First time machine polishing - Product recommendations?

[David Puddy]

Hi all:

I've decided to try my hand at machine polishing on a recently acquired 2008 Toyota 4Runner (color is Galactic Gray Mica) and was hoping to get some feedback/recommendations on products and processes.

The truck has mild to moderate swirls throughout and some more noticeable scratches (but none deep enough to catch a finger nail) around the door handles and some fairly heavy scratches under the handles (I assume from finger nails, jewelry or keys). I'm planning to use a Griot's G9 DA with 5.5" Lake Country flat foam pads on a 5" backing plate (I bought 6 orange and 6 white to start) but haven't decided what polish and/or compound to use and with what pads. I'm not looking for show car results - I'd be happy with a 90% correction and restoring some gloss and depth to the paint.

Based on prior research, the 4Runner probably has fairly soft paint, so I was thinking of starting with Sonax Perfect Finish on a white pad. If the results were good I would stop there and proceed to a LSP. If swirls and scratches remained, I could try the Perfect Finish on the orange pads. Does that sound like an OK approach?

I also plan to wet sand the hood (it was repainted and has a bunch of dirt inclusions) and part of the roof (clear coat has some etching, probably from bird droppings). If I were to wet sand with 2000, 3000 and 5000 grit, would the DA/orange pad/Perfect Finish be enough to get the scratches out, or should I plan to start with a cutting compound? I don't mind buying a second product, as I suspect the scratches under the door handles will need something with more cut than the SPF. If I need a compound, would Cutmax work?

Thanks in advance for any insight.

Dave

[Darrell L]

Griots G9 with their supporting pads and polishes are a good start. The issue is no one can give you a pad and polish combination that guaranteed to give you great results on your car. We don't know how your paint is going to react.

You need to do a test(s) spot on the car. And a second test spot on the hood being it was repainted and expected to react different than the rest of the car. Maybe more than one test is required for different pad and polish combinations to get your process for that car figured out.

Always do the lest aggressive method to get results you want. Does the hood really need wet sanded? You might be surprised the results a high quality abrasive technology can achieve.

Do you currently have any polishes?

[dlc95]

Consider the Jescar Line.

Micro Polish = Ultra fine finishing
Medium Polish = Cuts like a compound, finishes like a polish
Correcting Compound = Under promises and over delivers in cut and finish

This has been the most versatile, user friendly set of tools I currently have. At the shop we do everything from high end super cars to daily drivers.

I also use a lot of 3D One. It's similar to Jescar Medium, but has less cut, and sometimes will leave a on ultra fine haze on the paint, which the Jescar Medium does not.

I've used Sonax PF, and It's currently for sale. I find it dusts too much for my liking, and the finish isn't anything I can't get from other polishes. I do really like their Cut and Finish, and Ultimate Cut.

I like to have the three levels of cut, because of the flexibility.

If I were going to try and get it with just one bottle, it would be Jescar or Menzerna Medium..

[David Puddy]

I realize there's no guarantees but there's also literally hundreds of forum posts where people recommend pads and abrasives based on the same criteria (i.e., type of paint, type and extent of defects and expectations) - I'm just asking if my plan sounds OK or if it's misguided in some way. In any event, I will of course do a test section and always work from least to most aggressive.

As for the hood, I'm 99.9% sure it needs to be wet sanded. I guess I'm not opposed to other options, but I also don't want to take off some of the clear coat with compound only to have to immediately take off more by wet sanding.

I haven't bought any compound or polish yet. I'm not aware of any professional quality detail supply shops near me, so I'll likely need to order everything online and wanted to ask here before buying anything.

[David Puddy]

Consider the Jescar Line.

Micro Polish = Ultra fine finishing
Medium Polish = Cuts like a compound, finishes like a polish
Correcting Compound = Under promises and over delivers in cut and finish

This has been the most versatile, user friendly set of tools I currently have. At the shop we do everything from high end super cars to daily drivers.

I also use a lot of 3D One. It's similar to Jescar Medium, but has less cut, and sometimes will leave a on ultra fine haze on the paint, which the Jescar Medium does not.

I've used Sonax PF, and It's currently for sale. I find it dusts too much for my liking, and the finish isn't anything I can't get from other polishes. I do really like their Cut and Finish, and Ultimate Cut.

I like to have the three levels of cut, because of the flexibility.

If I were going to try and get it with just one bottle, it would be Jescar or Menzerna Medium..

Thanks, this is very helpful.

Assuming my clear coat is "typical" for Toyotas and I wanted to try the Jescar line, what pads would you recommend for which products? I'm open to a multi step process, but I also don't have unlimited time so I'd probably prefer to limit it to 2 steps versus 3.

[The Guz]

Look into Sonax Cut Max and EX 04-06. Both user friendly and no dusting.

[Darrell L]

I realize there's no guarantees but there's also literally hundreds of forum posts where people recommend pads and abrasives based on the same criteria (i.e., type of paint, type and extent of defects and expectations) - I'm just asking if my plan sounds OK or if it's misguided in some way. In any event, I will of course do a test section and always work from least to most aggressive.

As for the hood, I'm 99.9% sure it needs to be wet sanded. I guess I'm not opposed to other options, but I also don't want to take off some of the clear coat with compound only to have to immediately take off more by wet sanding.

I haven't bought any compound or polish yet. I'm not aware of any professional quality detail supply shops near me, so I'll likely need to order everything online and wanted to ask here before buying anything.

With adding the test spot, your plan is sound. I keep Sonax Cutmax, Ex 04-06 on hand.

[David Puddy]

Thanks for all the advice so far.

Another question: I'm thinking I also want to get a 3" backing pad and some pads for certain hard-to-reach areas like the A-pillars, door frames, wheel well flares, and front bumper cover. How many should I get? Would 3 cutting and 3 polishing typically be enough to do those areas?

[MisterSnoop]

It's not recommend to put a 3" backing plate on the G9.

[dlc95]

Thanks, this is very helpful.

Assuming my clear coat is "typical" for Toyotas and I wanted to try the Jescar line, what pads would you recommend for which products? I'm open to a multi step process, but I also don't have unlimited time so I'd probably prefer to limit it to 2 steps versus 3.

I'd say you're pretty well set up with the orange and white Lake Country pads.

I use anything from Buff and Shine Uro-Fiber to cut, and Uro-Tec yellow to polish / finish. Ibalso have white pads for the more finicky paints.

I also use the old school green and blue Buff and Shine to a defect removal and polishing respectively. The Jescar seems to work great with a wide variety of pads. Lake Country Hydrotech are a strong favorite for me too.

At the shop we have some Americana Global pads made by Lake Country, and Adams old waffle pads. The Jescar seems to work well on all of them.

I'd start with what you have, and maybe pick up some black ones for final finishing.