lothian110

Ok, so if you guys have read my other post, my paint is in pretty bad shape with swirls and scratches.
I am going to go at this myself. I already bought a shade canopy so that I don't have to work in the sun.

Here is a list of what I have:
Blackfire Gloss Enhancing Polish
Blackfire All finish paint protectant
Blackfire Deep Gloss Spray
3M Perfect-It II Rubbing Compound Fine Cut 39002 (Model 051131)
Zaino Z5
Zaino Z2 Pro with ZFX

My car is in pretty bad shape, but I think the 3M might be too harsh to use all over with a pc 7424 and the other polishes I have aren't strong enough.

Other products I am considering:
1) Optimum Compound II, Optimum Polish II, Optimum PoliSeal
2) Pinnacle XMT Intermediate Swirl Remover #3, Pinnacle XMT Ultra Fine Swirl Remover #1, Pinnacle XMT Carnauba Finishing Glaze

Any other suggested products for my car? Combos of what I have and what I should buy? In what order?

I was thinking that the compounds would be too aggressive for the whole car and I should just use it on the scratches. True or False?

Do you have to clay before using these polishes/compounds?
Would I use the yellow or orange pads to remove the swirls?
I am assuming I'd use yellow for the scratches with compound, orange for the rest of the car with whatever polish that I settle on, then sealant with a white pad, and wax with a red.

Pics for reference:

exceldetail

By the looks of it, I would say the 3M product could probably be used on the whole car. The BFGEP will probably fill, more then it will minimize.. Course thats hard to decipher unless you clean up the polishing oils with a alcohol wipedown.
Zaino products, Im not familiar with, so I can comment.
I would say try the 3M and go from there before additional selections are made i.e. Optimum Compound or Pinnacle.
I would start with Orange and gauge your results before jumping to yellow.

lothian110

did i screw up with the red pad? can it be used with spray wax like the optimum spray?
Is it bad to leave the car after using the 3M without anything on it? I would have to wait to order a new product and decide where to go after doing it.

exceldetail

The polishes themselves will provide a little protection. But beyond that, you really should at least, use a spray wax for temporary protection.
The red pad is really designed for liquid sealants in mind. You wouldnt want to (I guess you could) use any Spray Wax with a PC though. Kind of defeats the purpose of its design. If you have to/ want to go about it with a PC, use a standard sealant for longevity.

03pedocl

iTrader: (2)

-Mostly you use a clay bar if your paint feels rough or had like rail dust on it or any sort of blemishes that were raised on the paint surface. It never hurts to clay before you buff it though!
-For pads you can use either the yellow or a wool pad for scratches, scuffs etc. The yellow pads are usually a little bit more rough. I would suggest a light compound for scuffs and minor scratches. A rubbing compound is mostly used at a slower speed w/ the buffer and yellow foam pad or wool pad, usually after wet sanding. You can also use rubbing compound by hand if you want to be careful.
-After removing most of the scuffs, then find yourself a black pad or whatever foam pad that is the softer then the yellow ones and use a machine glaze to finish. The machine glaze will usually do a good job of getting rid of the blue haze and the swirls i see in your paint but if not, you might want to go over the whole car with the yellow pad and the light compound, and again follow with the black foam pad and machine glaze. After everything looks good follow up make sure you wax it. For black vehicles i liked to use carnuba waxes they work great, but dont last as long as a normal paint sealent(wax). Usually on black or dark cars, you kind of get a blue haze when using normal waxes, especially after you just got done buffing it
-I use meguiars products, they work great. I use the meguiars perfect compound w/ yellow pad or wool pad and meguiars machine glaze w/ black foam pad. There are also 3M products which is what i used when i worked at the dealership, kinda expensive though.
-When going over your scuffs just go slow w/ the compound and you should be fine!
-Key Tips:
-When using a buffer be careful on plastic because you can burn through super easy.
-When buffing on uneven surfaces ex:where the edge of your hood and your fender meet if its uneven and your doing a two stage buffing process you can burn right through the paint.
-If you can feel the scratch with your nail dont bother, usually too deep to buff out

Good Luck

Denzil

iTrader: (1)

I would pick up some OCII and OPII. I would definitely clay before polishing to ensure you're working with as clean a surface as possible. I would start with the orange pad and OPII and if that doesn't cut it, orange and OCII. Almost no one in industry really uses the yellow pad since it's so aggressive but if it must be used, it must. I would much rather use PFW pad than the yellow foam but that's just personal preference. The white pad would be used for OPII or OCII. The red pad would be used for final polishing and/or your LSP application.

lothian110

So you are saying use OPII with orange pad, if that is not enough OCII with orange. Then follow up with OPII with a white pad? and something like optimum sealant with the red pad?

Sorry, I've never used the pc before. I would like to get a full plan of attack before i go at this job and may still need to order some products.

exceldetail

Optimum Polishes and Compounds are about as easy as they get to use. Great for beginners and professionals alike. I supply many shops with Optimums full car care line. Ive heard people say that its a great beginners line of car care, but its the fact that its exceptional, that makes it worthy of professionals as well.
I didnt know you were just starting out with the PC, the optimum polishes come highly recommended then, as Denzil stated.......

1. White with OP II, then
2. Orange with OP II,
3. White with OC II, then
4. Orange with OC II

Only use step 4 if needed. Even with the Compound, its still gentle enough to correct most issues......If you go with Optiseal or OCW, you wont need a red pad for the PC. Both are minimum dwell products, nearly wipe on walk away.
Optiseal is pure Polymer Protection. 2 layers and your set. Simply mist Microfiber mit, wipe in, walk away. Can be tricky on darks but for the most part its rather straightforward to use.....
OCW, spray panel, wipe in, wipe away, super slick feeling, great protection, and extremely easy for a Hybrid product.

Denzil

iTrader: (1)

Thanks Pat.

97BlackAckCL

iTrader: (6)

I thought you were supposed to use compound, then polish, am I thinking about this backwards? I thought u were supposed to cut down, then polish, then seal

exceldetail

Your absolutely correct, but I was suggesting a least to most aggressive scale. I guess i should have explained that. Thank you for bringing that to my/our attention.

To reiterate:

• Start with a white pad and Polish II if that meets your needs, continue to your sealant.
• If you need more bite, your next move would be the Polish II with an Orange pad. *You may need additional polishing with the white pad and Polish II or Finish Polish afterwards to clear any marring (especially on dark colors)
• If you need more bite, move to Compound II with White pad. * (see above)
• If you need even more bite, move to Orange pad with Compound II, *.

lothian110

gotcha... start off with the least aggressive tactic, then get more aggresive if necessary.
just to clarify, if you were going to use the optimum finish polish you would use a red pad?

optimum is sounding good for its ease of use and quality.

i am waiting until i figure out if i am gonna have the bumpers painted or not, then i am all over this...

exceldetail

Black pad for Finish Polish, per manufacturers recommendation.

97BlackAckCL

iTrader: (6)

I'm just glad I wasn't totally off-center, I'm still trying to learn the procedures and such Patrick, you got me confused there for a minute