# Cleanser polish technique



## IDreamofGloss

Just purchase a 3 try old XC60 for my gf, paint is pretty good, dark grey metallic with few swirls.

However bonnet in particular feels rough so intended to clay but noted the advice in all the posts here is to machine polish afterwards because the claying will marr the paintwork.

I've corrected a couple of other cars before (doing my one now) but this always takes a long time which I don't have. How do you machine polish in less than a couple of days for a decent size car?

Are there any other options to claying or is the cleanser polishing technique a lot quicker than when correcting (is more of a quick buff)?

Does a cleanser polish eg BH have to be broken down to work?


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## AndyN01

Hi.

Taken from the Polished Bliss site:

Bilt Hamber cleanser-polish can be applied equally well by hand or dual action machine. For best results by hand, it should be applied to freshly washed and decontaminated paint using either the supplied applicator pad or a Lake Country Hydro-Tech Polishing Hand Pad. Only 3-4 pea-sized drops of product are required per panel, and these should be worked in using light pressure to produce a film that should then be allowed to dry for several minutes. Once hazed over, this film should then be buffed off carefully using either the supplied buffing towel or a PB Super Buffing Towel.

For best results using a dual action polisher, Bilt Hamber cleanser-polish should be applied using either a Lake Country Hydro-Tech Finishing Pad or a SCHOLL Concepts Premium Finishing Pad. Only 3-4 pea-sized drops of product are required per panel, and these should be worked in thoroughly at around 3000-4000 orbits per minute (speed 3-4 on most dual action machine polishers) until only a thin film remains. This film should then be left to haze over for several minutes before being buffed off using either the supplied buffing towel or a PB Super Buffing Towel.

http://www.polishedbliss.co.uk/acatalog/bilt-hamber-cleanser-polish.html

Certainly quicker than a full correction 

Remember to use lots of lube with the clay - a strong shampoo solution is usually OK.

Hope this helps.

Good Luck.

Andy.


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## IDreamofGloss

Thanks Andy, that makes sense but still seems like a long job....wash, clay, DA cleanse-polish, wax.

Am I misinterpreting the DA polishing time for this as I reckon for this alone it's best part of a day's job with the machine at my normal pace? 

....or does BH C-P not need to be worked and broken down like normal correcting polish and need less working - should I see it as like working in a wax rather than a correction stage?

XC-60 is a fair size car, with a lot of steel, can't reach across every panel so bonnet and roof each need probably 3-4 sections... 

Sorry for all questions... slightly confused


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## steelghost

IDreamofGloss said:


> ....or does BH C-P not need to be worked and broken down like normal correcting polish and need less working - should I see it as like working in a wax rather than a correction stage?


This is more the approach you want to take I think - the abrasives in Cleanser Polish are pretty mild and are there for their cleaning action rather than for any real correction ability. Unless you're using it with a cutting pad and just using the product as lubrication, what Cleanser Polish will give you is paint cleaning and filling of minor defects in the manner of a good glaze. It doesn't need loads of working, but does warrant a few passes to get the most out of its cleaning ability.


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## A&J

Cleanser polish isnt a polish per se...its has abrasives but they are there to clean paint not correct. 
I suggest you use it on a soft pad (the softest you have) and on a low speed (2-3), do 2 passes and move on. Let it dry for a few min and wipe it off. Dont use it on too high speeds, that will introduce heat that will dry out the polish on the paint making it harder to wipe off...same thing can happen if you are using it by hand on warm or hot panels.


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## Lexus-is250

This will give you a bit of an idea of the cleaning and filling of Cleanser polish. This was a car I was doing Sunday and you can see the side id gone over with it vs the side I hadn't. The car was in a bit of a mess and I'd clayed it as well. The more you go over the panel better the it gets and doesn't seem to mind what pad you use.









Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk


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## euge07

do it once and do it right

book a few days off and use a proper polish on it, it will be worth it in the end:buffer:


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## IDreamofGloss

Hey, yeah I wish... have just taken 4 days to correct my Panamera which looks amazing now, finished it last night and was bought at the same time as gf's car (but panny bodywork in a much worse state) and cannot take another 3 days off - do you guys not work ??


