First time polishing, not sure where to start

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captainsquirts

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I drive a 2006 Lancer Evolution and I've been claying and waxing the car it's whole life. I've never polished the vehicle before so it's new territory for me. I purchased a HF speed polisher(good price and reviews were pretty good) and I believe it's a good starter one. Any who I'm kinda overwhelmed on what products/pads to purchase. I don't want to buy to many items but again I don't want to buy to little. I don't want to start a job and then get to a point where I needed to do more and then having to stop my progress. Since I skimped on the polisher I'm ok with purchasing great pads/products.

So I already wash the car, Clay and wax. But for the step between claying and waxing, I know I probably need something that would remove swirls. What is a good product and pad to start that? Then after that should I just wax after that or would I need to do another polishing job to have it more fine? I'm probably getting a different back plate, a 5inch one with im assuming 5.5 inch pads.

There seems to be a vast amount of things for polishing and it's kinda overwhelming when looking into all of it. I'm just looking to be pushed in the right direction and go on from there.

tl;dr - Never polished before. What pads/products to purchase and what to do between claying and waxing.

Thanks in advanced.
 
Welcome aboard, captain.

For the detailing perfectionists there are a lot of steps that lead to a perfect finish. But many of them are optional, and on some types of paint (particularly light metallics) you won't see much improvement in going the extra mile (not to dissuade you!). The basic steps are:

Wash (possibly with Iron-X)
Clay
Compound (for heavier marks)
Polish (for light marks and to get a final mirror finish)
Sealant
Wax (optional)

Some products (called all-in-one types) will do both the compounding and polish. You'll usually get better results if you do them separately, but the AIO products can do a decent job on some paint types.

And yes, you will absolutely want to do something about swirls on a 10 year old car. Right now your brain is conditioned to not see the bazillion microscratches that have gotten into your clear coat, but once you see a section with those buffed out it'll be like seeing a kid that was playing in mud puddles with part of his face scrubbed clean.

I'm not sure about Evo paint, so I'd hate to recommend pads and compounds. But personally, I'm a fan of Wolfgang products.. and would probably recommend Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover to start out compounding. And maybe add Wolfgang Finishing Glaze if you want more mirror shine. But there are other great choices as well, including Menzerna (my personal preference), Pinnacle, and many more.

The pads you use tend to be a consideration of how soft your paint is (how easily it scratches), the type of polisher you have (in your case the HF), and the compounds. But I'd probably suggest the new Lake Country ThinPro pads. I just got some and haven't used them yet, but they should be very nice. You'll want 2-3 of each type... probably orange for compounding and white for polishing. Use the Lake Country 5" backing plate with those.

I'd need to know what color your paint is to recommend a sealant and wax. That stuff can be applied either by a soft polisher pad or by hand.

And you'll want to get some really good quality towels (3-4) to dry the car, and good MF towels (about a dozen) for removing wax and compounds.

Keep in mind that this is just one suggestion. Ask a dozen guys here and you'll get 13 opinions.

Before you assemble your arsenal and attack your defenseless car, be sure to study some of the information here about properly polishing cars. You'll get much better results with less effort (but expect to spend a full weekend to do it right).
 
Here are my thoughts:

Pads/backing plate: Lake Country 5" backing plate and a variety of 5.5" Lake Country Flat pads are a good start. I'd make sure to have at least 3 orange pads, least 3~4 white pads, and a couple of black or blue pads. The orange and white will be for correction and the black/blue for LSP application. In addition to watching videos here where Mike shows you how to use a DA, read up on cleaning/rotating pads while you work.

Polishing Products: I'm not familiar with Mitsubishi paint, but I found Meguiars Ultimate Compound and Ultimate Polish to be very user friendly and cheap. They seem to work well on a variety of different paints. Many here will also recommend products like HD's Adapt and Polish. They a inexpensive and work well based on the testimonials here. There are many others, but when I first started out I liked using inexpensive and easy to use products and worked up to other products as I became more skilled.

