Is all the stages necessary?

[krncyk]

Did a 3 stage correction on my glacier white b8 s4 last year and topped it off with 22ple and it came out great. I used Mezerna polishes fg400, 2500, and 4000, along with lake country hydro pads, cyan, crimson, and tangerine. I used the lhr21es with a 5" back plate. The question I had was, I just bought a new tuxedo black F-250 and was wondering if I should do another 3 stage or just stick with a 2 stage with the 2500 and the 4000. Will it make a big impact as far as gloss, not using the heavier compound first? Also the color has metallic flakes in it and it really takes away from gloss because of the flakes. Thinking about pulling the trigger on some of the blackfire blackice to maybe help darken it up a little bit. Are there any other products you guys recommend to darken up the flakes? I really wanted to go down the coating route as this truck will be used for commercial uses but I love the gloss that a good wax provides on black. I'm assuming from stuff I've read in the past that you can't wax on top of opticoat 2.0 but the new gloss-coat states you can, so I may go down that route or stick with 22ple and try the blackice on top of that. So many products, its really mind boggling... Not that its a bad thing! :) Any input will be greatly appreciated!

[Contact40]

I'm probably the wrong guy to answer this, as I am a noob myself, but one thing I have learned is there is only so much clear coat on a vehicle, and (obviously) once it's gone, it's gone. With that, I feel you want the least amount of steps that will achieve the look you desire.

Clearly (see what I did there?) you're not going to get through the clear coat anytime soon, but still...if it's in good shape, I would stick to as few steps as needed.

I would try a test spot with your 2 step first and see if it's what you're looking for.

[jamesboyy]

Begin that its new your gonna keep it for a while and the unexpected always comes about therefore I would do a one step just to save skin (clear coat ) and time though two steps are just as good too

[allenk4]

Do a 16" x 16" Test Spot with the least aggressive combination of polish and pad that you think might do the job and go from there

[Hazcat]

Only use a compound on areas that a polish won't take out the paint defect. If you have a scratch on the bed you may need to compound that spot then polish it to get rid of the micro marring from the compound. Otherwise a light polish to remove swirls is all you need. If you don't have swirls then you don't need to polish either. All you need is to touch it up with your 22ple after checking for surface contamination and doing a wipe down. If you need to clay then you may want to run a light polish over the finish to take out any micro marring inflicted by the clay. Do the least aggressive paint correction to get the look you want.

[krncyk]

The only question other question I had was. Is the 4000 going to be able to level out the clear coat? What I mean by that is the clear coat on this truck seems very uneven almost wavy. Wouldn't I have to use at least the 2500 to level it all out? Thanks for all the quick responses!

[hernandez.art13]

I agree with Kyle in doing a test spot first and starting with the least aggressive method.

As far as leveling it out? Do you have pictures? And are you talking about orange peal?

[krncyk]

Yes, after doing a search it seems that is the term used for what I'm seeing. Sorry I'm definitely a novice at this. It seems theres no way to just buff it out with compound, besides wetsanding. May have to do some more research, as I'm definitely not trying to get a paint job with a thicker clear coat on a brand new truck..

[Sicoupe]

Great info:)

[antti@561detailing]

For orange peel look for Mike Phillips post about denim pads...i believe 4000 is gloss not for leveling really

[mwoolfso]

Did a 3 stage correction on my glacier white b8 s4 last year and topped it off with 22ple and it came out great. I used Mezerna polishes fg400, 2500, and 4000, along with lake country hydro pads, cyan, crimson, and tangerine. I used the lhr21es with a 5" back plate. The question I had was, I just bought a new tuxedo black F-250 and was wondering if I should do another 3 stage or just stick with a 2 stage with the 2500 and the 4000. Will it make a big impact as far as gloss, not using the heavier compound first? Also the color has metallic flakes in it and it really takes away from gloss because of the flakes. Thinking about pulling the trigger on some of the blackfire blackice to maybe help darken it up a little bit. Are there any other products you guys recommend to darken up the flakes? I really wanted to go down the coating route as this truck will be used for commercial uses but I love the gloss that a good wax provides on black. I'm assuming from stuff I've read in the past that you can't wax on top of opticoat 2.0 but the new gloss-coat states you can, so I may go down that route or stick with 22ple and try the blackice on top of that. So many products, its really mind boggling... Not that its a bad thing! :) Any input will be greatly appreciated!

As to whether or not you compound and/or polish there are basic guidelines you should follow:

1. You only need to compound when the paint needs to be "corrected". You "polish" when you want to eliminate swirls and enhance the finish of the paint. Polishing and correcting are two different things altogether.

2. Test spots rule the day when it comes to locking-down product choices and process. Generally speaking with a new vehicle the need to compound just isn't there 99.99% of the time.

On the LSP recommendations your mind is boggled. Prioritize your needed and product recommendations will follow. This is what I captured below, feel free to revise it but definitely put it in order. :dblthumb2:

- An LSP that darkens the paint
- Protection due to commercial intentions
- Love the glossy look that many LSP's provide

[krncyk]

Priority's would be:

- An LSP that darkens the paint
- Protection due to commercial intentions
- Wet, deep, gloss look
- Hide the metallic much as possible and bring out the black (don't know if this is even possible)
- Less maintenance would be nice as my life is running out of time as far as family, work, etc, but I enjoy detailing so I always try to set time aside..

That about sums it up. -Daniel