8 hours of polishing and...

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jernal024

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Still not even finished with the the first step. What the heck is wrong with my process?

My first paint polishing on my 2006 Jetta TDI. I am using
  • Griot's polisher
  • CCS Pads, Orange, White, and Grey
  • Wolgang Twins, and DGPS
I have polished from 10am to 6 with few breaks, and I have yet to finish the roof or do the small areas. My hood alone took me an hour, and there are still some little scratches that I felt should have come out. I've had to do multiple sections over because I was only getting 70% of the swirls out.

I am taking my time on the passes, applying good pressure. Do you think I should trade up to meg's 105 instead of total swirl remover?

Oh yeah, I haven't even gotten to Finishing Glaze on anything except my test section.

I am kinda bummed. I thought for sure, I could get my car fully polished and sealed in 8 hours. Anyone have any advice?
 
get a smaller car.....

being your first time, it will take a while. I spent over 2 hours just washing my van today. this type of work takes time. I can't do one of my full cars in a single day from wash, clay, correction, glaze and sealant. I am still a newb, but one thing I do know, is you can't rush quality work
 
I feel you brother! Aside from the correction, I spent 6 hours yesterday washing, claying, and taping.

It was my first time cleaning wheel wells, so that took some time, but 8 hours of correction for the first step?!?!?!?! REALLY
 
Zivman said:
get a smaller car.....
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It's not like it's an SUV, it's a mid-size sedan for god's sake. It is black though, maybe that's the reason why I re-polished so many sections.

I also have a sample sized bottle PB SSR3 compound. Do you think I could use that on the nastier areas and follow it with the normal 3 step process?
 
My G8 (4 door sedan) took me about 20 hours. SIP, 106, 85RD, Fuzion

So if using the DA, it will take a good amount of time if you do it right. Just get some good tunes going, a comfortable stool, and settle in for a long 2 days of work.

That is my best advice. It just takes time to do it right.
 
Have you seen the video's by Mike? If not, check them out, they will help you.

Next best thing is to do a test spot (as outlined in the video's) then see what products you need and start with the least aggressive product that you have.

I'm not familiar with VW paints so can't say if you need a stronger product (meaning if your paint is soft or hard).

M105 is a good product, I like Ultimate Compound, it has a long work time.

Check out the video's if you haven't and get back to us. I spent 13 hours on our Dodge Neon with hard as nails clear coat just to have it go to waste on a trip to Reno....It rained the day we left and I finished the car the day before. At least the NXT kept up until I got it home to wash.....
 
If you are having to go over sections multiple times you may want to start with a heavier compound and pad then work to something lighter and then a polish.

Before you invest in new polish and more pads (you can never have enough pads though Im the MAN even though my girlfriend keeps telling me :nomore:) try shrinking the working size down even more. I know if I get into a rush I tend to make my working area larger and it corrects less thus meaning you arent really saving time by polishing more area at a time. Also by shrinking the working area you will be able to get more correction out of it.

Also make sure you dont move too fast. This is something you have to keep an eye on the entire time you are correcting paint.

I hope you figure it out and all the best!

Jon
 
Zivman said:
get a smaller car.....
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:applause:

calhoun1 said:
My G8 (4 door sedan) took me about 20 hours. SIP, 106, 85RD, Fuzion

So if using the DA, it will take a good amount of time if you do it right. Just get some good tunes going, a comfortable stool, and settle in for a long 2 days of work.

That is my best advice. It just takes time to do it right.
Click to expand...

:iagree:


Hang in there and perfect your method on the test spot.
Get the tunes going like calhoun said.
 
jernal024 said:
I am kinda bummed. I thought for sure, I could get my car fully polished and sealed in 8 hours. Anyone have any advice?
Click to expand...

Quality takes time. Your time is pretty much in line with mine.

Did the engine compartment over the weekend: 2.5 hours
WashedNelly ('07 Sonata): 1 hour
Polished the windscreen: 2 hours

My last 3-stage correction plus sealant: 2 long days
Fuzion wax: 1 hour

Remove wheels, clean and polish wheels, clean wells, spray undercoat in wells: 4 hours

Regards,
GEWB
 
gewb said:
Quality takes time. Your time is pretty much in line with mine.

Did the engine compartment over the weekend: 2.5 hours
WashedNelly ('07 Sonata): 1 hour
Polished the windscreen: 2 hours

My last 3-stage correction plus sealant: 2 long days
Fuzion wax: 1 hour

Remove wheels, clean and polish wheels, clean wells, spray undercoat in wells: 4 hours

Regards,
GEWB
Click to expand...

