Am I doing something wrong?

[skyace888]

I started a week long detailing project on my 06 Honda Accord on Saturday afternoon. Here is what I have done do far through tonight:

NXT Wash
Megs Blue Clay and QD
#83 to hood, roof, and trunk w/G100
#80 to hood, fenders, and two door panels w/G100

I'm still in the process of making my rounds with #80. Before I spend the day tomorrow doing more polishing, I'd like to make sure I'm doing things correctly. I got a lot of dust with the #83 all over the vehicle. I masked the car with blue painters tape and worked the product in for like 2-3 minues in a 2' x 2' area, but I had so much dust that I had to use the Megs Body Duster afterwards. I have a clean pad and I'm using a thin "X" of product on the pad. Any ideas? On a side note, I will also like to apply #21 topped with NXT on my vehicle. I know that speed 3 is better as opposed to speed 5 like with #83 and #80, but what other things do I need to keep in mind? Do I also put a thin "X" and work a small section at a time with 50% overlap?

Thanks,
Al

[LiquidBlack]

When removing defects, #80 and #83 on w8006 at speed 5, moving 1 or 2 inches per second across an area of 2x2 feet (or smaller) for two or so minutes. Whew, that was quite a run on sentence.

Now that thats out of the way...
#83 does dust alot. I have found that through experience, I have been able to minimize the dust just by the way in which I handle the polisher.

To minimize dusting: after working a section, use a soft towel and run it along the bottom of the polishing pad as it moves at speed 2-3. This will pick up excess material. After the entire polishing session, I tend to wash the pads in my sink to remove the rest of the material.

Another important tip. If the pad becomes too bogged down, it will no longer remove defects. So, if theres too much polish inside the pad, switch to a fresh pad so that you can get your cutting action back.

Onto the waxes: Applying waxes with the G100 is very easy and quick. The best pad for this kind of application, IMO, is the w9006 because it is very soft. Apply an X on the pad, and work it quickly across the finish at speed 3. No need to linger, as you are not trying to "cut" the finish. Apply across the entire surface of your car's finish, and remove when the wax has set in enough.

[skyace888]

Thanks for the quick reply, LiquidBlack! I'm not sure where you found that run-on sentence of mine. I do type quickly and informally on these kinds of message boards though. Anyways, I will try to take a terry towel and periodically clean the pad when I finish up with #80 tomorrow. I don't have any extra pads; just one per product. I plan on using separate 9006 pads for both #21 and NXT wax. I'm not clear if I should make more than one pass in a given area. Another post suggests to make a couple of passes to ensure an even application.

[Michael Stoops]

I'll second LiquidBlack's recommendation to clean your pad after every panel, especially when using 83. It's very rare, if ever, that I get dust with 80 but 83 will just pile the stuff up if I don't clean the pad. Also, 83 seems to have a much shorter work time than 80, so if you're switching back and forth between them it can seem like you should still be working 83, but doing so leads to dusting as well.

[skyace888]

I will clean my pad with a terry towel after I finish each section with #80 today. I think I may purchase Mike's DVD over at showcargarage.com. It looks like it highlights most of the issues with the G100.