have some questions on my progress

[redboost10]

So i started with menz nano/super finish with a grey pad on the quarter panel and it got the swirls out, but it also left some new scratches or marring. You can see the before and after pictures. Before I go any further, I wanted to get your guys' opinions. I think I may have put too much water on the pad to start with...maybe too much polish? any help is appreciated. Thanks guys. should i stick with the grey pad? i went left/right and up/down 4 times in this area, moving about 1"/1 sec. but when i lifted up after polishing, i had a spot (which you could see) that was like the pad was too wet or too much polish?

1st picture is before
2nd picture is the amount of polish i used
3rd picture is right before removing the polish
4th picture is after

[redboost10]

i am definately having a hard time choosing which polish to use and noticing when it is broken down.

i am using the pc 7424 by the way on speed 5, i spread it with the machine off though

[vinnier6]

i dont have any experience with menzerna polish, but it looks to me as the polish in pic 3 isnt broken down completly and that can cause micro marring....i also sometimes wonder if a grey pad is strong enough to break down some polishes as the pad is very soft and may not beable to roll out the abrasives....

[redboost10]

i see, that makes sense. i did the hood with sip and an orange pad and it got the swirls out but it also left some scratches, im going to go over this with nano and a white pad to see what happens.

thank you for the help

[Emile]

When you go SIP and orange, the process will leave new scratches and some haze called micro-marring. Nano and a white or gray pad should clean that all up, but it sounds like and looks like you are not working in the polish long enough. It's literally a good 4 minutes of just working the polish in at each 2x2 section before you buff it off with a towel by hand.

[redboost10]

ok, yeah i tried the hood with sip and orange pad and it got the scratches out, but left new ones. ill finish the whole car with the sip and orange pad then go back over it with nano and white or grey pad.

so for each 2x2 section, just go back/forth and up/down overlapping 50% each pass on speed 5 with the pc, right? that is what ive read in some old threads.

do you recommend spraying the pad with water before applying polish to it?

also anything to look for when the polish is broken down? i was working in the sip and it went from a white to a tranparent oily film and i know its not broken down so i kept going and kept watching for another change and it didnt change.

thank you for all the help.

[Joshs2013MSAltimaSL]

No need to spray the pad with water. Just apply a little extra product at the beginning to get the pad primed. Spread it over your 2x2 area with the machine turned off, then turn it to 6 and go to town. Take your time. You'll know when the polish is broken down all the way when it starts to become almost transparent. If you're going to do your car with SIP/orange, you're going to need to go back over it again with SIP/white or Nano/white. You need to finish with Nano and a blue pad. The grey pads have a small amount of cut to them and can still leave micro-marring, this is why you need a blue or red pad.

[redboost10]

ok so speed 6, just spread it with the pc off, no water.

so dont worry too much about the micro marring that the orange pad and sip are leaving on the car?

ill take my time and just watch to see when it breaks down. i could not tell before.

[redboost10]

"As said move 1-2" per second and put some pressure on the PC. Its more of a feel thing, you want some pressure but not so much that it bogs down.

Just be careful as to how much pressure is put. Like Surfer said, you don't want the pad to stop spinning, but the added pressure also puts added stress on the machine that isn't needed. I would say the weight of the machine is all you really need 90% of the time."

just found this on another thread, i was bogging down the machine so it wasnt spinning. ill let it spin this time around.

thanks guys

[Joshs2013MSAltimaSL]

If it helps, put a line on your BP so that you know when it is or isn't spinning.

[redboost10]

good idea, i will for sure. last night i know it wasnt spinning, i was bogging down the machine. thank you josh and others for helping me figure out what i was doing wrong.

[Joshs2013MSAltimaSL]

Yeah man.

[vinnier6]

No need to spray the pad with water. Just apply a little extra product at the beginning to get the pad primed. Spread it over your 2x2 area with the machine turned off, then turn it to 6 and go to town. Take your time. You'll know when the polish is broken down all the way when it starts to become almost transparent. If you're going to do your car with SIP/orange, you're going to need to go back over it again with SIP/white or Nano/white. You need to finish with Nano and a blue pad. The grey pads have a small amount of cut to them and can still leave micro-marring, this is why you need a blue or red pad.
grey lc pads have zero cut to them according to the lc pad chart...i use grey pads for my lsp and have not seen any marring issues with them what so ever....

[ASPHALT ROCKET]

grey lc pads have zero cut to them according to the lc pad chart...i use grey pads for my lsp and have not seen any marring issues with them what so ever....

Actually they have a slight cut to them and they will ever so slightly cause marring.

[loudog2]

grey lc pads have zero cut to them according to the lc pad chart...i use grey pads for my lsp and have not seen any marring issues with them what so ever....
I would use the blue or red.