Do you finish?

[DKenn08]

When compounding/polishing do you finish per panel or the entire car? For example, you complete the steps needed for the hood and then move on to the front quarter panel and repeat OR compound the hood move to the next panel and compound that so on and so on?

[ihaveacamaro]

After test spot, compound everywhere, then polish everywhere

[JAF06SE]

You mean compound, polish and then seal each panel as you go? I do the whole car then go back for each step. Never thought of doin each panel all the way.

[cartman57]

^ As ihaveacamaro states, unless you're not able to complete it all in one day.

[ScottB]

panel by panel ... 085rd please !

[CM8 6MT]

After test spot, compound everywhere, then polish everywhere

I agree. I work with 1 product at a time, 1 panel at a time. Hence my signature "I live my life a quarter panel at a time"

I Always finish with M205 or Ultimate Polish ;)

[Pureshine]

I agree. I work with 1 product at a time, 1 panel at a time. Hence my signature "I live my life a quarter panel at a time"

I Always finish with M205 or Ultimate Polish ;)
+2 :)

[JSou]

I had this exact question before. After experiencing the actual correction stage, I now finish each panel with one product at a time as stated previously. Happy detailing! And be sure to post your work for us to see.

[cardaddy]

Yup, it's do the entire thing, single stage at a time. You *could* break it up but it'd take a LOT LONGER. When you're working with a product, you want to keep using pads as you go. Swapping old dirty ones for new fresh ones and tossing them in cleaner as you move to a new one.

If you tried to compound, polish, seal, wax, etc. you would have TONS of different pads going on at once. It takes a lot of pads to compound a car, a few less to polish, then only 1 (or 2 at most) to apply sealant. All of them though are different colors. Can't imagine trying to lay one down, move to polishing, go back to the compound pad only to find it's totally dried out. Nope, one stage at a time saves you a lot of headache. ;)

[CM8 6MT]

Yup, it's do the entire thing, single stage at a time. You *could* break it up but it'd take a LOT LONGER. When you're working with a product, you want to keep using pads as you go. Swapping old dirty ones for new fresh ones and tossing them in cleaner as you move to a new one.

If you tried to compound, polish, seal, wax, etc. you would have TONS of different pads going on at once. It takes a lot of pads to compound a car, a few less to polish, then only 1 (or 2 at most) to apply sealant. All of them though are different colors. Can't imagine trying to lay one down, move to polishing, go back to the compound pad only to find it's totally dried out. Nope, one stage at a time saves you a lot of headache. ;)

100% agree

[FASTFRED]

100% agree
Ditto. :xyxthumbs:

[zmcgovern45]

After test spot, compound everywhere, then polish everywhere
^This is the most efficient way to do it. Why stop your momentum after each panel to switch pads and products? Doesn't make much sense.


I agree. I work with 1 product at a time, 1 panel at a time. Hence my signature "I live my life a quarter panel at a time"

I Always finish with M205 or Ultimate Polish ;)
^Hopefully you mean I finish down with M205 or UP after a test spot indicates it is the right product :xyxthumbs:

Always is a word that should be avoided in detailing... IMO. Related to this comment, I tried finishing down a black Porsche with M205 and it looked like it had just been compounded... SF4500 was the way to go. Just goes to show that it is always best to be well prepared by having several different products in your arsenal!

[tchoke]

im new at this and was pressed for time and on top of that my pad were limited... what i did was in this order orange pad/panel white pad/panel the reason i did it was to give the pads sometime to rest?
i read that the pads heat up and i only have 1pad of each color
and i wasnt going to be able finishing in 1 day

[zmcgovern45]

im new at this and was pressed for time and on top of that my pad were limited... what i did was in this order orange pad/panel white pad/panel the reason i did it was to give the pads sometime to rest?
i read that the pads heat up and i only have 1pad of each color
and i wasnt going to be able finishing in 1 day

Sure, pads do heat up. Foam pads can withstand the heat. The short amount of time that you take in between sections (you can usually assume there are multiple sections within a panel) is enough time for the pad and backing plate to cool down enough to continue working.

I highly recommend investing in more pads though. Even if you are cleaning your pad often (as you should be!!!!!!!!!!!), you should still switch your pad out at least a couple times throughout the compounding or polishing process. Working clean is a great way to help you get the best results!

[KenR]

I proceed one product at a time on the entire car, from first product to last. Plus, if you are using a sealant that needs some time to cure and plan to top it with a wax, I can't imagine doing it any other way.