which xmt and pad combo?

[JCB]

i recuperated from my previous detail. now here comes another, my 8 months old black 4runner. i see some very fine swirl and light scratch. overall the finish is still excellent.

now i got xmt #2and #1, orange, white and gray LC pads. which ones should i use to get it done right? is it a white pad with xmt#2 or orange pad with xmt#1? then gray and glaze.

thank you!!!

[alban61]

XMT2 with Orange LC pad
XMT1 with White LC pad
Glaze with Gray LC pad

Good luck on your next detail. I still haven't finished mine. Only did the right side this afternoon with XMT3/Orange pad, XMT1/White pad, Glaze/Gray pad. Tomorrow I'll do the rest. I'm still stiff/aching after only 3 hours. Yeesh!! Getting old!! :-)

[killrwheels@autogeek]

I personally would always start with a medium (white) pad and move to more abrasive as needed. So for me XMT 2 and white ...

[JeffW]

OK, got a pretty swirled & scratched up dark blue car that I'm going to tackle with the XMT line, then top with Nattys Blue. Not having a lot of experience with anything but light swirls & micro marring, I'm not real confident in the approach, but from some of these treads here is what I'm thinking - please provide feedback as necessary.

Wash, etc...

XMT #3 - Orange LC - for the really bad areas, but not necessarily the entire car. This step is likely to leave behind (new) minor swirls which will be taken care of with steps below, right?
XMT #2 - White LC - entire vehicle, however, bump up to Orange LC if needed
XMT #1 - White LC - entire vehicle
Glaze - Gray LC - entire vehicle
Wax - Blue LC - entire vehicle

Thanks!
JeffW

[Whitethunder46]

say you did go with #3 orange for the entire car, you can more than likely skip #2 and go straight to the #1 w/ white pad, then glaze, then wax. Since you're using an orange pad, there shouldnt be too much hazing or anything of that nature since it's not a yellow cutting pad.

[FloridaNative]

Originally Posted by Whitethunder46

say you did go with #3 orange for the entire car, you can more than likely skip #2 and go straight to the #1 w/ white pad, then glaze, then wax. Since you're using an orange pad, there shouldnt be too much hazing or anything of that nature since it's not a yellow cutting pad.

You can go 3 w/ orange to 1 w/polishing and then the glaze with the finishing! Man, that glaze is the bomb isn't it?

[supercharged]

Blacks will really benefit if you "jewel" the surface. Take an extra step and use XMT1/SSR1 on grey finishing pad (after a pass of XMT1/SSR1 on a white pad). Then finishing glaze, and then layer up Souveran paste.