Optimum Hyper Polish and Pads

vaca22

vaca22

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Hey all, after much research I've decided to give OHP a try, but I really wasn't sure what kind of pad to use. I guess my questions have mostly to do with pads rather than the OHP product itself.

The pad they suggest is a waffle pad available from the OPT website. Is this specific pad actually necessary? I dug up a box of used Lake Country pads from WAYYYYYYY back in the day....like 2008 or something crazy like that. They need to be washed/cleaned, but that's another story... My understanding is that OHP can have varying degrees of leveling ability depending on the pad that is used.

Next question - I happened to stumble across small, privately owned auto supply store. I was there specifically to see if they had clay, and noticed they also had a bunch of pads. None of those pads were Lake Country pads, but some other brand such as SM Arnold, Ardex, and HI-BUFF. This distributor seems to carry many Ardex products, in huge quantities that apparently are used by local body shops.

There is a lot of info out there on LC pads, but what about other manufacturers or brands? Is there a brand or type of pad that I should absolutely avoid?

Thanks!!
 
What machine polisher do you have?

The machine in many cases will dictate the type of pads that are optimal for it. Then you just pick the aggressiveness from that line of pads.
 
Welcome to AGO.

Any polishing pad will work with hyper polish.
 
dwaleke said:
What machine polisher do you have?

The machine in many cases will dictate the type of pads that are optimal for it. Then you just pick the aggressiveness from that line of pads.
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It's an old Porter Cable 7424. I should have mentioned that, sorry!
 
What kind of vehicle are you working on and what is it's condition? On soft Toyota paint I find a white LC Flat Pad with HyperPolish is a great combo for moderate/light swirls.
 
Desertnate said:
What kind of vehicle are you working on and what is it's condition? On soft Toyota paint I find a white LC Flat Pad with HyperPolish is a great combo for moderate/light swirls.
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I bought a 2015 Kia Optima with Snow White Pearl paint, which is really a nice color. The dealer did a "once-over" prior to delivery, which I never paid attention to because it was November and I live in CT, knowing I wouldn't get around to it until spring/summer.

Now that I've washed it many times and have gotten familiar with it, the paint is actually in very good condition. It appears they forgot about the trunk lid, because most of the defects reside on that horizontal surface. The hood has very minimal micro marring, as do the doors, so in terms of difficulty this should be very easy. And as an incredible added bonus, the entire roof is glass - LESS PANELS TO POLISH!!

When I first stumbled across this forum ages ago I learned about DA polishing and products. The two cars I had back then were both brand new, yet I did both Menzerna Intensive Polish and Final Polish as part of my cleaning process without even realizing what I was doing. I just thought it was something you had to do. So in reality I ended up spending WAYYYYYY too much time trying to correct paint that never needed correcting in the first place. This trunk lid that I have now will be my very first opportunity to remove imperfections.
 
With hyper polish, ignore the Optimum recommendations. Optimum wants you to buy their pads, obviously. Realistically on a Kia with a Porter Cable, I would personally use orange. You can use white but it'll take more time. Orange, four passes and done. I would just use their regular flat orange pads.
 
Good choice in OHP. In my experience, it works great with everything from a white pad (for light polish) to a microfiber cutting pad (for pretty serious correction). Orange is a nice middle ground. I use LC, Sonax, Megs and B&S... they all work fine.


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Thanks for the replies, I really appreciate it!

Is the Optimum Paint Prep (or other IPA wipedown) necessary after using OHP, or can I just jump straight into the coating? I'll be using CQuartz UK 3.0. I think I read that because it contains no solvents that IPA isn't necessary...
 
vaca22 said:
Thanks for the replies, I really appreciate it!

Is the Optimum Paint Prep (or otther IPA wipedown) necessary after using OHP, or can I just jump straight into the coating? I'll be using CQuartz UK 3.0. I think I read that because it contains no solvents that IPA isn't necessary...
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You need some sort of panel wipe. Hyper polish still contains oils.

A panel wipe will have more lubrication than IPA. Get yourself Optimum Paint Prep or CarPro Eraser.

If you are in a pinch you can get Mothers CMX paint prep locally. May take an extra pass around the car as it’s not the most potent.
 
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