Polishes

[Wolf-Strong]

I drive a 93 BMW 525i as an every day driver and a business car to meet and drive clients in.

Now, I always have the car waxed and due to living in apartments, I have to part it outside in the elements. I use NXT detailer every day and wipe it down, and as a result, swirls are present.

I have used the PC with #80 and #83 but my lack of experience with it has left me with swirls (I will attend a class one day!). Now, is there anything that can hide these swirls a little (before waxing with NXT) to help makeup for my lack in experience with removing them for the time being? When I go to business conventions, is there a product I could add over NXT to make it look like it was just detailed by a professional?

Also I remember reading somewhere that #7 is almost the same as DC#2. Now I have DC#2 but haven't used it. How do the polishes compare in their filling properties to meet my needs. I have #80, #83, DC#2, Scratch X.

Give me the info download on Polishes for my situation!

[benhui86]

Re: Polishes

the only reason for swirls while using 83 or 80 on the PC is a dirty pad or a too aggressive pad..... never.... NEVER.... let the pad touch the ground or any surface that is dirty/dusty....EVER!!...just in case u didnt know that...b/c i know ppl that think its ok for face of pad to touch the ground and then pick it up and continue buffing... so throw ur pads in the washing machine and make sure tehy are clean and go at it again with 83 and 80.... btw are u using the 8006 pad or the one that come w/ the polisher(if you didnt buy the G100).... when buffing with 80/83 on the PC apply about 20lbs of pressure and go very slowly....

[benhui86]

Re: Polishes

for quick make up to mask swirls..... use #7 or DC2....

and always wash the car or quick detail it before you do anything.... removing swirls or just applying quick make up

[Wolf-Strong]

Re: Polishes

for quick make up to mask swirls..... use #7 or DC2....

and always wash the car or quick detail it before you do anything.... removing swirls or just applying quick make up

Yeah, I wash the car using a soap sprayer and a bucket to prevent dirt getting in my Meguiar's microfiber mit. I never let the pad touch the ground, nor the clay bar. I know that it has something to do with how I am using the PC. I may not be adding enough, or be adding too much pressure; I can't tell. I may also just be moving too fast. I am going to watch a few more videos on it to see how fast other people are moving.

Right now the question at hand are the polishes.

Will #7 or DC2 mask swirls over wax? And I take it from your post that the polishes do infact mask swirls. How do these polishes compare the the polish in #80 or #83?

[ccr]

Re: Polishes

if the swirls are very small, i use deep crystal cleaner paint, take your time with DP1, then polish with DP2 or & 7 , i use dp2 (have #7 but never use it), and wax nxt, give great results, i always work by hand

[benhui86]

Re: Polishes

the polish can go over the wax.... its just that they get washed off if it rains or if you wash the car.... but yeah its perfectly ok

and maybe you are dry buffing with 80/83.... not enough product.....

[Wolf-Strong]

Re: Polishes

the polish can go over the wax.... its just that they get washed off if it rains or if you wash the car.... but yeah its perfectly ok

and maybe you are dry buffing with 80/83.... not enough product.....

I did notice that the product did seem to dry out at times. Is 80/83 one of those products like Quick Detailer where you can use a little more and do more good than harm, or like wax where it just makes it a pain and you want to apply small amounts (layering).

From what I've read, #7 is a much better polish than DC2 but is just harder to remove. I will probably order some #7 in a few weeks and try the detail over again, and this time, do it right I will just use up the DC2 until then to cover up my obvious mistakes in the sun

[benhui86]

Re: Polishes

with 80 and 83.... u cant do harm by having too much.... but u can do harm by having not enough...you do not want it to go dry when buffing.... and you just wipe it off right after because it is not a wax...its paint cleaner and polish together.... if it does happen to cake on when you buff it then just take some QD and terry cloth to wipe the caked on parts off....

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Polishes

80 & 83 are actually quite different animals and must be treated as such. 80 has a much longer play time before it starts to dry out, but 83 really loves to have the pad cleaned very often. Clean it by holding the DA in your right hand and pressing the pad firmly against a terry cloth towel held in your left hand. Switch the machine on keeping the pad firmly against the towel - this will force a lot of the excess 83 out of the pad and into the towel. Do this after every panel when using 83.

With either of the two you should apply a ring of product no more than 1/4" wide and about 3/4" from the outer edge of the pad. Keep just enough pressure on the pad to keep it spinning. Putting some hash marks on the back of the pad with a permanent marker can help you see the rotation of the pad. It doesn't need to spin quickly, but it does need to spin.

If you're going to use #7 I've found the following process to work great: Apply by hand using one of the little yellow Meguiar's Soft Foam applicator pads, using a circular motion. Work an area no larger than 2' x 2' and as soon as you feel that pad start to drag across the finish, STOP! The #7 is starting to set up and you want to remove it at this point. Grab a nice clean microfiber towel and start wiping the #7 off. Don't try to remove it all on the first wipe, rather "break" the surface with the first pass then go back over it. No need to keep wiping over and over again, just get the excess off and then move on to the next section.

Machine speed, hand speed, pressure, pad/polish combo, working time all need to be in sync or you won't get the results you're looking for. Get that technique nailed down and the dual action polisher can do wonders. You really should try to attend a Saturday Clinic sometime soon as there's just no substitute for hands on teaching with this stuff.

[Wolf-Strong]

Re: Polishes

80 & 83 are actually quite different animals and must be treated as such. 80 has a much longer play time before it starts to dry out, but 83 really loves to have the pad cleaned very often. Clean it by holding the DA in your right hand and pressing the pad firmly against a terry cloth towel held in your left hand. Switch the machine on keeping the pad firmly against the towel - this will force a lot of the excess 83 out of the pad and into the towel. Do this after every panel when using 83.

