Assumed Minor Paint Correction On New Delivery Vehicle.

[Ssjvegeta003]

Hi there, I am currently expecting to take possession of my Mustang early June, and have already procured my PPF. My current plan is to take delivery of the vehicle (notifying the dealer to not wash it) and once home, wrap the full car in PPF. However, I assume even on a brand new car, there will be paint damage/swirls.

I am assuming that I will have to very lightly remove swirls, and so my question is, what is the least aggresive compound I should look into buying along with the pad material/brand. I currently have the Griots 6' dual action polisher along with Microfiber Pad, Foam waxing pad, and paint correction pad. If needed, I am more than willing to buy either a different brand of pads (along with compound) or if missing the needed correct pad from griots, I will purchase that.

I have done some polishing and paint correction on cars, but they needed more aggressive correction so I could afford to test portions of the car with different pads. Ideally the paint will be pristine, but I'm going to work under the assumption that I will have to do some finish work prior to my PPF install.

Thanks in advanced, cheers.

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[DFB5.0]

Hi there, I am currently expecting to take possession of my Mustang early June, and have already procured my PPF. My current plan is to take delivery of the vehicle (notifying the dealer to not wash it) and once home, wrap the full car in PPF. However, I assume even on a brand new car, there will be paint damage/swirls.

I am assuming that I will have to very lightly remove swirls, and so my question is, what is the least aggresive compound I should look into buying along with the pad material/brand. I currently have the Griots 6' dual action polisher along with Microfiber Pad, Foam waxing pad, and paint correction pad. If needed, I am more than willing to buy either a different brand of pads (along with compound) or if missing the needed correct pad from griots, I will purchase that.

I have done some polishing and paint correction on cars, but they needed more aggressive correction so I could afford to test portions of the car with different pads. Ideally the paint will be pristine, but I'm going to work under the assumption that I will have to do some finish work prior to my PPF install.

Thanks in advanced, cheers.

I feel if you are going to the time and expense of applying PPF, then at least a light polish would be a good idea. While PPF can mask minor imperfections, you are essentially sealing up the paint for an extended period of time. Getting it looking as good as you can before applying the PPF makes sense to me.

The orange Griots pad you linked would be suitable. I'm not sure how many you have but you will want to have at least five pads to cycle through to do the job nicely.

Other suitable pads would be the Rupes yellow (fine) or Rupes white (ultra-fine), Lake Country SDO black (ultra fine) or Lake Country SDO orange (fine/intermediate).

I have just finished polishing my Mustang using Sonax Perfect Finish on an intermediate pad. Goal was to remove some mild marring, nothing major. Perfect Finish is so easy and forgiving to use with low dusting. It's a one-step compound so it can cut hard or light depending on pad choice, making it versatile. This could be handy if the car turns up needing some additional cutting.

Another one I can recommend is CarPro Reflect. This is a low dusting finish polish which I've found really nice to work with. It's also pretty concentrated so you will use less of it for each pass.

If you wanted to stay with Griots, then BOSS Perfecting Cream would be what you would need.

 

[Ssjvegeta003]

Ppf will mask all blemishes. I did it on black car after simple degrease and looks new.

Interesting. So even on blemished paint in terms of swirls (again I am just assuming the worst from factory paint, the car will have less than 20 miles on it prior to getting wrapped) that a glossy PPF will mask those imperfections.

 

[Ssjvegeta003]

I feel if you are going to the time and expense of applying PPF, then at least a light polish would be a good idea. While PPF can mask minor imperfections, you are essentially sealing up the paint for an extended period of time. Getting it looking as good as you can before applying the PPF makes sense to me.

The orange Griots pad you linked would be suitable. I'm not sure how many you have but you will want to have at least five pads to cycle through to do the job nicely.

If you wanted to stay with Griots, then BOSS Perfecting Cream would be what you would need.

Thank you for the time responding, and you gave a wealth of knowledge, much appreciated mate.

It seems from the reviews the BOSS Perfecting Cream is exactly the compound I am looking for, aka the least abrasive. Since my last polish, my air compressor is on its lasts legs, so I am worried about build up on my pad. Worst case scenario I wont be able to use the air to clean the pad, aside from just buying a shit load of pads, what's the best way to rotate/clean them if I want to stick with the x2 Correcting Foam Pads I currently have?

Also sick garage with lockers, and that race? red is so deep in that picture. You clearly know what you are doing in regards to your polish. I will take what you say to heart for sure.

