Finishing Polish

[aclass]

First time using the product and was very pleased. 

I received a bottle of finishing polish in a Mystery Box last year and while performing the annual clay/correction on my SQ5 during the Winter weather weekend I decided to give it a try after the correcting layer. A very nice difference that really brought the shine out prior to sealing the finish.

[pirahnah3]

its a nice really fine polish that certainly leaves a great final result to add your protectant onto. 

[DaleH]

Yup... just finished. It's beautiful. Made the black nice and deep. This is after polish before coating. 

[Dan@Adams]

That looks great Dale! Thanks for sharing the picture and experience

[DaleH]

I wish I'd taken an a/b of the difference the finishing polish made. I almost didn't do it because the correcting polish did such an awesome job. Next up is the Edge, which is Mineral Gray, so I'm not expecting the same... If it is there will be pics this time. It has a few more miles on it so I'm waiting on my heavy correcting compound.

[shane@detailedreflections]

4 hours ago, DaleH said:

I wish I'd taken an a/b of the difference the finishing polish made. I almost didn't do it because the correcting polish did such an awesome job. Next up is the Edge, which is Mineral Gray, so I'm not expecting the same... If it is there will be pics this time. It has a few more miles on it so I'm waiting on my heavy correcting compound.

 

I can’t stress the importance of least to most aggressive methods enough. Try a test spot. You may be surprised at what correcting polish will do. Or even just a finishing polish. You may not need to go to a compound. Maybe you do?  But if you don’t, and you use a compound you’re spending time you don’t need to spend and removing clear coat you don’t need to remove. 

 

For reference, in the line of polishes/compounds we use we have seven or eight different ones. It helps us really dial in “just the right amount of aggressive.” This is true particularly when you match it to the five or six different pad types/cut we have. We have one compound that will matte your finish and allow you to polish it back. It’s not commonly used for other than scratch removal, but we have the option. Most people don’t need that varied of a product line, but it just reminds you of the variables you can encounter when working with paint and sometimes you don’t need that super aggressive stuff. 

 

It seems the idea of a test spot is quickly forgotten. 

 

 

[DaleH]

3 minutes ago, shane@detailedreflections said:

 

I can’t stress the importance of least to most aggressive methods enough. Try a test spot. You may be surprised at what correcting polish will do. Or even just a finishing polish. You may not need to go to a compound. Maybe you do?  But if you don’t, and you use a compound you’re spending time you don’t need to spend and removing clear coat you don’t need to remove. 

 

For reference, in the line of polishes/compounds we use we have seven or eight different ones. It helps us really dial in “just the right amount of aggressive.” This is true particularly when you match it to the five or six different pad types/cut we have. We have one compound that will matte your finish and allow you to polish it back. It’s not commonly used for other than scratch removal, but we have the option. Most people don’t need that varied of a product line, but it just reminds you of the variables you can encounter when working with paint and sometimes you don’t need that super aggressive stuff. 

 

It seems the idea of a test spot is quickly forgotten. 

 

 

Absolutely. One of the best pieces of advice. It's also important to remember that different parts of the car are not finished the same way. What I've done on body panels has been different than the bumpers and the large trim pieces. The only reason I'm waiting for the compound is that I want all the tools in the shed before I start just in case. I've also got the 5.5" set of pads coming as well. Maybe I've watched too much Kevin Brown but I try and do as much as I can with as little as I can. I did a test run on the Edge with my HF DA to get used to using a polisher before jumping on the black paint, so I know that correcting polish on an orange pad isn't going to get me where I want to get. My plan was to try microfiber and CP before upping to the compound.

 

I've made enough mistakes to have learned to test everything. I think of it as LASIK eye surgery. There are no do overs. Thank you so much for taking the time to help out a weekend warrior.

[shane@detailedreflections]

47 minutes ago, DaleH said:

Absolutely. One of the best pieces of advice. It's also important to remember that different parts of the car are not finished the same way. What I've done on body panels has been different than the bumpers and the large trim pieces. The only reason I'm waiting for the compound is that I want all the tools in the shed before I start just in case. I've also got the 5.5" set of pads coming as well. Maybe I've watched too much Kevin Brown but I try and do as much as I can with as little as I can. I did a test run on the Edge with my HF DA to get used to using a polisher before jumping on the black paint, so I know that correcting polish on an orange pad isn't going to get me where I want to get. My plan was to try microfiber and CP before upping to the compound.

 

I've made enough mistakes to have learned to test everything. I think of it as LASIK eye surgery. There are no do overs. Thank you so much for taking the time to help out a weekend warrior.

 

You’re very welcome. Happy to help. Adams keeps the line pretty simple. And one other thing to consider is just because one combination worked one vehicle doesn’t mean similar damage on another vehicle. Different brands have different paints. For example...Mercedes paint is crazy hard. It takes way more to correct than say Honda or Subaru paint which tends to be pretty soft. Honda paint also tends to be a little thin in our experience. 

 

The test spot should always be step one since every car and every paint job is different regardless of damage. 

 

We actually go to the level of measuring the paint to know what we have to work with. It’s a luxury most weekend warriors don’t have (a generic paint gauge can be had for less than $150, but they don’t last long in our experience). But if you’re doing a lot of work, it’s absolutely something to consider investing in.