Tips for final step polish

[bud659]

Just finished a 33' sear with flex3401 on orange ccs and marine31 color restorer on speed setting 5. Some spots required speed 6. This left already a great shine on the boat. Can I get some tips on applying final step?

I have a g110 and flex3401 and a new orange and white ccs pad. Speed? How much product to apply? Do I let it dry? How to work it in and how long to work it? Things like that

I plan to apply the wax+sealant afterwards with g110 and black pad. It's going to take a long long time. :thank-you:

[Mike Phillips]

Just finished a 33' sear with flex3401 on orange ccs and marine31 color restorer on speed setting 5. Some spots required speed 6. This left already a great shine on the boat. Can I get some tips on applying final step?



Sure!




I have a g110 and flex3401 and a new orange and white ccs pad.

Speed?



For the Marine 31 Gel Coat Final Step Polish (http://www.marine31.com/marine-31-final-polish.html),


G110 Dual Action Polisher - Speed Setting = 5-6 with the White CCS Pad.
Mark your backing plate as this will make it easier for your eyes to see if the pad is rotating. The pad needs to rotate not just vibrate or jiggle.


Flex 3401 Forced Rotation Polisher - Speed Setting = 4-6 with White CCS Pad.

Do some testing with the speed range on the Flex 3401 as gel-coats tend to like higher speeds than lower speeds when trying to create high gloss. Might even test the orange pad too as gel-coats tend to like hard pads for polishing than softer pads.




How much product to apply?



When starting out with a clean dry pad you want to prime it first and then add some extra product to work with, should look like this,


Here are 3 ways to apply product to your pad.

1. Priming the pad then adding product to work with

Priming a clean, dry pad is considered the best approach for using a DA Polisher because it ensures that 100% of the working surface of the pad is wet with product and working at maximum efficiency when you turn the polisher on. I originally learned of this technique from my friend Kevin Brown.

Priming the pad also ensures that you don't have any dry portion of the pad working over the paint un-lubricated. This really isn't a risk because since you're just starting out you're going to be removing defects a lot more serious than would be caused by any portion of the pad that is dry and spinning against the paint.

Plus, after just a few passes, the product you apply to specific areas of the face of the pad will migrate over the entire face of the pad and it will do this rather quickly when you're on the higher speed settings.



Priming the Pad - For clean, dry pads
Start with a clean, dry pad and add some fresh product to be spread out to the face of the pad. Using your finger, spread the product out over the pad and then using your finger work it into the pores of the pad. Don't saturate the pad, just use enough product to make sure that 100% of the working face of the pad has product coverage.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1110/PrimingPad01.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1110/PrimingPad02.jpg


Work the product around the face of the pad and into the pores
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1110/PrimingPad03.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1110/PrimingPad04.jpg


Any extra, take and apply to the outer edge until 100% of the working face of the pad is primed with product.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1110/PrimingPad05.jpg



As an option you can also prime the outer edge. This helps if you're buffing around convex curves or around panels that the edge of your buffing pad may come into contact with, like spoilers, side mirror housings, curved panels etc.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1110/PrimingPad06.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1110/PrimingPad07.jpg


Primed and ready to add "Working Product" to.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1110/PrimingPad09.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1110/PrimingPad08.jpg




Adding "Working Product" to the primed pad
Some people will recommend 3 to 4 pea size drops of product as the proper amount of product to use and this can be correct for concentrated products or working small sections and if you follow this advice make sure you are not under-lubricating the surface being worked.

Pea size drops of product
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1110/PrimingPad10.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1110/PrimingPad11.jpg



For some products and paint conditions, you may want more product on the surface working for you. Here's an example of dime size drops of product.

Dime size drops of product
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1110/PrimingPad12.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1110/PrimingPad13.jpg



How much product to use after priming

Ample
You want an AMPLE amount of product when first starting out because you pad is dry and some of the product is going to seep into the pad leaving less on the surface to LUBRICATE and ABRADE the paint

Cut down on the amount of product AFTER pad is broken-in...
After your pad is broken in with product, clean your pad after each section pass and when you apply fresh product you can cut down on the amount of product you actually apply to the face of your pad.


Too Little Product
Under-using product reduces lubricity and will make it more difficult for your pad to rotate efficiently.

Too Much Product
Using too much product will hyper-lubricate or over-lubricate the pad and will interfere with the abrasives ability to abrade the paint.