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## euge07

IDreamofGloss said:


> Hey, yeah I wish... have just taken 4 days to correct my Panamera which looks amazing now, finished it last night and was bought at the same time as gf's car (but panny bodywork in a much worse state) and cannot take another 3 days off - do you guys not work ??


what condition is the paint in bud? could you not get away with a good one step enhancement? I find sonax 04-06 fantastic for this:thumb:


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## gibbo555

I used BH Cleanser polish on a Berlingo Van at the weekend, got round it in an hour and a half or so, lovely to work with. 

Can't really report on how it filled as the paintwork was in excellent condition but a lovely product to use, i used it on the DA i should add.


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## tehvlb

IDreamofGloss said:


> Hey, yeah I wish... have just taken 4 days to correct my Panamera which looks amazing now, finished it last night and was bought at the same time as gf's car (but panny bodywork in a much worse state) and cannot take another 3 days off - do you guys not work ??


i feel your pain mate, i work full time and also have a 2 1/2 year old boy.

i am looking to do a machine cleanser on my car in the coming weeks but just cannot think how the heck i am going to fit it in.

last night after i picked him up from nursery and took him down the park etc i got home and managed to get 1 door shut cleaned.......

yeah 1 single door shut....

I should have taken up this detailing lark when i was young free and single.

problem is when i was young free and single i was driving a beat up nova.


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## IDreamofGloss

gibbo555 said:


> I used BH Cleanser polish on a Berlingo Van at the weekend, got round it in an hour and a half or so, lovely to work with.
> 
> Can't really report on how it filled as the paintwork was in excellent condition but a lovely product to use, i used it on the DA i should add.


Blimey gibbo555, an hour and a half to do a whole van?? Did your DA actually touch the bodywork or did you just waft it in its general direction??

....or did you use the new DAS Usain Bolt Pro vMach 2 machine? :lol:

Can you come round and do my gf's, daughters and neighbours cars between 4 and 6 on Saturday?


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## gibbo555

IDreamofGloss said:


> Blimey gibbo555, an hour and a half to do a whole van?? Did your DA actually touch the bodywork or did you just waft it in its general direction??
> 
> ....or did you use the new DAS Usain Bolt Pro vMach 2 machine? :lol:
> 
> Can you come round and do my gf's, daughters and neighbours cars between 4 and 6 on Saturday?


Lol it's a lovely polish to use, plus you can basically do a good few sections before having to wipe off to let it haze... here's the results ...


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## Cookies

gibbo555 said:


> Lol it's a lovely polish to use, plus you can basically do a good few sections before having to wipe off to let it haze...


It's those new 22 inch pads you've been using chum...

Lol

Great stuff. I'm going to be giving my white 3 series a thorough clean, so might just give this a go.

N


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## steelghost

Cookies said:


> It's those new 22 inch pads you've been using chum...
> 
> Lol
> 
> Great stuff. I'm going to be giving my white 3 series a thorough clean, so might just give this a go.
> 
> N


Do yourself a little 50:50 - you might be surprised at the difference in colour!


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## gibbo555

Cookies said:


> It's those new 22 inch pads you've been using chum...
> 
> Lol
> 
> Great stuff. I'm going to be giving my white 3 series a thorough clean, so might just give this a go.
> 
> N


They are some job the big pads lol.

I don't usually use the likes of these polishes, usually correction work then wipe down and coat. But I love the job it does, in fairness this van has been looked after by only me since new so it was in good shape to begin with.


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## IDreamofGloss

Just prepped gf's car - wash, decon and clay, just opened by cleanser polish and it started to rain! 

Anyway, I got to the point of opening the bottle and I noticed the cleanser polish is very runny, how do you apply pea drops into a pad which will just absorb into the pad like water?

I could add a trigger head and spray onto panel then apply the DA?


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## steelghost

IDreamofGloss said:


> Just prepped gf's car - wash, decon and clay, just opened by cleanser polish and it started to rain!
> 
> Anyway, I got to the point of opening the bottle and I noticed the cleanser polish is very runny, how do you apply pea drops into a pad which will just absorb into the pad like water?
> 
> I could add a trigger head and spray onto panel then apply the DA?


I spray it onto the pad. Works well.


