product for first polish, soft paint

[costo]

Just wanted some advise on whihc products to get, my car was professionally detailed about 6 months ago and I am about to buy a das 6 pro and try and get the light swirls out and some water marks.

Now I want some advise on which polish to get, was initially going to do it all by hand but its prob going to do more damage then good.

My car is a mitsubishi evo VII, and the paint is soft to very soft so the product needs to be mild. was hoping just to get something like wolfgang glaze and a polishing pad. it just needs minor correction of light swirls and some water marks.?????? or shoudld I get this??? DAS-6 PRO Dual Action Polisher - Menzerna Kit (http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/polishing-machines/das-6-pro-dual-action-polisher/das-6-pro-dual-action-polisher-menzerna-kit/prod_675.html)
problem is that I really dont think I will use al the products.

What about pads??????

Sorry this is what I was going to do

clean and dry car
clay
dodo juice lime lite
polish with ?????? product and pad????
seal with wolfgang 3.0 sealant a
wax p21s

ok sorry I am a bit of an amateur at this so any advise would be great

cheers

[jimmyjam]

Just wanted some advise on whihc products to get, my car was professionally detailed about 6 months ago and I am about to buy a das 6 pro and try and get the light swirls out and some water marks.

Now I want some advise on which polish to get, was initially going to do it all by hand but its prob going to do more damage then good.

My car is a mitsubishi evo VII, and the paint is soft to very soft so the product needs to be mild. was hoping just to get something like wolfgang glaze and a polishing pad. it just needs minor correction of light swirls and some water marks.?????? or shoudld I get this??? DAS-6 PRO Dual Action Polisher - Menzerna Kit (http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/polishing-machines/das-6-pro-dual-action-polisher/das-6-pro-dual-action-polisher-menzerna-kit/prod_675.html)
problem is that I really dont think I will use al the products.

What about pads??????

Sorry this is what I was going to do

clean and dry car
clay
dodo juice lime lite
polish with ?????? product and pad????
seal with wolfgang 3.0 sealant a
wax p21s

ok sorry I am a bit of an amateur at this so any advise would be great

cheers
Hi costco,
I would suggest Megs 205 with a yellow Lake Country CCS pad, and the Menzerna 85PO with a blue Lake Country CCS pad. You will cut the water marks, and finish it off with a swirl free surface.

[tuscarora dave]

With soft to very soft paint I would start somewhere in the middle with a polish pad with very light to no cutting ability. Are your water marks etched in to the paint or are they just mineral deposits that have recently been deposited on the paint? A full out cutting pad is something that I would avoid on very soft paint. M-205 with white pad so the polish does the work and then PO85RD on a finishing pad.

The polisher looks like a version of the Griot's Garage ROP which should be fine.

[costo]

not to sure on the water marks, but I was also going to try the distilled vinager on them to see if that removes it. How can I tell????? ok so use the megs mirror glaze 205 with polishing pad and then the mernz po85 with finishing pad.....

[jimmyjam]

not to sure on the water marks, but I was also going to try the distilled vinager on them to see if that removes it. How can I tell????? ok so use the megs mirror glaze 205 with polishing pad and then the mernz po85 with finishing pad.....

Hi Costo,
I recommended the yellow cutting, because you'll be able to correct the water spots if vinegar doesn't remove them. I would believe you would take extreme caution with the cutting pad/Megs 205 combo finishing it with 85 rd. The reasoning behind my advise is I had used it with Honda, Mitsubishi, Nissan. and GMs w/out issue.

[BobbyG]

I see you only have a few post so if you haven't received a welcome....:welcome:..You have now!

I took a look at the kit above and it contains some very nice products. Menzerna products are my personal favorite. The only product that you "might" not use right away would be the Menzerna Power Gloss compound.

By your description of the finish condition I would use the following.

Paint Correction


Menzerna Super Finish (PO106FA) with the polishing pad
Menzerna Final Finish (PO85RD) with the finishing pad

Sealant



Wolfgang sealant is a nice sealant and will work well

Wax



P21s

[Mike Phillips]

Can't stress enough the importance of doing a Test Spot after you get your polisher and supplies. Do this by placing a tape line down on a Horizontal surface and then only work on one side of the tape. By doing this you'll be able to visually see easily your progress or lack of progress.