I don't know I guess I had on rose colored glasses. It sound like (or at least seems like), on a lot of guys on the forum are knocking out full details, incl. engine in a day?

Also, I could never see how you could make any money doing this. I went through a half bottle of TSR at $25 a pop, not to mention all the other products I used, AND my 12+ hours which will be more like 24 when I'm done!
:buffing:

Oh well, maybe the Wolgang twins weren't the right choice for me. Seems like I am only gettin 85% correction going s l o w.

One question though, can THere be too much pressure on the pad?
 
hmmmm... I too use WGTSR/FG and I love it. I have used the same bottle on 2 vehicles (the 8 0zer), and I am not even halfway down. I used a 2-3 stage (depending on condition of panel) approach, using Orange, White, and Gray CCS pads. The finish is mirror-like. I used a PC.

Are you possibly using too much product each time you attack a panel? Or maybe your paint is just WAY too swirled/scratched up. I can't imagine the latter, because I have 3 black cars, and 2 are DD's. On my wife's Civic, after using up 2 clay bars, the paint was marred, swirled, and scratched to hell. TSR and FG did the trick.
 
jernal024 said:
I don't know I guess I had on rose colored glasses. It sound like (or at least seems like), on a lot of guys on the forum are knocking out full details, incl. engine in a day?

Also, I could never see how you could make any money doing this. I went through a half bottle of TSR at $25 a pop, not to mention all the other products I used, AND my 12+ hours which will be more like 24 when I'm done!
:buffing:

Oh well, maybe the Wolgang twins weren't the right choice for me. Seems like I am only gettin 85% correction going s l o w.

One question though, can THere be too much pressure on the pad?
Click to expand...

If I did this for a living, I'm sure I would cut the time in half (at least) and have more pads, etc. I have no need to bust my tail when the time belongs to me. I also have arthitis so I try not to aggrivate it.

As to the amount of product used, I found most go a long way. Sealants typically go at least ten or more applications per bottle; jar of Fuzion at least 25 applications; tire dressing and interior dressing lasts over a year (around 30 applications or more).

As to the amount of correction you are achieving, that is the blend of products, techniques and condition of the paint. Once you get it dialed in it goes faster with better results.

Regards,
GEWB
 
sportscarhiatus said:
hmmmm... I too use WGTSR/FG and I love it. I have used the same bottle on 2 vehicles (the 8 0zer), and I am not even halfway down. I used a 2-3 stage (depending on condition of panel) approach, using Orange, White, and Gray CCS pads. The finish is mirror-like. I used a PC.

Are you possibly using too much product each time you attack a panel? Or maybe your paint is just WAY too swirled/scratched up. I can't imagine the latter, because I have 3 black cars, and 2 are DD's. On my wife's Civic, after using up 2 clay bars, the paint was marred, swirled, and scratched to hell. TSR and FG did the trick.
Click to expand...

Maybe I am using too much product? I am basically following Mike Phillips instructions from his videos. I am using 6.5 inch ccs pads and doing on the fly cleanings after every other section/

My paint IS pretty swirled and sratched. I will post some pics tonight when I get home from work.

Do you have any pics of your work to share so I know I am not crazy?Im the MAN

Thanks
 
I started detailing for money just 20 months ago. When I started doing it I had never even heard the term paint correction. Though I had wet sanded and buffed fresh paint in a body shop decades earlier.

I started with a Cyclo polisher and some finessing polish similar to 3M finesse it. I remember the frustration and the thinking that I couldn't possibly make money doing this. Since then I have bought and given away hundreds of dollars worth of products trying to improve my efficiency and my quality of work.

I went from the Cyclo to a Makita rotary to both then to a PC style machine and rotary and now to a Flex VRG3401. I use mainly Poorboy's products but find that Meg's 105 is what I normaly end up using on the first pass after trying lesser aggressive methods first.

Hang in there and don't be afraid to spend a little money trying different products to achieve your goal. As said by other posters, you just need to dial in your product/process and that can take some money and time. You will get it figured out and get faster with time and experience. Being new at this stuff can be tough.

Good luck and try to have fun.:dblthumb2:
 
jernal024 said:
Maybe I am using too much product? I am basically following Mike Phillips instructions from his videos. I am using 6.5 inch ccs pads and doing on the fly cleanings after every other section/

My paint IS pretty swirled and sratched. I will post some pics tonight when I get home from work.

Do you have any pics of your work to share so I know I am not crazy?Im the MAN

Thanks
Click to expand...

