animeS2K

The SFX are just a little more difficult to use and a little more aggressive. The DAS pads are still my favorite because of their flexibility and ease of use.

kctheflish

I feel your pain...

I feel like many products out there have needlessly complex products and/or processes, which wind up causing you to buying a ton of stuff. It seems to me in those cases it's more of a marketing scheme than a true requirement necessary to get the desired result. I know people "rag' on Griots products as being to expensive but they are designed pretty simple and straight forward...one pad for polish and one pad for wax application. Typically the more dense or harder pad is used for polishing and a relatively soft pad will be used to apply your wax. Seems to me that the polish should be doing the work, not the pad. If the pad causes swirls, I'm gonna avoid using that type of pad.


Just more food for thought.


Flish

s2krazy01

so I polished my car for the first time today(well the hood and trunk anyway), with SFX-2/3. As I was told, the process removed 90% of the swirl marks. I plan to finish everything (syn and carnuba wax included) tomorrow, but would like to know if using the polishes again will remove another 90% of the swirls or do I need to order SFX-1 for the remaining culprits. FYI: I used the white pad with the SFX-2. Would using the yellow pad make a difference?

I am actually quite pleased with the performance of the products. this is the first time I used a real compound on my car. It was dark by the time I was finished, but in fluorescent light I can definitely tell the difference between the quality of the hood compared to the fenders (not polished yet). i followed mikeyc's pattern of side-to-side, diagonal, and back-and-forth (with PC), until the residue was completely gone. Can't wait to see it in the sun!

kctheflish

Check it with a flashlight in the dark. It'll show any remaining swirls. Repolish until you find no swirls this way. Depending on how aggresive the polish was you used to get to this point you can try another round going with less aggresive polish and test with the flashlight again. This way it'll be perfect when you roll it out....

s2krazy01

After seeing the new finish in the sun I am satisfied with the results...for the time being. There are a few lingering hairline scratches here an there, and the fenders and nose show a very light swirl pattern, but these things are only noticeable up close and at a certain angle, even in direct light.

While finishing the polishing today, I switched my pad/polish combo to the yellow pad with SFX-2. I don't know why but the hood, which was polished using the white pad, looks a litter clearer than the fenders and nose, using the yellow pad. however, the difference is still amazing.

I can now look at my car without seeing infinite rings around a point of light. I decided this will be good enough for the winter, so I protected the finish with a generous layer of NXT. tomorrow I will top it with carnuba. I am no longer embarrassed to park under fluorescent street lights!

Yet another question: I've read that synthetic waxes don't have much filling capacity, and that they even accentuate scratches. Will carnuba on top of synthetic help to fill those scratches? Or is it too late to worry about that now.

kctheflish

It varies from wax to wax. Some have fillers and others don't. You can also run into situations where the two are compatible and tend to smear because of certain additives.

MikeyC

The use of the yellow pad caused what is referred to as buffer haze. The pad/polish combination was so aggressive that it actually put very light scratching in the paint. These scratches while hard to see cause the finish to look duller. Sometimes buffer haze is a necessary evil. You need to go to a certain aggressive level to remove deeper defects. So, removing the deeper defects but leaving behind light defects is not a big deal. It's super easy to fix too. Just go over the area again with your PC, the white pad, and the least aggressive Sonus polish you have. This will remove any buffer haze you instilled.

This is true. However, generally speaking carnauba waxes are better fillers than synthetics. Carnauba by it's nature is a filler. So, no added ingredients are needed to give carnauba waxes filling capability.

Anyway, if you want to top with a wax unless you used a synthetic with a curing agent you should allow the synthetic to cure for 12 hours before topping with a wax.

s2krazy01

I have yet to apply the carnuba, but I did use detailing spray to perfect the finish immediately after the NXT. Did this remove any sealant? The NXT was thoroughly hazed before I removed it from the paint.

kctheflish

I doubt that your detailing spray would remove any sealant however I'll defer to MikeyC on this process as I don't mix sealants and carnuba. IMO I find it tends to cause problems such as minor hazing or a loss of clarity when the two are mixed. But I'm picky as hell about my finish and black show every flaw like mad.

It sounds like you're close to removing all your swirls so I'd follow MikeyC's advice and use your finishing polish to remove the rest of your swirls and then seal everything up with wax or sealant.

MikeyC

No, the detailing spray you used shouldn't have affected anything. Just make sure to wash the car again before you put on the wax.