Niall,
Dont know how I missed this.....sorry!
Charge the pad with polish...and then each time after that a few small spots on the pad
Work in small sections, its easy to get carried away and the area you are working slowly gets bigger and bigger as you overlap more and more....use tape to mask off areas.
When you apply 3 or 4 slightly bigger than pea sized blobs on the pad, dab the pad around the area you plan to polish - should work in small areas approx 18" x 18" is ideal. Spread the polish around the area with the pad, without turning it on.
At the lowest speed, make two passes of the area - this spreads the polish.
Up the speed a bit, setting 2, and make two more passes - this warms the panel and polish
Up the speed again. setting 3 to 4 depending, make a few passes with reasonable pressure...will depend on the polish as to how long you can work it for...when it turns to a clear oily appearance, its worked in well, but doesnt necessarily mean it cant be used further.
Reduce the speed down a bit, setting 2, and make one or two passes, with slightly less pressure. Buff off the polish and inspect your work. Repeat if necessary.
Remember to try keep the pad flat to the paint at all times. Not only does having all of the pad in contact with the paint at all times mean, its doing the most work it can, but it also means that weight is evenly distributed. Uneven weight distribution will result in holograms; obviously, sometimes this is unavoidable, but in those instances, keep the pad parallel with the surface.
Always start with the least aggressive pad - polish combo and work your way up to the combo that is working best for what you are trying to achieve. Obviously if you are doing correction, you dont have to start with a refining pad and polish, but start somewhere with a medium combo and work up. Dont jump in at the most aggressive combo. The less amount of paint removed the better...may take a bit longer, but at least you wont have polished away the clear coat, meaning you will be able to correct it several times, as opposed to once or twice!
Its a matter of practise and getting used to what each pad & polish combo is capable of doing. Rememer that 100% correciton is never achieveable and dont go chasing it or you'll be left with no paint. And also, its the light swirls 85% of the defects in the paintwork that give it the dull appearance...one or two light passes will remove this and the car will look much better for it - sometimes you are wasting your time trying to get better!
Hope this helps a bit and if you have any other questions, dont hesitate to ask!
Dave
Originally Posted by Curran
Niall,
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