Can you help me choose a polish product?

[xilex]

I have a Hyundai Sonata that has accumulated some fine scratches/swirls from car washings. In the past I have clayed and applied wax by hand (ultimate liquid wax). This time I want to do a polish step in between to get rid of these defects. It will still be done by hand. I think I'm going to use the Chemical Guys Hand Pad (Chemical Guys BUFX_202 - Hex-Logic Polishing Hand Applicator Pad, White (3 x 6 x 1 Inch)) for application.

For the polish, I wanted to ask for help selecting one to use. I'm not going for perfection, but rather something easy to use and safe for the paint. I've never polished by hand before. I was planning on using Meguiars ultimate polish, but I've also seen Chemical Guys v36/v38 (do I have to use both? or would one suffice?). Do you have any recommendations for me? Thanks.

[Setec Astronomy]

Going to be a lot of work by hand. If it's a lighter color you might try Ultimate Compound first, you'll have a better shot at correcting by hand. If it looks good after that, then just go to your Ultimate Wax. If not, you can follow with the Ultimate Polish before wax.

If it's a dark color you can try the Ultimate Compound (UC) on a small spot and see if it looks hazy, the Ultimate Polish should remove any haziness. Whatever you do don't use the UC on the whole car without a test spot!

[spiralout462]

Meguiar's Ultimate Polish and Ultimate Compound are good choices for hand polishing. You may not think you need the compound but it is nice to have for the pesky spots. Read Mike Phillips' articles regarding polishing by hand. It's not easy but can be done.

[xilex]

Thanks. I'll look into those two producs. This guy made it look so easy here with the v38 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQSIqgukNfM), I guess it is not?

[VISITOR]

no access to a DA?

[Desertnate]

I use UC and UP with great success and find them easy to use, but I have a DA. I'm not sure I'd attempt to correct an entire car by hand.

[xilex]

It's a dark gray color paint. I would use a DA, but in my building I don't have access to a electric plug. How much pressure do you need to apply by hand, in terms of pounds or kilograms? I haven't found anything that mentions this.

[Setec Astronomy]

It's not the pressure (well, yes, that's part of it), it's the number of strokes. When you have a DA that's doing thousands of orbits a minute, it takes a lot of strokes by hand to do the same work.

Not that it can't be done. I would try the UC/UP on a small area and see how you do.

[allenk4]

Polishing an entire vehicle by hand will result in two things:

Sore arms

Disappointment


Even the least expensive DA polisher is a 500% improvement over anything that can be accomplished by hand

Find a Friend who will let you borrow his garage or an electrical outlet


If you still insist on proceeding by hand, do a 12"x12" Test Spot before proceeding to do the entire vehicle. This step will limit your disappointment to a small area

[Hazcat]

xilex....where to you live? If you're near me I'll let you use my DA.