What is a more aggressive approach? Qs inside

[emmjay]

As a hobbyist with a keen interest, I am always willing to expand my skills and learn more, and this the best place to do so.

When performing a one step polish due to time / cost constraints which is a better option - and which is more aggressive?

1. Cutting pad with a light polish (m205)

2. Polishing pad with a compound (ultimate compound)

Your reasons as why either option is better would be beneficial too.

TIA

Mukul

 

[zmcgovern45]

There are an infinite amount of pads & product combinations to chose from.... generalizing a pad or product to have more of an impact on your desired results is nearly impossible to do as each job is going to be unique. As a professional detailer, it is your job to determine the best process to produce the best results for a given situation. This is why we speak about test spots so often... they are a very important part of the process and should not be overlooked regardless of your experience.

If you've worked on enough vehicles, you have likely encountered a time when you were able to finish down flawlessly with a cutting compound and a cutting pad, and you have also likely experienced just the opposite where the finest of polish and the finest of pad still leave marring (arrrgggh!!!). Your ability to adapt your product selection, pad selection, and most importantly your technique is what will get you the most benefit overall in your detailing endeavors.

So to answer your question.... I simply recommend to just do your test spots to figure out what you need rather than trying to generalize a "best approach" for all scenarios.


Would you have guessed that this was a one-step correction using a heavy cutting compound on a microfiber cutting pad?...

... honestly neither would I unless I had worked on it. After many, many test spots it was determined that in order to achieve any real defect removal we were going to have to be (relatively) aggressive, and due to the hard, highly metallic paint, there was no need to follow up with a 2nd step which fit the bill for this vehicle as it was in for a budget friendly one-step & sealant job.


On the other hand, would you have guessed that this was done with a fine polish on a polishing pad?

You can get surprisingly good results with one-step corrections when you take the time to evaluate the paint you are working on and perform adequate testing to determine the best process to maximize your results Aggressiveness is relative... just find what works for the job at hand and get it done.

 

[emmjay]

There are an infinite amount of pads & product combinations to chose from.... generalizing a pad or product to have more of an impact on your desired results is nearly impossible to do as each job is going to be unique. As a professional detailer, it is your job to determine the best process to produce the best results for a given situation. This is why we speak about test spots so often... they are a very important part of the process and should not be overlooked regardless of your experience.

If you've worked on enough vehicles, you have likely encountered a time when you were able to finish down flawlessly with a cutting compound and a cutting pad, and you have also likely experienced just the opposite where the finest of polish and the finest of pad still leave marring (arrrgggh!!!). Your ability to adapt your product selection, pad selection, and most importantly your technique is what will get you the most benefit overall in your detailing endeavors.

So to answer your question.... I simply recommend to just do your test spots to figure out what you need rather than trying to generalize a "best approach" for all scenarios.

Thank you Zach. I completely agree with the above, to the T.

I was just curious as to, If I could get good (acceptable) results from "both" steps, what is the ideal way to go to save paint. Would a compound with a Polishing pad remove more paint or would a Polish with a Cutting pad remove more paint. I guess I should have phrased it this way from the beginning TO put it simpler, which process, while getting similar results, would preserve more paint, if I have to work on this hypothetical car in the future (again).

I have been in this situation twice the last week. A cutting pad and compound produced stellar results on a White Audi, while a compound and polishing pad produced stellar results on a beat up Honda. I would have definitely not known had I not done my test spots before hand.

 

[zmcgovern45]

I understood your question... my answer is that it depends. See my revised response above with pics.

Test, test, test. That is the only way to know what will work for you and be the least aggressive approach. In the mercedes example mentioned above, we started with a polish and polishing pad, then a light cutting pad and medium polish, then a cutting compound and light cutting pad, then finally a cutting compound and cutting pad. All of this was done in an effort to determine the least aggressive method to produce the results we were looking for.

If we had noticed marring after say the light cutting pad and cutting compound, we would have backed off some as this was a one-step and was not going to have a final polishing step. After all, the idea of a one-step correction is to maximize your correction while still finishing without marring. (and no, for those who are thinking it, I am not talking about a one step as in using an AIO, I am talking about just one step of correction)

 

[emmjay]

I understood your question... my answer is that it depends. See my revised response above with pics.

Test, test, test. That is the only way to know what will work for you and be the least aggressive approach. In the mercedes example mentioned above, we started with a polish and polishing pad, then a light cutting pad and medium polish, then a cutting compound and light cutting pad, then finally a cutting compound and cutting pad. All of this was done in an effort to determine the least aggressive method to produce the results we were looking for.

If we had noticed marring after say the light cutting pad and cutting compound, we would have backed off some as this was a one-step and was not going to have a final polishing step. After all, the idea of a one-step correction is to maximize your correction while still finishing without marring. (and no, for those who are thinking it, I am not talking about a one step as in using an AIO, I am talking about just one step of correction)

Thank you again Zach. Extremely helpful!! That merc had some extremely hard paint!

I too refer to a one step as one polishing step and NOT an AIO.