Quote:
Originally Posted by EJR8402
I like Lake Country pads, and use them with my PC7424. Like a lot of pads, the color indicates the level of abrasiveness. They can be had at www.autogeek.net, and I'm sure other places.
Polishing is all about finding the pad/polish combination that is no more aggressive than needed to correct the defect(s). You start with the most aggressive combination that you've chosen, then work your way gradually down in aggressiveness/abrasiveness. The chart below provides a good comprehensive list of various polishes by various manufacturer's/labels in order of abrasiveness.
https://www.autopia.org/Todd-Helme/polish-chart.jpg
You might try watching some youtube videos or reading some tutorials online. Here's one from Mike Phillips @ Autogeek:
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Thanks for the response here.
I've actually watched a few of the Autogeek videos, including this one (which doesn't really discuss much - the others were better suited to what I was after). I'm a big consumer of YT content once I've been able to validate that it's the sort of content I am after.
You stated "You start with the most aggressive combination that you've chosen, then work your way gradually down in aggressiveness/abrasiveness."
That seems incorrect to me. I would expect to start with the LEAST aggressive combo that would be targeted toward my needs and then work my way UP until I achieve the results I'm after. Starting with something more aggressive than I actually need would cause more "harm" than necessary to achieve a result.
For example: Targeting some light water spotting has lighter needs than having to correct three years of so-so washing habits that cause a lot of swirls. If I start with something aggressive enough for swirls, I would be taking off more clear coat than necessary just to alleviate some light water spots. No?
The other thing I'm completely lost on right now is literally "where to start." The car sat on the dealer's lot for around 9 months. Rain, snow, sun, wind, etc. Now, it has additional water spotting due to being washed with well water. I want to get the paint as clean as I reasonably can (I'm not looking for perfect because it isn't a show car) so that I can seal it and have a more intelligent overall way of keeping it clean and in good shape. So, what do I potentially target in terms of a level of abrasiveness in a polish? Pad? Combo?
It's sort of like telling someone that they should be a saw if they need to cut something without considering the type of material, the quality of cut necessary, the thickness of the material, etc.