Just got my DA G100v2.. What DON'T I do?

[jrlvnv]

First time user here. Just looking for some help with what NOT to do? Car is getting a major wash and clay tomorrow. Then going to go over it some Deep Crystal Polish with the DA and yellow pad. The car is a 2008 white ford escape that has been clayed a couple of times and waxed by hand 2x a year so not much defects in it. Going to finish off with some NTX wax and follow up with a second coat the following day.

I have watched a few videos. I am not sure on what 10 lbs of pressure feels like but I do have a 10 lb weight so might try and judge it on that. Just looking for some advise from people that know what the rookie mistakes are and how to avoid them. Any advise would be great. Looking forward to getting dirty.

Will try and take some before and after pictures and post them up

Thanks guys/gals

[Superior Shine]

Re: Just got my DA G100v2.. What DON'T I do?

First question is what do you hope to accomplish with your new machine? Light defect removal, heavy defect removal, just wax, etc.....?

[jrlvnv]

Re: Just got my DA G100v2.. What DON'T I do?

First question is what do you hope to accomplish with your new machine? Light defect removal, heavy defect removal, just wax, etc.....?

Well it has been a toy I wanted for a few years now but wife never understood. I somehow got control of the Discover Card Cash Back rewards and da daaa, I got a new DA but for my Ford, just want to do a nice polish and wax job on it. Now her car is a Grey 04 Civic with some medium defects, mainly just some swirling. She will be going to the Philippines next week for 2 weeks and I think I am going to be putting myself to the test with her car. Just a little each day, I have some 205 for her car. So basically just get use to running the machine with my car and have some fun with her car to see what I can do.

[ricadodetail]

If u have a scale to weigh ur self i would get the DA and put the preasure. See whay it feels like adding 10 pounds to the DA. Thats what i did hope it helps.

[jfelbab]

Re: Just got my DA G100v2.. What DON'T I do?

Rather than worry about the weight applied, mark the pad with a magic marker and keeping the pad flat on the paint, watch that the pad keeps rotating. Too much pressure and the rotation will stop and the polishing will too.

Always work on cool paint out of the direct sun. Having a couple tripod mounted halogen work lights help seeing swirls and this is especially true on white and other lighter colors. If you buy one of these, look for one that has a longer and more stable tripod to enable you to get the light higher. I think you might be surprised at how swirled up a white vehicle can be and yet not be seen under all but he best lighting.

Don't run the speed up right away. Prime the pad, apply a few drops of polish and start at a slower speed to spread the polish over the 2'x2' area and then up the speed to do the correction. Do begin with a test spot to see that it is doing what you expect. No sense in polishing the whole car if it is not removing the swirls and marring in the test spot. The polish you have chosen is not aggressive so it may not remove swirls if that is your goal. The test spot is where you can see just which polish/pad combo works for the desired results.

Do cover your windshield, wiper blades, etc., to avoid splatter. Do tape off trim. Do use a lighter pressure around edges or high spots where paint may be thinner or do these areas by hand. Do clean the pad after every panel. I like compressed air but cotton terry towels will work too. If you don't clean the pad, you won't get the correction you're looking for as the pad will be full of spent polish, lubricating oils and removed paint.

Don't let the DA power cord touch the paint as it could cause marring. Move the DA slowly, about an inch or two per second is about right. A common rookie mistake is moving the DA too fast. Using overlapping strokes in both E/W and N/S until you have covered the area a couple times then wipe up with a microfiber and inspect. Another common mistake is trying to cover too large an area. Don't try to do a whole panel at a time. If you are getting dusting you are likely polishing too long or not cleaning the pad enough.

Choosing the right product/pad combo and developing the proper technique can make the difference between success and failure.

You indicated you watched some of the videos so that is a great start. I'd also add that it is a good idea to wear eye protection if you hadn't thought about it.

Final thoughts about a white vehicle, as I owned on for quite a while. To make white stand out you need to make it as glossy/reflective as you can. While you might not be able to specifically see swirls and paint marring on white, it's there and detracts from the wet glossy look. In order for white to look amazing it requires removing all marring, IMO. While white is really forgiving it requires a lot of careful inspection under different lighting angles to be sure to remove all the swirling.

Best of luck

[Shawn T.]

Re: Just got my DA G100v2.. What DON'T I do?

Don't throw it at the car!

[ethereal45]

Re: Just got my DA G100v2.. What DON'T I do?

Deep crystal polish is probably better applied with a black (or tan) finishing pad, as it does not have any abrasives in it if I remember correctly. It's just for adding gloss and oils to the paint.