what should i use?

[Alex7938]

this is a pic of the bonnet of the car that i use to drive to work and back, its what i use to practice on before i touch my girlfriends Astra.

any tips on products and pads to use( i have a PC with orange, green and blue DAS pads and 3 MF bonnets)?



its a 93 Vauxhall(GM) cavalier(vectra in the rest of the world).
so far i have clayed it and used DC#1 on a green pad and ScratchX by hand.

[Jbirk]

You can do it by hand with ScratchX if you want to spend all day and get a workout too.

[Alex7938]

Originally posted by Jbirk
You can do it by hand with ScratchX if you want to spend all day and get a workout too.

the pic is after ScratchX by hand, i did think about using it with the orange pad, but didnt want to risk it

[rusty bumper]

Re: what should i use?

Originally posted by Alex7938
...any tips on products and pads to use( i have a PC with orange, green and blue DAS pads and 3 MF bonnets)?

I'm not familiar with that brand of pads, but I would recommend that you use #83 Dual Action Cleaner Polish with a polishing pad on the 5 setting....



Here's a little writeup that might be of help to you...

Using the G-100 to remove swirls with the Professional Line

[Alex7938]

nice one R.B big thanks

[rusty bumper]

Originally posted by Alex7938
nice one R.B big thanks

You're welcome, and good luck!

[the other pc]

I haven't tried the Sonus DAS pads but as I understand it the orange is for cutting, green for polishing, blue for finishing and all are designed for use with the PC.

Judging from your pic I'd guess (and it is just a guess) you'll need to use the orange pad and something pretty aggressive. #83 is probably the best bet. ScratchX is meant for hand use but I've heard some people have used it successfully with the PC. I don't think you'd hurt the finish but I understand it has a tendency to gum up with a machine.


PC.

[Alex7938]

got the main idea now, but what happens if you let it go dry while your buffing?

[Mike Phillips]

What other chemicals do you have besides ScratchX? As in products for removing paint defects?

If you want, try applying the ScratchX with the polishing pad on about the 4.5 to 5.0 setting and only work a small area, about a 16 inches square or so. After you have worked the product for a while, wipe it off and inspect the results and post back here what you see.

Remember don't buff till the product is dry. Also have some quality wiping cloths on hand to remove the remaining product and possibly some quick detailer in case it's difficult to remove.

[Alex7938]

hi Mike,

at the moment i only have DC#1 and ScratchX and loads of Megs MF and TT's
, but i'm in the process of organising a mini detailing day on the 18th and one of the blokes coming runs a detailing store so he's bringing me some #80, #83 and #7.
so untill then its just practicing with what i have got

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by Alex7938
so until then its just practicing with what i have got

Nothing wrong with that...

Like I posted, experiment with the ScratchX using the polishing pad, cutting pad work, by that I mean they'll remove defects by removing paint when used with a dual action polisher but they have a tendency to also haze the paint and a lot of people cannot recover from this or panic instead of re-polishing the area with a less aggressive product/pad.

The problem with ScratchX is that it tends to get gummy and difficult to remove when it is heated up. When you run the dual action polisher at the 5.0 setting, with time and pressure you will generate heat and while the product may work well, it also might be hard to remove.

I've experienced both hard to remove and easy to remove so it's really the luck of the draw. So go a head and experiment with the ScratchX and also with the M83 and the M80 when you get your hands on them.

[Don]

Originally posted by Mike Phillips

The problem with ScratchX is that it tends to get gummy and difficult to remove when it is heated up. When you run the dual action polisher at the 5.0 setting, with time and pressure you will generate heat and while the product may work well, it also might be hard to remove.

I recently tried it with a finishing pad at about 3.5 on the PC on the vertical section of my trunk (rear side of the spoiler & below + bumper cover) and while it didnt spread very far, the work time was very good and I had no problems with removal. I also used the Scratch-X in small amounts to help avoid the gumming issue.