Polishing Question

[xbbsupra]

I have a 95 black Toyota Supra MKIV that has a single stage black paint job from the factory. Will it be safe to polish the paint since there is no clear coat? A friend told me it is unsafe to polish a car with no clear coat. My plan of attack includes... Optimum Polish with the LLC Orange pad and finish with Menzerna's PO106FF with the LLC white pad. I'm using the Flex polisher.







Or should I use something only like Meguiar's #80 with the LCC oranage pad?

 

[TSC17]

You can polish SS paint just like you can a car with a clear coat. Just be prepared for those white pads to be black when you're finished!



As for the polishes and pads...just do some testing to see what gives you the best results. None of those polishes you listed have a tremendous amount of cut so you probably won't be removing any heavier defects. You should still be able to make it look much, much better though.



Have fun!

 

[Sir Clean]

For polishing, is it effective to apply it by hands?

 

[NSXTASY]

For polishing, is it effective to apply it by hands?

Effective yes, Efficient no. Use your flex and check out some polishing guides by DAVEKG. Try Opt Polish on Orange and follow with the 106 white with the flex. Then finish with a black or blue 106 if you wish.



You may need a medium polish (SIP/IP/M83) or compound (M105) before your polish/finishing.

 

[imported_RZJZA80]

being a Supra owner and detailing my friend's black 97, your pads will be trashed and black when you are done, just the nature of the beast. I used yellow 4" LC CCS pads on my PC as speed 6 with Megs 83, then black 4" LC CCS pads at speed 4 with Megs 80, and it removed most every scratch and swirl except those very deep, and gave an excellent finish.



polishing by hand is probably something I will never attempt, except on metal (i.e. engine parts)

 

[xbbsupra]

thanks! I appreciate all the replies. Do you think a speed of 6 is too high on a single stage paint? How much pressure did you apply? I'm debating if I should keep my compound setup or purchase meg # 83 & # 80.

 

[Accumulator]

thanks! I appreciate all the replies. Do you think a speed of 6 is too high on a single stage paint?

No, but you might do fine with 5.

How much pressure did you apply?

Not much, especially with the Flex 3401 (the potential felt-ring issues). Let the (appropriate) product do the work instead of forcing things with pressure (and/or even high speed; many people do fine via Flex with just speed 5 and black ss paint is usually kinda soft).

I'm debating if I should keep my compound setup or purchase meg # 83 & # 80.

#80 *is* nice on single stage and I'm not at all a fan of Menzerna 106FF (but hey, that's just me). I *do* think you oughta get something like M105 for the aggressive work. I'm not a big fan of Optimum polish either, and I dunno if it, with the orange pad, would be an efficient way to go...I can imagine you going over and over and over flaws with that combo. I'd rather just use M105 once/twice and then do one follow up with #80.

 

[xbbsupra]

Since i'm using a Flex XC3401VRG Dual-Action Polisher which has a 6.5 backing plate and 6.5" LCC pads. How much polish should I apply to the pad? I'm unsure due to the huge pads and a dime amount seems to break down way too fast. For each section, i'm planning to do 1.5FT X 1.5FT for two minutes.

 

[Accumulator]

Since i'm using a Flex XC3401VRG Dual-Action Polisher which has a 6.5 backing plate and 6.5" LCC pads. How much polish should I apply to the pad? I'm unsure due to the huge pads and a dime amount seems to break down way too fast. For each section, i'm planning to do 1.5FT X 1.5FT for two minutes.

I generally do smaller areas that than and I use products with a shorter work-time. Not sure how to extrapolate to what you're doing :think:



Generally, just use enough polish to keep the pad lubricated. I'd much rather use less polish and do small areas than do larger areas with a lot more polish. More polish is more likely to cause problems than it is to solve them IMO and I suspect that most people tend to use way too much.



Sorry I don't have a better answer...this is one of those things I do without really taking note of *how* I'm doing it and I'm always at a loss to give advice.

Or should I use something only like Meguiar's #80 with the LCC oranage pad?

I failed to comment on this earlier; IMO the orange pad is overly aggressive for use with #80. If you need more cut than #80 gives with a polishing pad, just switch to a more aggressive product.