I'd be sure to have an heavy-ish polish and a lighter polish on hand when you start. That way, when doing a test spot you'll have options. However, start with the mildest combination and work down from there. For starters try a polish on a white pad. If that doesn't work, try the polish with the orange pad. If no luck, move down to the swirl remover/compound on white, and then finally orange.
 
FYI the car paint is black. I'm reading all the comments here and trying to process everything haha. I appreciate all the input so far, def makes things a little easier.
 
I see the new Lake Country Flat Pads and the Lake Country CCS pads. Is the consensus that the new flat pads are a good set?
 
I personally hate ccs pads, too much product gets lost in the dimples. Never been sold on them or hex logic.

Being the Buff and Shine pads are on sale and you have a HF machine you can't go wrong with that combo.
 
You've got some great advice here. So I won't expound and confuse you more just make sure you give us some pics of the evo 9 when you go forward with it.
 
captainsquirts said:
I drive a 2006 Lancer Evolution and I've been claying and waxing the car it's whole life. I've never polished the vehicle before so it's new territory for me. I purchased a HF speed polisher(good price and reviews were pretty good) and I believe it's a good starter one. Any who I'm kinda overwhelmed on what products/pads to purchase. I don't want to buy to many items but again I don't want to buy to little. I don't want to start a job and then get to a point where I needed to do more and then having to stop my progress. Since I skimped on the polisher I'm ok with purchasing great pads/products.
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Congrats on the new found and soon to be addiction :)

I'm not familiar with that polisher to recommend which line of pads will work. I will say you'll likely need 5-6 of whichever 1 or 2 you will get as it's wise to change them out after ever couple panels. They wash up just fine and will last you a while. No worries on the products. So many great ones out there that you really can't go wrong.

So I already wash the car, Clay and wax. But for the step between claying and waxing, I know I probably need something that would remove swirls. What is a good product and pad to start that?
Click to expand...

You can do a couple things. Some do individual products / steps such as compounds, polishes and then sealants. Some do All in One Products. I have done both but in your case if the car has been cared for and the swirls aren't out of control horrible, a solid AIO will work great. I like and use HDSpeed. Happens to be the one I started with in terms of AIO and is well respected by many. Very easy to remove which is great and for me I like the fact that it finishes to a super nice finish. I ran mine with a green pad which sits between an Orange and white. However, you could use an Orange if the swirls are really bad or even white if you can get away with it. I'd go green or orange though.

Then after that should I just wax after that or would I need to do another polishing job to have it more fine?
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My initial recommendation is to go AIO and see how that does for you. Especially for a first time polisher. Enjoy it for a few weeks, absorb the experience and perhaps read up here on other products. Nothing wrong with bringing the car to 95% perfection and doing the rest later after you gain further insight. If you want you could hit it with a jeweling polish or work on really refining the surface and do it all at once or in stages but that's up to you. I did mine in stages and was glad I did for the above reasons. Mainly to learn about products and not kill myself in one weekend. Now on both our vehicles it's just a matter of very light corrections when needed and often not even all at once.

There seems to be a vast amount of things for polishing and it's kinda overwhelming when looking into all of it. I'm just looking to be pushed in the right direction and go on from there.
Click to expand...

You're in the right place to learn about them all too. Don't be overwhelmed. It's really not as complicated as it appears. Soak it up.

Enjoy and I'm looking forward to seeing pics both before and after.
 
aahhh... black paint. That's the color that acts like the hot girl who is a beeyotch 90% of the time but when she's being nice you fall all over yourself to do what she wants. Speaking from personal experience, of course.

Black cars are notorious for showing every little mark. But when cleaned up, no other color can match the depth. It's worth your while to do some homework before starting, and to take your time as you work on the car. The results can be stunning. If you think your car looks good now, wait until you see it after you finish a good detail. I wish I had a black car again!

