Help..Advise on Which Polish To Use

[EppyzMK6]

Hello Folks, been really scratching my head on what to do for my poor 2013 VW GTI. I have never owned a vehicle that paint seemed so sensitive to scratch.

I had my car at the Dealer to get a warranted repair done, and specifically requested they NOT wash my car. Well, they did, and there are swirl marks all over. I was going to wait on it, and let them get a little worse before trying to polish them out.

Here is a pic from the side, very hard to capture so hope you guys can see them.

[IMG][/IMG]

I have never really used a DA too much. To be honest, I never really needed to use one. I have done most of my work by hand. I realize that this job is going take much more time by hand so I purchased a DA from Harbor Freight. Not that I am cheap, I just felt that it should suffice for what I would use this machine for. I ordered the LC backing plate so I can use the 5.5 inch pads, and was planning on using the Hex Logic Pads through Chemical Guys. I was thinking of an orange, or green pad. Problem is, I really dont know what product to use to take them off. I have heard stories that VW paint is "Soft" Then I hear their Clear Coat is "Hard" all I know is it scratches very easily.

I like Menzerna products. I like to use the PL sealant is my go to, but also mix iin DG 105 as well.

I was thinking of trying SF4000 first, but honestly, I am not sure what will take them out or not. I dont want to buy 3-4 different bottles of stuff hoping one of them will work, so wanted to ask if anyone has any experience with these paints and which they feel would work to save time and money.

Do I go straight for the PF2500? Or start off less aggressive and go with SF4000? If I use the PF2500 do I need to go over the car with the SF4000 after?

If there are other brands that folks feel may work better for my application by all means I am totally open for suggestion.

Also, does anyone have any experience with the DG Ceramic Coating? Was curious if this was like Opti-Gloss or something? Was thinking of useing the DG Ceramic Coating after all is said and done.

Thanks For your Help and your time...


Jeff

[Guessless]

Jeff,
The General rule is you go least aggressive first on a test spot & if that's not enough then move up the aggressiveness ladder one step at a time.

Hex pads are good if you have'em already, if not LC Hydro techs in 7/8" or CCS pads are good subsitutes.

As for polishes, it's good to have 2-3 different grades on hand.
You'd need a finishing polish anyways so Menz 4000 or 4500, then a Medium polish, and also a heavier compound for more serious defects if your car has such defects.

I'd also look at Scholl Concepts S3 Gold compound, which if you use with less aggressive pads works as a med polish, as well as Sonax Perfect Finish which is a medium polish but couple it with a lesser cut pad and it then becomes a finishing polish. So this way you'd get two polishes instead of three.

You could always get a Free sample of either Wolfgang Uber compound, total Swirl remover, or finishing polish with your order of $95 to try them out.
Good Luck

[dlc95]

If I had to tackle that today, with the supplies I have on hand....

I would start with Meguiar's M205 on a blue hex logic pad. If I needed more bite, I might consider switching to a green hex, or a yellow Rupes microfiber.

You shouldn't need to, but the possibility exists that one may need to follow a green hex logic / yellow Rupes mf with the blue hex.

[EppyzMK6]

I know CG have a sample kit with their V series polishes. Would that be something to try? At least i can try different things at a lower cost to see what works and what doesn't?

As for pads it gets so confusing. So many top choose from. Some help with that would be great. I like the hex logic system seems easy to follow but I'm sure others are the same. To mix and match a pad to the correct polish is all trial and error was hoping someone had some experience with VW paint to help cut some experimental time.

Jeff

[Ebg18t]

My Touareg is the same color. I use FG400 to remove the marks. FG400 can be aggressive, so I use a less aggressive pad (Flex 3401). Works great for me and finishes off really good. i use the über med-polish pad.

[dlc95]

I know CG have a sample kit with their V series polishes. Would that be something to try? At least i can try different things at a lower cost to see what works and what doesn't?

As for pads it gets so confusing. So many top choose from. Some help with that would be great. I like the hex logic system seems easy to follow but I'm sure others are the same. To mix and match a pad to the correct polish is all trial and error was hoping someone had some experience with VW paint to help cut some experimental time.

Jeff

I personally haven't used chemical guys polishes.

I was just discussing pad selection with Mrs. dlc95, and concluded that I like a cutter, polisher, and finisher. For me those end up being the green, blue, and red respectively. I also have both yellow and blue Rupes microfiber pads on hand for heavier corrections. I like hex logic and ccs style pads with super micro abrasive polishes (meguiar's). When I get my menzerna, l'm going to get some lake country hydrotechs (for the porter cable 7424xp), and hybrids (for the 3401), as well as green, blue, and red buff & shine pads (actual manufacturer of hex logic pads).

The Lake Country Hybrids are heavily favored for the 3401. What's great is that the line up is a lot more concise than the ccs. Hydrotech pad line up is even easier.

[ski2]

I have two VWs one black and one medium green. Take it from me VW paint is hard making it difficult to correct easily. I've had good luck using HD Polish with an orange B&S pad, but takes allot of passes so will use HD Adapt for spots. Have now tried Rupes Kerimak Polish. It is designed for hard clear coat and really does a nice job speeding up the work with the B&S orange pads. I also believe the new thin Megs cutting pad will work better than the B&S orange as it seem to have more cut from users reports and it finishes down well. Stay with flat pads and as mentioned above have a couple of alternatives to use on your test spots starting with the least aggressive then moving up as needed.

[The Critic]

Menzerna FG400 on the new Meguiars low-profile Foam Cutting Disc. These new pads seem to finish down near perfect on both soft and hard paint if given the right technique.

[Zubair]

I also have the same make and model GTi, most swirls are removed by SF4000 on the hard paint, very seldom I need to reach for PF2500. Do a test spot with a white LC foam pad first, if that doesn't seem to be correcting, step up to the orange foam pad, if that too doesn't work then only step up to 2500 and FG400 if necessary,