Aggressiveness, which one first (Pad or Polish)

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ROVERHSE06

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Hello,

Newbie in the process of purchasing PC and products, done at lot of research, have a few questions so when I actually try to polish my black vehicle I'll have the answers. I plan on purchasing PoorBoys SSR1.0, 2.0, 2.5 polishes and Edge Pads (Blue thru Green).

Question 1.) Let's say I start out with the least abrasive polish and pad SSR1.0 and the Blue Edge pad (Finesse). Let's say after 3 applications I'm still left with scratches. Do I move to a more aggresive pad or polish or both

a. More aggressive pad :Orange pad (Light cutting) and same polish SSR1.0.
b. More aggressive polish: SSR2.0 and same Blue pad.
c. Both Orange pad and SSR2.0

And of course the pattern would contine until I reach the most aggressive pad and polish (Green pad & SSR2.5).

Question 2.) How many applications of the same polish/pad combo should I try before moving to a more aggressive combo(polish/pad) After 1 application if I see no noticable difference do I move up or try 2 more passes or 3 more passes or ? passes

Question 3.) The door panels and qtr panel have only a 2" height before they made a sharp bend downwards. If a PC was used on this area only the top 2" of the pad would be on the surface and the rest of the pad in air. How do I safely buff this area. Since it is the top part of the doors it actually needs to be as good or better than the rest of vechicle. What's my options.

Thnks
I have other ?'s which I will post while I wait for my PC.
 
I have wondered the same thing(pad/polish). I would spend some time searching on this board. For smaller areas use the 4" pads.
 
Had the same situation with minor scratches on my truck. Ended up with the green pad with poorboys aio polish sealant. Took it right out. Don't forget to clay first. Sorry, no experience with ssr products.

Rsurfer
 
also I believe the yellow is the most aggressive.
 
SSR1 is a very fine polish. Personally I only use it for a final polish after all of the major swirls are removed with a stronger polish. It will put a nice mirror finish on the car and remove slight hazing caused by a stronger polish. It will not knock out significant swirlling.

SSR2.5 is a good polish for tackling swirls. Personally, if using the PC, and the finish has some significant swirlling, I'll start with it on a light cutting pad right from the start. That usually does a good job of removing swirlling. If after a couple of passes there is still significant swirlling I'd move onto a compound.

Once you're happy with the defect removal do a final pass with SSR1 on a polishing or finishing pad.

I've never tried SSR2.0. The 2.5/1.0 combo works well, so I've never felt a need for 2.0.

As for the pad not making entire contact with the car, this shouldn't be a problem with the PC. It's tough to visualize the area though. If you're worried about burning through an edge or something, it's tough (though not impossible) to do with the PC. You can use some painters tape to cover raised edges if you're concerned.
 
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I'm in a similar position right NOW. Used E2K green pad with XMT1 and then 2. Still have scratches but no swirls. Should I move up to Orange pad and 2?
 
Sorry, don't know. I would think that would be my next step. Like I said, I only hand minor scratches and used the green pad with poorboys aio polish sealant. No scratches and very smooth. Top that with soveran liquid wax.
 
RallyMSP said:
I'm in a similar position right NOW. Used E2K green pad with XMT1 and then 2. Still have scratches but no swirls. Should I move up to Orange pad and 2?
Click to expand...

My suggestion is use XMT 2 with green pad. If the swirls are light, this should take everything out just fine.

Follow this with XMT 1 and orange pad if needed, this will remove any hazing and micromarring.

Here's a crappy pic of what I did with XMT 2 and green pad. No need for the XMT1/orange combo.

SL553955.jpg
 
Also, as Sevenrd kinda related to, I found my XMT2 is not used that often. Since the XMT line doesn't have a real dedicated compound/heavy polish (yet), I find that XMT 1 and 2 are similar. If I wanted, I could pretty easily get away with XMT 3 and 1 or XMT 3 and 2. The XMT line is really pad dependant so that varies on your pad choice.
 
ROVERHSE06 said:
Hello,

Newbie in the process of purchasing PC and products, done at lot of research, have a few questions so when I actually try to polish my black vehicle I'll have the answers. I plan on purchasing PoorBoys SSR1.0, 2.0, 2.5 polishes and Edge Pads (Blue thru Green).

