Alright I'm calling this done for now. This will be a few different posts because I'm on the app. First off this sucked! Way more work than I anticipated. This is a link that I used as instructions for the polishing.

 

Dang AL, how many hours are you into it?

 

Before and after just the compound step.

 

Probably about 12 total. Lol

 

You could've repainted it in less time.

 

Before and after polishing steps on panels.

 

Finished good enough for now. Perfection is unobtainable but not bad and no more swirls. Still a few light scratches that can be dealt with later.

 

Looks great for freakin Black but that little nub of an antenna has got to go.

 

The swirl free ride waxed up.

 

Sure does. The stock is long and chrome. Gotta find a black half sized one.

 

Dude

TWSS!

 

I knew it was coming. Glad it was you.

 

TWHS

 

Nice work Al, car looks great. What speed were you running the orange and white pads on with your PC, and what size are those pads?

 

I want to say 6" pads. Speed on 5&6. Was a little disappointed on the lack of cut the chemicals had though. Would have preferred starting a little more aggressive first step.

 

Al.... that looks great. Yes, polishing is a lot of work. I usually put in at LEAST 8 hours for the polishing, and that's about 2 or 3 stages. My 2009 Odyssey I spent about 18 hours on. That was a beast. It was black too.

Also, another thing I wanted to point out Al... when you are polishing (some tips for you and others attempting to polish):

1) Are you cleaning your CCS foam pads on the fly? or are you switching pads? Be sure to switch pads often. They tend to gunk up after about 2 panels or so, and therefore won't "correct" paint as effectively. I have about 30 pads of all different sizes/shapes/color, so I just switch off, then wash them afterwards. If you only have a few pads, you are best to clean it on the fly. Since you're using a PC, you can either use a soft toothbrush (get a used one from the house) and turn the PC on with one hand and use another to hold the brush. Also, you can just get an old MF towel and place it flat against the pad with one hand, and turn on and hold it down. Make sure you compress the pad to get the gunk out.

To clean the pad afterwards, use warm soapy water and let soak, then scrub clean. I use a pad rejuvenator and cleaner.... you can get that eventually if you like.

2) Are you doing an IPA/alcohol wipedown after each panel? Most of the time, when it LOOKS like you are swirl-free, they are just HIDING behind the polishing oils. In other words, you didn't really REMOVE them, but just hid them. That's the difference between actually correcting the paint and just hiding them. To be 100% sure you corrected the paint fully, you need to mix 50/50 distilled H20 and alcohol, and spray and wipe after you complete a section. This will tell you for SURE if you corrected the surface fully, and it is indeed truly swirl free.

How do I know this? Years ago, I was so happy I got the polishing done, so then I proceeded to waxing, etc... then after my first wash, I noticed, there's some swirls again. And I KNOW I washed it correctly, so it couldn't have contributed to that. Did more research, found out about the IPA wipedown, so then I discovered it was my polishing TECHNIQUE that was flawed. I never truly CORRECTED and removed the swirls 100%. So that comes down to
a) are you doing the correct # of passes per section (PC is about 6 to 8 before polish is broken down
b) are you compressing the foam pad enough (25% compression is ideal) to allow for the pad and polish to work into the paint
c) are you using the RIGHT foam pad (is it not aggressive enough???)


Sorry to babble, but like I said, I wrote this thread to INTRODUCE folks to detailing... as questions come up, I can get MORE AND MORE detailed, just let me know what questions you guys have.

 

I was going to say... now I am down to about 6 hours per vehicle on a really good day. Comes down to using the CORRECT foam pad and CORRECT polish. XMT is "ok". I have used a lot and XMT tends to need a longer working time, and results are just ok. Migrate to Menzerna, Optimum, or Meguiars 105/205.... it will give you BETTER results, MUCH FASTER.

Looking at your before pics, your surface was pretty swirled up. I'm surprised it only took you 12 hours. esp with a PC. Using my Flex, that would have taken me around 10 hours doing a 3 stage. Just keep experimenting.... and use an IPA wipedown to make sure you are swirl free.

EDIT: Speed 6 is appropriate for a PC, esp during the final polishing stage. Be sure to not go too fast during your section passes... otherwise, you're not letting your pad/polish work for you.

 

I ask because in reading all around, it appears that the PC can stumble with correction work using larger pads. I started a thread on it specifically, and over on Autopia, I've introduced the question as well to try and clear things up.

 

Didn't know about the alcohol mix but used a really diluted dish washing soap mix and it seemed to do the trick. And yes cleaned the pads often or they will make a mess everywhere. The white pad really does no cutting even though the vid said to use it with the light swirl bottle. It works great with the Meg's ultimate polish before final polishing though. Also noticed better results final polishing if pad spinning is kept to a minimum. (left some burnishing if allowed to spin much)

 

One of these days, I need to post up a pic of my detailing "shelf" or more appropriately, "Shelves". You guys will laugh at all my paraphernalia..... I even have a mini fridge to store my numerous waxes.... Also don't ask me how much I've spent over the years on ALL my detailing supplies...products, tools, lights, etc etc etc.... ssssssh don't tell my wife