SSR's??

B

Big T

New member
I want to buy some products but I'm not sure if I'm getting too many or it's overkill to use all of them. I have two vehicles, a dark blue and silver one. I have SSR 3 for getting out some serious flaws out, which works great. I want to prep the car for a VM + EX-P combo. Do I need 2.5, 2, then 1 or can I go from 2.5 to 1 or better from 2 to 1? I have swirls, but they are not terrible. I don't want to use the SSR 3 on the entire vehicle either. But I want something that is fairly strong for the first step. Since VM is a cleaner too....I think, should I just go 2.5 to VM or would I need the SSR 1, or the SSR 2 to VM....confused! I have some Meguiar's products too, but this is Poorboys section :) Sorry, but I have the Clear Coat Body Scrub and Deep Crystal Polish. I also have Gold Wax which I was thinking of topping the EX-P with, but somebody said that was a cleaner wax, which it doesn't say that anywhere. I can order some Natty's if that's the case. Just trying not to waste any steps or have something on top of something else that doesn't match up. Thanks. I actually would prefer to try the Meguiar's I have with the VM + EX-P on one vehicle and the SSR's, VM + EX-P on another. That's why I brought in the Meguiar products I have in this subject. Thanks.
 
I'd reccomend you get SSR2.5 and 2. SSR1 and VM are close in terms of cleaning and filling. For your car maybe start with SSR2, if that doesnt remove the swirls then step it up to SSR2.5. I've done SSR2.5, VM, EX-P on a couple of cars and have gotten excellent results. I think SSR2.5 is one of Steve's best products. I always get good results with it, its a joy to work with and smells great!
 
You can go from the 2.5 to 1, or 2 to 1 quite nicely. As a matter of fact, you can probably go from 2 to your topper or VM, then your topper, and skip the SSR1 altogether. Even the 2.5 looks nice without stepping down.

Anyhow, I would recommend that you don't use the SSR3 unless you need too. The 2.5 would be a better starting point unless it doesn't get the marks out of course.................. then you can switch to the SSR3.

I wouldn't put the Gold Class over the EX-P. Gold Class does contain cleaners, and will probably remove much of the EX-P. Why not just apply a few coats of EX-P.................. it doesn't "have" to be topped, and looks great on its own. For that matter, SSR2.5 or SSR2 followed by your Deep Crystal Polish, followed by Gold Class should look great too.

Don't let all this stuff confuse you............. if the paint looks clean, glossy, and free of imperfections......... you done it well enough!
 
There is no simple answer to your question. It depends on the specific condition of your vehicles, as well as your technique and pad choices. Are you planning to apply by hand, PC, or rotary?

FWIW, I have tried all of the following combos -

SSR3 (spot treatment), SSR2.5, SSR1
SSR2.5, SSR1
SSR2.5, VM
SSR2, SSR1
SSR2, VM
SSR1, VM

I've also used PwC in place of VM in the above examples.

All of these combinations were effective in their respective situations. However, I would recommend using the SSR2.5 with nothing heavier than a light-cut pad prior to going to your finishing polish. If you want to use a cutting pad with SSR2.5, try following up with either SSR2 or another pass with SSR2.5 on a less aggressive polishing pad.
 
awd330, how about the Sonüs DAS Green Foam Pad with SSR2 and if there are still swirl marks, use the same pad and try SSR2.5. Or should I start with the Sonüs DAS Orange Foam Pad and go directly to applying the VM by hand? Or should I apply VM with the Sonüs DAS Blue Foam Pad?
 
Big T said:
awd330, how about the Sonüs DAS Green Foam Pad with SSR2 and if there are still swirl marks, use the same pad and try SSR2.5. Or should I start with the Sonüs DAS Orange Foam Pad and go directly to applying the VM by hand? Or should I apply VM with the Sonüs DAS Blue Foam Pad?
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I think the Sonus line of pads is a fairly new offering. I have not yet had the opportunity to try any of them. I always hesitate to offer advice if I haven't personally tried the product. However, just going by the descriptions in the Autopia store, the green pad appears to be a light cut while the orange is a little more aggressive. The blue looks to be a light polishing pad, with the black being the finishing pad. [note: Someone please correct me if I have misinterpreted the texture descriptions.]

Without seeing the vehicles in question, it's hard to recommend a good starting point for you. Can you post some pictures for us? If not, I'd try starting with SSR2 on a blue polishing pad at speed 5.5. If that doesn't seem like it's nearly enough to make a dent in the flaws, then go to the SSR2.5 on a green light cut pad at speed 5.5. If the paint has a lot of scratches or heavy spiderwebbing, it may require SSR2.5 with the orange cutting pad. If you wind up going the route of the orange cutting pad, it would probably be a good idea to use an interim polishing step (maybe SSR2 with a blue pad) before going to VM.

Vanilla Moose is a very versatile product. I have tried it with polishing pads, finishing pads, and by hand. Your choice will depend upon the specific goal you are trying to achieve. I like using a polishing pad if I intend to use VM as my final polish. If you want VM to act more like a glaze, a finishing pad might be a better choice. VM by hand is good for polishing hard to reach areas as well as spot treating items like rubberized window trim or headlights.
 
The paint on both vehicles are in pretty good shape. Your standard swirls from not caring for the vehicle properly are there, but the paint on both is in good shape. The dark blue paints shows alot more flaws than the silver paint. There are small scratches around the door handles (from keys) and a few other small scratches here and there. I think I'll start with the 2.5 and the orange pad, then move to the SSR2 with the green or blue, then VM, then EXP. I don't have a specific goal, just to make it look good. I like the wet look and I've been reading the VM, EXP combo works great. I'd like to actually lighten up the dark blue a bit to show more of the blue color than deepen it, but I'm not sure if that can be done. On the silver, I just want it to shine (wet) as much as possible. I'll take some before and afters. Probably a few weeks before I start. Need to order a few more things. Just trying to get my process lined up because I've never done this, except recently by hand on my older 92 Accord with Meguiars which I then traded in. I've read good things about PB's, so I thought I'd move on to that, especially since the SSR 3 worked great for me in getting some terrible burned on water stains out of my glass when nothing else was working. Thanks again.
 
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