variables by just getting a pack for paint only.
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Yes that would be a good thing to start doing anyway. Using different colors for the different tasks is also a good idea.

Fwiw im still using cobra polishing cloths for abrasives removal and coating wipe off. Decent towels, but when they need replaced ill be switching to the towels 3D sells. I use them for hand washes and really like them. They are priced well and are 400 gsm if i remember correctly.

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theTown said:
Rag company spectrum 420s and random assortment of microfibers from a free towel pack I got from auto geek - don’t know the brands.

I was never organized with them in terms of interior vs paint duty so was thinking I could eliminate more variables by just getting a pack for paint only.


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I like the rag company 300 for initial removal and Eagle Edgeless 350 for final buff.

Looks like you got most of the swirl out. When spending all that time polishing your paint it’s worth investing in better materials.

I like to finish with Essence which I’d compare to perfecting cream with the boss yellow pad. Finished well on my soft ford shadow black paint.


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Coatingsarecrack said:
When spending all that time polishing your paint it’s worth investing in better materials.
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Very well said. Such a simple thing that could be over looked...could be the thing that scews up the hard worked for final finish.

I will say the the Op, if you have not already..take the time to search out some of mike phillips articles and videos on here that hes done and even now o er at 3D.

I say that because when you first find this addictive hobby and a forum such as ago...there is a treasure trove of information. Such info that will answer most of your questions,i.e. what machine,pads,abrasives, towels, and then how to properly put those items to use.

It is very overwhelming at first cuz there is so much out there. It would take years of wastfull spending to figure out the best combos if i had not found this place with mike p and all yinz. I know it put me miles ahead of where i would be.

Sorry i may have rambled on a bit...but it never hurts to read and watch ALOT b4 ya jump head first into it.

Keep your process simple

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Coatingsarecrack said:
I like the rag company 300 for initial removal and Eagle Edgeless 350 for final buff.

Looks like you got most of the swirl out. When spending all that time polishing your paint it’s worth investing in better materials.

I like to finish with Essence which I’d compare to perfecting cream with the boss yellow pad. Finished well on my soft ford shadow black paint.


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Thanks for the suggestions on the towels. Many have mentioned essence so sounds worth looking into!


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opie said:
Very well said. Such a simple thing that could be over looked...could be the thing that scews up the hard worked for final finish.

I will say the the Op, if you have not already..take the time to search out some of mike phillips articles and videos on here that hes done and even now o er at 3D.

I say that because when you first find this addictive hobby and a forum such as ago...there is a treasure trove of information. Such info that will answer most of your questions,i.e. what machine,pads,abrasives, towels, and then how to properly put those items to use.

It is very overwhelming at first cuz there is so much out there. It would take years of wastfull spending to figure out the best combos if i had not found this place with mike p and all yinz. I know it put me miles ahead of where i would be.

Sorry i may have rambled on a bit...but it never hurts to read and watch ALOT b4 ya jump head first into it.

Keep your process simple

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It’s like drinking from a fire hose. I will check out his posts. Most of my information so far has come from reading random threads on this forum.

One thing I think I recall just reading was swapping to the 5in plate on the g9. He made a good case for it - easier to manage on modern curves and cheaper pads.


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theTown said:
It’s like drinking from a fire hose. I will check out his posts. Most of my information so far has come from reading random threads on this forum.

One thing I think I recall just reading was swapping to the 5in plate on the g9. He made a good case for it - easier to manage on modern curves and cheaper pads.


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Yes he did. I run flex machines so i know nothing about the griots. Although others on here say they run the 6 in with no issues. So i dunno lol

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Quick little follow up. I finally had some time to retry a test spot. Same protocol but without the IPA wipe and with a new pack of edgeless 365s. I do not see any marring after performing a gentle wipe off. I used slow circular wiping similar to a video I saw posted by Mike somewhere on here.

Slightly off topic but what causes all this micro pitting? This car has literally never had a proper decontamination and wash besides the scratch tunnels the wife took it through.

The pitting visible around the light. Looks like dust:

00ab8ffc292bde7986646492dbb16497.jpg



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Can’t tell from the picture. Could it be water spotting? Do you drive in a sandy/dusty environment?
 
Sorry it’s hard to photograph. Lots of highway miles. Not particularly sandy. Didn’t come out with compound and polish so figured it’s from 5 years of no protection or paint care. Just not sure what causes it specifically.


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theTown said:
... Slightly off topic but what causes all this micro pitting? ...
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I think the minor pitting is just a fact-of-life for anything that gets driven. It's most obvious on darker colors but it occurs to all. The cause is all of the debris the car is exposed to when driving.

Out west where I live, there are days that are windy and dusty enough to do a year or two worth of pitting to the paint and windshield in a single day.
 
2black1s said:
I think the minor pitting is just a fact-of-life for anything that gets driven. It's most obvious on darker colors but it occurs to all. The cause is all of the debris the car is exposed to when driving.

Out west where I live, there are days that are windy and dusty enough to do a year or two worth of pitting to the paint and windshield in a single day.
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Ouch. Like your vehicle is getting sand blasted!
This is a daily so it’s already looking 85% better. Also having fun polishing it so it’s a win.


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Well I spoke too soon. Still getting micromarring. Its in a circular pattern in the shape of the pad.

Tried my orange pad. Same result. These 6.5 inch pads are hard to use on all these curved surfaces and I think the sharp edge on the Griots pads might be the culprit as another poster mentioned. (I primed the edges too)

This car is starting to frustrate me :mad:. I'm going to try a smaller pad with a contoured edge and see if that's more forgiving.

Here’s a pic of the marring:
1a91be89a4027656c2af9619677c990c.jpg


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That is some unusual marring. If I had to guess I would blame it on whatever your using to prime the pad. I never prime the pad unless I'm using a wool pad (rotary polisher) and a heavy cut compound. Even then I only use water.

If you have a new pad try polishing without priming

Changing pad size won't do anything to help this issue.
 
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