New to polishing, have a few questions.

[Meanderchap]

Hi all. I am completely new to the detailing realm, and I wasn't able to find much info about polishing via search. I just 2 bucket-washed my whiteout FR-S, followed by a claybar. Now it's sitting in the garage, and I am unsure how to proceed. I have never polished a car before, and would prefer to skip straight to the sealant/wax step.

Upon close inspection, there aren't any swirls in the paint, but it is my understanding that I should still polish because claybarring can introduce slight marring into the clearcoat while reducing shine. For my case, can I just get away with using a light polish? What exactly is a light polish? I have a random orbital (albeit 1-speed) -- could I use that without risk of damaging my clearcoat? If light-polishing, would I just polish each section for a few seconds and buff clean? Sorry for the naive questions, I even checked out the Autogeek forums and had difficulty pinpointing an answer. Thanks!

[mfbmike]

You want to use a light (or jeweling) polish that has very super fine abrasives.

I used Adam's revive polish, followed by Adam's Brilliant Glaze and Adam's buttery glaze when I did my "new car prep".

http://www.adamspolishes.com/p-87-ad...ar-polish.aspx

You can apply it by hand using the hex applicator but I don't see why you couldn't apply it using a DA. I'm going to be doing the same in sometime before April.

[Anthonytpt]

What'd you use as a lubricant for your clay bar? I use Adam's Detail Spray to lubricate my paint surface during drying and also for claying. Adam's has a full line-up of products that have been well-received by detailers and enthusiasts.

Originally Posted by Meanderchap

Hi all. I am completely new to the detailing realm, and I wasn't able to find much info about polishing via search. I just 2 bucket-washed my whiteout FR-S, followed by a claybar. Now it's sitting in the garage, and I am unsure how to proceed. I have never polished a car before, and would prefer to skip straight to the sealant/wax step.

Upon close inspection, there aren't any swirls in the paint, but it is my understanding that I should still polish because claybarring can introduce slight marring into the clearcoat while reducing shine. For my case, can I just get away with using a light polish? What exactly is a light polish? I have a random orbital (albeit 1-speed) -- could I use that without risk of damaging my clearcoat? If light-polishing, would I just polish each section for a few seconds and buff clean? Sorry for the naive questions, I even checked out the Autogeek forums and had difficulty pinpointing an answer. Thanks!

[Meanderchap]

Thanks for the replies! I used Meguiar's Quik Detailer as lubricant. I'd love to try Adam's products but am limited to local stores as I'm attempting to finish today. Are there any in-store products you guys would recommend? Also, when applying a light polish, would I just spend a short time on each section? Ideally I'd like to polish the entire car within an hour or two but that might not be viable at all.


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[Anthonytpt]

I can't imagine it'd take hours given the size of the car, but if you are heavy on the OCD then I suppose it can.

Originally Posted by Meanderchap

Thanks for the replies! I used Meguiar's Quik Detailer as lubricant. I'd love to try Adam's products but am limited to local stores as I'm attempting to finish today. Are there any in-store products you guys would recommend? Also, when applying a light polish, would I just spend a short time on each section? Ideally I'd like to polish the entire car within an hour or two but that might not be viable at all.


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[Shad0ez]

Originally Posted by Meanderchap

Thanks for the replies! I used Meguiar's Quik Detailer as lubricant. I'd love to try Adam's products but am limited to local stores as I'm attempting to finish today. Are there any in-store products you guys would recommend? Also, when applying a light polish, would I just spend a short time on each section? Ideally I'd like to polish the entire car within an hour or two but that might not be viable at all.


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If you don't have any swirls or micro marring you can skip the polish step or use a polish/sealant in one type of product. If you are going to use your orbital and are able to make online purchases, Pinnacle's XMT 360 is a great all in one product that will save you a lot of time and still get excellent results. For more detailed information on polishing as well as other car care procedures, autogeek.com has a lot of good instructional videos.