Something I've been considering...

TH3M B0N3Z

TH3M B0N3Z

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Some of you guys know I just recently bought a 2013 Scion tC in silver. The paint is pretty much perfect and that's mostly because I didn't have the dealer wash it.

Since the paint is so nice, I figured it would be pointless to polish the paint, so I went on to claying the paint, glazed it and sealed it, called it a day.

Now I'm wondering... should I polish the paint and what polish will take the least amount of clear coat away? I've only used Meguiar's Ultimate Compound and Ultimate Polish. Both have worked well in removing minor to medium wash and dry scratches. But will the UC be too much for nearly perfect paint?

I use a PC 7424XP paired with a Lake Country Hydro Tech cutting pad. First time I ever polished my last car was with the UC and the same pad, didn't even polish the paint with the UP (I didn't have the UP at the time) and the paint came out awesome. I figured maybe I can do the same thing to my new car, but I'll need to strip everything I've got on the paint now.

Will Meguiar's UC be just fine for nearly perfect paint? The only defects I've noticed are very light CC scratches on the hood and I can only see them at night under the street light. In mid-day, forget it. It's like they're not there. But I'm really looking to just polish and brighten the paint. I want the silver to just pop and reflect as much as possible. Sometimes I feel like it's dull or absorbs light. Maybe it's just because silver is a light color?

Help me out. :D
 
Silver is a light color. Plus it offers the two-sided coin...difficult to find imperfections, but sometimes hard to find optimum gloss and reflection. You've put in some effort and have created some durability...no sense rushing on anything. If you want to start planning (and I'm sure you'll get tons of advice), you can consider some options...like perhaps LC orange and white pads and Megs 105 & 205. Those - or whatever you ultimately choose - will be perfect for a late-spring/early summer detail where you correct the finish and make it look super happy.
 
VroomVroom said:
Silver is a light color. Plus it offers the two-sided coin...difficult to find imperfections, but sometimes hard to find optimum gloss and reflection. You've put in some effort and have created some durability...no sense rushing on anything. If you want to start planning (and I'm sure you'll get tons of advice), you can consider some options...like perhaps LC orange and white pads and Megs 105 & 205. Those - or whatever you ultimately choose - will be perfect for a late-spring/early summer detail where you correct the finish and make it look super happy.
Click to expand...

Isn't the M105/M205 combo more abrasive than the UC/UP combo?
 
How about a polishing pad with your UP? That should maximize your gloss while removing the minimum paint. You indicated you have a magenta HT pad, do you have tangerine or crimson?
 
I recently purchased a new 2012 Silver Metallic Rav4. Like you, I didn't let the dealer touch it. The paint was as close to perfect as it was going to get, but I still clayed and then I ended up polishing it with Menzerna FP4000 on a LC Grey Pad using a Flex 3401. I finished it off by sealing it with two coats of Powerlock. Before polishing and sealing the paint looked really flat, now it has some depth and some insane gloss.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
How about a polishing pad with your UP? That should maximize your gloss while removing the minimum paint. You indicated you have a magenta HT pad, do you have tangerine or crimson?
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I have the Hyrdo Tech trio-- cyan, tangerine and crimson-- and I also have an LC black finishing pad.

The tC during a weekly wash...

tCgarage_zps6d077b67.jpg

tCwash2_zps8189b94f.jpg

tCwash_zpsdcee4241.jpg

tCemblem_zpsb37a1eb7.jpg
 
02xtreme07SS said:
I recently purchased a new 2012 Silver Metallic Rav4. Like you, I didn't let the dealer touch it. The paint was as close to perfect as it was going to get, but I still clayed and then I ended up polishing it with Menzerna FP4000 on a LC Grey Pad using a Flex 3401. I finished it off by sealing it with two coats of Powerlock. Before polishing and sealing the paint looked really flat, now it has some depth and some insane gloss.
Click to expand...

I use MPL, too. :)

I think after reading what you said... I'm gonna have to do some polishing. :D

I'm just glad the roof of the car is all glass, lol. I'm kinda short and the roof is pain for me.
 
TH3M B0N3Z said:
I use MPL, too. :)

I think after reading what you said... I'm gonna have to do some polishing. :D

I'm just glad the roof of the car is all glass, lol. I'm kinda short and the roof is pain for me.
Click to expand...

It wish now that I had taken some before and afters. I didn't expect there to be such a difference when I was done, but there was.

I have the same problem as I'm short myself. I end up with a Werner work platform on each side of the SUV. My TBSS's are worse though, higher and wider, but the Werners are a life saver for me.
 
02xtreme07SS said:
It wish now that I had taken some before and afters. I didn't expect there to be such a difference when I was done, but there was.

I have the same problem as I'm short myself. I end up with a Werner work platform on each side of the SUV. My TBSS's are worse though, higher and wider, but the Werners are a life saver for me.
Click to expand...

I've tried out stools and they made me higher, but I felt far away from the car.

But since the tC's roof is all glass, I still clay and seal it just to keep water from sticking and staining, but there's no need to polish it at all. Maybe I'll wait a few months because I've got a coat of glaze and 3 coats of sealant. I've had the car for 2 to 3 weeks, lol, but each coat of MPL was done one week apart. If I washed it all off now with dish soap, what was the point? Waste of precious MPL.
 
TH3M B0N3Z said:
Isn't the M105/M205 combo more abrasive than the UC/UP combo?
Click to expand...

Negative! The other way around! You have basically perfect paint, if you want to keep it that way then use a very fine polish. I highly recommend Ultimate Polish OR an even finer polish would be Menzerna SF4500.

