Suggestions on what pad to use please

pacman

pacman

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Hello all! :)

So I'm a n00b with a PC 7424XP. I am in the process of correcting/polishing my car (EVO X) and seem to be bumping into a bit of an issue with getting rid of swirl marks.

I have CCS pads, green all in one and white. I'm using Sonax Perfect Finish and following the instructions (up to 30lbs of pressure for 15 seconds then very light pressure until polish breaks down to almost nothing). I'm getting decent results but still have some left over swirl marks.

My question is are the pads I'm using not strong enough? Should I get try the Orange CCS cutting pad? I like to follow the rules with less is more but I also expect to get all swirl marks out of my paint too :P

Here's what I'm basically dealing with. This is pre polish. I unfortunately do not have any after shots but at least you all can see what condition the paint is in. When I completed the polish on my test spot it was mostly clear of swirls but a few were still left over.
20150430_182752_zpsj6c1w7kq.jpg
 
Those look like maybe RIDS and you will need something stronger to cut through more of the finish.
 
This is where test spots are important... you have to figure out what level of aggressiveness you are willing to go to to get the results you want. You can try a more aggressive pad/product combo(or one of the two) and go from there to see if you can remove those RIDS.
 
Ahh I figured these were swirl marks as they are somewhat in a circular pattern :p

I think the Sonax perfect finish is a good enough product as it's considered a medium cut. I was able to get rid of most of the scratches but I thought I would get rid of them all.

I think I'll just get some orange ccs pads and see if they get rid of all the markings. Thanks guys :)
 
Hrm, so I read up on RIDS (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...5-rids-definition-rids-story-behind-term.html). Good information.

I was able to get rid of most of the RIDS with a white CCS pad and Sonax Perfect Finish. I'll take a pic later and maybe I can get more advice as to whether I should try and remove what's left over as I don't want to take too much clear coat off the car. The FAQ suggests to just live with the RIDS as they are generally too deep and removing them would mean removing too much clear coat.

Please let me know if I'm on the right track here as I would love to get all of the defects out of my paint but if it's unrealistic I would like to know :)
 
I think using different pads and liquids will give you closer results that you are after.

The combination that you are using, while good, is just removing the light swirls and adding gloss to the paint. Which is ok if that's what one is after. However, you are now exposing the deeper swirls and some rids. Since your only doing a 2 step vs a 3 step.

I would bump up your detailing job to a 3 step. Meaning, compound, polish and then LSP.

I really like and would use a microfiber cutting pad and then do the polishing step with the same combo you are currently using.

So in a nutshell, do a 3 step. Skip the orange pad and reach for a microfiber cutting pad.
 
hernandez.art13 said:
I think using different pads and liquids will give you closer results that you are after.

The combination that you are using, while good, is just removing the light swirls and adding gloss to the paint. Which is ok if that's what one is after. However, you are now exposing the deeper swirls and some rids. Since your only doing a 2 step vs a 3 step.

I would bump up your detailing job to a 3 step. Meaning, compound, polish and then LSP.

I really like and would use a microfiber cutting pad and then do the polishing step with the same combo you are currently using.

So in a nutshell, do a 3 step. Skip the orange pad and reach for a microfiber cutting pad.
Click to expand...

+1 On a PC use a MF pad to cut with. It will be much more effective than an orange foam pad. Then follow up with your white polishing pad.
 
I've also found the PC with a 3" BP setup is a killer combo IMO.

I was able to remove 1000 sanding grit off of some headlights I did. Tried it just for kicks, so not suggesting you do this. Although if you think about it. If that setup can remove 1000 sanding grit. Then you could imagine how good of a job it'll do to remove RIDS. Which is what I use my PC with its 3" BP mainly for now when I am doing paint cottection.

I use Meguiar's Microfiber 6" cutting pad on my Rupes 21 and M100.

I then go back and try and remove as many RIDS as possible with my PC 3"bp Meguiars microfiber 3" cutting pad and M100.

I then just go back and polish the entire corrected area with my Rupes, a polishing pad and M205.
 
hernandez.art13 said:
I think using different pads and liquids will give you closer results that you are after.

The combination that you are using, while good, is just removing the light swirls and adding gloss to the paint. Which is ok if that's what one is after. However, you are now exposing the deeper swirls and some rids. Since your only doing a 2 step vs a 3 step.

I would bump up your detailing job to a 3 step. Meaning, compound, polish and then LSP.

I really like and would use a microfiber cutting pad and then do the polishing step with the same combo you are currently using.

So in a nutshell, do a 3 step. Skip the orange pad and reach for a microfiber cutting pad.
Click to expand...


fly07sti said:
+1 On a PC use a MF pad to cut with. It will be much more effective than an orange foam pad. Then follow up with your white polishing pad.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info guys :)

Is there any particular microfiber pad you guys suggest? I use the 5 inch backing plate fyi.

Also would using the Sonax perfect finish be okay to use as a 3 step correction? I have 1000ml of this stuff and would like to stick with using it for a while :) I could use the PF for the cut with a MF pad and still use he PF with the white polishing pad as well?

