I've been watching your videos for the past few nights and they've been very helpful. In particular, I've been paying close attention to the series on the speed at which you move the various polishers (love the Copa method LOL) and the amount of polish used.
So, I've got this new SRT8 Challenger that just doesn't want to seem to cooperate and let go of those dealer installed swirls.
Here's what I've done so far, I used the Flex without having any real idea how much pressure I was applying and without having any real idea how quickly to move the polisher. I followed Adam's video and put an X on the pad and hit it with the detail spray. I would do this: Orange pad, White pad and then move on to another section. I never wiped it down between orange and white to see if it was "working". I don't know that I fully understood what it meant to get the polish to flash. And I also thought my pads were coming apart because I was seeing little orange "bits" flying around on my car. I understand now that what I thought was the pad was actually bits of dried polish.
Anyhow, as sloppy as that technique was, it did do some work.
The next day all my pads were wet so I did a correction run by hand with the orange hex applicator and the revive blue polish with the blue hex applicator pad.
The weather didn't cooperate the next day, but during that day I watched your video series. Now I have a much better understanding. So, two days ago, I hit it again with the Flex, but I worked it to the speed that you used. It's about an 8 count across whereas the PC would be a 16 count. I used a bathroom scale and found that it doesn't take much pressure to produce the 9-14 pounds of pressure. The machine itself exerts about 5.1 pounds of pressure, so a very slight downward pressure from my right hand at the top of the Flex produces the desired pressure range. I used a small circular bead of polish on the Flex pads (not the pea sized three drops for the PC) and I used the detail spray most of the time after I'd had the polish flash to bring back the polish and get some more time working it. This time, I also just used the Fine Machine Polish and not the orange pad.
Brother, my brother, I thought I was finished when I did the job. Now I don't have a garage so I'm rolling in the outdoors, but in NC, it's been in the 40s and 50s when I've been detailing. It was also not a sunny day that last time. It was mostly overcast. I'd get down and get an angle where I thought I'd have some sunlight to check for the swirls and I wouldn't really see any. So when I finished the car, I hit it with Quick Sealant and then Brilliant Glaze. That night when we left to go out to eat, my wife's car's headlights hit the Challenger and she looked good, but when I went up to her to check again for the swirls, I still saw some. They weren't as bad as they had been before. These are light marks. Not really too bad, but I know the car isn't perfect and I've been busting my hump trying to correct it.
So, my question is this, it's a bright sunny day today (so far). I'd like to get it one more time. Do I need to do anything to the car to remove the Quick Sealant and the Brilliant Glaze? The car has been outside but hasn't been driven since I finished it off with Quick Sealant and Brilliant Glaze. I was thinking about hitting it with the Master Blaster to blow any debris off and then going over it with some Waterless Wash and a waffle towel. If that's ok, then I'm guessing I'll go for the Orange Flex/White Flex. I don't think I'd need the Green pad, but I'd like to know what you think. Would you go PC and use it because it give me more time to work the polish or would you go Flex because it's faster?
I don't have a good light to use to shine on the paint yet to see what's really there. In one of the earlier threads I'd been reading, I saw you recommended a type of light that's meant for installation on a bicycle. I forgot the name, but I saw it on Amazon for a little over $100.
One thing I might need to focus on is the area I'm working. I might be guilty of working more than a 2' x 2' area. It might be slightly larger. It gets funny and hard to tell when you're dealing with areas like the top of the car where there's a sunroof and not a large flat area.
Also, my car has stripes on it (basically factory installed stickers!) and I'm pretty sure those have clear coat over them, but is there any danger of the Flex or PC peeling those off if I don't put 3M automotive tape over them?
Question
irunnoft
AJ,
I've been watching your videos for the past few nights and they've been very helpful. In particular, I've been paying close attention to the series on the speed at which you move the various polishers (love the Copa method LOL) and the amount of polish used.
So, I've got this new SRT8 Challenger that just doesn't want to seem to cooperate and let go of those dealer installed swirls.
Here's what I've done so far, I used the Flex without having any real idea how much pressure I was applying and without having any real idea how quickly to move the polisher. I followed Adam's video and put an X on the pad and hit it with the detail spray. I would do this: Orange pad, White pad and then move on to another section. I never wiped it down between orange and white to see if it was "working". I don't know that I fully understood what it meant to get the polish to flash. And I also thought my pads were coming apart because I was seeing little orange "bits" flying around on my car. I understand now that what I thought was the pad was actually bits of dried polish.
Anyhow, as sloppy as that technique was, it did do some work.
The next day all my pads were wet so I did a correction run by hand with the orange hex applicator and the revive blue polish with the blue hex applicator pad.
The weather didn't cooperate the next day, but during that day I watched your video series. Now I have a much better understanding. So, two days ago, I hit it again with the Flex, but I worked it to the speed that you used. It's about an 8 count across whereas the PC would be a 16 count. I used a bathroom scale and found that it doesn't take much pressure to produce the 9-14 pounds of pressure. The machine itself exerts about 5.1 pounds of pressure, so a very slight downward pressure from my right hand at the top of the Flex produces the desired pressure range. I used a small circular bead of polish on the Flex pads (not the pea sized three drops for the PC) and I used the detail spray most of the time after I'd had the polish flash to bring back the polish and get some more time working it. This time, I also just used the Fine Machine Polish and not the orange pad.
Brother, my brother, I thought I was finished when I did the job. Now I don't have a garage so I'm rolling in the outdoors, but in NC, it's been in the 40s and 50s when I've been detailing. It was also not a sunny day that last time. It was mostly overcast. I'd get down and get an angle where I thought I'd have some sunlight to check for the swirls and I wouldn't really see any. So when I finished the car, I hit it with Quick Sealant and then Brilliant Glaze. That night when we left to go out to eat, my wife's car's headlights hit the Challenger and she looked good, but when I went up to her to check again for the swirls, I still saw some. They weren't as bad as they had been before. These are light marks. Not really too bad, but I know the car isn't perfect and I've been busting my hump trying to correct it.
So, my question is this, it's a bright sunny day today (so far). I'd like to get it one more time. Do I need to do anything to the car to remove the Quick Sealant and the Brilliant Glaze? The car has been outside but hasn't been driven since I finished it off with Quick Sealant and Brilliant Glaze. I was thinking about hitting it with the Master Blaster to blow any debris off and then going over it with some Waterless Wash and a waffle towel. If that's ok, then I'm guessing I'll go for the Orange Flex/White Flex. I don't think I'd need the Green pad, but I'd like to know what you think. Would you go PC and use it because it give me more time to work the polish or would you go Flex because it's faster?
I don't have a good light to use to shine on the paint yet to see what's really there. In one of the earlier threads I'd been reading, I saw you recommended a type of light that's meant for installation on a bicycle. I forgot the name, but I saw it on Amazon for a little over $100.
One thing I might need to focus on is the area I'm working. I might be guilty of working more than a 2' x 2' area. It might be slightly larger. It gets funny and hard to tell when you're dealing with areas like the top of the car where there's a sunroof and not a large flat area.
Also, my car has stripes on it (basically factory installed stickers!) and I'm pretty sure those have clear coat over them, but is there any danger of the Flex or PC peeling those off if I don't put 3M automotive tape over them?
Thanks AJ!
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