Sure thing... here are some threads that I started before. Note that on these, I initially used a White pad with TSR to remove the swirls. Mind you, this was an 8 year old car at the time with no paint correction prior, ever. Since this original detail, I've used orange pads in certains spots where there was considerably more swirls, etc.

Nevertheless, the point is, I've been able to remove 95% of all swirls using the TSR/FG combo with an orange/white/gray pad.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...7-wg-total-swirl-remover-finishing-glaze.html

And the thread below is when I used Menzerna too... I like both products.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/20339-detailed-02-civic.html

Lastly, I have some pics of our Honday Odyssey that I used an orange pad and then white, then gray on 1 panel using TSR/FG. Again, I was successful at removing 95% of the swirls with no issue. I will post that here in reply when I get home from work (I don't have the files here).

I'm sure there are other folks out there who have used the TSR/FG combo with great success? Can you folks chime in here?
 
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sportscarhiatus said:
I'm sure there are other folks out there who have used the TSR/FG combo with great success? Can you folks chime in here?
Click to expand...


Okay, so I tried something new and it worked!

I switched from the orange to the yellow pad and it cut the way i needed to. I went over a few sections that weren't satisfactory, but after another 4 hours, I am still not done with the TSR step :(

Oh, and for my paint, I am even having trouble with the 4 inch orange pad. I need to buy 105 seriously!

So now, Hopefully, I can knock out the rest of the TSR stuff, do ALL the finishing glaze step and the sealant in 4-5 hours tomorrow night! Then it will only be 17 hours of polishing my paint.

sheesh :doh:
 
Get the 105. OR if you want to get an idea of its ability, go buy a bottle of Megs Ultimate Compound. IT is very close to 105.

These 2 compounds will save you a ton of time in that they are agressive, yet, finish nicely. They are easy to work and easy to remove.

Eventually, you might want to switch to 5.5in pads with a 5 in backing plate. They correct a little more quickly and are easier to maneuver.

Be careful with that yellow pad. They are very aggressive. They have a role in more severe situations, but, usually not necessary for the whole car.

If you can feel the scratches or "swirls" with your fingernail, removing them may not be realistically possible. you will have to remove a lot of paint to "level" them.

Some of the marks may be marring from your more aggressive pads. As the others have said, dialing in your process is key. Once you have that down, the rest of the car can be done quickly and you wont have to keep going back and re-doing panels.
 
:iagree: with 5.4 Shelby, good advice.

PAR Detailing said:
If you are having to go over sections multiple times you may want to start with a heavier compound and pad then work to something lighter and then a polish.

...try shrinking the working size down even more. I know if I get into a rush I tend to make my working area larger and it corrects less thus meaning you aren't really saving time by polishing more area at a time.

Jon
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I agree with Jon too. If you don't get the correction you want after a solid section pass, you should step up to the next aggressive combo. Also working a small section like 2 pads high by 2 pads wide, with out expanding the work area every pass. It will give faster correction, letting you move on to the next area instead of going over the same section a second time.

Don't feel bad about how long it's taking, you probably have pretty hard paint. I ended up using 3M Super Duty or "sand in a bottle" for the first compounding step on my Audi, and it still took a long time to correct, the whole process was day's and day's. :cheers:
 
I am kinda bummed. I thought for sure, I could get my car fully polished and sealed in 8 hours. Anyone have any advice?[/QUOTE]

When I first saw the DISO on my new Black truck, I freaked; gotta get this fixed. I already had a PC, older version, so I got some WGSR/FG on the combo special. Since my truck was new, I was afraid to use an orange pad to start. I ordered 5.5" green and white pads. Turned the radio on and went at it. I started with the roof so if I buggered something, only I would know it. After 2 hours, the roof still did not have all the swirls removed. I went on to the hood and couldn't get it to look right either. I decided I was using the wrong stuff and have since spent about $1000 on "stuff". I've got Meg's 105/205, had some Menzerna polish & glaze, got some PB's glaze, pads, pads, pads. The 105/205 combo seems to work best with the PBBH glaze. I came to the following conclusions:

1. I was using way too much WGSR.
2. I was not working it long enough, pretty much out of fear of ruining the clear coat.
3. I did not stick with a test spot (roof) before moving on. My impatience.
4. I was new at this and contrary to my opinion, I did not "know it all".
5. And last but not least, Black is Black and it is going to show everything!!!!

All this learning came from reading this and other forums and spending hours reading/watching Mike Phillips how-to articles and videos.

Hang in there, you'll get-r-done.
 
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