And now I'd recommend WGDGPS (Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant) after the final polish... followed by Pinnacle Souveran carnauba wax. Nothing can touch that combination for depth and glow. The only downside is that the Souveran glow only lasts a few weeks, even tho it will still bead up for a month or two. However, if you want a shiny mirror finish instead of depth, stay with sealants instead of carnauba.

BTW, the HF polisher is essentially the same as a Porter Cable 7424. So, if you see references to a PC7424 it'll be about the same as your setup. I have a PC7424 (not the newer 7424XP) that I've used for nearly 15 years with great results.
 
Post up a full on overhead sun shot of your hood so we can asses the condition of the paint.
 
Got pics, will upload soon. Holy it was a pain to get some decent shots of the damage.
 
captainsquirts said:
Link below is a album of the vehicle. Be a little gentle haha.

Car Paint Condition - Album on Imgur
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Being it's 10+ years old it's pretty much as I suspected. But as we Geekers always say, a picture(s) is worth a thousand words.

You will have your work cut out for you with your HF Polisher. And no AIO is going to correct that in one step (imho). You are looking at a two step polish. Compounding then Polishing. You should probably invest in either a 3" or 3.5" backing plate and some 3" or 4" pads to get into the tighter areas, especially the front bumper.

Also, I see quite a bit of etching which I wouldn't really worry about, it's most likely not going to come out. I'm sure you can make it look much better overall but keep in mind while you're doing it that like my 12+ year old Rogue I just traded in, their is only so much you can do.

Without a doubt with the time investment you can make it look pretty good over all. Your'e probably looking at about 12-15 hours of polishing time.

Overall it's in decent shape considering it's never been polished and it's a 2006. We've all seen newer vehicles posted on this forum in much worse condition that's for sure.

Enjoy the learning experience and I look forward to seeing the after pictures. Be sure to document your journey for us.
 
Yea I tried to get pictures of the worst defects on the car. The front is a bunch of dead bug guts that claying really didn't get off and rock chips. The side of the car is from a cone I hit at autocrossing(should come out pretty easy I believe). Roof I have some scratches from a cat in the neighborhood that jumps on the car.. Since seeing this now do you still recommend the HD products? I believe I'll end up doing the pads and backing plate, just not sure on what compound/polish products to get yet.
 
captainsquirts said:
Yea I tried to get pictures of the worst defects on the car. The front is a bunch of dead bug guts that claying really didn't get off and rock chips. The side of the car is from a cone I hit at autocrossing(should come out pretty easy I believe). Roof I have some scratches from a cat in the neighborhood that jumps on the car.. Since seeing this now do you still recommend the HD products? I believe I'll end up doing the pads and backing plate, just not sure on what compound/polish products to get yet.
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Yes, HD has a complete line that can easily tackle that.

In this case I'd go with HD Cut for the first step compounding. Then you can go with either HD Adapt or HD Polish. I like Adapt because you can get different results with different pads. Pad combo is going to be very important and you will need at least 4 Orange and 4 White pads. And you are really going to need the extra BP and smaller pads. You will miss at least 25% of all those tight areas w/o it.

Then top it off with Poxy or whatever you feel like.

Bottom line is their are all kinds of products and brands that will do the job. Of which I personally have used many. The HD line imho represents the best value and the products have a huge following outside of this forum.

I can't personally speak to the new McKee's products mentioned here and on the forum. As I have way too much stuff already most likely I won't be using them any time soon as I just can't justify investing any more money in a whole new line of products.

The key thing is whatever products you choose, stay with the entire line. Why I say this is that your are new to paint correction. Learn to master the line and the difference of each product and pad combination before venturing out to different product lines. It's confusing enough as it is w/o throwing in different product combos. This is the best advice I could give you, and always start with a 2' x 2' test spot.
 
You said you got a HF high speed polisher. It is the dual action polisher correct?
 
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