More cut with AiO or stronger polish?

[Uncbrs]

So I took the dive and bought a Griots G9 last week. Got it delivered yesterday and spent the evening practicing on the 8yr old dryer. Super easy machine and felt like it even cleaned up a lot of scuffs and light scratches. It looks better than the 2yr old washer sitting next to it at least.

Sunday I also did a prep wash - Iron remover - clay towel and another prep wash. Since the polisher did not come until Sunday night, I garaged my car and came back to it Monday. Before working on my test spots on the trunk, I wiped it again with the prep wash to be safe and clear any garage dust.

What I have/used:
McKee's 360 AiO
Griot G9 and White and Black CCS pads (from AG kit)
Boss Perfecting Foam pads - yellow

My car is a 2020 so the imperfections are minimal. I believe they qualify as micro scratches and light swirls from dealer washes. I have a few areas of heavier micro scratches on the hood and want to get my cut/polish combo right before getting to those. I'd share a picture but don't think the imperfections can be captured and have to be seen in-person at the right angle, etc.

On the trunk I started with the AiO and black CCS pad using speeds 5/6 on the G9. Didn't do much more than shine.
Next I tried the AiO and the white CCS pad (same speeds) and it cleaned some but not much more than the black pad. all imperfections are visible but admittedly only when I have it in the right light still.

So now I wonder, what do I need to get the micro scratches lifted and to the level of clean I want? Should I move to the orange CCS pads for more cut? Should I look beyond an AiO and into something like 3D HD Speed or even 3D One? My goal when I started all this was to get where I wanted without taking away too much from a new car but maybe an AiO was too ambitious?

 

[chilly]

So I took the dive and bought a Griots G9 last week. Got it delivered yesterday and spent the evening practicing on the 8yr old dryer. Super easy machine and felt like it even cleaned up a lot of scuffs and light scratches so I moved to trying it on my car today. It looks better than the 2yr old washer sitting next to it at least.

Sunday I also did a prep wash - Iron remover - clay towel and another prep wash. Since the polisher did not come until Sunday night, I garaged my car and came back to it Monday. Before working on my test spots on the trunk, I wiped it again with the prep wash to be safe and clear any garage dust.

What I have/used:
McKee's 360 AiO
Griot G9 and White and Black CCS pads (from AG kit)
Boss Perfecting Foam pads - yellow

My car is a 2020 so the imperfections are minimal. I believe they qualify as micro scratches and light swirls from dealer washes. I have a few areas of heavier micro scratches on the hood and want to get my cut/polish combo right before getting to those. I'd share a picture but don't think the imperfections can be captured and have to be seen in-person at the right angle, etc.

On the trunk I started with the AiO and black CCS pad using speeds 5/6 on the G9. Didn't do much more than shine.
Next I tried the AiO and the white CCS pad (same speeds) and it cleaned some but not much more than the black pad. all imperfections are visible but admittedly only when I have it in the right light still.

So now I wonder, what do I need to get the micro scratches lifted and to the level of clean I want? Should I move to the orange CCS pads for more cut? Should I look beyond an AiO and into something like 3D HD Speed or even 3D One? My goal when I started all this was to get where I wanted without taking away too much from a new car but maybe an AiO was too ambitious?

The experts will chime in shortly but FYI 3D Speed (Used to be HD Speed) IS an AIO, and a darned good one at that

I know nothing about the cutting abilities of the McKees product but 3D Speed and an orange Lake Country can certainly take out some swirls and love marks


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[Uncbrs]

The experts will chime in shortly but FYI 3D Speed (Used to be HD Speed) IS an AIO, and a darned good one at that

I know nothing about the cutting abilities of the McKees product but 3D Speed and an orange Lake Country can certainly take out some swirls and love marks


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Thanks - I was aware about the 3D Speed being another AiO but wondered (given its popularity here) if it had better cut ability than the McKee's. The orange pad idea is also noted - thanks!