The only drawback I see to using SF4500 would be that since its a DAT product you would need to work it down vs Ultimate Polish you could do 1-2 section passes on a low speed like 3, and be done. UP can cut as light as you want, or as strong as you cant depending on speed, pressure and arm movement.

If you havent seen it yet, heres my chart.
chart_zpsbe6d672f.jpg
 
CM8 6MT said:
Negative! The other way around! You have basically perfect paint, if you want to keep it that way then use a very fine polish. I highly recommend Ultimate Polish OR an even finer polish would be Menzerna SF4500.

The only drawback I see to using SF4500 would be that since its a DAT product you would need to work it down vs Ultimate Polish you could do 1-2 section passes on a low speed like 3, and be done. UP can cut as light as you want, or as strong as you cant depending on speed, pressure and arm movement.

If you havent seen it yet, heres my chart.
chart_zpsbe6d672f.jpg
Click to expand...

So do you think using Meg's UP paired with an LC Hydro Tech polishing pad will do the trick? I've been looking at my paint and there are reflections and nice gloss, but it just seems to be lacking depth in some ways. But I'm also kinda comparing my last car's paint to this new paint and both are very different colors... Galaxy Grey vs. Silver Metallic.
 
TH3M B0N3Z said:
So do you think using Meg's UP paired with an LC Hydro Tech polishing pad will do the trick? I've been looking at my paint and there are reflections and nice gloss, but it just seems to be lacking depth in some ways. But I'm also kinda comparing my last car's paint to this new paint and both are very different colors... Galaxy Grey vs. Silver Metallic.
Click to expand...

Absolutely. Remember you can use UP as a fine swirl remover by stepping up to Speed 5 with moderate pressure & slow arm movement.

OR

As an Ultra-Fine polish by slowing down to speed 3 & slow arm movement, allowing you to burnish your paint to its maximum high gloss finish.

Light colors will always benefit from Sealants. I recommend WGDGPS3.0, M21 or UPW. They are all long lasting sealants that will also give you similar looks to Carnuba waxes.
 
I have a black car with swirls from the dealer. Although its brand new. But I wanted to go least aggressive first as always. So I went with UP and a 3m black polishing pad.
The thing is the UP doesent seem to do anything for the very light swirls or even very very minor scratches. I don't want to step up to UC because it is brand new and I dont think I need something that aggressive.
So what could I try next a more aggressive pad? If so what pad?

Sent from my SCH-L710 using AG Online
 
CM8 6MT said:
Absolutely. Remember you can use UP as a fine swirl remover by stepping up to Speed 5 with moderate pressure & slow arm movement.

OR

As an Ultra-Fine polish by slowing down to speed 3 & slow arm movement, allowing you to burnish your paint to its maximum high gloss finish.

Light colors will always benefit from Sealants. I recommend WGDGPS3.0, M21 or UPW. They are all long lasting sealants that will also give you similar looks to Carnuba waxes.
Click to expand...

I use Menzerna Power Lock and it seems to work very well. I just applied some MPL this past Sunday by hand with a foam applicator instead of by machine right after I clayed the paint... silky smooth. I let it dry for nearly an hour, as well, and it still came off with ease, but had some tough spots that I had to put a little more effort into wiping off.

Maybe I'll give the UP a try. I have a 6 day vacation next week (so excited :D) and I'm thinking I'll just start early one morning, strip off all the sealant I have on the paint, no need to clay since I just did that, then go right to the polishing and see what happens. My paint just seems to lack depth when I look at it straight on. From various angles, the paint is glossy and has good reflections, but the perfectionist in me thinks it can go from glossy to insanely glossy, lol.
 
TH3M B0N3Z said:
I use Menzerna Power Lock and it seems to work very well. I just applied some MPL this past Sunday by hand with a foam applicator instead of by machine right after I clayed the paint... silky smooth. I let it dry for nearly an hour, as well, and it still came off with ease, but had some tough spots that I had to put a little more effort into wiping off.

Maybe I'll give the UP a try. I have a 6 day vacation next week (so excited :D) and I'm thinking I'll just start early one morning, strip off all the sealant I have on the paint, no need to clay since I just did that, then go right to the polishing and see what happens. My paint just seems to lack depth when I look at it straight on. From various angles, the paint is glossy and has good reflections, but the perfectionist in me thinks it can go from glossy to insanely glossy, lol.
Click to expand...

Trust me you can get that look your seeking, just take your time when doing your prep work. Prep>LSP
 
CM8 6MT said:
Trust me you can get that look your seeking, just take your time when doing your prep work. Prep>LSP
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice. I'll think I'll tackle it sometime next week while I'm off. :)
 
UP is such an ultrafine polish, after using UC on my black bmw (by hand) I would swear the only thing the UP did was help remove any film left over from the UC and help burnish the paint to a high gloss shine. Of course my arms were really+ tired by then so that might have been why also, lol.

I'm gonna try to go through the process again in a day or two before Cars & Coffee this weekend and after the UP I'm gonna lay down some Mother's Micro-Polish Glaze before waxing.

I still think it's lipstick on a pig ever since the bodyshop clearcoated over the swirls, scratches and roadrash on my hood but until I finish fighting with the adjuster, there's no point losing sleep over it...

Lucky Joe,
Wannabe Detailer

Sent from my HTC DNA
 
I bought my last silver car brand new and the paint was swirl free. It's now sold, but I never polished it. Very hard to tell the difference with silver paint. If your car is a silver daily driver, it's pointless to polish, IMO. If it was a weekend or show car, it might be worth it to get every last bit of gloss.

If your paint is near perfect and you insist on polishing it, UC is way too aggressive. People tend to dis UC because it's part of the "consumer" line, but it's actually a fantastic compound. The abrasive set is the same as M105, it just has more lubrication. Not quite as aggressive either.
 
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