# 3stage compound machine polish.



## StusST (Feb 21, 2011)

Hi guys any of you had a 3 stage compound machine polish done on ur cars? looking at getying mine done in the sprin to clean up my swirly paintwork.

pics would be good.

Cheers gus


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## Smurf. (Nov 22, 2011)

it depends on what polishes are being used as to how many stages are used ... for instance the 3M system uses 3 polishes: Green (Compounding), Yellow (Polishing) & Blue (Refining), each polish has it's own pad to match.

There are single stage polishing systems around such as Scholl Concepts S3 & Spider Sandwich Pad (SSP) ... this system uses diminishing abrasives that will break down to an LSP ready finish if worked correctly ...

I think that most detailers on here will do a 2-3 stage machine polish as par for the course ... Hope that helps :thumb:

Edit: As Cuey points out below; not all cars have enough clear on to take a full compounding & polishing session, it would be a good idea for whoever is machining it to check the paint using a paint depth gauge (PDG) this will give you an indication as to how much is there to play with


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## The Cueball (Feb 8, 2007)

just look at the thousands of studio or showroom posts!!

Not all cars need, or can take a 3 stage polish...you really have to decide what is best for it at the time...rather than having a plan all set up - regardless of what car/paint/clear coat you have...

Just IMO of course..

:thumb;


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## Bratwurst (Jan 23, 2009)

Some folk just ask for it Mr C 

( ^^^ that was meant for a spammer who posted some random crap - NOT a dig at the OP!)

OP - every car's different, don't assume your car's paint is hard or soft, do some test sets to work out what you need starting with your least abrasive combo first and work up the scale until you get the results you want. :thumb:
Diving in with something harsh could end in disaster. Also try to get your hands on a PTG to help along the way.


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