 

[chilly]

Sorry for stating the obvious

You might want to try an orange pad with what you already have and see where that gets you

If that won't take out the defects you are trying to remove, then you have a pretty good idea that you will need to step up the cut on your liquid

Again, I don't know where McKees 360 sits on the cutting scale but you can probably step it up a small notch without worrying about taking off too much clear coat

 

[Uncbrs]

Sorry for stating the obvious

You might want to try an orange pad with what you already have and see where that gets you

If that won't take out the defects you are trying to remove, then you have a pretty good idea that you will need to step up the cut on your liquid

Again, I don't know where McKees 360 sits on the cutting scale but you can probably step it up a small notch without worrying about taking off too much clear coat

No need to apologize - I need all the info and reminders I can get!

I might go ahead and try orange pads. I did not think I was at the point of needing a lot of cut overall so trying to step it up slowly. Only pain is with each try (and fail) I get a few days of setback if I need to try something else and wait for it to arrive. Maybe I am being too picky about the finish but I see the other car in the garage (white 2018) and it looks dang near flawless so I should be able to get the 2020 up to that level (not white though).

I mostly found durability tests for the McKee's 360 - not sure if one AiO will do more correction than another so hopefully a different pad can get it over the hump.

 

[chilly]

First as long as you didn’t burn through the clear coat it wasn’t a fail in my book

I’m sure someone else will ask, what make and color are you working on?

I know the “oh crap, gotta order an XYZ” scenario all too well, living in Alaska and Hawaii

I’ve made some horrific mistakes by trying to make do instead of waiting for what I needed to safely do the job

YouTube is full of pro detailers who can use a Scotchbrite scrubber and Ajax cleanser and buff out a Bugatti but I’m a coward


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[Uncbrs]

Color is what Genesis (it's the G70) calls black forest green. It has moments where it looks a little green in sunlight but mostly looks gray. Probably safe to compare to a gray for that reason.

 

[chilly]

Wow

I had to look that up

Never heard of Genesis

Apparently I don’t get out much


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[Uncbrs]

Wow

I had to look that up

Never heard of Genesis

Apparently I don’t get out much


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I don't think there's many out your way. They are having a tough time breaking away from Hyundai but finally rolling out their own dealerships now. I'll probably be done with it once they become more mainstream.

 

[chilly]

Hopefully someone on the forum will have experience with this paint

I will keep subbed on this and hopefully learn something

Cheers

Michael

 

[rover137]

If the Genesis paint is anything like my black Hyundai i30 Nline it should be mid soft. I'd assume that they would probably use different/better paint than their Hyundai arm?

I had good success with the Lake Country Orange SDO pads and Scholls s20 and S30+. Swirls were minimal on mine so the S30+ finishing polish was enough to correct it and finish out.

For the more heavier defects in some parts i was able to get those with the S20 which is a medium compound. Some techniques with this polish did mar, so the paint was on the softer side.

Hope this helps.

 

[rover137]

Also, nice car! haha

I do like the Genesis cars and the Genesis/Hyundai folk have come a long way and make some cracker cars.

 

[noorth]

If i was going to polish a car with correction speed i would use 3D One on a medium pad. The only times i used an AIO was for a quick polish for some gloss.

I have soft paint and the AIO i have is gyeon primer, some say its not a true AIO, but anyhow it has a light cut and with a lake country orange pad on my G15 it never touch any swirls. 3D speed will cut more but not close to 3D one. You can use a medium polish like 3D one and a orange lake country ALOT on unpolished paint before you will ever have to worry about burning through. It overrated.

I love working with AIO's but i wouldn't use them for a 1-step paint enhancement. Thats my opinion. I'm not a professional howwver.

 

[Uncbrs]

If the Genesis paint is anything like my black Hyundai i30 Nline it should be mid soft. I'd assume that they would probably use different/better paint than their Hyundai arm?

I had good success with the Lake Country Orange SDO pads and Scholls s20 and S30+. Swirls were minimal on mine so the S30+ finishing polish was enough to correct it and finish out.

