Polish and Pad Recommendations for a New Car

[GotBPS]

I just bought a brand new black Honda Civic Si and I am looking to ceramic coat it myself with CQuarts UK 3.0. The car has just hit a 1000 miles on it and I want to protect it since I live in the Midwest. What polish and pad would be good for a new car with minor to no imperfections. I plan on washing, claying, polishing and then ceramic coating. Any help would be much appreciated, thanks.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Welcome to AutogeekOnline! :welcome:


What do you own for a polisher?

 

[GotBPS]

I have a Griot's garage 6 in dual action polisher. Thanks for the help

 

[PaulMys]

I have read that the Honda paints are on the softer side, but I have zero experience with them.

Bumping this to the top. Hope someone chimes in!

 

[GotBPS]

Thanks!

 

[WillSports3]

Honda paint is indeed very soft, although the newest models are a bit harder than they used to be. 90 percent of Japanese cars benefit from an orange polishing pad and changing out the different compounds/polishes as needed. I personally pretty much just stick to the Sonax polishing liquids now, they just work.

 

[GotBPS]

Thanks I'm new to polishing, since I have only done it once. From my my experience you want the least abrasive solution. I'm just not sure what products to use since I have little to no experience in this field. Thanks for all the help

 

[gofast182]

Use CarPro Essence and a soft foam polishing pad. The car is new so it *should* only have the most minor of imperfections, you don't want to go aggressive with the pad. Essence has very minor abrasives in it so there's no worry of getting in over your head, plus it will make a good primer for CQ UK 3.0.

I recently did my new M340i using a Rupes yellow polishing/finish pad (one step back from their softest, strictly finish pad), Essence, and topped with UK and Gliss.

Congrats on the new car. The Si trim really makes the new Civic look sharp.

 

[GotBPS]

Thanks for all the help everyone. There are only minor imperfections, such as very light swirl marks and the day I bought the car it was raining so there are some water spots. Appreciate all the imput

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

What polish and pad would be good for a new car with minor to no imperfections.

I have a Griot's garage 6 in dual action polisher.

First - watch this video. While in the video I"m showing the Porter Cable - the Griot's polisher you have is simply a COPY of the Porter Cable with more power. AND - there's more info in the below article as you scroll down it - read it.


How to do a Test Spot and then buff out your car! Video Explanation by Mike Phillips


Second - for products and pads for this tool and what is normally soft paint on Hondas, here's some pad recommendations.

I hate to ASSUME but you didn't state what size backing plate you have. The GG6 came with a 6" backing plate and since you say you're new to this - I'll assume you have the factory 6" backing plate.

Assuming I'm' assuming correctly, and using the




For products, if you go with this recommendation, which I believe is good and accurate,

Use CarPro Essence and a soft foam polishing pad.

The car is new so it *should* only have the most minor of imperfections, you don't want to go aggressive with the pad.

Essence has very minor abrasives in it so there's no worry of getting in over your head, plus it will make a good primer for CQ UK 3.0.

These pads should work great.

Griots Garage 6.5 inch Black Foam Finishing Pad (2-Pack)

I'd recommend getting at least 4 pads and even 6 pads. You can never have too many pads.

And get at least a 12 pack of these,

Cobra Storm Gray Edgeless Microfiber Polishing Cloth - 12 Pack

You can never have too many really nice towels.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

More....


To prep for your first coating - take some time to read through some of these.

Ceramic Paint Coating How-To Articles by Mike Phillips


Here is a list of articles I've written on the topic of Ceramic Paint Coatings. Most of in-depth and filled with lots of helpful information. More then you'll ever find in a message on a Facebook group. :laughing:



The below article has a TON of how-to info in it - besides the review of the product.

Review: GYEON Q2 ONE Enthusiast Ceramic Coating by Mike Phillips



This one is so important...

Installing a Ceramic Paint Coating? You MUST have a GREAT hand held light to avoid high spots!




Here's some more I wrote, most of them this year or last year.

Ceramic Paint Coating Lingo (words used in the car detailing industry to describe the paint coating process)

How to remove a Ceramic Paint Coating High Spot by Mike Phillips

Microfiber towels for ceramic paint coatings - How to care for - by Mike Phillips

The case against multi-year ceramic paint coatings - Road Grime = Surface Staining Daily Drivers by Mike Phillips

What are the benefits of a ceramic paint coating?

How to chemically strip paint for a ceramic paint coating

How, why & when to inspect your microfiber towels when detailing cars

Permeable and Impermeable - Towel Control for Ceramic Coatings

What are Ceramic Paint Coatings?