Question 1.) Let's say I start out with the least abrasive polish and pad SSR1.0 and the Blue Edge pad (Finesse). Let's say after 3 applications I'm still left with scratches. Do I move to a more aggresive pad or polish or both

a. More aggressive pad :Orange pad (Light cutting) and same polish SSR1.0.
b. More aggressive polish: SSR2.0 and same Blue pad.
c. Both Orange pad and SSR2.0

And of course the pattern would contine until I reach the most aggressive pad and polish (Green pad & SSR2.5).

Question 2.) How many applications of the same polish/pad combo should I try before moving to a more aggressive combo(polish/pad) After 1 application if I see no noticable difference do I move up or try 2 more passes or 3 more passes or ? passes

Question 3.) The door panels and qtr panel have only a 2" height before they made a sharp bend downwards. If a PC was used on this area only the top 2" of the pad would be on the surface and the rest of the pad in air. How do I safely buff this area. Since it is the top part of the doors it actually needs to be as good or better than the rest of vechicle. What's my options.

Thnks
I have other ?'s which I will post while I wait for my PC.
Click to expand...
Q1.It really depends on how many swirls left, but I would move up to orange+SSR2.0 and polish with that. When you polish almost dries ease up the pressure and lower speed to 4 to have LSP ready finish.

Q2. really pepends on paint and how many swirls have been removed with a previous combo.

Q.3 Get 4" spot buff pads.

Hope this helps.
 
supercharged

So you are saying if my current pad/polish is not aggressive enough, move to the next aggressive pad and polish at the same time. Ok. A little different answer than was expected from all my reseach and threads on the forum. They all say less aggressive to most aggressive, but I couldn't fine a thread which answered my question. Just trying to figure it out. So in your case if I had 2 pads and 2 polishes. I would take only 2 steps. Try it with less aggressive pad and polish, doesn't work try it with the other combo.

If I took them one at a time I would have 3 steps.
 
ROVERHSE06 said:
supercharged

So you are saying if my current pad/polish is not aggressive enough, move to the next aggressive pad and polish at the same time. Ok. A little different answer than was expected from all my reseach and threads on the forum. They all say less aggressive to most aggressive, but I couldn't fine a thread which answered my question. Just trying to figure it out. So in your case if I had 2 pads and 2 polishes. I would take only 2 steps. Try it with less aggressive pad and polish, doesn't work try it with the other combo.

If I took them one at a time I would have 3 steps.
Click to expand...
Depending on how many swirls left. A lot left - step up on pad AND polish. Little left - just step up on pad OR polish.

Good luck.
 
I usually try changing pads first. A lot of polishes are pad dependant.
 
With a more aggressive pad you will usually tend to have more micromarring than you would with a more aggressive polish. That is from my experience. Most polishes on AG, if not all, break down into a pretty decent finishing polish.
 
I cant speak for SSR, but I know none of the current XMT polishes produce any micromarring and dont require a less aggressive polishing.
 
Thnks for the replies, however based of results I'm still in the same boat I was in before posting this thread. 1 says move up to next pad before polish and the other says move up polish before pad. 1 says move up both at same time. I'm leaning toward polish first. waiting on more responses..
 
what i have been told, along with my personal experience, the biggest difference will be from moving up both the chemical and the pad. the least amount of difference will come from the polish then a bigger step would be the pad. either way, if you were to do one or the other, the difference will be very minimal, which is why i suggest you step up both and save your time. its not like youre going to remove too much cc, so i wouldnt worry about it. this is what i did, at least. it worked out very well, except stepping both up actually wasnt enough, which is also why i still have some deeper marks still visible.
 
I guess my real concern was once I had to move past the Edge 2k Green pad (Med cut) and SSR2.5 (heavy polish) to the Edge 2k Orange (cut) and Optimum Compound. It seems like in the early steps I can do both if I pefer, otherwise polish before pad, but once I get past SSR2.5 and the med cut pad, move first to the more aggressive polish and then to the more aggressive pad. Ok it looks like I've got my answer. Thnks alot.
 
as you have offered pads and polishes both have abrasives in degree. Pads are colored to differentiate them, and polishes are coded in number or title from finishing (light) to compound (heavy).

I have found on most cars with reasonable finish, you start in the middle. I like the white LC pads and a medium polish. I then wipe with alcohol/water (to remove any fillers) and guage its effectiveness. If its good I finish and move onto lighter pad and polish to jewel the finish. If its not, I can change pad or polish (usually polish) to get more power.
 
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