Going to try Polishing myself

well since money is tight, and I have had to cancel my stg3 polish with jonjay (again, sorry!), I am going to have a go at polishing the car myself

this is what I have:

http://www.cleanyourcar.co.uk/polis...iars-g220-complete-meguiars-kit/prod_416.html

1 x Meguiars G220 Polishing Machine - 240v

1 x Meguiars #83 Dual Action Cleaner Polish
1 x Meguiars #80 Speed Glaze

1 x Meguiars 7" Cutting Pad
1 x Meguiars 7" Polishing Pad
1 x Meguiars 7" Finishing Pad

Obviously I will be doing the full prep work, clean, clay etc

The thing is for me is the fear of screwing it up.

I have watched plenty of vids and been on detailing world to try and learn about it, but you can read up on it till your blue in the face, its actually doing it!

this is the video I have watched, brief, but gives me a good idea (having watched many others, some over complicated, this seems quite a good one)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zomjIJTBdSM

now from what I understand:

1. Start off with the cutting pad with Meguiars dual action cleaner polish, dab on the pad and then onto the paint work for the sections I am going to polish. Working it in slowly to a haze, then clicking it up a few notches in speed making sure it is well worked in until it goes transparent?

once the transparency is reached, wipe off with a clean cloth and check the paint (I guess pass again if there is some hazing, but pressing more lightly with each pass this time)

wipe off again with a clean cloth

2. Next up with a polishing pad and the speed glaze, and carrying out the same process again

For the "pros" on here, is this correct? Please correct me on any stages I have not done correctly or additional aspects I need to consider

Thanks

EDIT: Where can I get the swirl mark lamps from too i.e. the ones on stands? are these expensive?

DPJ said:

What - start on an area that's out of view, like your backside, and work your way round to your face? Different.

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trust you

not enough pad to polish my rear end!

UncleFester said:

If you get stuck or want a chat about how to do / what to do, feel free to give me a shout ....

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please mate

email, msn etc?

UncleFester said:

Whichever you want - best thing you can do if you're really worried is get a scrap panel from a yard and go nuts on that. You'll learn a lot more a lot faster as you don't need to be as careful.

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nah, I have grown some Kahunas now, and just go for it!

any tips though?

UncleFester said:

Plenty of tips but it's more than typing on here.

Have you had a look on the FAQ at the polished bliss site?

Main thing is to put some black pen marks on the rear of your pad backing plate. That will let you see how much pressure to use, you want those marks to look like they're staying almost still, not oscillating.

Will catch you on msn in a bit

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erm ok, but your not on my msn....

NickLCR said:

Should start with the finishing polish and pad, because that might be all you need.

The way I see on Detailing World, they reccomend to begin with the finishing polishes, and if certain areas are worse than others, move onto the cutting pad + polish after trying the finish first

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that was my query as well really, as in the cutting pad is too harsh to start with

for a beginner like myself, I dont want to strip too much lacquer first time

good tip mate

UncleFester said:

With a dual action polisher, you're going to find it pretty hard to do lasting damage to your paint - you've got to be real animal to do that.

Main things are cleanliness and preparation. You need to make sure the paint is clean and dust / dirt free. Make sure your clothes are clean ( wash them with liquid detergent NOT soap powder) keep the pads lubricated with QD spray or water.

The main thing to remember is it's meant to be fun - take your time and learn how your paint on your car responds. Different colours and different makes of car have different paint types.

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thanks mate

I dont think I will have time to do it all in one go. Would doing a panel a time be ok. as in clean, clay etc the front wing and then polish, with the same methodology for the rest of the car

as you know I bought this the other day £98 down to £25 great price!



one thing though, I used the machine a while back to work in some wax, however it has stained the polishing pad

I soaked it in some washing up liquid last night. The pad appears to be very clean, but because the wax was red/pink, it has stained the polishing pad

is it still ok to use?

Thanks

jonjay said:

Pads dont need siaking just cleaning with fairy liquid and giving it a good rinse should be fine. Yea some products discolor the pads, I wouldnt worry about it as long as you know which pad does what. Did you use a finishing pad for the wax?

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I used a finishing pad yes, was thast A n00b mistake then?