To polish or not to polish

R

Redmax

New member
My gf just recently bought from a dealership a black 04 FX45. The paint on the vehicle has a geat shine and a decent amount of depth in the color. I plan on detailing the truck this weekend and was always under the assumption that in order to get a deep rich wet ooking black vehicle that I would have to polish the vehicle first. However in reading some of the threads it seems that unless i see defects in the paint, there is no reason to polish first.



My polish of chouce would be meguiars #81 I have been debating on which wax to use. P21, #16 or the new meguiars SYNTHETIC SEALANT 2.0 M2116/2164. What are your thoughts?
 
If it is from the dealership it is probably loaded with filling oils. I'd clay bar it and use a mild or non abrasive polish on it and then see how it looks after that.
 
Agree with 1st reply. Dealers often use glazes to bring out the wet look. A wash and clay is a good idea to find out how the paint really looks. Depending on what you see will help you determine what to do next. Polishings is not "always" required. Even when polishing is needed to correct, you can hide with glazes and waxes.
 
My son's f150 had so much glaze and oil on it inside and out i was pissed when i picked it up, I asked the sales guy you call this detailing i ran my finger accross the paint and a wave of oil was spread like the red sea opening up.

Wash,clay, polish, 2x or more depending on what your after looks wise, then seal and wax.black is best when perfect.
 
I'd hit it with 80 followed by 21. Being such a large black vehicle I'd stick with a sealant like 21 for slickness and it will stay cleaner longer than if you use a wax like 26. 26 has a slight edge on looks in my opinion, but ease of maintenance, slickness, and durability all go to M21.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
No way an '04 has no swirls unless they have an Autopian working at the dealer or subbed it out to one (unlikely).
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Sigh, ain't that the truth! My '04 Denali XL looked super...until the dealership's glaze came off whereupon it was a a real horror show. Wish I knew what they used, it did do some incredible concealing.



Redmax- That Meg's #81 you're considering for your polish is what Meguiar's calls a "pure polish", i.e., it's functionally nonabrasive. It makes things look better via "trade secret oils" and/or other stuff it leaves behind but it does *not* actually correct the marring or thin the clear. That's not a slam at the product, just an FYI.



For the wax, I'm partial to #16 myself.
 
Thanks guys. You are so correct accumulator. I have now taken the truck back to the dealership twice to be washed and whatever they used to conceal the defects seem to be coming off and scratch central here we come. lol I have done alot of research and am trying to figure out which polish to use that is lightly abrassive. Also i will be doing this by hand since i have never used my pc before and am kind of scared to use on the vehicle.
 
Redmax said:
Thanks guys. You are so correct accumulator. I have now taken the truck back to the dealership twice to be washed and whatever they used to conceal the defects seem to be coming off and scratch central here we come. lol I have done alot of research and am trying to figure out which polish to use that is lightly abrassive. Also i will be doing this by hand since i have never used my pc before and am kind of scared to use on the vehicle.
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Polishing the whole vehicle by hand? You're going to spend 6 hours on each body panel.
 
Redmax said:
Thanks guys. You are so correct accumulator. I have now taken the truck back to the dealership twice to be washed and whatever they used to conceal the defects seem to be coming off and scratch central here we come. lol I have done alot of research and am trying to figure out which polish to use that is lightly abrassive. Also i will be doing this by hand since i have never used my pc before and am kind of scared to use on the vehicle.
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DON'T take it to the dealer for a wash! LOL



And don't worry about using your PC. A Monkey can handle using one. ;)
 
350f said:
Polishing the whole vehicle by hand? You're going to spend 6 hours on each body panel.
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Unfortunately that isn't some facetious exaggeration :( Doing this stuff by hand is a long (and I mean *LONG*), hard job-of-work. If you're willing to settle for "better" as opposed to "nearly perfect" it *can* be an OK way to go if you don't mind putting in the time and elbow-grease.



The *ONLY* products I'd ever dream of using for a whole-vehicle job by hand are the 1Z line of polishes topped with either the #16 Collinite brand wax. Sources: Welcome to Exceldetail.com! or Aloha & Welcome to Our Oasis for All Your Auto Detailing, Auto Detailing Supplies, Auto Detailing Equipment, Auto Detailing Products, & Auto Detailing Accessories for all your Automobile Detailing .



I'd use them with the PC...just turn the speed down a bit and think of it as (in the words of somebody long ago) a "fast hand that doesn't get tired". I can guarantee you that rather than finding it too aggressive/scary you'll soon wish it were *much more* aggressive. Really.



The 1Z stuff is just *SO* quick and easy to use by PC that you'll do fine. E.g., a lady friend of mine, an MBA with *zero* detailing experience, got tired of waiting for her husband to do her SUV, so she used my PC with 1Z and did a great job with no coaching or other help, just common sense. She topped with #16 and her vehicle looked great.
 
Redmax said:
Thanks guys. You are so correct accumulator. I have now taken the truck back to the dealership twice to be washed and whatever they used to conceal the defects seem to be coming off and scratch central here we come. lol I have done alot of research and am trying to figure out which polish to use that is lightly abrassive. Also i will be doing this by hand since i have never used my pc before and am kind of scared to use on the vehicle.
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A PC is NOTHING to be scared of, it seems like a toy compared to a rotary or even a flex. If you have a PC, use it... They are very, very easy to learn to use.
 
jshillin said:
A PC is NOTHING to be scared of, it seems like a toy compared to a rotary or even a flex. If you have a PC, use it... They are very, very easy to learn to use.
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Actually what i think i have is a rotary. I have a cornwell tools polisher. but i cant tell the difference if its a pc or a rotary. i am going to call them to get more info on it but i had originally told my sales rep that i wanted a porter cable and he told me it was the same. now i am stuck trying to make sure before i burn my paint.
 
Accumulator said:
I'd use them with the PC...just turn the speed down a bit and think of it as (in the words of somebody long ago) a "fast hand that doesn't get tired". I can guarantee you that rather than finding it too aggressive/scary you'll soon wish it were *much more* aggressive. Really.
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I have to agree and I've only used my PC twice. I'm not requiring anything more aggressive, but something faster would be nice.
 
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