Hand Polish Vs Machine

[pepepeter]

Originally Posted by RTexasF

Four to Five hours is not out of line especially when you're new at it and learning. Also keep in mind that in some cases water spots are there forever. Some compounds and polishes have a long working time and some do not.......also try speed 6 on the Griot's Machine. Look into the Menzerna line of compounds & polishes. They're expensive and they work. If I could choose only one it would be the Super Intensive polish.

Autogeek Menzerna Compounds Comparison Chart

Cant believe i missed this post. For the time being stuck with griots polish 1-3 and gotta say they seem to work but take too long for results. Tried polish 3 and barely did anything, polish 2 worked well at speed 5 but took a while to see results (maybe its just me). I seem to have issues with the griots orang polishing pad; soaks a lot of liquid and seems to mainly retain it which leads to drying up and chalking up the entire work area; just a total mess especially whe increasing the speed. I honestly only got to wash, clay bar entire rav4. Only polished the hood and 1 passenger door (what a newbie). I will continue tomorrow morning and the the goal is simply polish out swirls, seal with DG, then coat with wax. Figure i shouldnt do too much cuz im moving to oregon for 6 months and the road trip will just call for another wash, but at least it will be protected.

[RTexasF]

Griot's Polish #1 is still only a medium polish. #3 is very mild. In short none of these may be stout enough to do the job but it appears that #1 has not been tried yet. I've not used Griot's pads so can't comment there.

[ROLLTIDE]

Originally Posted by RTexasF

The two coats I put on the hoods of our cars a few weeks ago still looks dazzling. It still has the silky feel which has not diminished at all. Unfortunately I really effed up my back when changing the battery in her car recently so I've been sidelined for a while. Groaning and eating mega ibuprofen is not something I do well.

Your paint looks exceptional so the difference may be subtle after the Wet Glaze but it will improve it.

Effed your back on a battery? How big do they make batteries in Texas!!

Still waiting for the Detail Shoppe people to get back to me on International shipping... but I have time. It's snow and ice up here, and a few months away from warm weather and afternoon car polishing. But your two coat method is noted! Thanks.

[pepepeter]

Originally Posted by RTexasF

Griot's Polish #1 is still only a medium polish. #3 is very mild. In short none of these may be stout enough to do the job but it appears that #1 has not been tried yet. I've not used Griot's pads so can't comment there.

Thanks.

1. How the hell do i remove the combo DG from the pad? Seems to just ball up but not squeeze out of the pad. Currently soaking in dawn soap with warm water

2. I applied a coat of the DG combo with GG orange pad, but seemed to remove it as opposed to leave a haze (speed 2-3), so i followed with an application by hand. In both cases i did the entire rav4, then wiped off by hand starting from the place i first applied it. Im going to wait until tomorrow morning to add a layer of meguiars carnuba wax (by hand, the gg polisher is too noisy, clunky and still learning but in a rush and figure its probably best for just polishing). For future reference do i have to wait sometime for the sealant to cure before applying a layer of wax or another layer of sealant combo?

Thanks and hope your back gets better. BTW, the surface is very slick not much more shine since the rav4 mainly had swirl marks and of course those damn water etch marks, but of course after 12 hours of work it looks damn good to me. Next time i will not only tape off the rav4 better but also use some wrapping paper to cover the windhshield and the nooks, powered crap is all over the place. Still dont know what the cause of this was, pad deterioate? Polish drying up on edges and when it hit something it blows/spins off?

[RTexasF]

Effed your back on a battery? How big do they make batteries in Texas!

It is due to a 30 year old injury that plagues me to this day and Toyota's wisdom in not putting a handle on their batteries.

[RTexasF]

pepeter ------

The orange pad is for correction with polish/compound not for spreading a wax or sealant around. Clean the pad as best you can but it may remain stained regardless. An overnight soak in Oxyclean & water should help. When using the bonding agent only two hours is required for an additional coat or wax. Without the bonding agent it is 12 hours. Were it mine I would add another coat of Duragloss and save the wax for another time. The wax will look nice but it will be history in a matter of weeks. Another layer of DG (with or without the bonding agent) will keep your paint protected for up to six months.

[pepepeter]

RTexasF,

You the man. I will add more DG mix later tonight. According to GG they claimed the orange could be used to spread sealant, they must have meant there own sealant.

[RTexasF]

Originally Posted by pepepeter

RTexasF,

You the man. I will add more DG mix later tonight. According to GG they claimed the orange could be used to spread sealant, they must have meant there own sealant.

Ok then I may be dead wrong. I forgot you were using Griot's pads. I'm thinking of Lake Country pads. They all used to be standardized in color so you could tell the abrasiveness, or lack thereof, at a glance. That has changed somewhat. Griot's still calls orange a polishing pad but says you can use it with their one step sealant or paint glaze. To me that doesn't jive.....it's either a polishing pad (slightly aggressive) or it's not.

Griot's touts their red foam pads to machine apply wax or sealant. They are soft and have no cut. I would consider those in the future for machine application of wax or sealant. From Lake Country that would be black or gray pads.

Here's a great tip to prevent splatter on the windshield, wipers, and cowling the next time you polish:

The Beach Towel Tip - Auto Geek Online Auto Detailing Forum