AIO & blue waffle pad on rotary = any correction?

A

ahains

New member
I have some CG AIO and butter wax arriving today. Next week blue and green Edge 2000 waffle pads will be arriving.

I'll be starting with my 2004 WRX wagon, black. The paint is in good shape, with only minor swirls and defects.

Next (different day most likely) will be my wife's 2000 Sentra, also black with similar condition of paint.

First for both cars will be a wash/clay/wash.



The description for the AIO states "extreme All-In-1 Polish makes surfaces smooth by removing oxidation, light scratches, swirl marks and scuff marks"



The description for the blue pad states "It will leave surface areas scratch-free and smooth while still removing light swirls and imperfections. Use with pre-wax cleaners and finishing polishes to improve gloss."

The green pad: "should be used on vehicles with moderate swirls and imperfections"



I like the sentiment I have observed by many here of starting with the least invasive option, and getting more serious if the desired results are not achieved.

What I am wondering is if I can take the descriptions at face value and try to just use the AIO and blue pad, or if this is just silly and I really need to start with the green pad and something with a but more punch?



If I do need more punch, can I use the same AIO with a green pad? I got the impression from some threads that the pad is a significant variable in determining how much marring you introduce. I know you have some leeway with how abrasive of product you use with how abrasive of pad, but I'm guessing the AIO on a green pad will just give me more marring without additional correction?



Obviously without a picture of the paint you can't tell how much correction is needed, but assuming it is minor - can the blue pad and AIO actually provide minor correction?

The only other thing I have in the garage at the moment is Meguire's Deep Crystal step 1 paint cleaner. The bottle doesn't say anything about being safe for rotary, so I'm doubtful that this would be a good option.



I'll probably be in the area of our local Harbor Freight before next week, so I think I'll pick up one of their infrared thermometers so I can keep an eye on paint temp while learning. I know the waffle pad should help with this anyway, but they're only about $30 so probably worth the peace of mind. Plus I have some HF gift cards I need to use up :)



Thanks!

-Adrian
 
Did a bunch more searching and found it suggested to use a DAS green pad with AIO followed by blue pad with AIO in this thread:

http://autopia.org/forum/showthread.php?t=60374&highlight=aio+green



And this thread suggests that DAS green/blue pads match up with Edge 2000 green/blue pads:

http://autopia.org/forum/showthread.php?t=53260&highlight=aio+green



So does this mean I really should just be starting with green w/AIO (assuming that I need only very light correction), and then another pass with blue w/AIO?



Thanks!

Adrian
 
i think in reality aio wont hardly touch any swirls at all...id have a go with the green pad if i were you



chances are you may need something like megs#80 to take care of the swirls
 
awahl63 said:
AIO is non abrasive so try a lightly abrasive polish
Click to expand...



Are you sure this is correct for the CG AIO specifically?

The product info page (http://www.chemicalguys.com/product_p/gap_106.htm) has an "Abrasive Meter" that shows their AIO to be about 1/3rd of the way between Light and Medium abrasiveness. It also has phrases like:

"makes surfaces smooth by removing oxidation, light scratches, swirl marks and scuff marks"

"removes light scratches and swirl marks resorting color and shine"

"Minor scratches, swirls, water spots and oxidation are vanquished"



Do you think these are marketing exaggeration?



Obviously I don't expect a whole lot of correction ability, it is not going to be removing much paint. Do you think it might be a reasonable expectation that it would provide the kind of correction that takes the sharp edge off of minor swirls to reduce the visibility dramatically?



Here's what I'm thinking:

-I'm not going to be detailing any cars other than my own and my wife, so I don't want to stock up on more aggressive products if I don't need to.

-I don't need the 100% perfect mirror finish that I see on the beautiful cars pictured on this site, but I do want results that stand out in the grocery store parking lot :)

-If I can get very good (but not perfect) results with extremely minor correction, I'd prefer to leave as much clear coat depth as I possibly can



But on the flip side - the pads won't arrive for another 6 days (not like I check the tracking number every day :chuckle: ), so if I definitely need a more aggressive product to get anywhere then I'd prefer to order it now so I can get it in time to be ready for the pads :)



I guess I'm leaning towards just giving it a shot with the AIO to see exactly what I end up with, and then I can always go back with something more aggressive if need be. Maybe I'll start with my wife's car. :)



I'll take pictures, whatever I do..
 
I haven't used the CG AIO, but Klasse AIO has handled light swirls on a car for me before - I think partly due to some filling but mostly allowing the Sonus DAS Green pad I used to do the abrading...



swirls.jpg


Mazdaspeed Protege: http://autopia.org/forum/showthread.php?t=56336



FWIW, I've had very good results with either Menzerna FPII or my Menzerna 106FF/RMG mix on my blue WRX and light wash-induced marring.
 
Interesting, thanks for the info. I hadn't really thought about the fact that the pad itself did any of the paint removal. (yes, I'm a newb :))
 
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