Can I just do Finish Polish?

[PT3]

Hi all-

 

If my finish is in good condition... Do I need to even use the orange Correction Polish?

 

If I don't have any moderate swirls or scratches, will it do any good? Will it help to remove orange peel? That I DO have.

 

Or is it simply 'best practice'?

 

Thanks.

[goheels]

Always use the least aggressive method when it comes to your paint. There is no reason to unnecessarily burn through clearcoat if your finish is already flawless. (No, correcting polish will not remove orange peel.)

[PT3]

Orange peel can only be corrected by wet sanding...?

[ForceofWill]

Orange peel can only be corrected by wet sanding...?

I think pretty much everyone lives with it now, it's the standard for new cars. Short of a big money paint job it's the norm I'd say.

[Ricky Bobby]

Phil I dont know if you were in the thread discussing it a few months back.  You'd basically have to pay about 4-5k to have orange peel fully corrected by a professional.

 

Live with the factory orange peel, and find a spot on your M5 which is the most swirled/scratched, probably the hood somewhere.  Do a test spot with the white PF polish.  If it finishes down well for you, go on to the rest of the car.  If you are looking for more cut, do a pass with orange foam and PC polish.

 

Honestly though with your metallic gray, I'm not sure what defects are on the finish (haven't seen close ups, but your farther away shots looked good), but if you are needing cut, you should be able to 1-step the correction/polishing with orange foam and PC polish in probably one pass. On your color it should finish down perfectly ready for LSP.

[PT3]

Phil I dont know if you were in the thread discussing it a few months back.  You'd basically have to pay about 4-5k to have orange peel fully corrected by a professional.

 

Live with the factory orange peel, and find a spot on your M5 which is the most swirled/scratched, probably the hood somewhere.  Do a test spot with the white PF polish.  If it finishes down well for you, go on to the rest of the car.  If you are looking for more cut, do a pass with orange foam and PC polish.

 

Honestly though with your metallic gray, I'm not sure what defects are on the finish (haven't seen close ups, but your farther away shots looked good), but if you are needing cut, you should be able to 1-step the correction/polishing with orange foam and PC polish in probably one pass. On your color it should finish down perfectly ready for LSP.

Ok. Are you saying if I need more cutting power (to remove swirls, etc) just use the orange pad and PC Polish and don't even bother with the white pad and PF polish?

 

And as always...THANK YOU!

[Ricky Bobby]

Basically. 

 

Since you want to try least aggressive method first, do a pass with white pad and PF polish (white foam).  If you get the finish you want from that, do whole car that way.

 

However if you get done with your "test pass" and find that there are some slightly bigger defects to remove that the first pass didn't get, step it down to the orange foam with the PC polish.  The PC polish finishes down so well, combined with the orange foam, that I guarantee if you had any remaining swirls or fine scratches you'd look flawless after a pass with orange and PC.

 

Basically I'm guessing based on your narrative of care of the vehicle, the color of the paint, and the age of the vehicle that either you'll be able to one step the car with PF or one step it with PC.  If you had Jet Black 608, then you would prob need to do a 2-step process.  PC finishes down so well that its basically a 1-step on everything but Black, and even sometimes on black it can be a 1-step.

 

Let me know how the test spot goes.  If you have any RTU waterless wash you can wipe down the test spot with it after it to remove residues and clean the surface so you can inspect your work (the RTU Waterless has no glossing agents, just straight cleaners)

[PT3]

Basically. 

 

Since you want to try least aggressive method first, do a pass with white pad and PF polish (white foam).  If you get the finish you want from that, do whole car that way.

 

However if you get done with your "test pass" and find that there are some slightly bigger defects to remove that the first pass didn't get, step it down to the orange foam with the PC polish.  The PC polish finishes down so well, combined with the orange foam, that I guarantee if you had any remaining swirls or fine scratches you'd look flawless after a pass with orange and PC.

 

Basically I'm guessing based on your narrative of care of the vehicle, the color of the paint, and the age of the vehicle that either you'll be able to one step the car with PF or one step it with PC.  If you had Jet Black 608, then you would prob need to do a 2-step process.  PC finishes down so well that its basically a 1-step on everything but Black, and even sometimes on black it can be a 1-step.

 

Let me know how the test spot goes.  If you have any RTU waterless wash you can wipe down the test spot with it after it to remove residues and clean the surface so you can inspect your work (the RTU Waterless has no glossing agents, just straight cleaners)

Cool! Thanks Jason!