Keep in mind that you want enough product on the surface so you have,


Abrasives working for you.


A lubricating film between the paint and the pad.
Often times if you don't have enough product to work with you'll end up buffing to a dry buff. When you lose lubrication, friction increase and this can lead to micro-marring or hazing.



2. Applying a Circle Pattern of Product


Benefits to a Circle Pattern
As you work around the car you'll find that your product will migrate to the center on it's own. This can lead to pad saturation starting at the center of the pad where most of the heat is generated.

This can cause problems because wet foam will hold in heat better than dry foam and over time this can accelerate de-lamination between the hook & loop material and either the foam of the pad or the backing material on the backing plate.

Knowing this... I don't help the problem by using an X pattern as using an X-pattern means putting product onto the middle of the face of the pad.

If you're placing pea or dime sized amounts of product to the face of your pad then it's also a good idea to avoid placing the product directly in the center of the pad.

Circle Pattern on a clean dry pad and then worked for a Section Pass
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/811/AmpleProduct01.jpg http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/811/AmpleProduct02.jpg


After working the circle of product over a section, you can see it spread the product out over the entire face of the pad without having to spread it with your finger. The pad is now equally primed with residual product.


Cut down on product after your first section pass
At this point you could clean your pad or add fresh product and when you add fresh product you can adjust how much product you apply.

In this example I used half a circle of product since 100% of the face of the pad is now primed from the previously applied and worked product.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/811/AmpleProduct03.jpg http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/811/AmpleProduct04.jpg




3. Applying an X-Pattern of Product
Applying your product to the face of your buffing pad using an X-pattern is a fast and simple way way to get product out of the bottle and onto the pad in a measured way that's easy to teach others and a method that's easy to duplicate over and over again.

X-Pattern on a clean dry pad and then worked for a Section Pass
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/811/AmpleProduct05.jpg http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/811/AmpleProduct02.jpg


Cut down on product after your first section pass
After making a thorough Section Pass. The pad is now equally primed with residual product. At this point you could clean your pad or add fresh product and when you add fresh product you can adjust how much product you apply. In this example I used half an X-Pattern, or a single strip of product since the pad is already primed.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/811/AmpleProduct08.jpg http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/811/AmpleProduct09.jpg




Wet Buffing Technique

Maintain a wet film on the surface
The key is to have enough product on the surface as you're working a section to have a wet film of product that you can see on the surface behind the polisher as you move the polisher over the paint.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/811/AmpleProduct10.jpg







Do I let it dry?



No. You never let compounds or polishes dry, this just makes it harder to wipe them off and there is no benefit to letting them dry.

It's best to wipe any product residue off as soon as your turn the polisher off.






How to work it in and how long to work it? Things like that



When machine polishing you want to do what's called making

Section Passes


For polishing work you want to make 5-6 section passes to refine the results from the first step. That means map out a section to buff, 2' x 2' or smaller and then over over this section 5-6 times.




When talking about machine polishing on discussion forums or even in detailing classes, the below questions always comes up,

What's a pass?
How many passes do I make?
What's a section pass?


The definition of a pass
There are two definitions of the word pass as it relates to machine polishing with any type of machine.


Single Pass
A single pass is just that. It's when you move the polisher from one side of the section you're buffing to the other side of the section you're buffing. That's a single pass.


Section Pass
A section pass is when you move the polisher back and forth, or front to back with enough single overlapping passes to cover the entire section one time. That's a section pass.


http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/834/DampSanding32.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/834/DampSanding33.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/834/DampSanding34.jpg






I plan to apply the wax+sealant afterwards with g110 and black pad. It's going to take a long long time.



The waxing step goes pretty fast actually. Set the polisher on the 4-5 speed setting and tackle a large section of the hull and move the polisher over it for about 3 section passes and then move on.

Be sure to let the wax dry before removing it.


Good questions!


:)

[bud659]

Thanks Mike for the steps! It worked amazing. The Color restorer brought back this amazing shine while fixing some minor corrections in the gel coat. And to top it off, I did another coat of Final Step product. These products are amazing. They work so well, easy to apply and are very effective. Now, if I can get that wax working in my new thread.

This is a photo just after the Color restorer. This is a 18yr old boat. And the photo was taken with very little light. you can see the shine at the very tip of the hull from a neighboring boat in the hull reflection. Its never looked this good

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a312/bud659/photo1.jpg (http://s14.photobucket.com/user/bud659/media/photo1.jpg.html)