About to do some detailing this weekend... newbie questions

[soulstar]

Editing this thread as I've ran in to a roadbump.

I can't get rid of hazing/streaks with my polish. I'm using speed 6 on the PC and I'm misting the pad.

For polish / pad, I'm using HD UNO and the orange pad they supplied.

I've done multiple passes, the streaks and items just keep coming back.

Any ideas? Pics below:

http://img101.imageshack.us/i/img00024200910251347.jpg/

http://img132.imageshack.us/i/img00023200910251343.jpg/

[Anbuzero]

Originally Posted by soulstar

1. I've a '07 DG Coupe, stock. From the reading and watching videos on the PC 7424, they usually would want you to apply items on a flat surface as much as possible. So what about the front bumpers? Is it even polished/sealant with a PC? Seems like it'd be hard to be as flat as possible on the front bumpers. I'll be using a blue Lake Country 4 inch pad. Also should mention I have TONS of rock chips on the front bumper... still okay to polish and seal?

You can do the bumpers and parts with curvature as well. You just have to go on them with normal pressure and keep it even with the surface
Also I suggest getting more pads with different cuts. Blue LC pad has no cut.

Originally Posted by soulstar

2. Would I badly damage any of the rubber trims during polish/sealant? Or if I'm careful enough, would I be able to not worry too much about those trims?

YES! its very important to tape off all rubber/plastic moulding while using polishes and any polishing machine

example of a C240 I polished taped up

Originally Posted by soulstar

3. Got a Poorboy EX-P sealant to use and instructions says wait a while after application and wipe off with MF towel. Is it necessary to wait for the sealant to dry?

Yes, you should follow the instructions and wait the time it says. then buff off by hand with a good quality microfiber towel

Originally Posted by soulstar

Anything else I should know to keep a watch for?

Yes make sure you are using the appropriate polish for your paint (should have a few different polishes and pads with different cuts to find the right combo for paint correction)

[kregg]

Would dishsoap be better to use than ONR? I've depended on dishsoap to help remove wax or sealants already on the car, prepping the car better for clay and polish. I would think the ONR would help keep the wax or sealant on....

[Anbuzero]

dawn dishsoap removes waxes and sealants. onr keeps wax on

[soulstar]

Need help quick, ran in to a roadbump. Please see original post.

[thescreensavers]

is it smooth as silk, or does it feel rough rubbery?

It kinda looks like you over worked the Polish, try some Quick Detailer

How many passes are you doing? How much pressure are you putting on. Are you going ,pass 1 left to right then pass 2 up to down? or just 1 left right 2 left right 3 left right.

[soulstar]

The thing is, it's smooth as silk... though if I use QD or diluted ONR, it will not come off. I've tried applying my sealant over it and that took care of the ugly hazing but I'm not sure why it's doing what it's doing.

I've washed off the pad, make sure I can get all the product out as much as I can and tried again, same result... good thing is I can still use sealant on top of it to get rid of the ugliness but what's the consequence of applying sealant without polish until next few month when I try this again with a different polish?

[thescreensavers]

You can apply sealant with out polishing. After polishing you want to apply wax or sealant since your clear coat is fresh more or less.

so again


How many passes are you doing? How much pressure are you putting on. Are you going ,pass 1 left to right then pass 2 up to down? or just 1 left right 2 left right 3 left right.

[soulstar]

I'm giving the usual 10-20 lb pressure.

Passes:

1 pass left right,
1 pass up down,
1 pass right, left
1 pass down, up

Usually I guess I'd assume the polish would be broken down enough so I can wipe off with MF and check but the polish looks as is even after wiping down.

[thescreensavers]

try 10lbs for the first 3 then just the weight of the PC with the last pass. You dont need to put 20lbs thats too much imo.

Also move slowly 1inch per second basically.

[Anbuzero]

try much less weight than that and slow the machine down to 5. go with light pressure first and as the polsih breaks down use only the weight of the machine. i get this sometimes when i put to much weight on the machine and work the polish in too much. also check your pad for excess product or other things that might affect the polish

edit: sorry thescreensavers didnt see your post till after mine

[Darkstar752]

Those are holograms buddy, basically, the polish isn't fully broken down or it is simply too aggressive for the paint. Try it one more time, but do it for a lot longer than you would think, I haven't used HD Uno yet and I don't want too, but with some finer polishes I can work them up to 8 minutes. I'm guessing your not fully breaking it down. The polish should look completely clear once it is broken down, just polish till that happens.

On the areas where you have already polished and have those, just use light pressure for almost the entire time, you don't need to remove more paint, you just need to level it. You may need to buy a finishing polish and pad.

[Detailed Image]

What are you misting the pad with? Some polishes don't work well with a QD or even water and could be causing your streaking / hazing issues. You can wipe with some isopropyl alcohol to see if it's excess product or reminants of the QD.

If it's holograms or hazing then perhaps you aren't breaking it down enough or it's time to switch to a better polish. Your technique sounds ok.

What brand orange pad are you using? If it's Lake Country, there's your problem. Too aggressive of a pad matched with a finishing polish will always cause some hazing.

[soulstar]

Pad is the supposed UNO pad that came with the HD UNO polish.

Only reason I'm using them is because they came in a kit with the PC.

I wasn't willing to spend more time trying to figure this out so for this time, i just used to PC for applying the sealant (which looks great btw, got a lot of lookers this morning driving in to work).

Probably will do a bit more research next time I polish and maybe skip out on this whole HD deal and get a good combo from DI (who has taken a good chunk out of my wallet lately )

Anyway, thanks for the help all!