Why aggressive pads?

So if I am using an LC Orange pad with XMT360 and it didnt remove all of the light swirls what should I do?
 
Bump up to a stronger polish and switch to a polishing pad. You could try XMT2 or SSR1 and see what happens. XMT360 isn't necessarily a swirl remover, rather an all in one product... so you may need to bump up the polish. Remember that the orange pad with any product will leave micromarring
 
if org and 360 isn't working, then no way will a white pad with ssr1 work, which imo does about nothing to remove marring. Don't be afraid to get some work done. Grab the ssr 2.5 and a white and see if that works, if not bump back up to the org pad and then do 360 with the white pad to finish off.
 
after using the XMT360, the car looked and felt nice except for the few swirls..The only issue was that the XMT seems to melt right in to the paint so I was thinking maybe I just didnt work it in long enough and was getting a little nervous that I didnt have enough product on the pad
 
not your fault, a one step cleaner wax (which is all that 360 is) will never have enough "grit" to remove more than a few spiderwebs. The pics on here of it show it to be a miracle worker, but 1/2 that is just fillers and sealant hiding the rest of the flaws. It's good stuff, but is only "one step" if you have a near perfect car. Add a step before it to remove the deeper marring and then use the 360, I think you'll be pleased with the results.
 
actually bought the 360 because I don't generally have a lot of time to take care of my car as I would like...Between working in the car business and a 15 month old baby I'm lucky I have the time I do...can anyone recommend anything?
 
I havent found much use for cutting pads with my rotary. I find that polishing pads and finishing pads can do quite a bit.

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edge2K 6" blue
OC 600-1500-600 rpm
OP 600-1000-600 rpm

With a PC i find i do need to use a cutting pad becuase the machine is so gentle to begin with.
 
Darren F said:
can anyone recommend anything?
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is this a serious question? we've *been* recommending something. One steps WILL NOT a perfect finish get. Period. Divide the work up on 2 steps. This isn't rocket science, the proven tactics still work the same as they always have.
 
It is a serious question...My issue is I dont really have the time do do it all at one time unless I polish in the evening and finish up the next day using a spray sealant or wax...Or I will just have to continue to deal with the the AIO's and do the best I can
 
Man this is a wicked topic...I've learned lots wow...keep it coming :awesome: :awesome:
 
Orange really isn't too abrasive guys. For the past three cars (2004 4Runner, 2005 645ci, and my car), I have been attacking it with yellow and XMT4.

I have been finishing them up with Pinnacle Advanced Finishing Polish, and everything has been turning out amazing, even to my perfectionist eyes.

I see the compound choices being a scale of time. You can achieve the same result with ANY combination of any pad and any polish. The variable is the amount of time needed to achieve the desired effect. I see the jumping in with an aggressive combo saves me a ton of time, even if needed to follow up with a finishing polish.

To each their own, but I love my method. The results are astounding and the time is minimal.

I attacked a 2005 BMW 6 series this morning. It looked like someone took a brillo-pad to the black pearl paint and decided to buff with a metal polish on a yellow pad for 20 sec. I started the first wash at 8:15 am and was completely finished with paint, windows, tires, etc. by 12:30. I feel that this is great time, especially since I achieved a show-room finish. The customer was ecstatic and I was happy I could help, without consuming a huge chunk of my time. This was because I started with XMT4 on yellow and finished with Pinnacle AFP.

I wish I took pictures of this BMW. I was so happy, probably one of my best details. But, just like me, I forgot the dang camera, of course.

Im the MAN
 
bambo2888 said:
Orange really isn't too abrasive guys. For the past three cars (2004 4Runner, 2005 645ci, and my car), I have been attacking it with yellow and XMT4.

I have been finishing them up with Pinnacle Advanced Finishing Polish, and everything has been turning out amazing, even to my perfectionist eyes.

I see the compound choices being a scale of time. You can achieve the same result with ANY combination of any pad and any polish. The variable is the amount of time needed to achieve the desired effect. I see the jumping in with an aggressive combo saves me a ton of time, even if needed to follow up with a finishing polish.

To each their own, but I love my method. The results are astounding and the time is minimal.
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I agree that its faster to use a strong pad and polish combo but shouldn't you be more concerned with being too aggressive and removing too much clear coat? Taking the step to an extra aggressive pad may be just enough to cut enough clear to damage it vs. being more cautious with a lighter pad/product combo. Sure this is streatching it a little bit but the risk is still there.


Just another question- How many people actually try out different pad and product combinations before doing a whole vehicle?


I admit that I don't test all of the time but then again I am usually using a polishing pad and usually SSR2.5. If SSR2.5 and a polishing pad doesn't remove all of the swirls, I'll follow up with SSR1 and another polishing pad and be done with it. Sure not 100% of the swirls will be out but most of the time it is 90-95% swirl free, all without being too aggressive.
 
budman3 said:
I admit that I don't test all of the time but then again I am usually using a polishing pad and usually SSR2.5. If SSR2.5 and a polishing pad doesn't remove all of the swirls, I'll follow up with SSR1 and another polishing pad and be done with it. Sure not 100% of the swirls will be out but most of the time it is 90-95% swirl free, all without being too aggressive.
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Thats exactly what i do except i do that with edge2K blue and OC and then OP.....done. Sometimes it comes out 99% imperfection free and sometimes 90%. I would rather do it quickly and safely with 90%+ defect removal than fast and overly agressive with 99% defect removal.
 
coupe said:
Thats exactly what i do except i do that with edge2K blue and OC and then OP.....done. Sometimes it comes out 99% imperfection free and sometimes 90%. I would rather do it quickly and safely with 90%+ defect removal than fast and overly agressive with 99% defect removal.
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Plus 98% of the people won't notice the difference anyways. I feel that it is better to live with some slight swirls, especially on newer cars when the owner will keep the car for many years... on older, neglected cars- thats a whole new ball game.
 
So if i go back and use XMT360 again and bump up my PC from 5 to 6 and spend a little bit more time on each panel do you think that would make a difference using an Orange LC pad? Am i running the risk of doing damage if i spend too much time on the panel?
 
Darren, I think that's a good idea and will continue to improve your finish. Speed 6 is safe.
 
I've only once had to whip out the yellow pads, but this was on a 2000 ZR2 Blazer that has seen quite the many off-road trails and the customer wanted the scratches gone. But this was only after trying SSR 2.5 and orange LC pad with minimal improvement. The yellow pad took the defects I needed out, then followed up with SSR1 and a white pad to remove the micro-marring. But a majority of the details I get the customer only wants most of the imperfections out, so I've never really had to move up to a more aggressive pad than an orange LC pad and either SSR 2.5/OC/XMT3 (whatever the flavor of the week is for me). Could I save more time? Probably. But I don't want to do more harm than good long-term by going too aggressive.
 
So who has had positive results with a polishing pad, XMT360 vs. moderate swirling?
 
This is interesting debate. I am polishing my 2000 BMW with SSR 2.5 and LC Orange. Its working but very slowely and would need many hits to remove swirls. So I bought a Menzerna cutting pad and Power Gloss compound. I tried the following combination:

- LC Orange & compound
- Cutting with SSR 2.5

Both combos are an improvment, but will still need at least a second hit and will need to be followed up by SSR1. I dont want to use the cutting pad with the compound (yet), but I guess that could remove most swirls with 1 hit, but less safe ?
 
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