polishing

[Jarhead0754]

I'm kinda confused about this but maybe u could tell me if I'm correct. But using a polish such as UP with the meguiars yellow 2.0 polishing pad followed with UP on a meguiars black 2.0 finishing pad, is this what is referred to as jeweling the paint?
I never really understood what that meant and just thought jeweling is just another word for polishing. Sorry for the dumb question, just thought 1 of u guys could "dumb" down the explanation for me a tad. Thanks in advance.

[Murr1525]

Re: polishing

Yeah... pretty much using the mildest combo possible at the end before waxing.

[Eldorado2k]

Don't quote me on this but from what I've heard regarding "jeweling" with the Meguiars pads, it takes place with the beige colored pad. But I believe the beige pad is no longer availiable from Meguiars? Maybe someone who goes back a bit further can clarifiy the beige pad and bit and drop some knowledge for all to witness here in this thread... Lets summon the polishing gods out there if they're reading this. Lol

[Jarhead0754]

i see the beige pad for sale still. It's the 6.5" soft buff where the black is 7" and the soft buff 2.0.
Now I'm assuming this is mainly only beneficial to dark colored cars correct?

[C8N]

Re: polishing

Yeah... pretty much using the mildest combo possible at the end before waxing.

What Murr said but to add one more tid bit....
What some will do is on the final few passes with a finishing polish, light to no pressure is applied.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: polishing

Jeweling is an interesting term in this game. Basically it refers to a process whereby your gently massage the paint with a very fine finishing pad and a very light cutting finishing polish, working to achieve the absolute highest gloss possible. Where the misunderstanding or misinterpretation often comes from is that not every paint responds the same to the same input. So if some were to define jeweling as a very long, slow buffing process with a soft pad and super fine finishing polish, does that mean you should always do your jeweling the same way?

And that's when people get lost.

As wildly different as paint systems are, you just can't treat them all exactly the same way. And finishing polishes aren't all the same either. Compare a non diminishing abrasive like our M205 to a diminishing abrasive finishing polish like Menzerna. You can't use both of them exactly the same way and expect the same result, even if you're using the same pad and working on the same paint. M205 works very quickly, and if you buff too long with it you start collecting paint residue in your pad that can actually start to reverse the jeweling process if you're not careful. A diminishing abrasive, on the other hand, needs to be worked long enough for it to break down properly. That should tell you that you can't use both products in exactly the same way.

And then it gets crazy.

We've seen situations where a soft finishing pad does not yield the best finish; there are rare situations where a stiffer, more aggressive pad actually works better. Short cycle or long.

Most people will tell you that jeweling should be done with light pressure, yet on some paints heavier pressure works better.

Even though some of the new crop of tall stroke DA buffers (think Rupes 21) will provide tremendous cut, there are times they actually finish better, too. But there are also times they don't.

On softer paints, no matter how careful you are, it can be darn near impossible to prevent creating at least some level of DA haze. In those cases a rotary buffer may work better (same liquid and pad) but then you'd better not be leaving any holograms behind in that soft paint.

So what's the answer when there are so many variables with paint? As always, do a test spot. The paint will tell you what it likes. Jeweling processes (we really prefer to call it "finish polishing") will vary as much as your more aggressive defect removal process (AKA compounding) will. Not everything works on every paint.

Get the paint corrected using the technique that best suits the task at hand - severity of defects, hardness/softness of paint, desired result - based on the test spot(s) you did to determine this. When it comes to your finishing step, do the same sort of testing (experimenting) to see what works best with that paint, with the tools and pads you have, and with the liquid(s) you're using. We are far less concerned with the term used to describe this process (jeweling, perfecting, finish polishing, etc) than we are with you stopping and thinking about the process, what's happening to the paint with that process, and how you might be able adjust your technique to achieve maximum gloss, depth of color and clarity.