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## Titanium Htail

It does take time, in that respect it is not something that everyone has, in reality it is only cleaning the paint plus the time taken to correct the whole car far more intensive. You can do it in small sections a panel at a time the notion of doing it all in one go is unrealistic in some family situations.


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## sidewalkdances

This thread has been very useful. Got a bottle on the way to help me to a sale prep for a friends cars. 

The way I am looking at it, this will make enough of a difference after a clay and a quick run over on the machine to make the car look good for the photos and lay down a little protection. They arent expensive cars, and they arent in great condition. No point spending 2 days per car correcting the life out of it on a 10 year old Galaxy.


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## SuperchargedLlama

I can imagine getting round the car in an hour and a half after I've washed and deconned so that seems about right. I don't really work the polish tbh, just spreading it on speed 2 with a couple of very quick passes (to ensure even spread, like priming a panel) and buff off straight away and then seal, one panel at a time. Looks like maybe I should do that bit slightly differently but tbh the results haven't ever been anything other than brilliant so I've not thought about it.


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## NorthantsPete

You could just clay the rough bits and if you dont mind a bit of pad damage polish the rest - not all panels are the same, youl lfind lower areas worse and around spray of wheels.

Then use something like nxt 2.0 as it fills as it waxes, saves you some time.

If you used ultimate polish it also fills as it goes, it also has abrasives, so that and nxt is a killer combo im yet to beat (and ive tried BH, sonax, carlack, fusso, srp and more).

another combo super resin polish and fusso on top, easy peasy.

Spray wax every wash to top it up and ease of washing


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## NorthantsPete

gibbo555 said:


> I used BH Cleanser polish on a Berlingo Van at the weekend, got round it in an hour and a half or so, lovely to work with.
> 
> Can't really report on how it filled as the paintwork was in excellent condition but a lovely product to use, i used it on the DA i should add.


I did mine last week, i was a little dissappointed, im used to SRP and Ult polish which REALLY hides stuff ,this just went on ok but not much filling ability.
The autobalm i put on after really hid everything but then it washed off in the week (not the hydrophobic part but the scratch/swirl hiding) and made the paint feel really rough next wash... its not a time saver that lot.

I just picked up some M21, this will be my go to (or nxt if its cheaper as its the same thing), fills and i love the water beading, even light mist and morning dew beads, lovely.


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## BaileyA3

This was the bonnet of a skoda fabia I did a few years back, cleanser polish on a soft pad on a das6.


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## BRUN

Jesus, that's some difference !


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## Itstony

As commonly heard "Always read the label". 
Follow the manufacturers instructions and plenty of time later to reinvent a wheel.
There are significant differences on application and removal, so why guess?


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## Christian6984

I recently used BH cleanser polish on my 13 yr old fiesta. Been a year since i did an enhancement on it, its never gonna be perfect due to the age but it was so much better. also wanted Dlux on the faded trim so had to live in the garage for a day after (thankfully my mate has a big garage let me stay over a day or two while i carried out the work) (also no wife or kids as previously mentioned). One year on car had some very light swirling in one or two areas, washed and decon'd and after using the CP i curiously IPA'd one or two of these areas with Car Pro eraser to see if it was filling or removing them and very surprised they were gone, so it must have some cut although it will be very little.

Few options could work for you could be, could pay for a professional to do the enhancement if you could cope without the car for a day or two which is the most expensive option but also the quickest fix of the paint since you don't have the time right now.

Options for sorting it yourself could be buzzing round with the CP and hide a good majority of the defect for now then wax/seal until you get some time off sometime in the future to sort out. Or could sort a panel or two after each wash until your round the car (but were heading towards the weather getting worse this time of year and although I've considered it, the idea of getting out the polisher after every wash does seem annoying, if i had a cordless polisher maybe easier)


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## joe456

NorthantsPete said:


> I did mine last week, i was a little dissappointed, im used to SRP and Ult polish which REALLY hides stuff ,this just went on ok but not much filling ability.
> The autobalm i put on after really hid everything but then it washed off in the week (not the hydrophobic part but the scratch/swirl hiding) and made the paint feel really rough next wash... its not a time saver that lot.
> 
> I just picked up some M21, this will be my go to (or nxt if its cheaper as its the same thing), fills and i love the water beading, even light mist and morning dew beads, lovely.