 

[Bikeman315]

Interesting. So even on blemished paint in terms of swirls (again I am just assuming the worst from factory paint, the car will have less than 20 miles on it prior to getting wrapped) that a glossy PPF will mask those imperfections.

No, that is not true, period. Do yourself a favor and listen to our resident detailing expert @DFB5.0

 

[Bikeman315]

Thank you for the time responding, and you gave a wealth of knowledge, much appreciated mate.

It seems from the reviews the BOSS Perfecting Cream is exactly the compound I am looking for, aka the least abrasive. Since my last polish, my air compressor is on its lasts legs, so I am worried about build up on my pad. Worst case scenario I wont be able to use the air to clean the pad, aside from just buying a shit load of pads, what's the best way to rotate/clean them if I want to stick with the x2 Correcting Foam Pads I currently have?

Also sick garage with lockers, and that race? red is so deep in that picture. You clearly know what you are doing in regards to your polish. I will take what you say to heart for sure.

 

[Ssjvegeta003]

No, that is not true, period. Do yourself a favor and listen to our resident detailing expert @DFB5.0

I felt much like @DFB5.0 said, if I am sealing the paint for X amount of years, I want to at least say I tried to get as close to perfect as I can, and try my best. I would love to not bust my ass polishing a car on jack stands for 4 hours, but its a long term investment. So I will head what was posted by DFB5.0 and use Sonax Perfect Finish on the Orange pad, but I could easily see my self being swayed to the Lake Country SDO black (ultra fine) pads, as I would rather spend my time using a too of fine compound/pad combo and not accomplish anything than to over do with even a intermediary pad and go over board.

 

[Ssjvegeta003]

I bought 45 feet of 3m pro series PPF at 60inches x 45feet, and snagged

Would love if anyone has experience with this, as its supposed to be formulated to be put only on PPF, and not directly on paint.

 

[DFB5.0]

Thank you for the time responding, and you gave a wealth of knowledge, much appreciated mate.

It seems from the reviews the BOSS Perfecting Cream is exactly the compound I am looking for, aka the least abrasive. Since my last polish, my air compressor is on its lasts legs, so I am worried about build up on my pad. Worst case scenario I wont be able to use the air to clean the pad, aside from just buying a shit load of pads, what's the best way to rotate/clean them if I want to stick with the x2 Correcting Foam Pads I currently have?

Also sick garage with lockers, and that race? red is so deep in that picture. You clearly know what you are doing in regards to your polish. I will take what you say to heart for sure.

We don't get Griot's in Australia, but I do hear good things about their Perfecting Cream and Correcting Creams. Having used Sonax Perfect Finish a couple of times now, it's my new favorite.

As for pad cleaning and rotation, being a brand new car, you in theory would only be finessing the paint rather than a massive correction. As such, the build up of residues (apart from the polishing compound) less likely. Without compressed air, get yourself a pad cleaning brush. There are many of these on the market, I really like the Rupes one as it doubles as a pad primer as well.

Polishing pad brush - Google Search
Amazon.com: RUPES The Claw Tool - Polishing Pad Cleaning Brush and Pad Removal Tool : Automotive

(36) Polishing Product Series: E16 - RUPES Claw Pad Tool - YouTube

I bought 45 feet of 3m pro series PPF at 60inches x 45feet, and snagged

Would love if anyone has experience with this, as its supposed to be formulated to be put only on PPF, and not directly on paint.

You are approaching this is the right way. Polish, apply the PPF and then add gloss and protection to the PPF via a ceramic coating.

 

[Project]

I feel if you are going to the time and expense of applying PPF, then at least a light polish would be a good idea. While PPF can mask minor imperfections, you are essentially sealing up the paint for an extended period of time. Getting it looking as good as you can before applying the PPF makes sense to me.

The orange Griots pad you linked would be suitable. I'm not sure how many you have but you will want to have at least five pads to cycle through to do the job nicely.

Other suitable pads would be the Rupes yellow (fine) or Rupes white (ultra-fine), Lake Country SDO black (ultra fine) or Lake Country SDO orange (fine/intermediate).

I have just finished polishing my Mustang using Sonax Perfect Finish on an intermediate pad. Goal was to remove some mild marring, nothing major. Perfect Finish is so easy and forgiving to use with low dusting. It's a one-step compound so it can cut hard or light depending on pad choice, making it versatile. This could be handy if the car turns up needing some additional cutting.

