Need feedback on Sonus pads and polishes

Avenger

New member
Thought the Orange DAS pad and SFX-1 would almost be dangerous for my paint.... MAN !! It took about half a bottle of product, lots of pressure and 4-5 hours to properly polish / wax my hood / trunk :eek: I must admit I live up a damn gravel road but I always take great care of my paint and wash with the best products...



What's even worse is that I plan to go mobile soon and I must have one of the cleanest car around.... What will it be if I face a badly swirled black car :shocked There has to be a better / faster way, tell me there is :D



I know a rotary would solve most of these problems but I'm not yet ready to make the move. I know the PC and cutting pads can take care of most jobs so it has to be the product. Maybe SFX-1 isn't aggressive enough, your thoughts ?
 
SFX-1 cuts right through KSG, right ? If not then, that could explain why I've had so much trouble...



That, or my new paint is freakin' hard
 
What kind of car is it? If it's anything like Audi, then oh yeah, the paint is quite difficult to polish.



Polishing via PC can take multiple passes ( even with intermediate level polishes)and be very frustrating and time consuming. Even with that said, half a bottle used still sounds like too much.
 
Most of the time when I talk to someone who is saying that they can't get swirls out with a PC, the problem is that they just aren't working the product long enough. Work the product until the pad is basically buffing it back off. If there are still swirls on the paint then you either need to:



A) Do it again and check your work.

B) Do it again with a more agressive polish.

C) Do it again with a more agressive pad.



If you are already using the Sonus orange pad then you can't really step it up much further. The only options left are to step up your product or just work it longer on a second pass and see if that does the trick. Some paints are just more difficult to work on, like Bill D said. You have to spend more time than usual on polishing sometimes.
 
It's a Mustang GT. I had the car repainted 2 years ago but I don't know which brand of clearcoat was used. What I can tell, though, is that the paint chips easily, which probably means it's on the hard side. I'm starting to think I was using too much product because it took lots of time to get the polish to breakdown. I must admit I did not always wait for it to breakdown before wiping off. Thanks for the advice guys, guess I'll work with less polish on a smaller area.





Another question, how come I think Meg GC wax looks better than KSG / P21S ?? :nixweiss
 
SFX1 is a pretty aggressive polish, especially when combined with the orange DAS pad (still light cut compared to other cutting pads). Definitely sounds like you were using too much product and not working it long enough. Work the product until it is nearly transparent on the paint, wipe off, and inspect. I did use over 3/4 bottle of SFX1 last year on a Camry but the car was in awful condition. Polishes are not like waxes...it takes what it takes.
 
Jngrbrdman said:
Most of the time when I talk to someone who is saying that they can't get swirls out with a PC, the problem is that they just aren't working the product long enough. Work the product until the pad is basically buffing it back off. If there are still swirls on the paint then you either need to:



A) Do it again and check your work.

B) Do it again with a more agressive polish.

C) Do it again with a more agressive pad.



If you are already using the Sonus orange pad then you can't really step it up much further. The only options left are to step up your product or just work it longer on a second pass and see if that does the trick. Some paints are just more difficult to work on, like Bill D said. You have to spend more time than usual on polishing sometimes.



The Sonus system is the first I have used. It took me a couple of cars to really get the hang of it.

PATIENCE is a big key. It does work but remember it may take some time :xyxthumbs



Steve
 
Well, after doing the roof, I can say it's not my technique that's to blame. Worked on small areas with moderate amount of product and until it began dusting. I had to do 3 passes with SFX-1 and the Orange pad, on the roof !! . It HAS to be one heck of a clear...



Is Menzerma IP more aggressive than SFX-1 ? I'm looking for something that would get the job done faster with the PC. Maybe I should look into 4" pads ? How do you guys handle HARD clearcoats. ?
 
Maybe you should try some of the PB line. I'm not sure how the two compare, but maybe you could try some SSR 2.5 or 3.0. Although, some say 3.0 should be reserved for the rotary.

As far as I know, the SFX yellow pad is more aggresive than the DAS orange pad. I bought a yellow pad to use with my SSR 2.5 but have been unable to find time to use it.



JJ
 
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