I found the same, there was a definite improvement, but it didn't fill the the scratches and swirls as much as I hoped.

Would you say SRP and Ult polish are about the same? I have quite a lot of megs products so I am tempted to try Ult Polish


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## SuperchargedLlama

NorthantsPete said:


> I did mine last week, i was a little dissappointed, im used to SRP and Ult polish which REALLY hides stuff ,this just went on ok but not much filling ability.


This odd because I get the exact opposite results! SRP doesn't do much for me but CP is fantastic (much easier to apply and remove too, although I do know I am using the old formula of SRP).

I apply mine by DA on a 3M finishing pad for reference.


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## sidewalkdances

Mother-Goose said:


> This odd because I get the exact opposite results! SRP doesn't do much for me but CP is fantastic (much easier to apply and remove too, although I do know I am using the old formula of SRP).
> 
> I apply mine by DA on a 3M finishing pad for reference.


I did a friends car(s) at the weekend with this exact combo so they were ready for sale. Both came up beautifully. I followed the previous advice you posted about just working the polish at a reasonably low speed and it worked a charm.

Although my blue 3M finishing pad is now black! Even after a full chemical and mechanical decontamination - that CP is amazing stuff at pulling crap out of the paint work.


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## Woodsmoke

holy thread resurection, 

Im going to be testing my new DA with cleanser polish as i have very thin soft clear coat so i want a a little cut to take mino decon maring out and as much hiding as possible.

did you need to clean the pad out alot while using cleanser polish by machine?


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## Christian6984

Woodsmoke said:


> holy thread resurection,
> 
> Im going to be testing my new DA with cleanser polish as i have very thin soft clear coat so i want a a little cut to take mino decon maring out and as much hiding as possible.
> 
> did you need to clean the pad out alot while using cleanser polish by machine?


I found the pad stays fairly damp throughout and you don't get dusting like say you are using compounds, but a quick brush out now and then around the car will help the pad becoming over saturated


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## MaDMaXX

Well, so long as it's been resurected - i'm going to be trying a DA for the first time, though not the first time with BHCP.

I'm trying to determine the best pad to use, so far i'm seeing lots of brand recommendations, otherwise keep it slow with light pressure....

BUT, soft polishing pad? or soft(?) finishing pad?


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## Venkman

MaDMaXX said:


> Well, so long as it's been resurected - i'm going to be trying a DA for the first time, though not the first time with BHCP.
> 
> I'm trying to determine the best pad to use, so far i'm seeing lots of brand recommendations, otherwise keep it slow with light pressure....
> 
> BUT, soft polishing pad? or soft(?) finishing pad?


^^Either of these options would be fine. Soft polishing will give you a fraction more bite and cleaning ability, but you'll get great results regardless.


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## MaDMaXX

Ok I have a hexlogic white, which says it's a soft polishing pad, so good to go with that?

Also I forgot to ask, good idea to use cleanser fluid first? It's pretty 'dirty' paint.


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## Venkman

MaDMaXX said:


> Ok I have a hexlogic white, which says it's a soft polishing pad, so good to go with that?
> 
> Also I forgot to ask, good idea to use cleanser fluid first? It's pretty 'dirty' paint.


White hexlogic will do the job well. Sure, if badly contaminated cleanser fluid will be a worthwhile step to remove tar and keep your pad in better condition during the CP step.


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## MaDMaXX

How would it compare to a Rupes DA fine yellow foam pad?


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## GSVHammer

MaDMaXX said:


> Ok I have a hexlogic white, which says it's a soft polishing pad, so good to go with that?
> 
> Also I forgot to ask, good idea to use cleanser fluid first? It's pretty 'dirty' paint.


Yes use cleanser fluid first if you have it. I presume you are doing a full decon first, tar remover, iron remover and then claying? Use the cleanser fluid after the clay step. The cleaner you get the paint before polishing the less chance you have of the pad picking something up and marring the paint with it when you are polishing.

A white Hex Logic pad should be fine to use with Cleanser Polish.


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## MaDMaXX

Yeah, i guess i'll do clay and iron removal, not sure there will be much in the way of iron, but i imagine clay could pick up some stuff. From initial inspection, paint is dirty, not necessarily contaminated, per sé.


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## SadlyDistracted

Any thoughts on using something like Essence?


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