1 step or 2?

[PT3]

Hey guys... another question!   

 

I am reading some things talking about a 2-step polish process.  But then I'm also seeing a single-step process.

 

I see the Orange pads/polish is step one.  The 'cutting' step.

 

And then the White is the finishing step.  

 

So, seems to me simply stopping at the Orange step won't complete the polishing process...no?

 

What am I missing here?

 

I'd love to get a great finish with less work!  

[GerryC]

If you're only looking to do one step and your paint is not in too bad of shape, you can try only using the white pad and finishing polish and see if that gets you the results you are looking for.

[mc2hill]

It depends....  Sometimes you can achieve the correction results you want with one polishing step, but most times, for more severe corrections,  it takes two steps.  It is one of those things you cannot be certain of until you do it.

Tape off a 2 ft. x 2 ft. area and try the least aggressive method.  Is that accecptable?  If so, keep doing that over the whole car.  If not, try that combo again and check.  If it is still not what you want, go to the next level of aggressiveness (probably orange pad and PCP).  Are swirls gone?  if yes, then go done in aggressiveness and and check the results.  On some finishes you can correct with just PCP and not have to use PFP.

We can tell you were to start and what to look for, but you have to determine what looks right to you.   

[Chris@Adams]

It all depends on your clear...... some clears will take 2 steps, some you can do a one step (the PCP really finished down nice) with PCP & orange pad and others you can start with PFP & White pad and be done. Hope this makes sense.

[Dan@Adams]

For badly swirled and scratched surfaces, I've found that the new Paint Correcting Polish (orange) has more correcting power than the old orange Swirl & Haze Remover, and like Chris says, it leaves a better finish as well.  With the old S&H Remover, it would leave very fine, very small micro abrasions in the clear coat that the old white Fine Machine Polish would then remove and leave the surface as flawless as possible.  The new orange Paint Correcting Polish doesn't seem to leave those very fine marks as much if at all anymore on some clear coats, so on some cars there may not be a need to go to the second step with the white pad and new white Paint Finishing Polish, and it's therefore a one-step machine polish; however, I usually end up going over it with Paint Finishing Polish as a second step anyway to get that extra bit of clarity in the paint

 

If the finish isn't too bad to start with, there may not be a need to start with the more aggressive orange pad and orange Paint Correct Polish (always start with the least aggressive pads and polish on a test area and go from there), and once you have a car corrected once, you may only need to go back over it with the white pad and white Paint Finishing Polish on additional details down the road.  One of my vehicles is a show car that barely ever sees rain or tree sap and is always washed properly, so I only ever have to use Paint Finishing Polish on it to get it back perfect for the start of the show season.

Edited November 30, 2014 by psu goat

[Thorsager]

I like to use the Paint Correcting Polish as a single step process on some cars. We just polished my sisters 2009 Scion using only the Paint Correcting Polish. The paint is a silver metallic and it turned out great. I'm also glad we did a one step because we had a limited amount of time before she needed the car back. We also only used the Paint Correcting Polish on a 1995 BMW Z3.  The car had never been polished and I was more then happy with the results. As mentioned in other posts each car is different.

Edited November 30, 2014 by Thorsager

[Feets31]

I prefer 3 steps

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ep7dp1HgZnw

[Ricky Bobby]

Start with least aggressive method first. White pad and white polish. If that's not enough orange foam with orange polish, it may finish down LSP ready.

 

Again on your 2014 M5 I can't imagine you need much correction....

[The Guz]

A test spot with the least aggreesive combination will tell you all you need to know.  Let the paint tell you what it likes.

[Dan@Adams]

Start with least aggressive method first. White pad and white polish. If that's not enough orange foam with orange polish, it may finish down LSP ready.

 

Again on your 2014 M5 I can't imagine you need much correction....

 

I agree that it hopefully only needs white foam pads and Paint Finishing Polish, but that all depends how and where it was washed.  I've seen new cars swirled pretty badly at some car dealerships just from improper washing before they are sold to a customer, but I would expect a BMW dealership to spend a little extra time and care on their vehicles

[PT3]

I agree that it hopefully only needs white foam pads and Paint Finishing Polish, but that all depends how and where it was washed. I've seen new cars swirled pretty badly at some car dealerships just from improper washing before they are sold to a customer, but I would expect a BMW dealership to spend a little extra time and care on their vehicles

You'd THINK BMW dealerships would take more care... But you'd be surprised. Some are good. But others are no better than any other car dealership. Even thought BMW's are luxury vehicles, they are not quite at a 'white glove' level that most folks would expect. Quite franky, I would venture to guess MOST BMW owners pay no mind to taking care of their vehicle. I see it all the time.

 

HOWEVER, I picked mine up at the BMW headquarters via a program called 'European Delivery'. So the first time I saw the car it had been freshly buffed and factory prepped. It was as shiny as it ever could be...without some sort of 'paint correction'.

Edited December 1, 2014 by PhilT3 2014 BMW M5

[Ricky Bobby]

Give it a wipe down with diluted IPA after claying the car and you'll see how the car truly looks, European delivery I'm sure was an amazing experience and I hope Euro delivery takes better care of new car prep than US dealerships.

 

You can always use the orange polish with the white pad as a one step as well, if the white/white combo doesn't get the results you need.

Edited December 1, 2014 by Ricky Bobby

[Team Adam's]

Lots of great advice guys!

To but a bow on this discussion, it really depends more on the individual car and the results you're going for than it does on the product.

 

Paint Correcting Polish is certainly capable of being used as a one step on some paints, and if you're working on silver or white and going for better, but not perfect, its certainly a way to speed things up. We have single stepped the big white shop truck more than once - it lives outside, needs to look great (but not perfect) and is so big a one step with PCP and orange pads is ideal.

 

On black paint or a vehicle that has softer paint and you want perfection it may almost always be necessary to do that second step to get the perfect shine and best gloss. When you are just going for the most fantastic looking finish you can get even small improvements in shine matter, so finishing polish is worth the extra effort.

 

As the others pointed out - be sure to test first, figure out what its going to take to get the finish you want, then proceed from there. Every paint job is going to be a little different which is why the test patch becoems so important.

[sportruck00]

I am interested in getting into machine polishing myself. I am curious to why the microfiber pad is most aggressive whereas microfiber is generally our go to choice for delicate care. I understand there are different types and finishes of microfiber but thought I would ask..