Questions about Newb Polishing an Rx8 with a DA Tomorrow

[Nopstnz8]

Hey I was wondering if you could help answer a few questions for a detail I plan to do tomorrow? Anyways, I decided to finally purchase a Meg's G110 V2 kit for Christmas and plan to start using it tomorrow. I have never used a buffer before (in this case, a DA), but have done a lot of research on how to use them. My 8 is Titanium Gray, so I know that it is obviously much harder to see swirls in than red. I purchased a set of 1000W halogens to see them easily. but want to know if they will need to be used during the entire time I polish, or I can just use my overhead garage lighting, and then inspect with the halogens after polishing each section? I just don't want to use up that much electricity if I don't have to.



Also, I have a few questions about the polishing process on this car since it has many curves. Basically what I have been reading says that you are supposed to work the polish in completely using a figure-8 pattern. I know this won't be very hard to do on the hood, or on flat areas, but what about the areas where there is not very much room for the buffer to do this, such as the pillars, the part of the fenders that is above the wheel arches, the mirror covers, and parts of the rear bumper that are narrow and horizontal? I just don't want to royally screw this up. Lol. I did read that you don't really have to follow the figure 8 pattern, but just make sure you work the polish in evenly in over the area you are working? So would this mean that I could just go in a slow back and forth motion across the area until it is fully worked in?



My 8 currently still has about 6-7 layers of KSG still on it from the summer, and I only wash with ONR, so should I wash it first, then do a 50/50 IPA wipe down across the whole car, then proceed to polishing? And for polishing, I plan to start with M205 on LC 5.5 orange pads since the swirls aren't very bad. I'll start with this, and if I have to move to a more aggressive option, I will, but does this seem like a good starting point?



Thanks for your time. I would greatly appreciate a response so I can start tomorrow morning.

 

[Mikeyc]

I'm not sure I know of anyone who works in a figure 8 pattern. Keep your polishing area small say 16"x16" maximum. Then work your polish in alternating patterns (side-to-side then up & down) until it's broken down.



Also, there's no need for a wipe down after washing. The polishing will remove any wax/sealant on the paint quite quickly and easily.

 

[Nopstnz8]

Thanks. I guess I misunderstood the figure 8 thing. Lol. I actually thought that was the alternating side-to-side, then up and down, which is what I plan to do. If I just do side to side on the areas that only allow that sort of movement, will that be ok, as long as the polish is fully broken down?



Also, I have around 6-7 coats of KSG, so wouldn't that be an issue with a polish like M205 since the surface will probably be to slick to even cut?

 

[Mikeyc]

If an area is too thin to polish in multiple directions it's OK to only go one way.



As slick as your KSG is, the M205 will cut right through it.

 

[Nopstnz8]

Even 6-7 coats where I added a coat of CG easy creme glaze between coats 3 and 4?



Oh and for the narrow areas, since I mainly only have 5.5" pads, can I still use these on sections, just not let the entire pad make contact? I have a set of three 4" white pads as well, but don't think it would make sense to most likely use orange pads around the whole car, and have a few sections where I used a white pad?

 

[BigAl3]

if you haven't already, check out some of these videos. a great website with good information...



Car Detailing videos - How to detail, polish and wax your Car

 

[Nopstnz8]

^^Thanks. I'll check that out right now.

 

[Accumulator]

Hey I was wondering if you could help answer a few questions for a detail I plan to do tomorrow? Anyways, I decided to finally purchase a Meg's G110 V2 kit for Christmas and plan to start using it tomorrow. I have never used a buffer before (in this case, a DA), but have done a lot of research on how to use them...

Most people find the machine polishing to be a lot more gentle/less efficient than they expect. No, that's not intended as a bummer, just something to keep in mind so you don't get discouraged or think you're doing something wrong.

My 8 is Titanium Gray, so I know that it is obviously much harder to see swirls in than red. I purchased a set of 1000W halogens to see them easily. but want to know if they will need to be used during the entire time I polish, or I can just use my overhead garage lighting, and then inspect with the halogens after polishing each section? I just don't want to use up that much electricity if I don't have to.

Not sure about the paint on RX-8s as I've never worked on one.



DON'T worry about stuff like wasting electricity. Seriously, at least not unless you're working off a generator or have some other very unusual situation.



IMO the overhead (assuming they're incandescent) lights will be *better* for final inspections than the halogens. I work with the halogens and then turn them off to inspect with incandescents. The halogens can be OK for inspections, but you have to mess around with different positionings and illumination/viewing angles.



I find inspections to be tricky (I do a lot of silver vehicles) and I often think I spend more time *looking at* the paint than I do *polishing* it.



Try turning out any/all lights *except* the one you're inspecting with. A single light in an otherwise dark environment usually gives me the best results.

Also, I have a few questions about the polishing process on this car since it has many curves...

Don't worry too much about the curves. With a PC it's not very important to keep the pad flat; you can use the outer edge/etc. of it and work the polisher at an angle as needed. Again, I bet it's gonna be a lot more gentle than you expect so just plan on doing what you need to do to get the work done.



Correct use of M205 is to pretty much just work it the way it says on the bottle and/or the way the KBM prescribes. No figure-8s for me (and I do use that motion in other cases), just back and forth/up and down for about 6-8 movements until it starts to dry out. With M205 (very oily stuff) you can work larger areas than I usually recommend, but I sure wouldn't go any larger than 18" x 18" (I don't advocate that "two feet square" business).



Using M205 is all about following the KMB as best you can and maybe tweaking it as you find little variations that work better for *you*.

My 8 currently still has about 6-7 layers of KSG still on it from the summer, and I only wash with ONR, so should I wash it first, then do a 50/50 IPA wipe down across the whole car, then proceed to polishing?

YES. The only time I've had LSP interfere with my polishing was with multiple layers of KSG. I absolutely *WOULD* compromise it with IPA/etc. in your case and I hardly ever tell anybody to do that.

And for polishing, I plan to start with M205 on LC 5.5 orange pads since the swirls aren't very bad. I'll start with this, and if I have to move to a more aggressive option, I will, but does this seem like a good starting point?

Yeah, good enough starting point, but I seldom get the correction that others seem to with the M205/orange combo so I'd be prepared to use a more aggressive product for the initial correction.

 

[Furd]

I used the 105/205 combo (orange/white pads) on a 2004 metallic gray RX-8. I don't really have enough experience to compare the hardness of the paint, but from what I've read, Mazda paint has "medium" hardness. This seemed to be the case.



The paint hadn't been corrected in 3 years. The combo took care of most of the defects. The 205 seems like a good place to start if your paint is in good condition. I wouldn't expect that much from it though



The fender curves and whatnot didn't really pose a problem.