Dave Ronyak
Member
- Joined
- Jan 23, 2007
- Messages
- 2,234
Ed,
Thus far, I use only sponge pads when polishing or waxing my cars. I have a couple of different hardness foam pads in 6 inch diameter - from Griot's garage, and a larger soft foam pad by 3M. If I want a more aggressive polishing action, e.g. on my son's car that sits out all the time, I use a red Griot's pad with a cleaner wax. I didn't really plan to use such a wax, but somehow I inherited a can of cleaner type paste wax and figured I would use it up. To my pleasant surprise, the green metallic with clearcoat sparkled after that minimal effort, and it appears that 2X per year is enough, although I try to do it more often. With my other cars which are garaged at night, I usually go straight from clay bar to non-cleaner wax. In case you are concerned, beware that Meguiar's No. 26 contains silicones as well as carnauba wax. Some people want to avoid silicones entirely. I started using it before I owned any car with clearcoat, and never had a problem even when spot refinishing any panels with solvent base lacquer.
Among the benefits of using a foam pad is that you will actually use less polish or wax to treat your vehicle than if you did it the old-fashioned way with a bunch of terry cloth applicators. I was very skeptical of this claim by certain vendors, including Griot's Garage until I proved it to myself and with others chemicals. I still use old wash cloths with Snap Seal or 3M Prep Sol to remove heavier tar and bug crud, taking care not to rub some particularly abrasive crud into my paint and thereby causing worse scratches. You must pay attention to what you are doing!
You're number 3 is correct. I want that soft overhang. It allows you to reach areas you couldn't otherwise reach and protects your paint from localized "burning."
Number 4 - Clay. I have not used the Meguiar's clay bar package, but am confident it will work well. I have used clay from Griot's (which I don't like because the clay is too sticky IMO and gets all over my hands and even sticks to PE gloves), and from Mother's which I prefer. I also prefer Mother's lubricant spray over that from Meguiar's and Griot's, but they all do the same job. As the directions say, just knead the clay, then slide the clay over the the lubricated surface a few times. Feel with your bard hand to determine if it is smooth. I find the clay knocks off and picks up the small embedded impurities quite quickly with just a few linear strokes, preferably corresponding to the lengthwise direction of the car.
5. I use my Rotex in the rotary (positive drive) mode, but you can use it in RO mode, too. Before I owned my Rotex, I used a 5 inch Bosch RO, which still did the job much faster and more evenly than I could by hand.
In my earlier post, I forgot to state that when finished, I clean my foam pad(s) first using Murphy's Oil Soap, then switching to dishwashing detergent. I keep this crud laden water away from my septic tank system. I squeeze dry the pad using a dry towel, then let the pad air dry overnight and put it in a plastic bag until next use. I strongly agree with the advice from others that it is much preferred to use each pad with a single chemical. If you are using pads to apply abrasive polishes, then you also need to wash them separately to keep your final polish pads from becoming contaminated with larger abrasive particles.
Mind you that in caring for my own vehicles, I am not seeking concours quality, as others may be. Dan Clark may be among that group, I do not know. My goal is to have my vehicles looking decent, and to protect their paint against the acid rain, RR iron dust (I live within 1/2 mile from an active RR track), and Ohio road salt. Rotex and foam pads enable me to do this much faster.
As a post script, I might add that some of my friends have tried some of the relatively new "nano" wax products and are pleased with their ease of use, speed of application, appearance and durability. I tried Optima brand and thought it Okay, but I have a lot of older wax products to use up first. When I want the best appearance I know how to achieve with the least work, its Griot's Best of Show Wax. If I am willing to put in a lot more effort, Zymol works well and it smells great while you are using it. I know many car care fanatics who love Zymol, but its too much work and time for me.
Dave R.
Dave R.
Thus far, I use only sponge pads when polishing or waxing my cars. I have a couple of different hardness foam pads in 6 inch diameter - from Griot's garage, and a larger soft foam pad by 3M. If I want a more aggressive polishing action, e.g. on my son's car that sits out all the time, I use a red Griot's pad with a cleaner wax. I didn't really plan to use such a wax, but somehow I inherited a can of cleaner type paste wax and figured I would use it up. To my pleasant surprise, the green metallic with clearcoat sparkled after that minimal effort, and it appears that 2X per year is enough, although I try to do it more often. With my other cars which are garaged at night, I usually go straight from clay bar to non-cleaner wax. In case you are concerned, beware that Meguiar's No. 26 contains silicones as well as carnauba wax. Some people want to avoid silicones entirely. I started using it before I owned any car with clearcoat, and never had a problem even when spot refinishing any panels with solvent base lacquer.
Among the benefits of using a foam pad is that you will actually use less polish or wax to treat your vehicle than if you did it the old-fashioned way with a bunch of terry cloth applicators. I was very skeptical of this claim by certain vendors, including Griot's Garage until I proved it to myself and with others chemicals. I still use old wash cloths with Snap Seal or 3M Prep Sol to remove heavier tar and bug crud, taking care not to rub some particularly abrasive crud into my paint and thereby causing worse scratches. You must pay attention to what you are doing!
You're number 3 is correct. I want that soft overhang. It allows you to reach areas you couldn't otherwise reach and protects your paint from localized "burning."
Number 4 - Clay. I have not used the Meguiar's clay bar package, but am confident it will work well. I have used clay from Griot's (which I don't like because the clay is too sticky IMO and gets all over my hands and even sticks to PE gloves), and from Mother's which I prefer. I also prefer Mother's lubricant spray over that from Meguiar's and Griot's, but they all do the same job. As the directions say, just knead the clay, then slide the clay over the the lubricated surface a few times. Feel with your bard hand to determine if it is smooth. I find the clay knocks off and picks up the small embedded impurities quite quickly with just a few linear strokes, preferably corresponding to the lengthwise direction of the car.
5. I use my Rotex in the rotary (positive drive) mode, but you can use it in RO mode, too. Before I owned my Rotex, I used a 5 inch Bosch RO, which still did the job much faster and more evenly than I could by hand.
In my earlier post, I forgot to state that when finished, I clean my foam pad(s) first using Murphy's Oil Soap, then switching to dishwashing detergent. I keep this crud laden water away from my septic tank system. I squeeze dry the pad using a dry towel, then let the pad air dry overnight and put it in a plastic bag until next use. I strongly agree with the advice from others that it is much preferred to use each pad with a single chemical. If you are using pads to apply abrasive polishes, then you also need to wash them separately to keep your final polish pads from becoming contaminated with larger abrasive particles.
Mind you that in caring for my own vehicles, I am not seeking concours quality, as others may be. Dan Clark may be among that group, I do not know. My goal is to have my vehicles looking decent, and to protect their paint against the acid rain, RR iron dust (I live within 1/2 mile from an active RR track), and Ohio road salt. Rotex and foam pads enable me to do this much faster.
As a post script, I might add that some of my friends have tried some of the relatively new "nano" wax products and are pleased with their ease of use, speed of application, appearance and durability. I tried Optima brand and thought it Okay, but I have a lot of older wax products to use up first. When I want the best appearance I know how to achieve with the least work, its Griot's Best of Show Wax. If I am willing to put in a lot more effort, Zymol works well and it smells great while you are using it. I know many car care fanatics who love Zymol, but its too much work and time for me.
Dave R.
Dave R.