If you wanted to stay with Griots, then BOSS Perfecting Cream would be what you would need.

I have a couple of questions for you. For a car that's only a couple of months old with minor flaws and the factory orange peel, would it be better to start the Sonax with a cutting pad or a finishing pad? Also, is the goal to completely level the clear coat for a mirror finish or just get it pretty close to preserve as much of the clear coat as possible?

 

[Ssjvegeta003]

I have a couple of questions for you. For a car that's only a couple of months old with minor flaws and the factory orange peel, would it be better to start the Sonax with a cutting pad or a finishing pad? Also, is the goal to completely level the clear coat for a mirror finish or just get it pretty close to preserve as much of the clear coat as possible?

while you wait for DBF5.0 to asnwer your question, I would also like to hear about removing Orange Peel. Afiak, thats asking a lot and taking prob too much of the surface off, but I await the pro's answer to your question.

I know when I take delivery, im going to go with his recommendation for perfecting a paint job that is otherwise unblemished (knock on wood) and snag the Sonax Perfect Finish. I figure all ill need to do with remove factory swirls, I don't think I can tackle orange peel.

 

[Project]

while you wait for DBF5.0 to asnwer your question, I would also like to hear about removing Orange Peel. Afiak, thats asking a lot and taking prob too much of the surface off, but I await the pro's answer to your question.

I know when I take delivery, im going to go with his recommendation for perfecting a paint job that is otherwise unblemished (knock on wood) and snag the Sonax Perfect Finish. I figure all ill need to do with remove factory swirls, I don't think I can tackle orange peel.

Yea that's why I'm asking. When I used to build model cars, I perfected my painting techniques to completely level the paint and clear coat thus eliminating orange peel. Don't want to make any mistakes on the real car cause in my mind, paint correction = no orange peel.

 

[kilobravo]

Orange Peel: I have tried to "go all the way" with orange peel on different vehicles and my conclusion is, they are too high to polish flat and if you try, there is a very good chance you'll burn through to the base coat. I stopped trying but if you give it a go, be SURE to have a paint thickness gauge before you start. I think the only way to remove heavy OP is wet sanding followed by multiple coats of clear.

 

[DFB5.0]

I have a couple of questions for you. For a car that's only a couple of months old with minor flaws and the factory orange peel, would it be better to start the Sonax with a cutting pad or a finishing pad? Also, is the goal to completely level the clear coat for a mirror finish or just get it pretty close to preserve as much of the clear coat as possible?

Firstly, orange peel is something that is going to be next level detailing. Orange Peel needs to be wet sanded and then polished, that is not a skill I am comfortable advising on. Larry Kosilla has been know to say that orange peel actually helps deflect and hide other paint imperfections. Orange peel doesn't actually bother me.

(24) How to Wet Sand Orange Peel in Car Paint: Porsche 911 - YouTube

As for which pad to use with Perfect Finish, always start with the least aggressive pad first and work up from there if needed. I have found, with my Race Red Mustang at least, that Ford paint corrects pretty easily and Perfect Finish can cut pretty well if needed. Personally, I don't chase absolute perfection, that last 5 - 10% is much harder to achieve and I'm happy with a 80-90% correction, being realistic that I will need to do this again in a few years, I want some room to play in the future so to speak.

 

[Project]

Firstly, orange peel is something that is going to be next level detailing. Orange Peel needs to be wet sanded and then polished, that is not a skill I am comfortable advising on. Larry Kosilla has been know to say that orange peel actually helps deflect and hide other paint imperfections. Orange peel doesn't actually bother me.

(24) How to Wet Sand Orange Peel in Car Paint: Porsche 911 - YouTube

As for which pad to use with Perfect Finish, always start with the least aggressive pad first and work up from there if needed. I have found, with my Race Red Mustang at least, that Ford paint corrects pretty easily and Perfect Finish can cut pretty well if needed. Personally, I don't chase absolute perfection, that last 5 - 10% is much harder to achieve and I'm happy with a 80-90% correction, being realistic that I will need to do this again in a few years, I want some room to play in the future so to speak.

Thanks for clarifying! I'm not too bothered by the orange peel either, but I wanted to be sure paint correction wasn't going to be 100% before I get started on it. Even at 80% correction, the increase in gloss and depth of the paint is still a monumental improvement over factory.

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