The average DIY usually does a 2-3 stage polish with a da. Say you did a 2-stage polish using Menzerna SIP and Nano polish. On a 911, SIP may take you about 5-6 hours once you get the hang of it, and Nano may take another 2 hours. Taping off all the areas may take you about 1-2 hours. Claying, depending on the condition, 45min-2 hours. I always tell clients it'll be a weekend project. You wash, clay, tape, and begin SIP one day. Finish SIP and Nano polish the next day. You also hand polish and wax the 2nd day. It's meant to be a learning and fun experience. Don't kill yourself doing it.

 

Bingo.

I did a post on my detail on a slate. It's here in the detail forum.

First time will take you some time- just until you get the hang of it. If you do a real thorough job at first, then maintenance will be easier. And stay away from the automatic car washes!

A

 

Woww..!!

Great work there bro..!

 

Why does the SIP take longer?

 

Because virtually all the defects are removed by SIP step. The nano polish just brings the entire surfaces' polish up a notch.

Once you have an optically perfect surface after SIP (ie you can see no scratches, swirls, defects) you then go to the final polish to bring the surface to a higher level reflectivity with the nano. The nano step is not removing much at all.

Or that's my take.

A

 

Well said....but Nano is doing something. It's an insurance policy to make sure you have no halogramming form the SIP. Nano Polish also removes any fine scratches that SIP has made depending on which pad you've used.

 

I'll add to that a bit. With sip you are generally expecting to remove 90-95% of the marring. So since you are removing the bulk of the marring with that product it will take longer to do so, where as the final % of marring being a much smaller amount generally takes considerably less time.

The key is to use 3-4 pea sized dots for a 2'x2' area. (when using PC) any more than this and you will be unable to fully break the polish down. Also either clean the pad regularly every 2 panels, or grab a new pad. if your pad gets clogged or gummed it will fail to aid in breaking down the polish. This will result in hazing of the surface.

 

"Halogramming"? I though Zaino was FOS with their 'higher optics' language... I can't leave this one alone. What are you talking about?

1. A surface will only get as polished as the grit in the polish allows. SIP has a limit, once you reach it you get no better.

2. Nano is a finer grit. It will take the entire surface to a higher polish (but still not 'perfect' since there is no such thing unless you are talking about molecular monolayers...)

 

Halograming is the result of either not polishing enough to break down the polish or over polishing whic is when the pad is dried out and the foam is polishing on its own. The finish basically looks like it has 3-D swirls in it. Nano polish assures that you have taken care of any halograming as a result of the sip. You cannot, in my opinion and experience, over polish cauding halograming using Nano polish, white LC pad, and a da.

 

Nice work!

 

^^^ thank you


Side note for some of you experts:

1) There seems to be a few different opinions out there on how much polish to use. Some say as much as a quarter size blob in the middle of the pad. And others say as little as a couple pee size dots. What do you think?

2) What do you do to take care of your pads? I assume you can use pads more than once.... maybe 2 or 3 cars even?

3) Anybody want to find a way to ship me some P21S wheel cleaner to Hawaii that's not going to cost more for shipping than the product itself?

Sorry if these are amature questions, the photos posted in here were my first "hardcore" detail and I'm doing another one this weekend.

 

1: depends on the polish, pad, marring, work are size, and machine. 2'x2' for 2 min 4 pea sized dots on a primed pad.

2: depending on the kind wash them in water with a bit of apc, rinse in 2nd bucket and hang dry.

3: try phil.... :?

 

My friend and I polished and waxed his car last weekend, as a test to see if we really wanted to get into it. We used what we had on hand: Adam's Clay, Swirl and Haze Remover, Revive Polish, and Buttery Wax.

We didn't mask anything, and I don't understand what the purpose of masking is. Yeah, we got some polish on some glass and rubber, but it wiped right off. So, why do you need to mask?

We combined the Swirl and Haze Remover with the Revive Polish, as per the Adam's video; that took about 45 minutes to apply and 30 minutes to wipe off. Same with the Buttery Wax. Granted, we have no freakin' idea what we're doing, but I think the car looks much better than when we started. So, I don't understand why SIP and Nano would take 7-8 hours.

None of my questions are meant to be skeptical -- I just don't get it. Please help me understand.

Also, I (like a few others here) would still like to better understand the life of each pad for a project, but also for the product; in other words, will one white pad get me through the entire Nano process for one car? And how often do you have to trash and replace your pads?

Thanks guys!

 

When you look at the SURFACE of the paint- actually at the top of the clearcoat, using a bare flourescent bulb at slight angles to the surface- did you see absolutely NO surface defects or slight scratches ('swirls')??? The idea is to work the top of the clearcoat with SIP.Nano to achieve optical perfection, then wax.

Many people cannot really discern this stuff- you need to train your eye to see it.... and then the wax can fill in these swirls temporarily, or they don't even 'see' this.

 

Dude, I see swirls on the surface of diamonds.

Yes, in the proper light, we could absolutely see tons of surface imperfections. We attributed that to the fact that we had no idea what we were doing and we might not have used the optimal products. But I still don't get why it would take 7 hours. Is it because you're working the PC on the same areas for a long time to break down the irregularities?