New 4Runner Limited - with swirlys

[Flynnstone]

i actually thought about adding opticoat to the next single stage paint i see...in theory, it is kind of like a clear coat...not sure, but ill almost guarantee someone has used it.

BTW...the WG is a great product too...but ive never used it on single stage paint before.

I've been reading the same thing on here about opti-coat. How can i verify if my particular paint code is Single Stage or not??

[primo spaghetti]

check the paint code with the manufacturer...

whats the year/make/colour?

[Flynnstone]

check the paint code with the manufacturer...

whats the year/make/colour?

It's a 2012 Toyota 4Runner Limited, black (non-metallic)

[Johny B]

check the paint code with the manufacturer...

whats the year/make/colour?

The best thing to do.

[cardaddy]

It's a 2012 Toyota 4Runner Limited, black (non-metallic)

Oh it's single stage, bet money on it.

That is actually a good thing when you think about what products you can/or need to use. M105 for instance is likely more than you would want.

Not sure what you decided on your pads yet but just pay extra attention to the softest pad/polish combo you can get away with and go from there. M205 with white pads is pretty darned good for getting to LSP status on clear coats. Might be able to go up to green even (in the CCS pad) or black to really finish well.

I'll be posting a new thread (with tons of photos) this week on refinishing / reconditioning the roof and roof rack on my sons 98 4Runner. The 105 did NOT want to work on paint that old, that was that dry without a fight. WHEW!!!

[spiralout462]

^^ I agree. I bet your paint code is 202. I have it on my 2012 Tacoma and love it! Super easy to polish. I've never needed anything more aggressive than a LC black pad (flat). Meg's 205 should have all the cut you need.

[Flynnstone]

Thanks guys. The Griots DA kit I ordered came with a CCS orange, white and blue pad, and the Wolfgang twins.

I'm thinking that I will start with the white pad, and Wolfgang TSR 3.0. Think that's a good starting point, then finish with blue? Or should I add a black or red pad for finishing?

[primo spaghetti]

you can finish with the blue, but i would try the black personally.

you will also need more than one pad of each colour, so add a couple black on your order. The red is more for applying wax or sealant IMO, but ive done both with a blue and a black with no issues.

[cardaddy]

Thanks guys. The Griots DA kit I ordered came with a CCS orange, white and blue pad, and the Wolfgang twins.

I'm thinking that I will start with the white pad, and Wolfgang TSR 3.0. Think that's a good starting point, then finish with blue? Or should I add a black or red pad for finishing?

Providing you don't need any real cutting, either from pad or product then the whites are going to be your best friend.

Start with the white, do cleaning on the fly, and change it often! If you want to do the entire truck in one day you will need AT LEAST 6 white pads, (but it'll take using some more than once). It'll take a lot of pads to get that big thing done and it is easier than you think to over use and over heat a pad. One way to make sure you're not keeping the pad working too long is pull it off the machine and put the back side of it against your face. It it's warmer than the palm of your hand it's holding heat and it'll only get hotter as you go. The middle of the pad will actually start to collapse as it gets hot.

I broke my own rule by not changing a pad soon enough this weekend. I'd been using a 4" orange CCS on my GG6 to run 105 around the nooks-n-crannies before starting the entire truck. Kept telling myself "just this little bit more". I did the A pillars, the back of the fenders at the windshield, across the back of the hood around the cowling, around the stainless & rubber fender flares, down the V's in each side of the hood, across the edge of the hood and under the headlights. In the grand scheme of things it's a small area, maybe a third of the total area of the hood itself, or perhaps about the area of a single fender. In any event, the pad literally got thinner in the middle during the last pass. Luckily I was able to save it by throwing it in a bucket of cold Snappy Clean but it was worked longer than it shoulda' been.

One way to get through your truck with say 6 pads would be to drop 1 at a time in a bucket of Snappy clean as you do a section no larger than the hood, preferably half that size. (BTW you can keep the bucket of cleaner for a couple of weeks, just skim the top before you use it) Once you have 2 soaking and it's time to drop the 3rd, take a moment and clean those 2 out well, take them inside and rinse them, do a quick spin on the machine to remove excess water, towel blot and squeeze tem, then lay them out to dry.

Every 2 dirty pads, go through the clean, rinse, dry routine. (And keep a bottle of 360XMT pad cleaner as well as conditioner handy.)

If you time it right, by the time you get the last 2 dirty and go through the cleaning routine the first two might be dry enough to use again. Especially if you put them near a heater vent.

Another solution is of course do the buffing/correction stage on the front half, using all the white pads, then move to the blue pads to finish. (Still do the pad washing above, but use all the pads and wash them all at once.) After cleaning let them dry overnight. Next day start on the back of the truck and all your pads will be clean, dry, and ready.

As for the red, I doub't you'll need red as they are just too soft. Once you get to blue and black that's about all you'll need. I mean it's OK to have a couple of reds laying around for buffing out a carnuba but they'll not be something that you use like the rest. Where the yellow doesn't get used but where you have some serious cutting to do, the same holds true for the softer end of the scale.

I say this because this weekend I did the hood and front fenders only (plus the top of the front doors to just below the handle) on my kids 4Runner. I was using LC 5½" flats and took 2 yellow (hood only), plus 4 orange (for 105/UC), then 6 white (for 205). After compounding was done I swapped to 5½"CCS using 1 green (for M21) and a single black (for Megs ULW). So yeah, that's 14 pads and I didn't even do the back of the truck!

To be honest, once you use a pad for M21 it's useless for anything else so washing it is one thing you want to do but it'll be assigned to that duty forever. Same thing for your waxing spreader. (Magic Markers are your friend there to label them for future use.)

[Flynnstone]

just for some general guidance...how much product do you guys generally use per section of the vehicle?

If i put an X or swirly pattern of the ol Swirl remover on a foam pad, is that typically enough to cover a 24x24 area? or more/less?