For the more heavier defects in some parts i was able to get those with the S20 which is a medium compound. Some techniques with this polish did mar, so the paint was on the softer side.

Hope this helps.

That's the cycle - I've heard everything from soft to mid to hard paint now! You're right though, you'd assume they would use a step up but all bets are off as they work out their brand launch kinks. Have enjoyed the car though - it packs a punch!

I haven't seen Scholls around the forums yet. I'll have to look into it. From my understanding, I don't believe anything I have would classify as heavier. Anything I can see on it is only if in the right sunlight or if I have the right combo of certain lighting in my garage. The orange pads have been added. Sounds like now I need to select something beyond the AiO.

Thanks for the info!

 

[Uncbrs]

If i was going to polish a car with correction speed i would use 3D One on a medium pad. The only times i used an AIO was for a quick polish for some gloss.

I have soft paint and the AIO i have is gyeon primer, some say its not a true AIO, but anyhow it has a light cut and with a lake country orange pad on my G15 it never touch any swirls. 3D speed will cut more but not close to 3D one. You can use a medium polish like 3D one and a orange lake country ALOT on unpolished paint before you will ever have to worry about burning through. It overrated.

I love working with AIO's but i wouldn't use them for a 1-step paint enhancement. Thats my opinion. I'm not a professional howwver.

Thank you! If I step it up to 3D One would you not go right to the orange pads to test first? Trying to do incremental steps to find the right combo but also new to machine polishing so maybe I'm worrying too much?

 

[Desertnate]

The only Genesis I've polished was my mother-in-laws white pearl G90 from two generations/facelifts ago. I remember the paint being on the soft side and was able to polish it up quite nicely using Griots One Step Sealant and white Lake Country Flat polishing pads.

I typically don't use AIO's, but it was appropriate for the time/purpose. I can't compare it to the 3D products, but the Griots does seem to have more cut than other AIOs I've tried.

 

[noorth]

Thank you! If I step it up to 3D One would you not go right to the orange pads to test first? Trying to do incremental steps to find the right combo but also new to machine polishing so maybe I'm worrying too much?

Sure you can try a softer pad. Me? I used to with the griots perfecting pad actually, it will give you great shine and its a nice flexible pad - the 2 i have are pretty worn so i have used them a lot.. But now i just grab my rupes yellow or lake country orange. These pads are not overly aggressive but usually get a decent amount of correction and they finish out great on my car.

Scholls S20 and 3D one i would imagine have similar cut and finish but i would "guess" 3D one might have a little more bite. Apparently, sonax perfect finish cuts better the S20 black but i'm unsure and 3D One does cut better then perfect finish in my personal experience.

Many medium polishes on the market. Lots of people like griots correcting cream as well but 3D One is more versatile in that it as a rather large cut to finish range. Put it on a cutting microfiber pad and you should be able to take out some relatively heavy defects on soft paint. I even used perfect finish the same way and got some deep scratches out with the very course white BOSS pad from griots.

 

[Paul A.]

I would explore the cut capabilities of what you're using and step it up to an orange pad.

What other polishes or light compounds do you have?

 

[fly07sti]

^^^^ This. Try what you have before you buy something else. Or you’ll end up with a bunch of unused product. Try your orange pad with McKee’s AIO and see what that gets you. FWIW, McKee’s 360 has minimal cut IME.

 

[Uncbrs]

I would explore the cut capabilities of what you're using and step it up to an orange pad.

What other polishes or light compounds do you have?

I only have the McKee's AIO for now (except for a sample of the Wolfgang AiO as well). I may have some older stuff but talking really old. So at this point, if I am doing a change of the polish, I'll buy new. I did just order the orange pads so can check on how those help the McKee's AiO later this week.

If I buy a stronger polish I'm thinking I could step back on the pad then but I can check on the orange pads with McKee's first.

I appreciate all the input. It's kind of a catch-22 to have to buy things to test but need new or different things after testing but not buy too much. :buffing: