first time polisher

[moecaballero]

Newbie here!

Anyhow I have a new 2013 Ford p-up purchased this past september. It is black (unfortunately). As you all are aware EVERYTHING shows, LOL. So there aren't many imperfections, there are a some fine swirls obviously from washing. Looking for advice on which steps i should take to get this truck "poppin". I have a flex from adams (brand new) and all the pads, polishes, and waxes. Just don't know what products and steps to take.

A little help please. Thank you!

 

Moe

[Ricky Bobby]

Well you sure invested in a nice machine, the Flex has a learning curve.  Did you watch all the videos on Adam's website on using the Flex with their pads and polishes?  Follow the directions, and you should be off to a good start

 

A good wash and claybar session will do wonders first for you

Edited January 15, 2014 by Ricky Bobby

[redneck08sierra]

^ I 2nd the videos...best place to start

[moecaballero]

i have watched the videos "religiously"..LOL.

 

I wasn't sure if i needed to use the paint correction system or if I needed to follow less aggressive steps? It is my DD and i work in concrete construction, so the first day after a wash i am blasted with fines from rock and sand (concrete plant).

 

thanks y'all!

[redneck08sierra]

always start with the least aggressive first b/c you may not have to use both steps of the paint correcting polish

[mc2hill]

I wasn't sure if i needed to use the paint correction system or if I needed to follow less aggressive steps? It is my DD and i work in concrete construction, so the first day after a wash i am blasted with fines from rock and sand (concrete plant).

 

 

Yes, try the least aggressive polish/pad combination first.

 

You want to work 2 ft. x 2 ft. sections.  And most suggest working a single 2x2 area to get the process for the specific car dialed in - does it need 2 section passes of Paint Correcting Polish and 1 pass of Paint Finishing Polish, or just 1 pass of Paint Correcting Polish before Paint Finishing Polish.  Work that 2x2 area until you are satisfied, then move on rest of the car.  Working one panel at a time, go around the car (or if the panel is large like the hood, you can do half at a time). This is so you do not get ahead of yourself, and it makes it much easier to keep track of what you've already done and when you have left to do..  Otherwise you just follow the label directions and do 8 hours of polishing for an only slightly shinier car! (ask me how I know    !).  (Once you start doing this you will start sectioning off all the cars you see!)

 

You will often see an area taped off for testing.  This allows you the have a 'line of demarcation' and you can easily see the progress made in the polished vs. the untouched area.  If you are trying a couple of different polish/pad combinations, then you will have several taped area over a hood or trunk compare the results.

[Chris@Adams]

One more thing......have fun & take pics!

[billawd]

we have a few brand new fords as well if the truck is tuxedo back the paint is super soft and you can get most small scratches and swirls out with a few passes of paint finishing polish on the white pad.  After you get the paint were you want it just keep up with a good wash technique and it will keep future swirls to a minimum.

[moecaballero]

It is tuxedo black. Thanks for the heads up an thanks to everyone else for the great advice.

[07stanggt]

My wife has a 2013 Tuxedo black Focus and the paint and clearcoat on the car is pretty hard, as with most american cars.You can use either microfiber or your foam pads to get great results. That paint should really "pop" because of the black paint and the amount of metalflake in the paint.Ford does a great job with thier recent new paint colors they have and tuxedo black is one of my favorites.Here are a couple of pics of my wifes Focus after I used Machine Sealant, Brilliant Glaze, and then waxed with Americana.The shine on the hood is from my neighbors trees next door, over 75 feet away!! Good luck!!

 

[Ricky Bobby]

If you work in construction, your truck is new and hasn't been deconditioned yet, I would get the Paint Correcting Polish, Paint Finishing polish combo with the foam pads, a Clay bar kit, and Liquid Paint sealant, and go to town.

 

The MF pads tend to cut more than foam pads, which is why I recommended them to you.  If you watch his writeups, even Phil at Detailers Domain uses a compounding step on his new car preps, even cars "fresh off the trailer" tend to have swirls and scratches from careless preps, the automatic car washes they use to clean their cars, dirty towels to dry, etc.

 

Working in your field, you have a ton of stuff I'm sture embedded in the paint, so start with a good wash and Clay Bar session, get that paint smooth as glass, don't worry about swirls/scratches yet!  Then use the orange correcting polish with foam pad, the nice thing about it is that the work time isn't too long, so if you work a 2x2 area with a couple passes, you may wipe the residue away and find that your swirls/scratches are removed, if they aren't keep working it down.  When corrected, then you can go straight to white pad and polish to smooth and bring out the gloss.  That might only need a pass or two as well.  Then put a nice coat of the new Liquid Paint Sealant (or aerosol quick sealant if you prefer) and you will have protected your finish for the next 6 months.

Edited January 16, 2014 by Ricky Bobby