Need a couple tips before I start(alot of pics)

[Jeepster04]

I finally received my package from autodetailingsolutions.com(#80, #83, and s sample of ASD) and I was wanting some tips before I use it on my jeep. Ive been practicing on my moms car to see what I could do. Her car has many swirls and scratches so i went straight to #83. I didnt clay it b/c I didnt want to ruin my clay, but #83 does get all the swirls out. I was hoping it would get more of the deeper scratches out but it wont. I can feel most of them with my finger nail and read if you can then the PC cannot remove them.

Ive been going over the #83 until I believe its breaking down, but since Im new at this its alittle hard to tell when its starts to break down. Will the haze disappear when it starts breaking down? Or does it start to dry and not spread around any more. Ive read every possible link that mike posts but Im unsure on that. I dont have the money to buy the DVD or mike or I would..

The car Ive been working on(after #83, no wax yet):





I dont believe any of those scratches can be removed with the PC, what do you all think?

The Jeep to come, I probably wont be trying to remove any scratches b/c it has very few. It only has minor swirls that I believe #80 will take care of.







I got a small dent from a car in a parking lot. The shop that fixed it didnt do a very good job. They left many sanding marking under the paint.

[Jeepster04]

Re: Need a couple tips before I start(alot of pics)

Ohh, I printed a sheet off the expained what speed to set the Pc to and how much force to use for different products. I seemed to of lost this sheet and was wondering of anyone could post the link for it. Thanks!!

[Jeepster04]

Re: Need a couple tips before I start(alot of pics)

Bump, I am getting ready to start and was wanting a few opinions before I did... Thanks..

[sneek]

Re: Need a couple tips before I start(alot of pics)

this is one of them
Using the G-100 to remove swirls with the Professional Line
heres the second

http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2524

[Jeepster04]

Re: Need a couple tips before I start(alot of pics)

Thanks sneek! It says to work #80 untill the diminishing abrasives have broken down, but how do I know when theyve broken down?

[sneek]

Re: Need a couple tips before I start(alot of pics)

Well you know how #80 starts out kind of white looking?

well when it is broken down the polish looks really clear. and plus the finish will be super shiney and you will need to wear sun glasses to look at you car

[Jeepster04]

Re: Need a couple tips before I start(alot of pics)

Well you know how #80 starts out kind of white looking?

well when it is broken down the polish looks really clear. and plus the finish will be super shiney and you will need to wear sun glasses to look at you car

Thanks again! I was out i the garage messing around and couldnt remove any of the water spots on my hood. It looks like it has zero swirls though. I started out with #80 with the polish pad on 4 and it didnt really do anything but make it shiney and smooth. I went with #83 on 4.5 and the spots look the same. I looked down really close and the spots look alittle to deep. I dont have a clue how they got on there but it *****. Ill work on it some more in the sun tomorrow and see if i can get the swirls out of the rest of it. Im not going to do the entire thing, just the hood and some of the roof along with some of the sides. Not going to worry with the entire roof or the back. Just dont have the time nor the energy.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Need a couple tips before I start(alot of pics)

Hi Libby,

Looks like sneek has already posted some great answers, here's a few more helpful tips...

Knowing when the product has broken down
There is no exact method of knowing when the product has completely broken down, instead a good rule of thumb is to work a small section at a time, the harder the paint, the deeper the defect the smaller the section you work. About as small as you go is one foot squared, that's about as small as you can get with a pad that has a 6" diameter. As large as you go when removing defects is about 2 foot squared, that would be for light defects that appear to be removed fairly easily showing that the paint you're working on is fairly polishable.

After applying the product, work it in 2-3 directions, 2-3 times for each direction. The below pictures shows moving the polisher in 3 different direction, try to do at least the first two. Do each direction at least 2 times and if the product is still wet on the surface then go for 3 times.

Example:

• Go side to side over the area you're working. That's one direction one time.
• Go front to back over the area you're working. That's a second direction one time.

• Now go back and go the direction you went the first time. That's one direction a second time.
• Now go back and go the direction you went with your second pass, that's the other direction a second time.

Does that make sense?



As you're working the product, check to make sure you always have a wet film of product on the paint at all times, to do this, simply take your clean finger and wipe the surface that you have just ran the polisher over, (doesn't matter what direction), and look to see that it's smeary. If it is you're okay, if it's completely dry, powdery, dusty etc., then you've buffed too long and went to a dry buff. Regardless of what you may read on other forums, buffing to a dry buff is poor technique, it means you've lost lubricity an increased the potential for hazing, so never buff to a dry buff.

M80 is a very oily product and has a lot of play time, M83 is not quite as wet and doesn't have as much play time, be conscience of this and focus on the task at hand.


Speed Setting
You posted you were using the 4.0 and the 4.5 speed setting, in most cases on most paint types, you'll need to be at the 5.0 speed setting. The dual action polisher is a very, very gentle tool, given this you need everything going for you when trying to remove small particles of paint and this means in setting the speed on the 5.0 setting.

Downward pressure
You want to push anywhere from 10 to 20 pounds of pressure, more is better when removing small particles of paint, but balance your downward pressure with pad rotation. Keep the pad rotating, if you have reduce pressure to see the pad rotating then do so. M80 will allow you to apply more pressure and maintain pad rotation while with M83 you'll have to bring your pressure up a little more to maintain pad rotation.

Note: The only time you work a small section at a time when working with a dual action polisher is when you're removing defects, i.e. the cleaning step. After you have removed all the defects, and you're moving on to applying a wax, you can now tackle large section at a time, for example apply the wax to half of the hood at one time, then move to the other side of the car and apply to the other half.

The cleaning step has to be limited to small areas because the tool, pad and chemicals are gentle and clear coats tend to be harder versus softer than traditional paint, (not always, you never know until you go out into your garage and do a test spot), and for these reason when you're remove defects you can't work on large section at one time.

When applying a pure polish or a wax, AFTER the defects have been removed, because now you're not trying to remove defects, i.e. remove small particles of paint, now you can tackle large section at a time.

Finishing work
For applying a pure polish or a wax to a previously cleaned paint, use the 3.0 setting, apply just a little more pressure than the weight of the machine and make 2-3 passes over each square inch and then move onto a new section.

Allow the wax to dry till it swipes clear and then remove.

Hope this helps...

[Jeepster04]

Re: Need a couple tips before I start(alot of pics)

Thanks Mike! Your advice always helps!

One more question for you guys. I seem to have the hang of this thing and didnt need to use #80 to get things the way I liked. I couldnt remove any of the water spots which has me alittle upset, but I think they are to deep.

Anyway, how do you all remove swirls with #80 on smaller areas? Like on A-D pillars and things of that nature?

[sneek]

Re: Need a couple tips before I start(alot of pics)

you can try to do it by hand but using #80 takes forever by hand. I would rather use ScratchX by hand instead.

maybe meguiars will give us some 4" pads to play with in the future.