Mother Natures Car Wash and Ceramic Coatings

How to wash a coated car - The Gentle Approach for Washing a Car by Mike Phillips

Review & How-To: Wolfgang Uber Ceramic Paint Coating

Detailer’s Paint Coating on Single Stage Paint

How to maintain a Coated Garage Queen by Mike Phillips

How to safely wash a ceramic coated car by Mike Phillips - Traditional Hose & Bucket Approach

Black Label Coating Detailer & Booster - Synergistic Chemical Compatibility

2017 MONSTER JEEP - Ceramic Coating Class - Wednesday, January 17th

Review: Pinnacle Black Label Diamond Paint Coating - 2011 Inferno Orange Metallic Corvette Grand Sport

BLACKFIRE Pro Cermaic Coating - SUPER GLOSS

Review & How-To: Wolfgang Uber Ceramic Paint Coating

Review: Marine 31 Gel Coat Prep Spray & Captain’s Boat Coating with UV50

Pictures: 2002 Panoz Esperante - BLACKFIRE Crystal Coat Paint Coating

Review: - LC HDO Foam Pads - Makita PO5000C - Supercharged Dodge Yellow Jacket

Prediction - More one-step cleaner/COATINGS or CCAIOS i.e. Ceramic Coating All-in-One type products

3-Categories: Waxes, Paint Sealants and Coatings

How to use the SONAX CC36 Ceramic Paint Coating




And just to note, for anyone reading this into the future. Anytime you're looking for car detailing or boat detailing information, here's how I found the above,


I went to Skynet and typed in,


Ceramic Coatings Mike Phillips


A pulled up most of the above. A few key words and my first and last name finds a LOT of stuff on Skynet.

 

[GotBPS]

Thank you everyone for all the help. I really appreciate it!

 

[The Guz]

I just bought a brand new black Honda Civic Si and I am looking to ceramic coat it myself with CQuarts UK 3.0. The car has just hit a 1000 miles on it and I want to protect it since I live in the Midwest. What polish and pad would be good for a new car with minor to no imperfections. I plan on washing, claying, polishing and then ceramic coating. Any help would be much appreciated, thanks.

What do you have in your possession at the moment?

 

[GotBPS]

I still need to buy the polish, pads, and CQuarts 3.0 ceramic coat. Other than that I have all the products for the preparation to wash, clay bar, polish, ipa wipe down, and then ceramic coat the car. If there is anything else you think I need make sure to let me know. Thanks!

 

[The Guz]

I still need to buy the polish, pads, and CQuarts 3.0 ceramic coat. Other than that I have all the products for the preparation to wash, clay bar, polish, ipa wipe down, and then ceramic coat the car. If there is anything else you think I need make sure to let me know. Thanks!

I would look into Sonax Perfect Finish, EX 04-06 or Meguiar’s M210 for a polish. Honda’s have been known to have soft paint. This is a generalization as the test spot is the only way to tell.

You could also look into a small bottle of CarPro Essence.

Form a prep stand point CarPro Eraser would be a good choice. I would add CarPro Elixir as your maintenance product.

 

[GotBPS]

Just to confirm before I start buying everything. I have a griots garage 6" Dual Action Random Orbital Polisher. I am going to get Carpro essence and pair it with a black foam finishing pad. For the ipa wipedown I have 90% ipa. Should I dilute that with water and put it in a spray bottle or how would I use that? Also another question, I have 18" alloy wheels. Would cquarts 3.0 work on those too? Thanks

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

For the ipa wipedown I have 90% ipa. Should I dilute that with water and put it in a spray bottle or how would I use that?

IPA and water is a horrible panel wipe in my opinion.

On the other hand, CarPro Eraser is a great panel wipe.

CarPro Eraser Intense Oil & Polish Cleanser, IPA, paint cleaner, polish remover, wax remover


And "yes" I think the coating will work fine on the wheels if they are painted.

 

[The Guz]

Just to confirm before I start buying everything. I have a griots garage 6" Dual Action Random Orbital Polisher. I am going to get Carpro essence and pair it with a black foam finishing pad. For the ipa wipedown I have 90% ipa. Should I dilute that with water and put it in a spray bottle or how would I use that? Also another question, I have 18" alloy wheels. Would cquarts 3.0 work on those too? Thanks

I am going to agree with Mike. Just get Eraser. As far as using it on wheels you certainly can. I would go for the 50ml bottle though if that is the case.

 

[GotBPS]

I have everything I need added to my cart, but I'm still not sure which polish to go for. I know the only way to really tell is with a test spot before doing the whole car, but I don't have the budget to buy different kinds to polishes to test this out. What would be the "safest" polish to buy that would most likely deliver the results I am looking for. Currently the car has minor to no swirl marks and some water spots. Once again I really appreciate everyone's help as I am new to ceramic coating.

 

[The Guz]

You have received some good recommendations on polishes throughout your thread. I can not tell you what to get but only give you recommendations on those that I ave used. Folks have different definitions of minor imperfections. So go with one of the recommendations and start from there.