A few questions for a big detail

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okbeast

New member
Fairly new to the site, tons of good info, almost too much at times. I've got a black '00 Silverado that has seen better days. I've taken it down muddy gravel roads and through brush and what not for the past 4 years so it's got it's share of scratches and swirls, etc. I plan to do a full detail this summer. I got antsy the other day to use my PC and polished a little spot one evening.



I QD'd the spot, took a 4" orange LC pad and some SSR 2.5 and went over it. It did a great job I thought until I looked at it in the sun the next day, it still had quite a bit of swirls and some of the scratches were still there. Right now I don't have a heavier pad or polish/compound in my arsenal. I have read about the PFW pads and have thought about trying these. I don't wanna spend a ton of money on new backing pads (I used my 5" backing plate with the 4" pad. I also have some 6" pads) but from what I"ve read i won't get good results using the 6" pads. Are the PFW 6" pads worth a darn or should i just invest in a smaller backing plate and some 4" yellow foam pads or 4" pfw pads and plan for a long day?



I'm sure i'll come up with more questions, but i just wanna get everything i need before I start this.
 
On a PC, you really need four inch pads or smaller for effective correction. Even in PFW. And believe it or not, the smaller pads will make for a shorter day. They will do much more correction in X amount of time than the bigger ones will.
 
+1 on SuperBee...the smaller the pad the more concentrated the polishing pattern. Just be sure to keep moving....about an inch per second has always worked for me.
 
Gotcha, well luckily i ordered some 4" pads awhile back to try some hand polishing LOL, it didn't work and they've been in a box forever probably. What would be a good product to step up above the SSR2.5 in case it doesn't work?



I think I also have some Pinnacle XMT3 but I believe it's about the same as the SSR2.5.



I'm not stuck w/ the poorboys products but I do like how they have worked so far, and are decently priced. Doesn't seem like alot of people use them here anymore.
 
I'm gonna sound like a broken record, so forgive me...



Since the PC is kinda limited on it's ability to correct/polish, you want to do everything you can to make it have as much teeth as possible. Four inch pads are a good start. The other thing you can do is use polishes that have as much "action" as you can get in their respective category.



In the medium polish category, that's Menzerna Super Intensive Polish (SIP). Don't let the aggressive name fool you; this polish is a "medium* weight polish that is very, very safe. It was developed for use on Ceramiclear (hard clear coat). It can be a bit hard to use, but it usually plays pretty well on a PC. This polish will give you the most correction you can get from the medium polish category. This is the polish to be your "go-to" for initial correction.



In the finishing polishes, the ones that have the most bite are Menzerna PO106FF Nano Polish, and Einszett High Gloss. They are both "ceramiclear" rated.



In the jeweling polishes, Menzerna PO85RD is where it's at. It's also ceramiclear rated, but is a very, very fine abrasive. No correction ability, just gloss.



If you find yourself working on a soft clear coat, then Menzerna Final Polish II (also known as Micro Polish) is a great jeweling polish.



Finally, if you need even more correction than SIP, Meguairs M95 or M105 (if you don't mind putting in the time to learn it) are about as aggressive as you can get.
 
Alright thanks, I've read some on teh 105 and it seems like it's almost in the compound category. What is there to "learn" about it? I realize that with the age of this truck it's going to be nowhere perfect, but just from the little bit I did the other day I can improve it a huge amount.
 
okbeast said:
Alright thanks, I've read some on teh 105 and it seems like it's almost in the compound category. What is there to "learn" about it? I realize that with the age of this truck it's going to be nowhere perfect, but just from the little bit I did the other day I can improve it a huge amount.
Click to expand...



Oh, it is most definitely in the compound category. It's one of the most aggressive compounds out there.



As far as what there is to learn about it... yeesh.... I really don't intend on coming across as rude, but you're gonna have to do a search and learn for yourself, cause I can't type all that stuff again. So many people have put out so much good info on 105.. it's all here, it's just a matter of finding it. I know it's frustrating because the search feature doesn't work very well, but it's worth the time to find.
 
No problem, I'm on tons of other forums and get tired of answering the same questions over and over. I believe I'll start by getting a 4" pad and do some more research.



Would there be any benefit to getting a heavier polish than the 2.5 or just step up to a compound (or would that basically be the same thing)?
 
Menz SIP would probably be a better choice than the 2.5. It'll give you the most correction you can get without stepping up to a compound.
 
And I'm thinking about picking up some of the PFW pads with the backing plate. I believe I read I need smaller than a 4" backing plate b/c of the size of some of the 4" pads?
 
citizen arcane said:
Google Advanced Search is your friend when researching this site:



Google Advanced Search



Enter Autopia.org in Search within a site or domain or search specific forums such as this one: autopia.org/forum/car-detailing/ etc. etc.
Click to expand...



Now that's sweet, Ima have to remember that for some other sites that their search sucks.
 
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