Struggling with a step in the process

[Smokin' Mark]

As a Newbie (when do I get out of that anyway?), I've tried to follow these steps when working on cars:

- Hand wash.
- Clay.
- ??? (polish)
- glaze.
- sealant.
- wax.

I'm not sure what product(s) to use on step 3 under what circumstances. Would something like Pinnacle Paint Cleansing Lotion be appropriate?

SM

[WuNgUn]

You'll want to polish in between the clay and glaze steps for sure...

What products depends...are you using a machine polisher? Hand?
What condition is the paint? Does it need a hard cut polish, or just some light swirl removal?

[JaredPointer]

It depends. Really, what polish and pad combo you use will be very dependent on the paint condition among other factors. A good rule of thumb is to start out using the least aggressive combo that's feasibly possible (i.e. don't use SSR1 and a finish pad on a badly marred beater) and move up from there. Start out testing the combo on a small area where you can check progress. If you are happy, you can use that combo on the rest of the vehicle.

This way, you aren't using something more abrasive than what you need to be using. Keep in mind that when you are polishing you are "removing" paint/clearcoat.

There's tons of other factors that will come into play regarding what polish you use and how you go about tackling a polishing job. Some folks will probably chime in and give you some great ideas, and I am sure there's a lot of posts regarding this in the backlog/archived posts.

[Smokin' Mark]

I struggle with the difference between swirl removers, polishes, cleaners, and compounds. Like I said I rarely work on anything that has more than fine scratches, mild oxidation, etc., nothing hard-core for sure. The first product I used in that step was Presta 2000 with a light pad. I thought it worked great.

[JaredPointer]

In order from most aggressive to least (very general, of course):
Compounds
swirl removers
cleaners / chemical polishes

From what you mentioned you work with most often, it sounds like you could get by with some light swirl removing polish and some chemical/cleaning polishes.

For instance - SSR 2 and Pro Polish. By no means does that mean you can;t have anything else around. I basically use two to three polishes almost all the time, but I do have some other stuff sitting around.

[Beemerboy]

Originally Posted by Smokin' Mark

I struggle with the difference between swirl removers, polishes, cleaners, and compounds. Like I said I rarely work on anything that has more than fine scratches, mild oxidation, etc., nothing hard-core for sure. The first product I used in that step was Presta 2000 with a light pad. I thought it worked great.

The Presta 2K is a cutting product...I use the 1500 as a finial polish...so for removing swirls and such your Presta 2K is a good choice.

Compounds are very heavy cut products, designed to reduce the paint...most will cause hazing that needs to be polished out with a lighter cut product.

Swirl removers are like compounds and come in a variety of cutting strengthens / grit...Your Presta 2K is a medium cut SWR.

Polish is a very light cut product that is designed to bring back luster in the paint..its the finest of the SWR and designed as a last step in the paint correction stage.

Cleaners...are just that a paint cleaners is used after washing to take off any surface contaminants and set the surface up for wax or polishing, it has some cutting capabilities but really is designed as a paint cleaner...it will also remove any previous product that you have on the paint

[Smokin' Mark]

See now is where I get flustered.

It says right on the Presta 2000 container CLEANER/GLAZE.

And WOW does that product have a lot of kerosene!

[Beemerboy]

Originally Posted by Smokin' Mark

See now is where I get flustered.

It says right on the Presta 2000 container CLEANER/GLAZE.

And WOW does that product have a lot of kerosene!

Mark,

Trust me you are not alone in this..I read up about the 2K online and it didn't say cleaner glaze..I believe that what you have is the ultra cut creme...that is designed to cut wet sanding marks...again I'm using the 1500 a step down from the 2K according to the web site.

However, labeling in the car care industry is so screwed up IMO...the words, cleaner, glaze are some of the most misused.

I think that mfgers do this to confuse the average person, in order to get their products sold

[Beemerboy]

OK I called the company and talked to the tech guy...the 2K that you have they no longer make..it was designed as a SWR, and that's what I was reading online...machine application only

He said that they released a SWR only that replaced that to be used by machine only and really rotary, it requires heat...that's the one I have here

Their 3000 glaze is what you want for hand applications or PC...its got some polishing capabilities and glazing...its breathable and body shop safe on new paint...also has fillers so that anyone using it by hand is masking the swirls not removing them.

Again the term glaze to me is totally miss used in the industry!

[Smokin' Mark]

No, I've seen bottles of Ultra Cut and I don't have that. It's comforting to know that a product I just bought from a reputable body shop is no longer made! And it does clearly say cleaner/glaze on the bottle (don't make me post a picture ).

At least I'm not the only one that is confused half the time by a constant barrage of products