how often can you polish?

[jonny_g]

just wanting some advice on how frequent you can hand polish your car without doing damage to the paint?

i find its hard to resist polishing it sometimes when you know the shine you can get from the hard work.

i usually use SRP and EGP by hand about once a month / 6 weeks or so.

is that too often?

also, can you work megs 80 and 83 by hand or are they too hard to break down by hand?

thanks

jonny

 

[AlexG]

the srp by hand wont have much cut so you can do it as often as you want. that is quite frequent though so cant you just try and get a decent wax to use after you have washed it to get a shine without polishing. so you could srp, egp then put a wax on. then when you wash it after a while you can top up the wax and still get a good shine.

 

[Rich]

You could use SRP by hand weekly if you really like as it will remove so little clearcoat. Should be no real need to though if you have a decent wash technique and top the SRP with EGP you should ahve a good few months protection. Polishing it'self crates the bulk of the gloss, waxing and sealants just lock i in.

Worth getting some quick detail spray to use after a wash to give that just waxed look without an real effort.

I try to limit proper polishing to once or twice a year. #80 is useable by hand but can be a PITA, I would not use #83 by hand but do occasionally use the original Menzerna Intensive Polish by hand.

 

[Alan]

By machine 2 - 3 times a year, generally once a month..

 

[mid.engine]

By machine 2 - 3 times a year, generally once a month..

please don't machine polish your car as stated above unless you are using one of those mickey mouse machines you can purchase from halfords. i have been in the motor bodywork game all my working life and i would not suggest anyone to machine polishing their pride and joy unless they know what they are doing. using a professional electric polisher will give first class results if used correctly and disastrous results if used in-correctly, there is only so much paint you can cut from the finish before you hit the base coat or the primer.
all i say is be very careful, if in doubt get in touch with a professional.
martin

 

[martandem]

By machine 2 - 3 times a year, generally once a month..

please don't machine polish your car as stated above unless you are using one of those mickey mouse machines you can purchase from halfords. i have been in the motor bodywork game all my working life and i would not suggest anyone to machine polishing their pride and joy unless they know what they are doing. using a professional electric polisher will give first class results if used correctly and disastrous results if used in-correctly, there is only so much paint you can cut from the finish before you hit the base coat or the primer.
all i say is be very careful, if in doubt get in touch with a professional.
martin

Don't suppose you know anyone in Essex who does machine polishing do you Martin? I know there are many firms but i can't seem to get much feedback about any of them, and it makes me nervous going in blind!...

 

[mid.engine]

please don't machine polish your car as stated above unless you are using one of those mickey mouse machines you can purchase from halfords. i have been in the motor bodywork game all my working life and i would not suggest anyone to machine polishing their pride and joy unless they know what they are doing. using a professional electric polisher will give first class results if used correctly and disastrous results if used in-correctly, there is only so much paint you can cut from the finish before you hit the base coat or the primer.
all i say is be very careful, if in doubt get in touch with a professional.
martin

Don't suppose you know anyone in Essex who does machine polishing do you Martin? I know there are many firms but i can't seem to get much feedback about any of them, and it makes me nervous going in blind!...

hi mate, no i dont know anyone in that area.
i suggest you go to top notch body shop, or a professional vallet service. if you were living or in the area i would give you all the help or advice you would need.
martin

 

[Michael172]

£200 and youll be able to do it yourself. Worth paying for the kit imo.

 

[martandem]

£200 and youll be able to do it yourself. Worth paying for the kit imo.

Indeed, money wise it makes sense.
But as Martin said, if you f**k it up, it could cost a whole lot more!...:dead:

 

[Alan]

Mid.engine..fair play you know you're stuff but i'm not bad with my porter cable...

My old 182

My current ride

 

[Rich]

Pah your Rubbish - Please please please Alan, leave it to the pros

 

[mid.engine]

Alan said
Mid.engine..fair play you know you're stuff but i'm not bad with my porter cable...

My old 182.

yes looks ok mate. but only one car won best / cleanest car at the Renault World Series at Silverstone this year. and it`s parked in my garage .
martin

 

[Beef-Mc]

Your gonna upset Rich showing that award

 

[Alan]

Pah your Rubbish - Please please please Alan, leave it to the pros

Knowsit Treen, may have slept wi a detailer xx

 

[oz_clio]

Mid.engine..fair play you know you're stuff but i'm not bad with my porter cable...

he's no bad.....

 

[Rich]

Pah your Rubbish - Please please please Alan, leave it to the pros

Knowsit Treen, may have slept wi a detailer xx

I would sleep with you tbfh ...

 

[martandem]

Pah your Rubbish - Please please please Alan, leave it to the pros

LOL... sure i spotted a blemish on there somewhere?!....
Seriously, get down to Essex and do mine!

 

[martandem]

Nice trophy by the way!

 

[Pedro]

Thats no trophy!

Thats a paperweight!

 

[martandem]

somebody mentioned it was a doorstop?!...

