Process Critique, please

[wifpd4]

Would like some criticisms on this process, please.

The goal was not paint correction, only shine and wax. I wanted to try Optimum No Rinse on this creme colored car. Tuesday morning I used ONR to wash the body, rims and tires. Very nice and quite simple to use. After which I clayed with Pro Blue and Last Touch diluted.

I expected some dry, single stage paint, but it was clear coated. I started with M80 and decided to continue with it over the entire car. Used a PC speed 5, black pad. In this case, it's nice M80 has a slight color to make buffing easier to see where I had been. It was hot and humid about 90 degrees and 60 per cent humidity, so I decided to give the car a break overnight. Or perhaps I needed the break, I seemed to be dripping sweat everywhere on the car as I buffed.

Wednesday morning, I grabbed some ColorX and went over the car again with a black pad, this time speed 4. Allowing ColorX to sit for awhile before wiping it off. ColorX is one of easiest products to work with.

In the afternoon, I put on a coat of Ultimate Wax. I used the 3-5 minute removal method this time rather than my usual wait an hour or two before removal. I'd put a coat on say the right rear quarter, then the front left quarter, then wipe off the right rear, then apply on the left rear, then remove the front left, etc, etc. Worked just fine. When finished the car and I needed another break. I hate the heat.


What I'm asking is, did using M80, then following with ColorX actually accomplish anything?

Had it been single stage would M80 followed with ColorX accomplished anything?


Thanks,

[rcktpwrd]

Re: Process Critique, please

Don't know about your process question.... But the car looks great !

[Murr1525]

Re: Process Critique, please

Well, not really, unless the #80 left some sort of marks behind.

You could have just gone from #80 to wax, wax.

#80 will have more oils than the ColorX, so no need to mess with them. And then the seperate wax product would probably have better looks/durability.

[ffboy]

Re: Process Critique, please

In terms of results, your car looks very nice. As well as the other cars in the background!

However, colorX is a cleaner wax so it will remove the oils left by the glaze. I would choose what murr1525 suggested, or even add a pure polish in between (deep crystal 2 or #7) to really condition the paint even further. Then apply a coat or 2 of your choice of wax: Ultimate wax, NXT 2.0, Gold Class CP, Hi-tech yellow wax, deep crystal carnauba wax, or M21 Synthetic sealant 2.0 or any wax/sealant with no cleaners.

BUt man, you did a very good job with what you have!

[wifpd4]

Re: Process Critique, please

Don't know about your process question.... But the car looks great !

Thanks, Joel. To be honest, it didn't look too bad before I started.

Well, not really, unless the #80 left some sort of marks behind.

You could have just gone from #80 to wax, wax.

#80 will have more oils than the ColorX, so no need to mess with them. And then the seperate wax product would probably have better looks/durability.

Murr, do you think the ColorX "ate" the oils off that M80 left?

[Murr1525]

Re: Process Critique, please

Its kind of like layering waxes or using a pure polish over a wax... there will be some kind of interaction that no one really can test.. other than just standing back and looking at it.

I'm sure it didnt dry the paint back out....

[wifpd4]

Re: Process Critique, please

even add a pure polish in between (deep crystal 2 or #7) to really condition the paint even further. Then apply a coat or 2 of your choice of wax

Are you suggesting, after M80, then M07, then wax, 2nd wax??


Thanks for the comments! The space between the body and the fenders created more hand work than I'm accustomed.

[greg0303]

Re: Process Critique, please

I wouldn't use anything with even mild abrasives (like ColorX) after M80 Speed Glaze.

M07, M80, M83 and Ultimate Polish offer the richest polishing oils.

To stretch the process into more steps I would rather go: M80/ yellow polishing pad, M07/ black finishing pad, finishing wax/ sealant.


The car looks sweet, David.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Process Critique, please

Well, David, as others have said the car looks fantastic so overall it appears that your process was successful.

M80 Speed Glaze is a mild cleaner/polish that can actually do a great job correcting all sorts of defects - if you're willing to put in the time. We used to use M80 almost exclusively in our Saturday Classes prior to the intro of Ultimate Compound and with the less powerful G100 buffer. So as far as removal of any defects that may have been present in the paint before you started, M80 may well have done an excellent job here while at the same time adding those wonderful polishing oils to enhance gloss overall. But, since you applied it with a finishing pad, any defect removing ability would have been diminished. Of course, this being a light colored, clear coated car the effects of those oils in M80 aren't going to be as dramatic as they could on a dark, single stage paint.

ColorX is sort of the unsung hero in our Consumer Line. It's a great cleaner wax that is easy on, easy off and it can do wonders for removing haze from a previous, aggressive correction step. This is especially true when dealing with very delicate paint. That didn't seem to be an issue here, however, so let's move on. The same things that allow ColorX to remove that light haze can also remove some, if not all, of the polishing oils laid down by M80. It sort of depends how aggressively you worked the ColorX; and from your description you didn't work it all that hard. We'd guess you probably removed a large portion of what M80 had left behind, but probably not every last little bit. Ultimate Wax is really more of a polish wax, so using it over everything else would then reintroduce some of those gloss enhancing oils.

So, yeah, you put some polishing oils on, took some off, and then put some back on again. If the paint looked great following M80 we would have gone straight to Ultimate Wax. Unless..................... in all honesty, on this car, even if it were in great shape to start with, we'd have gone M205 and really massaged that paint, bringing up max clarity and gloss, and then going to UW.

[wifpd4]

Re: Process Critique, please

Thanks everyone for your compliments and criticisms. I guess if they aren't black I don't know what to do with them!!