I have a small bottle of Gtechniq Exo that I was eager to try on my VW GTI. Despite a day and a half of prep work, and careful application, The results were a bit mixed, and I can see some light streaks in the finish. In a few spots, I can see what looks like wax or polish residue that hasnt been wiped away. I`m assuming that I didnt fully remove the coating in these spots. I`m confident these aren`t swirls, but they cant be polished out with a MF at this point. Obviously, this isn`t permanent, and can be polished out and redone, but the streaks are a bit frustrating none the less. What`s odd is that in strong direct light, it looks quite good, but with a little bit of shade the streaks start to become visible. I`m guessing to really fix it, I will have to polish that section, or panel, down and re apply.
Any suggestions or hints are appreciated as this is my first time doing this. In addition, I found that in the prep process, some swirls absolutely did not want to come out, despite trying different products, pads, speeds, etc. The panels that had been repainted corrected much easier than those that had original factory paint. I got it `ok` by my standards, but had to move on at some point.
Here is the preparation process I used, feel free to skip this part. (car is a 2013 Carbon Steel Grey VW GTI):
A) 2 bucket wash, then dry inside the garage with Griots PFM towel
B) Meguiars clay bar with Megs QD for lube
C) Polishing took two days. The second day I rewashed the car with ONR before resuming work.
I tried different things depending on the condition. Everything was done with a PC 7424, and I did a panel wipe after each attempt.
All work was done in a totally dark garage, with two bright daylight color LED lights on a stand to check my work
1) Speed 4 with LC white pad and Sonax EX04-06 for really light defects.
2) Most panels I used an orange pad, the same Sonax polish, on a speed of 5.
3) Rear left quarter panel was stubborn, so I had to go back and redo it trying a higher speed, and varying pressure. Better but not perfect
4) Front right door drove me nuts over two days. I wound up compounding on speed 6, 4 or 5 passes with a yellow pad, Griots fast
correcting compound, then back to an orange pad, speed 5, sonax, and 4-5 passes. A little better but not much. Another round, same
pad, product and speed but with a bit more pressure. Again, very little, if any improvement. I decided to cut my losses and move on.
*Finally, here is the point of my long winded story*:
Applied two coats of EXO. I used a microfiber applicator, dividing each panel into 2, 3 or 4 sections. Sections were roughly 1` x 3`, or 2` x 2`. I applied it in a cross hatch pattern per the instructions. Once a section was complete I used a MF towel to wipe away residue. Then took a second, clean MF towel to finish.
I noticed 3/4 way through the first coat I was halfway through the bottle. I started using less product. This may have contributed to the problem. When I started using less, the first application vertical didnt cover completely, however, when I went back over it with a horizontal motion, it seemed to spread the product out completely, so I thought that even it out.
Lastly a question - A few posts mention wiping away the residue to level it out before it "flashes". I`ve heard the term flash used before with relation to polish. I`m not quite sure what this means, or how to spot it.
(Pictures to follow in a minute)
Any suggestions or hints are appreciated as this is my first time doing this. In addition, I found that in the prep process, some swirls absolutely did not want to come out, despite trying different products, pads, speeds, etc. The panels that had been repainted corrected much easier than those that had original factory paint. I got it `ok` by my standards, but had to move on at some point.
Here is the preparation process I used, feel free to skip this part. (car is a 2013 Carbon Steel Grey VW GTI):
A) 2 bucket wash, then dry inside the garage with Griots PFM towel
B) Meguiars clay bar with Megs QD for lube
C) Polishing took two days. The second day I rewashed the car with ONR before resuming work.
I tried different things depending on the condition. Everything was done with a PC 7424, and I did a panel wipe after each attempt.
All work was done in a totally dark garage, with two bright daylight color LED lights on a stand to check my work
1) Speed 4 with LC white pad and Sonax EX04-06 for really light defects.
2) Most panels I used an orange pad, the same Sonax polish, on a speed of 5.
3) Rear left quarter panel was stubborn, so I had to go back and redo it trying a higher speed, and varying pressure. Better but not perfect
4) Front right door drove me nuts over two days. I wound up compounding on speed 6, 4 or 5 passes with a yellow pad, Griots fast
correcting compound, then back to an orange pad, speed 5, sonax, and 4-5 passes. A little better but not much. Another round, same
pad, product and speed but with a bit more pressure. Again, very little, if any improvement. I decided to cut my losses and move on.
*Finally, here is the point of my long winded story*:
Applied two coats of EXO. I used a microfiber applicator, dividing each panel into 2, 3 or 4 sections. Sections were roughly 1` x 3`, or 2` x 2`. I applied it in a cross hatch pattern per the instructions. Once a section was complete I used a MF towel to wipe away residue. Then took a second, clean MF towel to finish.
I noticed 3/4 way through the first coat I was halfway through the bottle. I started using less product. This may have contributed to the problem. When I started using less, the first application vertical didnt cover completely, however, when I went back over it with a horizontal motion, it seemed to spread the product out completely, so I thought that even it out.
Lastly a question - A few posts mention wiping away the residue to level it out before it "flashes". I`ve heard the term flash used before with relation to polish. I`m not quite sure what this means, or how to spot it.
(Pictures to follow in a minute)
