Blogs: 0 (Add) Vehicle: 2001 Corvette Z51 Joined: Apr 2008 Member # 4428 From: Chino CA Visit Gallery
Posted - August 29 : 2:27p
I was just watching a friend polish his car and noticed a few things he was doing wrong but might be pretty common mistakes made by people.
1. Far too much polish. -Remember that our polish goes a long way. Whether by hand or machine remember you want to work the polish till it nearly disappears into the clear coat/paint. Polish does no good sitting on the paint by itself, it only does any work when it's being rubbed/buffed by hand or a polishing pad. Straight lines, nice and easy, back and forth over and over will get the job done. Polish isn't like wax where you can let it sit and get results, polish needs to be applied then worked. You want just enough to cover a surface then work it in. Our pads are very absorbent so they'll hold in polish for a long ways and get great results. On our new pads I'll do two full rings around the outside and that's enough for my entire hood on my C5. As long as you can see polish being left behind by the pad you have the right amount. When you start seeing the pad cover an area but no polish is left it's time to reapply. A little Detail Spray spritz always helps lubricate the pad.
2. Letting it sit -I covered this a little above but I'll hit on it again here. Polish isn't wax. It does not need a cure time and while it's sitting on the paint it's not doing any more work than the polish still in your bottle. While our polish was designed to be easy to remove not all polishes are and in some cases if you are using a "off the shelf" polish you might actually need MORE polish to remove the portions that have dried on your paint! ours is easy to remove though.
3. Purpose of polish -Polish is a cleaner. Just like brushing your teeth or polishing your wood floors you are cleaning the surface in both cases. Polish will give you a shine of course, you are seeing the natural shine from your clear coat or paint. Abrasive polishes or finishing polishes will give different results but in the end it's the WAX that gives you the lasting shine.
Blogs: 0 (Add) Vehicle: 2002 F-150, 2005 Yamaha Joined: Jun 2005 Member # 118 From: Andrews AFB, Maryland Visit Gallery
Posted
- August 29 : 7:34p
I've got a spot below my taillight where a car rubbed against me in a parking lot and there's a few of very fine deep scratches. What's the best way to try and knock those down?
Blogs: 4 (View) Vehicle: 2009 Hyundai 1-Ton Joined: May 2005 Member # 20 From: PartsUnknown Visit Gallery
Posted
- August 30 : 4:42p
Quote:
Originally posted by Sawblade
I've got a spot below my taillight where a car rubbed against me in a parking lot and there's a few of very fine deep scratches. What's the best way to try and knock those down?
Jason might be able to give you better advice...
I'd start with a clay bar to remove any paint that rubbed off, and then go at it with a medium-aggressive compound on an orange pad, then a light cut "swirl remover" type of compound, then a polish then wax.
If the scratches are deep enough that you can really feel them when you run your thumb nail over them there is a good chance that you won't be able to completely remove them. You might also need to use an orbital (vs. random-orbit) buffer to really work them out if they're deep.
Polishes: A few thoughts
Posted - August 29 : 2:27p