 

[Yellow Dave]

You could use SRP by hand weekly if you really like as it will remove so little clearcoat. Should be no real need to though if you have a decent wash technique and top the SRP with EGP you should ahve a good few months protection. Polishing it'self crates the bulk of the gloss, waxing and sealants just lock i in.

Worth getting some quick detail spray to use after a wash to give that just waxed look without an real effort.

I try to limit proper polishing to once or twice a year. #80 is useable by hand but can be a PITA, I would not use #83 by hand but do occasionally use the original Menzerna Intensive Polish by hand.

Is this the same spray as the one supplied with the Meguairs quick clay kit, if not I've no idea what your talking about

Can you point me in the right direction?

 

[Rich]

Yeah same type of spray. There are some nicer ones out there than the Megs.

Worth looking at:

Clearkote Quikshine

Sonus Carnauba Spritz

Britemax #6S SPRAY & SHINE

 

[Fred@BTM]

i want to see the car that won that award!

 

[Michael172]

Id use carnuba spritz if you using it with wax. If you want some good cheap detailing spray, try the turtle wax ICE stuff its pretty cheap and the finish is pretty good too.




The real question is, how MANY times can you polish a car before you end up in it's paint.

 

[mid.engine]

i want to see the car that won that award!

go to Alexandra Palace in November for the modified car show and it will be there.
martin

 

[aceface]

The real question is, how MANY times can you polish a car before you end up in it's paint.

Totally depends on the type of polish used eg compound is obviously going to remove more clearcoat, where as a finishing polish will remove only a few microns.

I polish once a year every spring btw.

 

[Michael172]

Yeah i intend to be final finishing mine twice a year.

 

[benmore]

so what do you guys do on your weekly wash?

2 bucket clean, hose off, leather it dry and leave it?

is it ok to re apply a wax weekly or is this stupid?

or re apply the spray wax once a week and buff it up with soft polishing cloh to give it a nice shine?

 

[Rich]

Depending on what wax it is wearing, wash, dry and quick detail spray.

You can wax weekly won't do any harm other than use excess product, if the wax is something not very durable such as P21s then it is worth applying at least fortnightly.

On my daily drive I wash and then use a wax as you dry product like Aquawax or Duragloss or spray wax like Optimum.

 

[Michael172]

For me a simple snowfoam/zymol wash mix, 1 bucket method wash and dry.Cba with 2 buckets and i find that spraying the mitt with the pressure washer is fine.

I tend to wax once a month.

 

[benmore]

so,

wash,

dry with a proper drying towel / not a leather,

then super resin polish,

extra gloss protection,

then wax.

I am having difficulty finding wax in local shops.

I have seen turtle wax in halfrauds but, is this actually any good?

 

[Rich]

Not any real decent waxes on the shelf in stores, mail order is you best bet loads of fast retailers on the web.

 

[Michael172]

so,

wash,

dry with a proper drying towel / not a leather,

then super resin polish,

extra gloss protection,

then wax.

I am having difficulty finding wax in local shops.

I have seen turtle wax in halfrauds but, is this actually any good?

Hour curing time for EGP, you then must leave it for 24 hours or maybe more if you can untill you apply wax.

Decent wax can be found on websites and not on the shelf. Try collinite you shouldlike it.

 

[182kev]

Not any real decent waxes on the shelf in stores, mail order is you best bet loads of fast retailers on the web.

Rich how do you rate Autoglym HD wax against other leading wax's ?

i used it on mine recently and was quite impressed with the results but wouldnt mind a pro's report on it :rasp:

also out of the 3 detail sprays which do you prefer ? or get the best results ?

 

[Rich]

I am far from being a pro ! lol I have not tired it, I managed to resist buying some as I have far to many waxes already !

All round get the the Clearkote or Britemax as they are both very good over sealants or waxes and on Glass etc, but for using over the top of waxes on paintwork I love the Sonus.

All 3 are good tbh, I use them all on mine !

Buying just one - Britemax.

 

[182kev]

cheers for the info rich

 

[paul]

Give mine a coat of SRP and EGP over the weekend! leaving about 3 hours for the EGP to dry/cure etc!

Really pleased with the results! car has much more of a shine to it (which i didnt think was possible) and more 'orange' to it! you can make our more of the pigments in the paint (flakes etc)

after i did it (but in dull light) as it was getting late!

put away to bed!

a small amount is the key!

 

[Yellow Dave]

Do you really have to leave the AG srp and egp that long before you apply the next coat?

Can someone give me directions on using them, as with my polish and wax, I apply the polish, do another panel to let the first one dry then buff it off, then apply the wax? and how much AG should I use.

I'm not liking the sound of using this AG srp and egp, I'm tempted to take them back as they're unopened

 

[Rich]

Surprised you found the EGP highlighted the metallic flakes Paul, it tends to mute and hide them if anything while deepening the overall colour.

 

[paul]

mate of mine did me some instructions! there a great combo dave! just leave it for as long as you can! sure it will be fine!

http://s54.photobucket.com/albums/g120/182clio/?action=view&current=DSCF0439.jpg

you might be able to read them! let me know if you need any help! im pleased