Post First Detail Questions

[Freyguy]

So after reading a TON of information on here, I decided to tackle my garage queen this weekend. I had Saturday free and they were calling for rain during the night and I didn't want to get the EX-P wet while it was drying on my daily driver. The truck is a white 95 GMC Sierra Standard Cab Short Bed. It has a fiberglass tonneau cover and a fiberglass cowl induction hood.

Here's what I did:
Wash
Clay (Wolfgangs Clay and Meguiers Final Inspection as Lube)
SSR2.5 - Done with PC on 6. Polishing pad wasn't getting all the swirls out, so I moved up to the Light Cutting until it broke. I then went back to the Polishing pad.
SSR1 - Done with PC on 4.5 and the Polishing pad.
EX-P Coat #1 - Done with the Ultrafine Polishing pad on 4 and misting the pad with water
EX-P Coat #2 - Done with the Ultrafine Polishing pad on 2 and misting the pad with water

All pads were the Edge 2000 DA pads. It took me from 9:30 am until 7:00 pm and the truck had already been washed. I'll chalk that up to my inexperience, but I'd like to get a little more efficient on the time.

My questions/concerns are that I ended up using a ton of product! I used about 1/3 of the SSR's and 2/3 of the EX-P (16oz bottles) and I haven't put my final coat on yet! I attempted to put the EX-P on thin as I have read is best, but I'm not sure if it was the white paint and I couldn't determine how much I was putting on or what. As I was cleaning out my pads I did notice that the Ultrafine pad I used for EX-P had a ton of product in it. It took me forever to get all the EX-P out of it. The other pads I used the SSR's on were not filled at all. I did spray the pad with water about ever other section when I was putting on EX-P and I experimented by trying to find the least amount to use to cover the entire section. I used about 4 nickel sized dots on the pad for every 2'x2' section and that was barely covering it. Any tips or ideas for me to try next time? Is my pad choice wrong?

I have to put on my 3rd coat of EX-P and then I'll take some pics and post them up. I may just apply it by hand to try to save product. I was going to put Natty's on top, but since it's a garage queen, I think I'll be alright without it. It already looks amazing and is the best I've ever seen it. I've always waxed it before shows, but I think I could do a bit better with it now.

Thanks for any input.

 

[dalmore]

For a truck with a painted tonneau cover - I think your SSR use sounds about right - maybe a little on the heavy side depending on the number of passes needed. Your EX-P use sounds really heavy. I would expect problems removing it if you were putting that much product on the truck so I suspect a lot ended up in the pad as you surmised.

Maybe try this next time. Apply a thin line of product to the car instead of the pad. Then with the PC off, spread the product around on the paint. Careful not to press down and squeeze the product into the pad, then turn the pc on and work it a bit. I find that help with products that tend to get sucked up in the pad. Either that or I apply by hand.

 

[Boss_429]

Can't add much to that........... good advise? :bigups

 

[kimwallace]

Another tip ... if you are going to use the PC to apply more EX-P, wax or other sealant, Just slide the pad into a gallon size zip lock bag and it will be primed with product for the next coat. Don 't let it sit this way for more than a few days because mold could start to form on the pad. I usually try to do two or three vehicles at a time (24 hours apart) when applying sealant. This also works well for some of the SSRs and other polishes.

 

[Freyguy]

Great ideas, thanks for the input. Come to think of it, once I applied the product to the pad, i did blot it around a bit instead of spreading it. I bet that probably just pushed everything in the pad like dalmore said.

And great idea about just keeping the pad loaded. I didn't even think about that the other day! If not anything else it will definately save you the time washing the pad.

Thanks for the help!
:dcrules