A tip for machine polishing....

[WRAPT C5Z06]

At times I don't get the correction that I want. For my last correction, I decided to slow my arm speed significantly; 1" per second, and boy did that help!!! I've never used "hack" arm speed, but I was still moving my arms too fast. Slow down your arm speed and you'll get better results, guaranteed!! This especially goes for when removing deeper swirls/defects.


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[DetailKitty]

Yup- I put this into practice for my last correction on my car. It was a HUGE improvement.
Gotta remember to take your time, and let the machine do it's job :dblthumb2:

[HUMP DIESEL]

+1 Here as well, I have to remind myself this sometimes while working on one. If I do, the results are always much better.

HUMP

[dad07]

"sometimes you just have to slow down to go faster" (Darrell Waltrip)


great tip Mark!

[Mike Phillips]

"sometimes you just have to slow down to go faster" (Darrell Waltrip)




I use that tip for sharing with people how to do the final wipe...


The Final Wipe – Tips for creating a streak-free, show car finish (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/how-articles/19956-final-wipe.html)





How it works
The way this works is really quite simple but let me break it down for you into simple terms so everyone can understand. When making the final wipe, your job is to remove all trace residues from the previously applied wax or paint sealant; that’s your job. While to the human eye the surface of your car’s paint looks smooth and flat, under a microscope it’s actually a landscape of hills and valleys, (which is high spots and low spots), as well as pits and pores and interstices. (Interstices = microscopic gaps and cracks in the paint)

Trace residues remain in the lower imperfections on the surface and when you move a polishing cloth over the surface the fiber’s of the polishing cloth grab onto and removes residues off the high points the easiest. Again, your job is to remove all the trace residues and do it in such a way that you do no harm to the highly polished surface at the same time, thus you need to use a premium quality microfiber, folded 4-ways to help spread out the pressure of your hand.

Now think about it, if you’re moving the microfiber quickly over the surface how much time do the residues on the surface have to transfer to the cloth? Seconds? Milliseconds? That’s not very long.

That’s why wiping like a mad man won’t remove streaks or residues and could possibly inflict swirls and scratches back into the finish.

Slow down to speed up
Instead, how about moving the polishing cloth slowly over the surface and enabling the microscopic sized fibers to get into the low portions where once they make contact with any remaining wax or polymers, the residue will have time to transfer from the paint to the cloth?

This is called the final wiping technique and most people would agree it makes sense. It also works most of the time for stubborn streaks that sometimes show up on dark colored paints but it’s also just a good technique when working on highly polished surfaces where your or your customer’s expectations are high.





:dblthumb2:

[WRAPT C5Z06]

"sometimes you just have to slow down to go faster" (Darrell Waltrip)


great tip Mark!
Right on, Tim! :dblthumb2:

[Mike Phillips]

Slow down your arm speed and you'll get better results, guaranteed!! This especially goes for when removing deeper swirls/defects.




Great tip and reminder Mark... it's so important to move dual action polishers slowly over the surface for the correction step.

Years ago when I wrote my DA Troubleshooting Guide, I listed this as one of the most common mistakes people make when using dual action polishers.

DA Polisher Trouble Shooting Guide (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-101/37769-da-polisher-trouble-shooting-guide.html)


If fact, I listed it as the #2 most common mistake.


Here's a list of the most common problems,

1. Trying to work too large of an area at one time.

2. Moving the polisher too fast over the surface.

3. Using too low of speed setting for removing swirls.

4. Using too little downward pressure on the head of the polisher.

5. Using too much downward pressure on the head of the polisher so the pad quits rotating.

6. Not holding the polisher in a way to keep the pad flat while working your compound or polish.

7. Using too much product or using too little product.

8. Not cleaning the pad often enough.


The list of remedies to the most common mistakes are shared in the article I linked to above and can also be found in my how-to book.



Great tip and reminder... for all of us....


:dblthumb2:

[kevin_1981]

I use that tip for sharing with people how to do the final wipe...


The Final Wipe – Tips for creating a streak-free, show car finish (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/how-articles/19956-final-wipe.html)

:dblthumb2:

Mike - Do you recommend using the slow wipe down method during the compounding, polishing and waxing stage, or just during the polishing stage?

[dad07]

Mike - Do you recommend using the slow wipe down method during the compounding, polishing and waxing stage, or just during the polishing stage?


I'm not Mike but IMHO that theory would be stand true with all three stages.

[dpk20x]

Its funny .. I've watched a bunch of Rupes videos on youtube and it seems like the majority of them are using a fairly quick arm speed, like Paul Dalton for example. Even the official rupes videos show the operator working a blue pad over like half a hood and getting great correction.

So when I finally got a chance to try out my LHR15 recently I tried to replicate their technique... Needless to say I'm no Paul Dalton :laughing: No idea how he gets any correction moving the polisher at the speed he does. Maybe its just trick editing???

Slow and Low, that is the tempo :xyxthumbs:

[WRAPT C5Z06]

fairly quick arm speed, like Paul Dalton for example.


I've thought the same EXACT thing. I asked one of my good buddies who happens to be one of the top dogs in the industry. He told me, "different strokes for different folks". With that said, yea, it's Paul Dalton. I couldn't get near the results he gets using his technique. He's very skilled. "Slow and go" is a tried and true method and is a lot more fool proof.

[dpk20x]

Yeah I'd love to be able to get the correction he gets with that sort of arm speed but it just ain't happening lol.

I got much better results making like 2 or 3 super slow passes .. Think Barry Theal calls it abrasive isolation, or something like that.

Let me ask you Mark cause I know you have a lot of experiece with all the Rupes polishers .. what pad and product do you tend to favor for heavy defect removal?

[WRAPT C5Z06]

Let me ask you Mark cause I know you have a lot of experiece with all the Rupes polishers .. what pad and product do you tend to favor for heavy defect removal?

That's easy, I use Meg's 5.5" MF cutting & finishing pads with shine supply classic cut. FG400, D300, M105, M101 work great too. This would be with the LHR21.

With the Duetto, I like LC "thin" purple foamed wool pads.

I sold my Rupes 75E mini, didn't like it.



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[dpk20x]

Sweet thanks for the info. Never even heard of shine supply before.

[HandzFTW]

This Chemical Guys Video has alot of detailed info on how to use a polishing machine properly with detailed hand movements and machine control tips. The video is for rotary polishing, but many of the same principals apply to dual action polishing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CI78DjvsLwA