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Hello all, my name is Mukul and this is my first post on here even though i've been reading for the past 2-3 months 
Onto my post, I cannot really afford a good Dual Action Polisher nor is it easy to find one in Dubai! I was able to get the Meguiars Dealer here to get me the DA Power System (DAPS) for AED 250 ($69) along with the pads, a bottle of ultimate compound, swirl x, ultimate polish (which arrives tomorrow), smooth surface clay kit, NXT Tech Wax 2.0 and some supreme shine towels (which retails for $45 here, 3 pack
). (all this set me back around $220..yay..)
Anyways, I started working on the hood of my car which is a 2014 Golf Gti Mk7, which was a gift from my dad. I had bought a groupon for detailing where the company did a mediocre job and left some holograms. I decided that I would like to give detailing a shot as I am passionate when it comes to maintaining my car. I do not wash it outside the house, its always waxed but due to parking problems I park on the street.
I washed and clayed the car first.
I started using the DAPS and did a test spot on the hood. It wasn't that bad to begin with with just minor swirls and a lot of scratches here and there (not too deep either). I worked the test spot with swirl x and the yellow pads and went over it 2 times horizontally and 2 times vertically (pass?) before wiping off and inspecting. It had not even touched the scratches but the swirls were gone (not that obvious to begin with). I then moved onto UC with the yellow pad and did the same (2hor and 2vert) before wiping off. Point to note is that UC is pretty hard to wipe off so i used to QD to wipe off to be safe and not rub the dry product off which will probably instill more scratches! I still had no results (not even a bit). I therefore moved onto the burgundy pad with UC and worked it the same way and then came back down to swirlx and yellow pads after. Now the test spot was decent...not great...decent). However the scratches still remain, albeit, kind of less obvious. I was fairly happy.
I bought a pedestal 500W dual work lamp to work but it is soooo bright that it actually hides some scratches when inspecting
. i turn of the light and use the two fluorescent lights on my ceiling in the garage and still noticed the scratches 
. I was satisfied so i decided to work the whole hood before my hands gave out.
Now...I applied the same technique as my test spot all over the hood, UC with burgundy pad twice(total of 4 horizontal and 4 vertical passes) and then swirlx with yellow pad once (2hor and 2vert). But the scratches still remain. I remember reading a post where, marc i think, tried the DAPS on his red honda in a comparison with the DA polisher and he got amazing results using just UC and the yellow pad!! So, you can begin to see how frustrated I am with the results that I got.
I do not get what I am doing wrong :'(
Questions:
1. I have read posts where it says "apply moderate pressure". Ok...but where do I apply this pressure? On the drill while im pressing the trigger or on the handle of the DAPS? I ask this because my right hand is sooo sore after just working on my hood. I hold the drill with my right hand and hold the trigger throughout as there is no trigger lock. Also, how much is moderate pressure lol? I feel like I am applying enough pressure though. Also, is there a reason that my hands(edit: palms and fingers)are soo sore after that i cannot do much for the next couple of days?
2. Slow arm speed. I'm quite sure I was moving fairly slow with overlapping passes but at times the power of the drill is so overpowering it kind of forces my hand to move faster but I try and keep it in check..what am I doing wrong here?
3a. How can I inspect my paint using the pedestal dual light (really silly i know..) Its too bright and hides the scratches when looking at the paint. i do notice some if i look at an angle and where the light isnt directly shining.
3b. What am I doing wrong overall?
summary: I apply a decent amount of pressure, i overlap, i do the cross hatch style, i go over the area twice horizontally and twice vertically before wipe off (more-so due to the UC drying up), I wipe and inspect and then repeat.
wow that was a handful, and I apologize for the long post but i'm in a rut and i really want to fix my car and get rid of scratches
Thank you in advance
Onto my post, I cannot really afford a good Dual Action Polisher nor is it easy to find one in Dubai! I was able to get the Meguiars Dealer here to get me the DA Power System (DAPS) for AED 250 ($69) along with the pads, a bottle of ultimate compound, swirl x, ultimate polish (which arrives tomorrow), smooth surface clay kit, NXT Tech Wax 2.0 and some supreme shine towels (which retails for $45 here, 3 pack
). (all this set me back around $220..yay..)Anyways, I started working on the hood of my car which is a 2014 Golf Gti Mk7, which was a gift from my dad. I had bought a groupon for detailing where the company did a mediocre job and left some holograms. I decided that I would like to give detailing a shot as I am passionate when it comes to maintaining my car. I do not wash it outside the house, its always waxed but due to parking problems I park on the street.
I washed and clayed the car first.
I started using the DAPS and did a test spot on the hood. It wasn't that bad to begin with with just minor swirls and a lot of scratches here and there (not too deep either). I worked the test spot with swirl x and the yellow pads and went over it 2 times horizontally and 2 times vertically (pass?) before wiping off and inspecting. It had not even touched the scratches but the swirls were gone (not that obvious to begin with). I then moved onto UC with the yellow pad and did the same (2hor and 2vert) before wiping off. Point to note is that UC is pretty hard to wipe off so i used to QD to wipe off to be safe and not rub the dry product off which will probably instill more scratches! I still had no results (not even a bit). I therefore moved onto the burgundy pad with UC and worked it the same way and then came back down to swirlx and yellow pads after. Now the test spot was decent...not great...decent). However the scratches still remain, albeit, kind of less obvious. I was fairly happy.
I bought a pedestal 500W dual work lamp to work but it is soooo bright that it actually hides some scratches when inspecting
. i turn of the light and use the two fluorescent lights on my ceiling in the garage and still noticed the scratches . I was satisfied so i decided to work the whole hood before my hands gave out. Now...I applied the same technique as my test spot all over the hood, UC with burgundy pad twice(total of 4 horizontal and 4 vertical passes) and then swirlx with yellow pad once (2hor and 2vert). But the scratches still remain. I remember reading a post where, marc i think, tried the DAPS on his red honda in a comparison with the DA polisher and he got amazing results using just UC and the yellow pad!! So, you can begin to see how frustrated I am with the results that I got.
I do not get what I am doing wrong :'(
Questions:
1. I have read posts where it says "apply moderate pressure". Ok...but where do I apply this pressure? On the drill while im pressing the trigger or on the handle of the DAPS? I ask this because my right hand is sooo sore after just working on my hood. I hold the drill with my right hand and hold the trigger throughout as there is no trigger lock. Also, how much is moderate pressure lol? I feel like I am applying enough pressure though. Also, is there a reason that my hands(edit: palms and fingers)are soo sore after that i cannot do much for the next couple of days?
2. Slow arm speed. I'm quite sure I was moving fairly slow with overlapping passes but at times the power of the drill is so overpowering it kind of forces my hand to move faster but I try and keep it in check..what am I doing wrong here?
3a. How can I inspect my paint using the pedestal dual light (really silly i know..) Its too bright and hides the scratches when looking at the paint. i do notice some if i look at an angle and where the light isnt directly shining.
3b. What am I doing wrong overall?
summary: I apply a decent amount of pressure, i overlap, i do the cross hatch style, i go over the area twice horizontally and twice vertically before wipe off (more-so due to the UC drying up), I wipe and inspect and then repeat.
wow that was a handful, and I apologize for the long post but i'm in a rut and i really want to fix my car and get rid of scratches
Thank you in advance
In regards to your lighting problems... I have found that the best lighting for my situation is a headlamp like campers and backpackers use. Make sure if you get one that it has a few different brightness settings and not just one level of light output. Another bonus is that it is always focused on the spot you are looking at and it is hands-free. Hope this helps... good luck.
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