Menzerna SF4000/Hand Polishing/Orange County Power Pad.

[Swift]

SF 4000 application by hand. Used Orange County Power Pad. Metallic Soft Sliver Paint.


These are following steps that undertook.

• Wash and clean the area.
• Dry it
• Did a swipe test; surface was clean and did not felt anything else.
• Prime the pad. Three drops of product, evenly spread it out on the pad.
• Put on three tiny drops of product.
• Tapped the product over a small section
• Once the product was evenly spread. Since I was working on sliver metallic paint, product became transparent after one or two swipes.
• I put pressure on pad moved as fast as I can in Up-Down and followed it by Right-Left pattern. Continued until my arm started to hurt.
• Last step was slow and little pressure.
• Did not do IPA wipe down, but wiped away the left over with a clean cloth. Will use IPA or CarPro Eraser in future.
• Topped it with Finish Kare 2180 sealant.
• Will wait three 48-72 hours and top it Collinite 845.
• Final result: reduction in swirls and scratches with one step polishing. But some swirls and minor visible scratches remain.

Questions time.

1) How to tell if polish has broken down? Tell tale sign with SF 40000 is that it turns transparent. However, with just one or two swipes, it becomes transparent on the sliver surface.
2) Polishing pad; should I clean it after each section or after I finish day’s work (panel)?
3) Made any mistakes or any scope for improvement?

[conman1395]

Why are you using this by hand????

[Swift]

Why are you using this by hand????

Because I don't have a DA.

[conman1395]

Then you shouldn't have bought SF 4000. If you're working by hand Meguiars is going to be MUCH MUCH better because they're non-diminishing. That means you don't have to work it until it breaks down. You can get Ultimate Polish OTC too.

[The Enforcer]

Just being honest....but almost completely pointless by hand. At least one would think. Time for a DA!!!

[rms64]

Where are you located? Have to agree that it's time for a DA...

[dschia]

You really need popeye arms to work sf4000 with hand properly..

[Swift]

Then you shouldn't have bought SF 4000. If you're working by hand Meguiars is going to be MUCH MUCH better because they're non-diminishing. That means you don't have to work it until it breaks down. You can get Ultimate Polish OTC too.

Just being honest....but almost completely pointless by hand. At least one would think. Time for a DA!!!

Probably the reason why I bought it after reading this link. Another friend here, use SF 4000 by hand all the time.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...4000-hand.html

You really need popeye arms to work sf4000 with hand properly..

Hand Polishing is hard work no doubt. I'm doing just a panel at a time. Working with a very small area and finishing a panel in on session.

[spiralout462]

Clean the pad as often as you can! A clean pad will give you maximum cut. I think "a reduction of swirls and scratches" is all you can really expect when polishing a whole car by hand. An increase in gloss should also be noticeable. Perhaps a medium cut polish or a heavier compound will get those pesky RIDS. Good luck on your ambitious endeavor!

[Tato]

Definitively takes time and results may not be optimal, but it will work (I may use Menzerna for hand polishing most of time, unless I want even higher cut I would reach Meguiar's M100 (sand in a bottle!), but follow after with FG400 / SF4000 (all by hand) to improve the finish.

If removing defects by hand is you primary goal I'd recommend you to try some FG400 first.

It'll work to remove defects by hand but will take a lot of time and impressive elbow grease to get a whole car done. For small sections and touch-ups, it's totally worth the effort.

I did full cars by hand in the past, it definitively helped me working by machine nowadays, but also allows me to use the hand polishing technique to cover most area where a polisher won't get.

That's why I encourage you, doing by machine is much better almost in every sense, but please, do it! You'll only get great experience working your car by hand. At least it'll make a good workout! ahhaha

Best thing to do is looking for Mike Phillips techniques for hand polishing. One thing that changed the way I polish by hand was reading his saying to ~'move your arm at the speed of light!', sure you have to abstract to get the better sense of this tip, but speed together with even pressure (no unevenness using your fingertips) - also put some PASSION on that pad.

Use plenty of product, keep the pad clean often.

Better than using foam pads by hand (specially when trying to remove defects), I like MF applicators or even MF towels. Meguiar's Even coat MF applicators works wonders and are very easy to find. If using a towel, fold it in 2 or 4 to get advantage and spread your action evenly.

About polish broke down I'm not sure what exactly will occur, but it's likely to not brake easily like when used by machine (much less friction action on the abrasives).

If you're noticing your SF4000 turning transparent so fast, it's more a sign you're using too little product and/or spreading a larger area than abrasives are being properly worked.

Correct amount of product (not little, not much) you will calibrate throughout polishing.

Hope that gives you some ideas,

Best Wishes.