Sonus SFX-3 Not overly impressed

I

imported_Chris223

New member
So I did a full day of detailing yesterday. Here's what I did:



1. Wash car with Auto Armor Car Wash Concentrate (this stuff I get from the dealership for free)

2. Clay bar with Mothers Cali Gold Clay Bar Kit from Autozone

3. Wash car again (both washes I used a Sonus Ultimate Wool Wash Mit

4. Polish with Sonus SFX-3 by hand using Sonus SFX Pro applicator (removed with a Concours Buffing Towel)

5. Wax with Meguiars Gold Class liquid wax (removed with a different Concours BT)



Car looks nice, but I wasn't overly impressed with the polish. My car is a Galaxy Silver Pontiac Grand Prix. The polish didn't produce the shine I thought it would... and wasn't very easy to take off. No matter how much I buffed with the towel there was still some left. So what other polishes are out there that I look into for next time I polish? I don't need anything really abrasive as my cars paint is still in pretty good shape. I don't have a ton of money, so I'm looking for something affordable that will make my car look good. Also what would be a good polish for removing light scratches? My paint doesn't have anything severe but has a few fine scratches that when the sun hits em right you can see. Thanks for all the help
 
The SFX series were meant to use with a PC or orbital. SFX 3 claims that it can be applied by hand. I used sfx 2 and 3 last year with my PC(and will again very soon), and I had nothing but great things to say about it.



However, maybe another polish may be better at hand polishing than the SFX.
 
I'd try some Meguiar's Deep Crystal Polish (Step 2 in the DC system) followed by the GC wax you have already. DC2 polish is very easy to apply and remove and does a good job filling minor swirls and defects. It is a 'pure polish' meaning it is non-abrasive. You should be able to find it at Pep Boys, Wal-Mart, AutoZone, or something similar.
 
^ Porter Cable is on the list. Right now though I'm a broke college kid with a lot of bills (car payments being one of them) I'm hopin though to have myself a PC by the end of the summer. I'll give that DC System Polish from Meguiars a try. My buddy uses it on his Sentra (all 3 steps) and I've always thought it looked nice. Thanks for the help/tips. I'll deffinately hold onto my Sonus Polish untill I get myself a PC.
 
I tried the SFX sirl remover last year with the SFX pad and it took a really long time to buff out. It had a gummy residue and didn't make much of a dent in my swirls. At first I thought maybe I had the wrong counterweight in there but I doubt it was the cause because other polishes were buffing out easily. Ideas?
 
In my opinioin, the SFX polishes are hard to beat at bringing gloss, but SFX-2 and SFX-3 are weak to tackle swirls or spiderwebs....
 
The V1 SFX 3 I find slightly better by hand but V2 is better for machine work

I find them really great on plastics and for me they provide the clearcoat clarity by hand or machine that only clearkote can eclipse

You can of course use clearkote on top.
 
The SFX-3 is not supposed to bring a shine to the finish. Actually the bottle says right on it, that it may leave hazing. You are supposed to follow up with SFX-2 (gloss deepening) and/or SFX-1 (which is the finishing polish)
 
NT2SHBBY said:
The SFX-3 is not supposed to bring a shine to the finish. Actually the bottle says right on it, that it may leave hazing. You are supposed to follow up with SFX-2 (gloss deepening) and/or SFX-1 (which is the finishing polish)
Click to expand...

You have those backwards. SFX-1 is the most agressive; SFX-3 is the finishing polish.



Sonus SFX-1 is a cutting polish designed to remove heavy oxidation caused by exposure to the elements (sun and weather) and finish marring created by chemical fallout, hard water etching, contact scuffing, surface scratches or the ravages of poor detailing tools.
Click to expand...
Sonus SFX-2 Enhance is a buffered swirl-mark reducer and gloss-enhancing polish. Use Sonus SFX-2 to restore full gloss after compounding or to remove fine scratches, swirl-marks or light oxidation.
Click to expand...
Sonus SFX-3 Final Finish Polish is an ultra-fine show car polish and finishing glaze designed to produce exceptional depth and gloss on new and like-new paint finishes. Use Sonus SFX-3 by hand, dual- action polisher or rotary buffer to produce stunning show car finish results on all dark colors and metallic finishes.
Click to expand...

All info take from the Autopia Car Care web pages.



Tort
 
racingbeat said:
I tried the SFX sirl remover last year with the SFX pad and it took a really long time to buff out. It had a gummy residue and didn't make much of a dent in my swirls. At first I thought maybe I had the wrong counterweight in there but I doubt it was the cause because other polishes were buffing out easily. Ideas?
Click to expand...
There have been two versions of the Sonus polishes, and it sounds like you have v1.0. The newer stuff doesn't gum up, doesn't dust, has a long working time, and is relatively easy to remove from the paint. SFX-1 and SFX-2 residue wipes off great for me (I've found I can polish several panels, then go back and remove residue . . . it will haze over slightly, but it almost seems to buff off more easily in this state). I'm still trying to get the hang of SFX-3 (I rarely have a need for such a mild polish) . . . I get a little smearing when I try to remove it. I need to experiment more, but I think it's a case of me using too much polish.



Tort
 
Back when I won the Extreme Contest I decided to give Sonus polishes a shot and haven't looked back. I still like other products for different situations (Optimum, Menzerna, etc...), but my go to polishes are the SFX's. I use SFX-2 probably more often than anything to take out light to moderate swirls/marring - normally I use it on an orange LC pad (so medium aggressive). Actually, on the little "how to" I just did almost all the 2000-3000 grit marring was removed using that combo. I use SFX-3 on just about every car I do just with a white pad - thing is you don't have to use much of it at all. Once the pad is primed a little dab (nickel sized maybe) will do an entire panel easy, it is on the oily side (not as oily as say, Optimum, but more so than say, the SSRs), but I like that because it doesn't dust, just takes a bit longer to break down.



The only thing I've ever put over SFX-3 in terms of non-LSPs is RMG, which did add a little darkness to black, but not a whole lot. Anyway, just my 0.02. I think by hand you're probably expecting a bit too much and maybe using too much polish.
 
Picus said:
Back when I won the Extreme Contest I decided to give Sonus polishes a shot and haven't looked back. I still like other products for different situations (Optimum, Menzerna, etc...), but my go to polishes are the SFX's. I use SFX-2 probably more often than anything to take out light to moderate swirls/marring - normally I use it on an orange LC pad (so medium aggressive). Actually, on the little "how to" I just did almost all the 2000-3000 grit marring was removed using that combo. I use SFX-3 on just about every car I do just with a white pad - thing is you don't have to use much of it at all. Once the pad is primed a little dab (nickel sized maybe) will do an entire panel easy, it is on the oily side (not as oily as say, Optimum, but more so than say, the SSRs), but I like that because it doesn't dust, just takes a bit longer to break down.



The only thing I've ever put over SFX-3 in terms of non-LSPs is RMG, which did add a little darkness to black, but not a whole lot. Anyway, just my 0.02. I think by hand you're probably expecting a bit too much and maybe using too much polish.
Click to expand...





Hmm.... I have to try it, this is interesting



SFX-2 with and orange pad instead of the stock white

SFX-3 with a white pad instead of the stock blue......
 
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