3M FI II Buffing Time

T

triptonite

New member
I have a car that is 5 years old and I am ready to take out the swirls (some deep ones) with my new pc.



I plan on using FI II with a yellow foam or wool pad if the 3m swirl remover dosen't work first.



How long would you spend buffing half a hood with the FI II and at what speed?

I was reading wear it can take up to 10 minutes to break down. Is this right?



Also do you guys have to clean the pad or use a new one when doing an entire car?



Thanks!:nixweiss
 
10 minutes seems long to me.

2 or 3 minutes is more likely.

David's advice is to start at speed 2-3 and as the SMR starts to break down move up to speed 7 for final buffing.

I personaly start at max speed (but that's me:p )



You WILL see when the SMR is gone (or broken down), it kinda vanishes.



You change pad in the event of:

1)you dropped it

2)it became dirty from buffing a "dirty" area (that's why it's neaded to wash & clay before!)

3)the pad get's caked with polish: that is when you use to much polish, after a while you won't be able to buff out, it will seem like new polish comes out of the blue.A reason to use dime-size drops at a time and work'm 'till gone.

4)you change product : very importand: never use a second product on a pad : like after using the pad for SMR , using the same pad (without cleaning) for glazing for instance.That is why most of us write on the back of a pad it's destiny: we tend to keep a dedicated pad for a certain product.



when done with the pad: put it in a bucket of water with detergent in it,

let soak

gently push the water out (a potato-masher works perfect:up )'till clean

let air-dry = ready for next use



Hope that answers your Q:



Happy detailing



Christiaan



:wavey
 
My experience with FI-II has been that if the residue is tough to wipe off, it needs to be worked longer. Once completely broken down, it's comes off relatively easily . . . try to remove it before then, and it's stubborn. I would guess than I probably spend 3-5 working a section of the paint (roughly 2'x2'). Half of the hood might take me 20-30 minutes, depending on the size of the vehicle.



If you follow up the FI-II with SMR, you'll probably want to have a second pad on hand.



Tort



P.S. 3M's Perfect-it III Machine Glaze falls somewhere between SMR and FI-II in abrasiveness (closer to FI-II, IMO). The bottle claims no fillers, and it's much easier to use than FI-II . . . breaks down a bit faster, and residue is easier to remove.
 
Brakedown time for the product will depend on many things, including surface temp, pad, speed of machine, type of machine, pressure, etc.



On average I would say it takes between 5-7 minutes for FI2 to breakdown with a PC.
 
if your swirls look pretty bad, then i would definitely use the finesse it II because i just did my 93 cougar the other day, and i barely took out any swirls at all since the paint was so bad. I did this with the white foam pad though, so i probably should have got the yellow cutting pad instead and used that.
 
5-8 minutes is not unusual for me. Hence why I'm switching over to Perfect III.



FI-2 is old school as is tough to breakdown. With a rotary, I'd recommend it as I tried it with one it and it work very nicely. With a PC DA, it can be tough. The Perfect-It III line is newer, easier to work with, breaksdown nicely and leaves a nice high gloss with much less effort. There's a bit more powder generated than FI-2 but nothing to really worry about.



FI-2, technique is important or else you'll get hazing and product removal can be a bit of an issue until you get good with it.



Paco
 
Hey guys thanks fo the info. I might have to try FI III. I do have foam pads dedicated for each product that I use. Hopefully I can knock out some swirls.



Where do you get FI III?



Also does buffing off with a mixture of alcohol and water work to help reduce haze?
 
There is no such product as FI-3. Perfect-It III (PI-3) can be found whereever you buy FI-2.



In the US, you can order directly from 3M's website if you have trouble finding it.



Paco
 
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