With either of the two you should apply a ring of product no more than 1/4" wide and about 3/4" from the outer edge of the pad. Keep just enough pressure on the pad to keep it spinning. Putting some hash marks on the back of the pad with a permanent marker can help you see the rotation of the pad. It doesn't need to spin quickly, but it does need to spin.

If you're going to use #7 I've found the following process to work great: Apply by hand using one of the little yellow Meguiar's Soft Foam applicator pads, using a circular motion. Work an area no larger than 2' x 2' and as soon as you feel that pad start to drag across the finish, STOP! The #7 is starting to set up and you want to remove it at this point. Grab a nice clean microfiber towel and start wiping the #7 off. Don't try to remove it all on the first wipe, rather "break" the surface with the first pass then go back over it. No need to keep wiping over and over again, just get the excess off and then move on to the next section.

Machine speed, hand speed, pressure, pad/polish combo, working time all need to be in sync or you won't get the results you're looking for. Get that technique nailed down and the dual action polisher can do wonders. You really should try to attend a Saturday Clinic sometime soon as there's just no substitute for hands on teaching with this stuff.

Yeah I have been meaning to attend a clinic; just haven't had the time. I usually work on Saterdays so that screws it up a little. I will make it sometime because I know that hands on training would help me out a lot. Definatly looking forward to it

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Polishes

Yeah I have been meaning to attend a clinic; just haven't had the time. I usually work on Saterdays so that screws it up a little. I will make it sometime because I know that hands on training would help me out a lot. Definatly looking forward to it

Would a Thursday Night Open Garage be easier for you to attend? You can get the same sort of training, possibly even moreso.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Polishes

This Thursday nights going to be a good class to attend!




This Thursday night we will be sharing tips and techniques for wet-sanding and using the rotary buffer, so if you've ever wanted to learn more about how to wet-sand paint and then remove your sanding marks and restore a swirl free finish using the rotary buffer then reply to this thread and get signed-up for this weeks Open Garage at Meguiar's Garage!


Jason Rose demonstrating correct technique for using the rotary buffer




Click here to sign-up!

[Wolf-Strong]

Re: Polishes

Damnit! Thursday night is the ONE night of the week that I am never open

I will make a Saterday event...I swear!

[TH0001]

Re: Polishes

What brand is that red buffer or is that a custom painted Makita???? I want it!!!

As far as removing the swirls, keep in mind that all paints have a different hardness. If your paint is very hard, no amount of polishing with a PC is going to make much of an impact. The PC is really a consumer product that can be used MOST of the time to achieve professional results.

I have found #80 Speed glaze to be the most versitial polish on the market in terms of having a good intial cut and a gorgeous glossy purchase. I have plenty of polishes on the shelf (everything from Megs, Menzerna, Optimum) but #80 is amazing.

I am in lucky in my daily driver has really good paint. One pass of #80 leaves me with a glossy, perfect black finish. However, try this on a Corvette and you will get upset. The hardness on MOST Corvette's is such that you are going to need #83 and a rotary to make minor corrections.

Since you already know you will need to start some what aggresive, start with #83 on a 8006 pad. Focus on the pressure you are putting on the pad (8-15 pounds, #83 is more grabby then #80), which should be enough to slightly concave the pad and slow the rotation of the pad. Keep your arm speed SLOW (1-2 inchs per second tops) and work in nice overlapping motions over an area no larger then 2 feet square until the product breaks down (turns almost clear). Wipe clean and check your work in the sun. If you notice no improvement, make another pass then recheck. Get the paint as close to perfect as you can in this step, so that polishing with #80 will be that much easier.

Remember with #83, you might still have some micro marring in the paint (I think #83 shines with a rotary, where the additonal power can break the abbrasives down more evenly, allowing for an LSP ready finish). Use #80 to fine tune the surface and get it ready for an LSP.

[Wolf-Strong]

Re: Polishes

What brand is that red buffer or is that a custom painted Makita???? I want it!!!

As far as removing the swirls, keep in mind that all paints have a different hardness. If your paint is very hard, no amount of polishing with a PC is going to make much of an impact. The PC is really a consumer product that can be used MOST of the time to achieve professional results.

I have found #80 Speed glaze to be the most versitial polish on the market in terms of having a good intial cut and a gorgeous glossy purchase. I have plenty of polishes on the shelf (everything from Megs, Menzerna, Optimum) but #80 is amazing.

I am in lucky in my daily driver has really good paint. One pass of #80 leaves me with a glossy, perfect black finish. However, try this on a Corvette and you will get upset. The hardness on MOST Corvette's is such that you are going to need #83 and a rotary to make minor corrections.

Since you already know you will need to start some what aggresive, start with #83 on a 8006 pad. Focus on the pressure you are putting on the pad (8-15 pounds, #83 is more grabby then #80), which should be enough to slightly concave the pad and slow the rotation of the pad. Keep your arm speed SLOW (1-2 inchs per second tops) and work in nice overlapping motions over an area no larger then 2 feet square until the product breaks down (turns almost clear). Wipe clean and check your work in the sun. If you notice no improvement, make another pass then recheck. Get the paint as close to perfect as you can in this step, so that polishing with #80 will be that much easier.

Remember with #83, you might still have some micro marring in the paint (I think #83 shines with a rotary, where the additonal power can break the abbrasives down more evenly, allowing for an LSP ready finish). Use #80 to fine tune the surface and get it ready for an LSP.

I drive a 93 BMW, and from what I have heard, they have good paint as well. Easy to work on. I did notice after not much effort that the swirls were definatly disapearing, but it was just those little deeper swirls I couldn't get rid of. I eventually got stressed out and just did the rest of the car quickly until I could figure out how to use the PC properly.