<< A guide to Wolf's polishes >>

Hi all!

So I've been getting some questions lately as to why we have so many different polishes and I know that it's sometimes hard to understand which one is for which paint and so on, so in this post I'll try to clear things up for you all.

<< Soft to medium-hard paint with light swirls >>

Wolf's WP-1N = So if the car has a soft to medium-hard paint and only light swirls on it, with a finishing pad this should clear things up with no problems. By soft to "medium-hard" I would say Honda, Toyota (not white ones, they've got pretty hard paint *SS made with titanium dioxide* in most cases), Ford, Mitsubishi, Fiat, etc.

<< Hard paint with light swirls >>

Wolf's Chemicals WP-2N or WP-3N = For hard paints with light swirls, meaning light washing/drying swirls, you can usually clear things up with 2N or 3N and a finishing pad. Just remember to always start with the least aggressive combo . By "hard paint" I'm referring to BMW, Audi/VW, Mercedes, Ferrari (though this is the softer of the ceramics), etc.

<< Soft to medium-hard paint with light RIDS >>

Again, always start with the least aggressive combo and work your way up if you feel it's not cutting enough. If you've tried WP-1N and a finishing pad and it seems that you haven't done a whole lot of correction it's time to step up to a medium pad and WP-3N. In most cases this should clear things up and leave you with a very smooth finish, ready for refining with WP-1N and a finishing pad.

<< Hard paint with light RIDS >>

Here's why I've developed the "ceramic-cut" versions of our polishes. So WP-3N is a "medium" polish, but that's for "normal" paints. Using WP-3N as a "medium" polish on a ceramic paint would actually bump its cutting power down to almost a "finishing polish" rather than a "medium polish" because the paint is so hard. I hope I haven't already lost you . Therefore, we've developed WP-4N to make up for that lost cutting power so we've classified Wolf's WP-4N as a "medium ceramic-cut polish". Using WP-4N and an medium pad should clear up light RIDS and from there you should be able to finish things up with WP-2N or WP-1N and a finishing pad.

<< Soft to medium-hard paint with heavy RIDS >>

So when I say "heavy RIDS" I mean automatic car wash queens, cars that have been attacked by bushes and have some serious Van Damage on them . If you've gotten past the WP-3N and a medium pad stage and there's still some work to be done, it's time to step up again! This time it's going to be Wolf's Chemicals WP-5N and a foam cutting pad. Or perhaps if the paint falls into the "medium-hard" category, you could even step up to WP-6S and a foam cutting pad. Either combo should leave you with a very nice finish which you should be able to clear up with a finishing pad and WP-2N or WP-1N. If you can't finish in one step after the compounding combo, it's likely that you haven't refined th polish enough so give it a little more time to break down properly.

<< Hard paint with heavy RIDS >>

If you've gone through the previous steps to no avail, it's time to bring out the big gunz... WP-6H "The Leveler" . If I've got a really damaged ceramic paint with heavy swirls and RIDS all over it's time to level the paint. Here's an example of what I would consider a paint in VERY bad condition... this is a 599 I did that spent more than a year in Dubai... You can even see the deep scratches where the flash doesn't reach :sheep:



You should start with a foam cutting pad, because this will leave you with a better finish than a wool pad. I only breakout the wooly mammoth in cases where the foam pad isn't cutting like I want it to, like this . A foam cutting pad and WP-6H will leave you with a very nice finish ready to be refined with a finishing pad and either WP-3N, WP-2N or WP-1N depending on how well you've refined the compound and depending on the hardness of the paint. Just as with WP-4N, WP-6H was developed to be a "cut above" (pun intended ) the "normal" compound to combat ceramic finishes.

So this is sort of a "by the book" guide to our polishes, but I encourage you to make your own discoveries with them. Keep in mind that all of our polishes can be manipulated by speed and pressure, as with most polishes. If you're a one-step junkie like me, you can even polish a ceramic finish with heavy RIDS using WP-6H and a finishing pad, and it will leave you with a 100% hologram-free finish... OK that's not so easy to do, but yes it can be done. Now go play !

I hope I've been able to explain how to use our polishes well enough and I welcome any questions!

- Jesse O'Connor

 

Nice information. Can you give some insight to the characteristics of each polish while working with them? Amount of dusting, using generous amount of polish vs. a little goes a long way, ease of removal from paint, etc?

 

Cheers ! One thing you'll notice with all of our polishes is that there's very little dusting and that's even with the heavy compounds... Working times are very good with all of them and no you don't need to use a lot. With polishes 1 - 3 I usually prime the pad a bit with an "X" and rub it in, then I work it until it's broken down. Then after that the pad should be nice and lubed for finishing. A couple of small circles/pea-sized drops on two sides of the pad should be more than enough to get you where you want to be! I've used tons of different polishes throughout my career and I can honestly say that these are probably the easiest to remove once broken down properly... this comes in very handy when you're working with a soft paint! Let me know if you have any more questions!

Jesse

 

Jesse, how much do we need to worry about the polish residue left on the paint with these polishes? Are they easy to remove with an IPA wipedown?