Got the paint clean, what's next?

[16again]

Used the IRON X to get the rust spots out of the paint, worked perfect. Clay barred the whole car. Really nothing on the clay bar to write home about. I think the IRON X pulled just about everything out of the finish.
Paint is like glass to my bare hands. FAILS the baggie test though. It feels gritty with the baggie. Currently about 8 hours of work into the finish.

I have decided NOT to clay again and would like to polish/protect all the work I have done.
Car is a Silver Metallic (actually 2001 GM QUICKSILVER Metallic)
I have the PC 7424 along with a WHITE, YELLOW, and ORANGE 6.5" smart pads.
Also have a bottle of the Menzerna Final Polish.

What pad?
What speed?
Do I need something after the Menzerna?

Thanks for guiding this newbie along. :buffing:

Bob

 

[onlycodered]

Are you sure the bag is clean? That's all that comes to my mind. Haha

In regards to polishing I would highly recommend getting 5.5" pads to use with your PC instead. I got a bundle with the 6.5" pads with my PC and then read some posts on how much better the 5.5" ones were so I bought some of those and they make a world of difference!

It's always best to start out with the least abrasive polish/pad combo and do a test section. If you still find that you are unable to polish out all the defects then you move up to something a little more abrasive.

Out of the pads that you have, white would be the best to use with the Menzerna Final Polish. You'll want to use speed 5 on your PC with that since it's a finishing polish.

Do you have any photos of the current condition of the paint? I'm just worried you're not going to get very far with Menzerna Final Polish if you've just clayed. If you still see defects after the Menzerna I'd probably recommend giving Meguiar's Ultimate Compound a try with the orange pad and then finishing off with the white pad and Menzerna. Also if you use the Ultimate Compound you'll want to do that on speed 6.

 

[16again]

I took the baggie out of the box but I guess it's possible to have some type of dust on it. LOL.

Here is one from the rear getting the hatch and drivers quarter panel. It feels as good as it looks. 10 year old Silver Metallic it really looks great.

This is the hatch just about center looking down from about 2-3" off the surface.