I'm always worried about cutting too much when I dont need to which is why I ask.

What I'll do is post a pic of the test spot complete as it actually looks pretty good minus a few scratches left over. If this is the case do you guys still suggest a MF cutting pad?
 
To piggyback what Art mentioned, I was also able to remove 1000 grit marks with a PC, Rupes Microfiber Cutting pad (blue), and m105. You probably don't need anything that overkill though!

You probably don't need anywhere near 30 lbs of pressure. Both the white and green pads have some cut to them. I'd try that white pad on speed 5, and get that pad spinning. I like polishing just under "free spin".

Orange CCS pads are nice to have on hand for these occasions as well.

My favorite pad for a similarly positioned polish (Menzerna PF2500), is the Tangerine Hydrotech from Lake Country. They seem to have a larger range of cut to finishing. Even the Cyan pad leaves the finish looking nice, despite having a cutting ability like a Yellow CCS.
 
If you go with the Meguiars MF cutting pads, you might as well use something that they were designed to be used with. That is Meguiars D300.

http://www.autogeek.net/meguiars-da-compound.html

I guess technically you could use Sonax PF with the MF cutting pads, but it's a polish not a compound. So you won't be getting all the benefits of using a MF Cutting Pad and a compound. In this case, Meguiars MF cutting pad and Meguiars D300.

Goodluck and hope that helps some.

Art
 
I used the white pad on speed 2 with around 20-30lbs of pressure but it was mostly just to spread the PF. Then bumped up the speed to 5 with no more than 15lbs of pressure. The last two passes I let off the pressure to let the polish do it's thing. These were the results:

20150501_154820_zpsduyifyxx.jpg


Now that I look at the paint during the day (did my polish in the evening) it looks pretty good. I'm not sure if it's worth using something heavier to get the random scratches off but I guess something that I have to decide on.

What do you guys think? It was hard to get a decent photo but the one small scratch to the left of the photo is what I see randomly in other places on the hood.

Do you guys think I could keep using what I am using now (PF with white pad) and then when I'm done just go over the random scratches with something heavier like the MF pad or Tangerine Hydrotech? Or do you think this is something that most people deal with and just leave? I'm a pretty anal perfectionist so these little things bug me but if I'm going to take a decent amount of clear coat off just to get rid of these random scratches then I might consider just using what I have and wax the car for the weekend.

Thanks again for all the help, I really appreciate it :)
 
pacman said:
I used the white pad on speed 2 with around 20-30lbs of pressure but it was mostly just to spread the PF. Then bumped up the speed to 5 with no more than 15lbs of pressure. The last two passes I let off the pressure to let the polish do it's thing. These were the results:

20150501_154820_zpsduyifyxx.jpg


Now that I look at the paint during the day (did my polish in the evening) it looks pretty good. I'm not sure if it's worth using something heavier to get the random scratches off but I guess something that I have to decide on.

What do you guys think? It was hard to get a decent photo but the one small scratch to the left of the photo is what I see randomly in other places on the hood.

Do you guys think I could keep using what I am using now (PF with white pad) and then when I'm done just go over the random scratches with something heavier like the MF pad or Tangerine Hydrotech? Or do you think this is something that most people deal with and just leave? I'm a pretty anal perfectionist so these little things bug me but if I'm going to take a decent amount of clear coat off just to get rid of these random scratches then I might consider just using what I have and wax the car for the weekend.

Thanks again for all the help, I really appreciate it :)
Click to expand...

I think you're good with the white! For a daily driver, I might just leave the deeper stuff alone.

On a side note - If you end up getting Hydrotech pads, they don't really need any more weight, other than your hand resting on the head of the polisher. I absolutely love those pads and have had great results with them.

Also, the Tangerine H20 pad is a lot less intrusive than the microfiber cutting pads. It's described as having the cut of an orange Lake Country flat/CCS, but the finishing ability of a grey flat/ccs.
 
I think you are right and actually realized this is my first attempt at using any polisher. I just need more gear :P

I'll look into the Tangerine I think. This way when I'm done the car I can go over the deeper spots with the Tangerine and see how that goes.

There are still a decent amount of deeper scratches that I don't think the white pad will get rid but I did the whole hood and protected with Pete's 53.

20150501_190854_zpsosanfr8o.jpg
 
Looks really nice from here! Since you have the white already, give the Orange flat or CCS a look. They're the most common compound/polish pads around.
 
Thanks :) It's not perfect but it looks better than it did. The car is an 08 and has never had any correction at all.

Thanks for all the help :)
 
Looks good. For the future you may want to consider the new Meguiar's thin foam discs. They take more advantage of the PC's power.
 
Ya learn something new everyday. I didnt even know Meguiars made pads :P I just looked it up. Are you talking about the Soft Buff™ 2.0 Foam Cutting Pad?

I've already ordered some more LC orange, tangerine and white pads in the 4 inch and a 3.5 inch backing plate for the narrow areas and some LC orange and tangerine for the 5 inch back plate. I'll start with the tangerine and see how that helps then go from there.
 
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