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New pad & polish advice/recommendations

4K views 9 replies 3 participants last post by  chongo 
#1 ·
I'll soon be applying a coating courtesy of Auto Allure's group buy and even though my paint was recently corrected, I have noticed some light marring and (very) minor swirls I must have missed. I've also got to take care of a panel that was sprayed about a month ago as that has some garage inflicted swirls - nothing major.

Paint is ridiculously soft Lexus 'Mesa Red'.

It's about time my pads were replaced and will likely try the CG Hex pads. I'm thinking green, white and black to cover my needs on soft paint? Sound about right?

I'm also in need of some new polish too. Would Menzerna 3800 do me well? Or would I need something else too? I was thinking that on soft paint using a green CG hex the 3800 would probably be ok for the minor swirls on the newly painted panel and with a white pad for the slight marring/swirl beginnings here and there. I have some Megs UC and SSR2.5 for anything more stubborn if need be, so looking for something to finish nicely.

Or, I'm open to other suggestions?
 
#2 ·
First thing that comes to mind is Sonax perfect finish polish and a white hex pad and if needed a black finishing pad. Try the black pad first and see if that works if not use the white pad. It has a great wipe off as well so as long as you work it properly and you have a flush MF towel then you shouldn't inflict any marring by yourself.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Since you are applying a coating rather than using a wax/sealant as your LSP which you would be doing a comprehensive wipe down with panel wipe and/or IPA mixture to rid off any polishing oils prior to coating; the Menz 3800 and Sonax PF mentioned by Chongo though perfectly suited to the soft Lexus paint would look a bit different post wipe down which you need to bear that in mind ie the wet look would turn into a crisp look afterwards.

They give incredible wet look, partly due to the highly refined abrasives within and partly due to the abundance of polishing oils within. Not trying to criticise them, it's just the way they are. I have the PF and Menz SF3500 and use them on occasions.

With super soft paint like on your Lexus, just the IPA wipe down stage could easily introduce super fine marring/wipe marks even when using a quality towel; especially in the case of IPA mixture as it's very "dry" and has no lubrication.

On my coating jobs on a soft paint car I finish down with whatever fine polish such as M205, Sonax PF, Menz 3500, Scholl S40, Carpro Reflect first, then a comprehensive panel wipe with Prepsol, followed by Carpro Eraser ( by then there could be very mild wipe marks ) and I go over the car with Carpro Essence with just 2-3 passes, and let the Essence cure for 24 hours so all the solvents within has flashed off and the Si02 based Essence has cross linked. Then I coat the car without having to wipe it down and risk marring the surface in the process. I usually wipe down with towel very lightly to lift any surface dust on car after that 24hr cure period and if I'm paranoid I would just mist a towel with carpro eraser and wipe the panels very very lightly prior to coating.

More and more products like the Essence are coming to the market ie Gyeon Prime , TAC total one essential ( heck they might even be the same product made by one factory in Kr ), and the Opti Pro coatings also come with a primer polish also with a built in catalyst in preparation for the coating and needs no wiping down prior.
 
#5 ·
I'm not too worried about a wet look and crisp is fine with me, but I had considered that the IPA wipe down might introduce fine marks. Do you think a dedicated panel wipe would be any better or are they basically just IPA?

Excellent response too, thanks!
 
#6 · (Edited)
Forgot to mention a couple important things, the polishing oils are able to hide fine swirls so post wipe down make sure all defects are removed to your satisfaction cos post coating need to buff coating off to get to those defects. With soft/flexible/sticky/grabby paint, a polish that wipes off as easy as possible reduces the change of marring from having to wiping off with any pressure. Essence wipes off easier than some spray waxes when used correctly; no big deal in hard paints but on soft Jap paints and especially dark ones that could really make a big difference.

Here are the products I use in Aust, some of them are local brands and not avail in the UK but there are plenty of equivalents anyway.

Prepsol/Wax and grease remover from the automotive painting trade:

Also great for removing road tar and adhesives.

IPA/water mix:

The Mint brand is has a very high IPA content, 80-90% smell very strong, evaporates quick.

Detailing label brands panel wipe

Lot less IPA content, has surfactant , evaporates slowly.

The detailing labels panel wipes, as well as the Prepsol has more lube on the paintwork than IPA wipe. Prepsol is cheaper and more easily avail than detailing wipe down sprays and I use it more often. I spray lots on to drench the surface to lift sealants, polish oils from the paintwork, sometimes I do this more than once. I use the other sprays in smaller quantities, more as a final wipe down before coating.
 
#8 ·
Good watch. I've ordered some along with some CG hex pads (green, white and black) so looking forward to trying it out.

I'll look into what panel wipe to use though as I don't want to ruin the results from the PF.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
#9 ·
Bit of an update...

Yesterday was the day and I don't have anything bad to say about the choice of Sonax PF! Fast work time, easy wipe off and the results are top notch. The paint was already in good condition with only light marring here and there and the usual workshop inflicted swirls from a fresh-ish painted boot lid and spoiler, but the improvements are absolutely clear.

I applied the Auto Allure Easi02 coating after a 10% IPA wipe down so only have a couple of shots prior:



For what was two quick passes, the results are excellent. Especially considering the boot was actually in a bit of a sorry state!

After the coating, there's a glossy/glassy look that I'm very pleased with. Photos don't do it justice, but why not?!





Cannot recommend both Sonax PF (especially on soft paint like mine) and the Easi02 coating enough!

Thanks to chongo for the recommendation and to Lee for the group buy on the coating!
 
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