today was my first detail with a pc 7424.

Washed with megs gold, then clayed with megs clay and QD

I started off with Megs #9 swirl remover and an orange pad, but it wasn't doing a great job on scratches (those that I could not really feel with my fingernail, but a little more substantial than spider-webs)

I switched to Menzerna intensive polish with the orange bad and followed it up with Optimum polish also on an orange (different) pad and got better results, but still can't get all the scratches out.

The car (05 RL) looks great, but was wondering if I should have stepped up to a yellow pad with a more aggressive polish or compound and then followed it up with optimum polish. Any thoughts?

After the polish, I wiped it down with IPA/h20 50/50 and tomorrow I'll be putting megs 21 sealant on it.

BTW, I don't envy you guys who do this for a living, it took me about 7 hours and I'm pretty tired . Not looking forward to doing my Sequoia.

This site has been a world of great info, never could have done it without all the posts on this board!

Thanks

 

i wouldnt use a yellow pad....an orange pad and various grades of polish/compounds should work for anything that doesnt catch a finger nail...you might not beable to get everything with one pass, some areas might need multiple passes to get all the swirls and scratches...technique has something to do with it as well, pressure, getting the polish to break down all the way and other variables play a role as well...

 

for the most part, i was only using the pressure of the machine's weight. maybe ill try a little elbow grease

 

oh yea, your going to want to use some pressure and speed 6 to get rid of the nasty stuff...i dont use the pc, i use a udm, and from what i understand too much pressure will bog down the pc...i would use enough pressure on the top of the machine to the point of just about bogging down the pc...

from what i understand, that menzerna intensive polish is good enough to remove just about everything...i would stick with that, orange pad, then follow with optimum polish with white pad...you can use a black pad to apply the 21 or by hand...i prefer using my black pad to apply my last step as i am usually beat by the end of the process....

 

Well said. That yellow is for really trashed surfaces or heavy oxidation, as well as one or two follow ups.....

A true testament to those who contribute frequently.........Great knowledgable group of folks here

 

Keep in mind that you can't always expect perfection and sometimes you just have to make do with the results you get so you don't sacrifice too much clear coat.

 

Here are a few pics...put a little extra pressure on the PC and got out most of the rest of the scratches. Thanks for the tips.

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Stellar! Love that color also! A lot of people dont care for silver but it has to be one of the lowest maintenance, highest yield colors made.......Its got great pop when its done nicely like that.

 

what color is that, it doesnt look like silver to me, atleast not asm or ssm....results look good!!

ps, now get to work on thoes wheel wells...

 

Lakeshore silver metallic...I didn't do much on the wheel wells. it's a daily driver, so don't see the point.

 

thats cool....that color looks almost like it has a hint of pink or champagne in it....

 

Wheel wells on my DD are always well kept. It makes a ton of a difference.

 

Word on that!

 

what do you use to clean them?, the fronts have plastic on them, so it should be easier, the backs have a gritty substance that looks like it would bring a sponge to its death.

 

my rears are carpeted so i dont do anything to them, but the fronts, i just use a sponge and carwash soap and water...it works great....

 

I usually spray my wheel wells down with some sort of degreaser or anything to really cut down on the road grime. I then use either a long-handled stiff bristle brush and/or a black ShMITT to agitate the road grime away. They work really well together.

For really bad cars who haven't really seen any wheel well cleaning, multiple repetitions are definitely required. Once they're fully cleaned, they are much easier to maintain and only require light agitation and a little redressing.