Polishing Steps. Help Please!

Hey everyone, i'm a newbie and i'm going to start my detail work with a PC 7424. How does my polish/wax set-up look like. Please give me some feedback.

-Opt compound II w/ 5.5" LC orange
-Opt polish II w/ 5.5" LC white
-4 star UPP w/ 5.5" LC red

Would Opt poliseal be necessary or can I just use the LSP after polishing? Also how is optiseal different? :shead: Does anyone recommend a better finishing wax/sealant? I'm on a budget.

 

What do you have to wash the car with? Start on getting the car washed properly, clay the car and then move on to polish/seal/wax. I have no experience with Opt, but really love the whole Menzerna lineup.

 

I have some meguiars car wash and a wool sheep skin mitt. I will be claying with mothers clay bar. Just wanted some more info about polishes and waxes. Menzerna is a little pricey for me.

Hey Spyral, you're in seattle. same here..

 

You can go from Opt polish to your LSP, Poli Seal has a sealant in im not sure how well 4 Star will be on top of it. I would go with your original plan of attack

 

Yeah man, in your intro post I invited you to come by my warehouse and try out any product you want before you buy something. I have like 7 different Menzerna polishes and a lot of other supplies. Always happy to share and help out.

 

Oh cool, thanks Spyral. So the more and more I read on this forum, the more i'm confused.

I've been looking over Menzerna and there are so many polishes! sheesh.. i am so lost

 

That is awesome of you what a great help wishing I was in WA lol

 

Yeah, really nice guy.

I'm looking at Menzerna PO203/PO85RD combo. Which one would I use first and with what pad? I've been reading that people are using the white LC pad with the PO203. I don't know if that would give me enough correction? Then again I don't know how to properly gauge my paint. I have a lot of swirls and scratches.

Also does anyone know if Acura paint/clearcoat is soft of hard?

 

Leo, I have both 203 and 85rd. You would use 203 first then finish with 85, but it really is not always necessary. There are other Menzerna polishes you could use with more cut and different pad combinations. I could let you try all the Menzerna polishes you want to figure your best combination, but like I said, your best bet is to wash the car properly (foam gun, 2 bucket system, clay, etc) then move on to correction. Once you have a well cleaned surface, you can better gauge what level of correction you need to pursue. Every Saturday I go to my warehouse and detail my car, try different waxes, interior products, etc. I am no pro, just a weekend warrior with a lot of stuff to try out..lol. You will find detailing products become addicting and you will eventually wind up with way more product than you need. I could open a detailing business with what I have and be set for a while...lol.

 

what makes a foam gun necessary? it just spreads the wash around? Is the 2 bucket system w/ grit guard good enough? How much do foam guns run anyway?

 

Foam guns lift the dirt off the surface and loosens up the grime, so it is not just mashed into the paint when you wash the car. They run about $40 or so from several sites. A 2 bucket system with grit guards and a foam gun are an unbeatable combination..well until you get into PW's and foam cannons..lol

 

Here are pics of my NBP TL. Does anyone know if the paint/clearcoat is hard or soft?





How severe are my defects? Would a two step polish (opt compound II/opt polish II) be sufficient? I am also thinking of using 4star UPP as my LSP. What are the pads you guys recommend? I will be using a PC 7424. I've also been reading a lot of good things about Menzerna. I want to try to PO203/PO85RD combo. It's a bit pricey though. Sorry if this is repetitive but I am really lost and need some guidance.