# How much to work polish (How long to work on a panel?)



## BenB (Jul 6, 2007)

I'm trying to remove swirls and holograms from my black Volvo v50. Rather than trying to do the whole car at once I decided to work a panel at a time in my lunchbreaks!! (I work for myself, I have the luxury of fettling with my car at work!)

I washed and clayed the panel (small rear quarter under my rear window) then got out my Silverline Rotary.

I used a 3m yellow polishing/finishing pad, with Menzerna power finish (3.02 I think it's called?) and starting slow for 30 seconds or so before upping the speed a bit to about 2.5 on the dial (Some time ago I think I worked out the rpms based on the polishing guide, 2.5 on the silverline seemed to be the advised speed). Then I worked the polisher over the panel up and down, left and right, up and down etc for about 4 minutes or so. Buffed off.

Then changed to a soft finishing pad and using 3m Ultrafina SE worked in the same way for another 4 mins approx. Buffed off

Finished with a coat of Collinte 845, buffed off and it look gorgeous and deep, the gloss is lovely and the metallic sparkles like I've never seen before...

however...

As soon as the sun comes out I see the panel is still covered in swirls!

I guess I'm not sure how long I need to work each product. How do I know? Is it normal to repeat a few times before moving to the lower cut polish?

Any tips appreciated!
Thanks


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## bigmc (Mar 22, 2010)

Was there a definite improvement after your first set? Did you wipe down with IPA after polishing? You might need a stronger polish or pad to get rid of everything.


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## BenB (Jul 6, 2007)

I didn't really look too close between polishes. It certainly looks better than it did. so perhaps just repeating may help before I consider upping the cut of the polish.

I was worried that working it for too long after the polish has broken down just felt like I was rubbing the dry pad into the paint, I figured I'd be adding scratches doing that?

Does it seem long enough to work an area about 1ftx2ft? Or am I not working it long enough? What signs to I look for does the polish look/feel different when it's broken down?

I have a bottle of Isopropyl Alcohcol here (I assume that's what IPA is!!!) should I use that between polishes? Would that help remove some of these marks? Perhaps the swirls catching the sun are actually polish residue (Never thought of that but it makes sense!)


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## 62mph (Jul 28, 2010)

Hey mate. I think the area you are polishing is too big. I think I am right in saying you need to work 12inch x 12inch otherwise the oils in the Polish dry out. The Polish should go clear when its broken down properly. IPA removes any remaining oils from the the Polish on the paint so you can get a true picture of the finish on the paint


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## bigmc (Mar 22, 2010)

Size isn't that critical (so I'm informed) I usually split my roof/bonnet into 4 and doors directly in half so effectively 600x600mm.


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## Bezste (Mar 4, 2011)

I'm a complete novice so forgive me if I'm talking b*llocks, but shouldn't you be using the Zenith method? i.e. start slow, increase speed, increase again and then back down to middle speed and finish at slow speed?

From what I've read, this gurantees that the polish breaks down evenly and you won't instill your own marks into the paintwork.


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## Dave KG (Feb 23, 2006)

Size of work area is key. Too big and you do not focus the work down enough and do not work the abrasives as fully as required to get the best from them... if your work area is above 18" square, then I would look to be reducing this to focus your work more and get more out of what the polish has to offer. Your work times seem reasonable, so work area would be my next suggestion for what to look at.


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## bigmc (Mar 22, 2010)

Good point there Dave, it is very tempting to increase the work area, maybe that's why I don't get on with lime prime.


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## Jakub555 (Aug 17, 2011)

Smaller area are always better than bigger area
*Dave KG* you 100% wright..;-)


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## geoff.mac (Oct 13, 2010)

2.5 on a silverline is about 2500rpm which seems a bit high to me, just my 2p worth :thumb:


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## Matt_Nic (Apr 15, 2011)

You went too far and didnt experiment too much is my advice. 

Get yourself some masking tape and some alternative pads/polishes. 

Tape up an area on a freshly cleaned panel and polish one part right up to the tape line. 
Peel back the tape, give it a quick wipe down to remove residue then inspect the area for comparisson. 
If it's good, continue with that method.
If it's not improved, work to the next harder polish


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## alan_mcc (Oct 28, 2008)

geoff.mac said:


> 2.5 on a silverline is about 2500rpm which seems a bit high to me, just my 2p worth :thumb:


That isn't right


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## taz007 (Dec 31, 2007)

I originally bought a sonus polishing pack and it wasnt a strong enough polish to remove the swirls. After some research I went and got a few other polishes which were Megs Ultimate Compound and Swirl x. As these were stronger they provided much better results. Obv the finish then needs refined with a polish etc.

There are stonger cutting compounds like megs 105 but its up to you what you want to try.


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