First Time Polishing!

[S4 John]

Happy Memorial Day! I've always been afraid to use a machine on my cars because I never wanted to damage the paint. Last Christmas, I picked up a TORQ 22D dual action polisher and put it to work over the weekend on my daily E90. It came out great for my first time. There are still some deeper scratches, however, I didn't want to go any more aggressive as I wanted to keep it a 1 step polish. Excuse the mess in the yard.

Steps:
1) Wash - Adam's car soap & sonax on wheels
2) Clay - Mother's
3) 1 step polish - Uber Orange Pad and V36
4) Wash again to remove oils and compound dust
5) Applied Jet Seal
6) Applied Swissvax Onyx Wax





To get this on topic my B5 S4 Avant is up next when I find some time. It has some major swirls from improper washing.

[H60mguy]

Looks good. I recently just switched to JetSeal and love it! Top it off with P21 and it really makes the Sepang pop. Was thinking about trying Blacklight out next time.


Sent from hell

[Avus RS4]

Excellent!
It looks great!

[Peter.dupuis]

The torq 22d is awesome that's what I use


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[IbisB8.5S4]

i do detailing on the side and it's amazing what a one step can do!

[S4 00 2.7]

nice job

[rdauer26]

Wow! Great job man. The biggest flaw to my A6 is the paint. Serious swirl marks and poor touch up on deeper scratches. I plan on trying my first polish to see how much I can improve it. Will probably follow your products used/steps. I will however be using a polisher from harbor freight that my buddy has. Boost of confidence seeing a first timer have success

[Paulck]

I am doing my first job on my 2007 BLACK S4 this next weekend. A little nervous still trying to figure out what products to get but I am sure it will be ok.

[pdqgp]

I am doing my first job on my 2007 BLACK S4 this next weekend. A little nervous still trying to figure out what products to get but I am sure it will be ok.

Use a good Dual Action Orbital Buffer and no worries as you really can't damage the paint.

All depends on the condition of the paint you're starting out with. If it's the first time ever using a buffer, some of the better all in one cleaner, polish and sealer products like Wolfgang Uber AIO or HDSpeed will be easy to use until you get some experience. Look forward to seeing the results or helping with any questions.

[Paulck]

What about products by mothers or meguiars? That would save me from having to order online. Those inferior products or will it be about the same?

The paint has never been done so it's rough to someone ocd like myself. I watched tons of youtube videos and feel i have a grasp on what I need to do. A good wash, clay, compound, buff, and seal.... That sound about right?

[pdqgp]

What about products by mothers or meguiars? That would save me from having to order online. Those inferior products or will it be about the same?

The paint has never been done so it's rough to someone ocd like myself. I watched tons of youtube videos and feel i have a grasp on what I need to do. A good wash, clay, compound, buff, and seal.... That sound about right?

The Megs Twins, Ultimate Compound and Ultimate Polish and for the trio their Ultimate Wax (actually a hybrid sealant) are very good products. I used to use them all the time and they were what I used when correcting my S4 initially.

For a standard DA Machine Use an Orange Pad and the Ultimate Compound (5 pads total) and then white pads with the Ultimate Polish (3-4 pads) and then top it with the wax using a black pad possibly two. If it's brilliant black just take your time as it shows everything so a full correction on it will be tedious.

[miked1978]

The Megs Twins, Ultimate Compound and Ultimate Polish and for the trio their Ultimate Wax (actually a hybrid sealant) are very good products. I used to use them all the time and they were what I used when correcting my S4 initially.

For a standard DA Machine Use an Orange Pad and the Ultimate Compound (5 pads total) and then white pads with the Ultimate Polish (3-4 pads) and then top it with the wax using a black pad possibly two. If it's brilliant black just take your time as it shows everything so a full correction on it will be tedious.

seems like a lot of pads... I've done a two stage correction on two vehicles and used the same three pads each time. I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure my arms would fall off before I would need 5 pads on one polishing step.

[pdqgp]

seems like a lot of pads... I've done a two stage correction on two vehicles and used the same three pads each time. I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure my arms would fall off before I would need 5 pads on one polishing step.

Not in position s to elaborate but the numbers I quoted are the way to do it. I'll post you to the best practice articles later.

Here are some good links that will outline the reasons you should swap pads quite often. No need for me to repeat best practices.

http://www.detailedimage.com/Ask-a-P...any-do-i-need/

https://m.facebook.com/Mike.Phillips...94093287291377

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk

[Vaks]

Not in position s to elaborate but the numbers I quoted are the way to do it. I'll post you to the best practice articles later.

Here are some good links that will outline the reasons you should swap pads quite often. No need for me to repeat best practices.

http://www.detailedimage.com/Ask-a-P...any-do-i-need/

https://m.facebook.com/Mike.Phillips...94093287291377

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk

Wow that facebook link was actually very helpful. Thanks!

[bayonet14]

Great job - and I dig your color selection in the BMW
Have the same in my "now" daughters E90

[Zactastic]

This may be a very rookie question, but does this process of compounding take off the clearcoat? what if, say they clear coat is pretty much gone, like on my wife' 16 year old jetta. Do i change my steps differently than i would with a newer car?

Im trying to invest in a new set and im new to this category of detailing. let me know which kit would best serve. I'll likely use the polisher on my A4 and the wifes Tiguan too. budget is around $250 for orbital polisher. cheers

[S4 John]

This may be a very rookie question, but does this process of compounding take off the clearcoat? what if, say they clear coat is pretty much gone, like on my wife' 16 year old jetta. Do i change my steps differently than i would with a newer car?

Im trying to invest in a new set and im new to this category of detailing. let me know which kit would best serve. I'll likely use the polisher on my A4 and the wifes Tiguan too. budget is around $250 for orbital polisher. cheers

Both compounding and polishing are using abrasives that will remove some clear. Compounding is more aggressive. What you are doing is leveling scratches in the paint and you only have a finite amount of clear on a car. So this process can be done a certain amount of times. I would have someone measure the jetta with a paint depth gauge. It could be too far gone and you will burn through the remaining clear and will require a repaint.

As for beginner polishers, I heard the griot's garage orbital or the porter cable are the best entry level/affordable options. I now have two rupes dual action polishers since creating this post.

[Zactastic]

thanks so much. i went with the Griot's orbital.