Spring cleaning process questions

R

randy98mtu

New member
So I'm getting ready for my first full season after finding Autopia last October. I made a lot of stupid mistakes during the winter in washing and brushing snow off my black WRX and have a lot of scratches/swirls as a result. I've ordered the 7424 bonus kit from Coastal (includes white foam pad and velcro backing pad) and the Menzerna Polish and Pad kit from CMA (includes white and orange) Back in October/November I did AIO + SGx3. A few weeks ago I tried working on the tailgate to see what I was in for and that was what prompted me to order the 7424. I did 3M SMR for dark cars, AIO, SG and P21S. It came out decent, but some scratches were still left (I think there are some too deep to clean up :( )



So when I go after the whole project, I was initially planning to just use the orange pad and IP, then the white pad and FP, and finally AIO by hand and SG by hand. I'm reading more and more about people doing those by PC as well. What are the benefits of this?



Now what I'm questioning about my process today is the SG and clay. Do I need to do AIO before anything else to get the SG off? Should I clay before IP?



Clay

IP

FP

AIO

SGx3-5

P21S every 2-4 weeks



Or



AIO

clay

IP

....



I have a host of MF's from PakShak mostly. A few Big Blue WW's, a few sheepskin mits. I am considering ordering more pads and a few other things from CMA. Any other tools I may want? I'm getting addicted as I read some people saying last fall. :doh
 
Clay before AIO.



Tools? how about:



OXO brush for the wheels

Carpet brush for the PC



I can think of anything else off hand.
 
I like your first plan:



Clay

IP

FP

AIO

SGx3-5

P21S every 2-4 weeks



No need to strip the SG, the polish will do that anyhow.



Anything you'd do by hand you can do by PC, it's like a fast hand that never gets tired/sloppy. Good for polishes and even the AIO. If the PC's moving at a few thousand orbits-per-minute, you gonna match that by hand for a few hours?



As for the SG, SOME of us simply like the motion of using a PC better than the motion of moving an applicator by hand. It's just personal preference.
 
You may want to get a couple of yellow cutting pads for your PC. They are a step more aggressive than the orange pads. Plus if you are looking into using the PC to apply sealants you will also need some black pads or a pad that has no cutting or polishing action.
 
Thanks for the suggestions. My next order I was planning to get a yellow and a white (I'll need one of these for FP and another for AIO), so maybe I'll throw in a gray for the SG and only do the P21S by hand.



Now all I need is some nice weather. :)
 
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