This is a Tape Line
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/796/medium/TapeLine02.jpg



I not only recommend doing a Test Spot but do them on every car I buff out if I've never buff on this particular car before. Here's an example,

New How-To Segment on Motorhead Garage - February 13th and 14th (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-car-garage-how-videos/32529-new-how-segment-motorhead-garage-february-13th-14th.html)

Before
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/901/2MotorHead010_jpg.JPG


A tape line was placed on a section of the hood...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/901/2MotorHead012_jpg.JPG


A combination of pads and products were tested on one side of the tape line
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/901/2MotorHead014_jpg.JPG


Same thing here last week...
8 hour Saturday class condensed into about 20 minutes (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-101/32416-8-hour-saturday-class-condensed-into-about-20-minutes.html)


This Test Spot was done fairly quickly as I had another couple of projects to push through before leaving for the night... usually I try to really nail the before and after pictures but this will give you an idea of what we were able to do using just a DA Polisher and Pinnacle Polishes.

Before
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/722/SwirledOutVette2.jpg


Test Spot
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/722/SwirledOutVette4.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/722/SwirledOutVette5.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/722/SwirledOutVette6.jpg


http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/722/SwirledOutVette7.jpg


http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/722/SwirledOutVette8.jpg



The idea of doing a Test Spot is to ensure your choice of pads, products and process, (process is how you apply the products, by hand or machine and type of machine), so you don't waste your time. If you can make one small section look GREAT then if you repeat the same process over the entire car you should be able to make the entire car look great.

If your pads, products and process don't work to make one small section look great then you'll be glad you didn't go over the entire car with your process and you can come back here and tell what you're seeing and we can help you tweak your process until we see you through to success in your garage.


If you think the paint is soft, then follow the rule of using the least aggressive product to get the job done as this will leave the most amount of paint on your car.

"Use the least aggressive product to get the job done" (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-expert-featuring-mike-phillips/28505-use-least-aggressive-product-get-job-done.html)


:)

[Mike Phillips]

In the kit you linked to, there's way more products than you need...

Two great products everyone should have in their collection are the Menzerna Super Intensive Polish, and the PO106FA, which are a great combination set of products. Similar to these, which are made by Menzerna...

The Wolfgang Twins (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/wolfgang-car-care/28324-wolfgang-twins-picture-links.html)


Whichever you get, try the light finishing polish with a polish pad and see if it's aggressive enough to remove the defects, if not then try the more aggressive product.

Do a little testing, dial in a system that works to your satisfaction, then tackle the car.


:)

[Mike Phillips]

It's faster and more effective to work on clear coats by machine versus hand...

See this article...

Man versus Machine (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/faq/20257-man-versus-machine.html)


:)

[Mike Phillips]

There are at least 3 types of water spots,


Type I Water Spots
Type I Water Spots are primarily a mineral or dirt deposit laying on the surface of paint. Type I Water Spots can be the results of minerals suspended in city water or well water that are left behind after the water evaporates off the finish. This can happen by washing a car but not drying the water off the paint or if a sprinkler goes off next to the car covering the car with water drop that are not dried off the paint.

Type I Water Spots can also be dirt or pollution particles left behind after water from rain or inclement weather evaporates of the finish. Type I Water Spots can also be Type II Water Spots in that the water can leave both a deposit on the surface and an etching in the finish.


Type II Water Spots
Type II Water Spots are actual etchings or craters in the paint because something corrosive in a water source has landed on the paint and was not removed before a portion of the paint was eaten or dissolved by the corrosive substance.

Type III Water Spots
Type III Water Spots are spots that look faded or dull and are found primarily found on single stage paints after a water source lands on and then pools on the paint and is usually left to dwell on the surface for some measure of time before it evaporates or is wiped-off the surface.


Vinegar only removes spots or contaminants that are topical, that is in most cases, mineral deposits sitting on the top surface of the paint.

More info here,

How to remove water spots by hand (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/how-articles/29134-how-remove-water-spots-hand.html)

Type I Water Spots
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/722/2Type1WaterSpot1.jpg http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/722/2Type1WaterSpot2.jpg




:)

[costo]

Thanks mike, and everyone.

I did read your posts about both the twins and the water marks.

I think I will go for either the WG twins or the mernz 106 and the 85. So with those products which polishing pads should I use or should I try them firstly with a finishing pad then try with the polishing pad? I think I have got my head around the products side buy still scratching my head about the pads. Waffle, colours etc. So what pads would people recommend????

So from what mike said start with the lightest product first. And do test patch to see if I can get the desired result using minimal cutting

I am actually in Australia so not all products are available as easily but will do another shop from AG online again.

Cheers