right polishes and right order?

F

fishboy

New member
I just put some on an inconspicuous area and now I have more questions??



1. The material is really soft! I can dent it w/ a fingernail. Will this harden up??

2. I found that the teflon squeegee scratches the XPEL, did you guys get the micro scratches??? That seems kinda bogus if that is the case.

3. I find it hard to believe that you can wax it just like regular paint...whats your experience???



Otherwise it was super easy to put on(on a small flat area, so far). We'll see what happens...

JTS



Oh yeah, what color paint did you put it on? Mine is black.
 
The xpel on my care is soft, if you will call it that. It's a polyurethane material that is meant to be removed if you so choose, if it hardened up, that would be a major PITA to remove.



Why do you find it so hard to believe that you treat it just like regular paint? I have Z on top of it and it is seemingly just as reflective as the other paint on my silver BMW.



I did not apply the xpel myself, I had someone do it for me b/c of time constraints, but there are no scratches at all on my xpel.



Personally, I think it's a great investment. It has protected my front end from rocks, bugs, etc on my long drives and the beauty is, if bugs or muck get on it, a little QD on it and it's all gone, no harm to the paint.



Just my .02
 
I am really just concerned about the squeegee making the micro scratches.

How much pressure did you guys use to apply it?? Cover squeegee w/ a towel?



adjulian, I guess I sorta spoke too soon b/c I hadnt even tried waxing the little area that I put on. Im actually checking that right now! Is the stuff they put on the same XPEL stuff??

I guess I thought it would be a little firmer...

JTS
 
You can most definitely scratch the XPEL product with some pressure with a fingernail. Sure, its possible. As for waxing over it, you can most certainly do so. I've switched to Zaino and am eager to see if the Zaino or sun causes this protective film to discolor a bit over time though. Laters
 
Here's the products I managed to get.
hard to find a supplier near me in Ontario CAN.
Meguiars
#2 Fine Cut Cleaner
#9 Swirl Remover
#7 show car glaze
#26 Hi tech yellow wax

Now is this a good combo to use and in correct order?
Using Yellow Pad for Cleaner and Swirl Remover
White for glaze
Black for Wax

If I get the basics of it. I want to clean it off, remove swirls as much as possible, use glaze to fill in and put wax on to protect.
 
The order is 100% correct but I do have a couple of personal concerns.

What machine are you using, and what brand pads?

Yellow foams have come in a lot of different formulations (depending on the manufacturer) over the years, ranging from a soft polishing foam (Meguiar's) to a stiff, brillo like filter foam (the old Edge).

M02, by today's standard, is a fairly mild polish IMO and should be used one a fairly mild pad. If you use it with a very aggressive foam (depending on your particular yellow pad) you may leave some hazing/buffer swirl's behind that will require a follow up step with M02 and a finer pad before going to M09 and your final pad.

Use M02 with a pad that is fairly mild (light cutting or polishing) such as Lake Country's H20 Cyan Pad, Orange Pad, H20 Tangerine, or White Polishing (from most-to-least aggressive) or Meguiar's Burgandy Softbuff 2.0 or Meguiar's Yellow Foam pads.

Use M09 with your Black pad (which are by most standards very soft finishing foam pads with few exceptions). Keep in mind that M09 is a filler heavy polish is really a machine glaze.

You can use M07 after M09 if you want, but IMO M07 is far better applied and removed by hand. Apply a small amount to a small section at a time, and work it into the paint slightly using a foam applicator pad. Then buff off immediately. Work around the car applying a section at time, then come back and rebuff the entire car to pic up any streaks that might have appeared, and enjoy!
 
Really appreciate the responses guys.
I'm using the PC machine and Lake County pads.
I tried it on the weekend but didn't get great results. Then I bought the glaze hoping that would fill in more.
After reading some more I don't believe I'm pushing hard enough and likely moving the PC too fast.
I think as well that I need to perhaps use something more abrasive than the M02. It did not seem to take out much webbing at all.
I was thinking maybe I need the M105 and M205 products for use on my jeep.
It is a black clearcoat paint.
 
Perhaps you could supply us with some pictures of your Jeep's finish?

I doubt that pushing hard enough is your problem, I will have to make a concious effort NOT to push too hard when using my PC, otherwise I find the pad will stop rotating! I don't use much more effort than what the weight of the unit supplies.
 
Meguiars M105 will offer a lot more cutting power and result in faster results, but I would first focus on your technique. The PC sounds more violent then it is, use firm steady pressure, and slow over-lapping passes.

M02 is an older product but with the right technique you should be able to achieve noticable results.

Also, if you are using an older yellow foam pad (feels almost like a brillo pad) it may leave some marring behind that makes it look like you are not really removing any swirl damage.
 
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