# S20 Black produced a lot of dusting



## SuperchargedLlama (Apr 25, 2008)

Hi all,

I used S20 black for the first time yesterday and was incredibly impressed with the results. I followed Steampunk's advice and it worked a treat!

One thing that did surprise me though was the amount of dusting. I was surprised because it's never usually mentioned so I suspect it was me and my technique rather than the product, it was like SRP in that sense!

I didn't clean the pad out as I'd not got my brush with me, but it did start dusting on the first panel, so it wasn't heavily loaded at that point.

If it's normal then no problem, if it's not then suggestions on how to avoid it would be appreciated.


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## TonyHill (Jul 28, 2015)

Too much product perhaps?
Only say that as I get very little dusting when using SRP, unless I over apply it :thumb:


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## SuperchargedLlama (Apr 25, 2008)

I could well be that. I primed it inline with that Steampunk suggested (but might have overdone it). I definitely think cleaning the pad out would have helped if that was the case, but alas...no brush to do that with as I forgot it.


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## Christian6984 (Dec 20, 2007)

i found keeping the work area small helped as found it could dry up and end up chaulky on removal


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## SuperchargedLlama (Apr 25, 2008)

That could also have been my problem; just waiting for the video to process and then you'll be able to see in the showroom (I'll link here too) what I was up to. Stonkingly good results which is the main thing of course, I just wanted to make sure I wasn't being a muppet.


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## atbalfour (Aug 11, 2019)

S20 is anything but a dusty product so it's definitely lack of pad cleaning, build up of spent product/clear/contamination you've removed.

If you don't have a brush to hand and using just one pad you should at least do a hose rinse, spray with APC and manipulate into the pad, spray off then spin out the water using the machine at high speed. You'll get much better and more consistent results, also keeping the pad temperature down in the process.


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## SuperchargedLlama (Apr 25, 2008)

This is kinda what I thought. Would a DA spin fast enough to do the drying by centrifugal force do you think? I've got a cheapo silver line Rotary I could use for said job.

Regardless of that, stunning polish!


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## atbalfour (Aug 11, 2019)

Mother-Goose said:


> This is kinda what I thought. Would a DA spin fast enough to do the drying by centrifugal force do you think? I've got a cheapo silver line Rotary I could use for said job.
> 
> Regardless of that, stunning polish!


Yep DA works fine.


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## Steampunk (Aug 11, 2011)

Dusting with S20 Black tends to happen for one of several reasons...

1. Pad Selection: Some very open-cell pads, like the CG's Hex Green and Rupes Blue, etc, tend to generate dust or polish balls with many products (S20 Black included)

2. Pad cleanliness: If you don't have a brush, use an old, well-washed short-pile microfiber, and pulse the machine against it after every section you work... Also, as is good practice with machine polishing with all polishes, you need to change out pads for fresh, clean ones frequently. A Mondeo sized car really needs 6-8 pads to complete the whole thing in one go. If you don't have that many pads, knock off early after a panel or three, wash your pads, have a pint, and start up again once your pads are dry (With foam, this can take at least 24-48 hours, though spin-drying on the machine over a bucket can knock some considerable time off that.). As a DIY'er, one gets much better results taking things section-by-section anyway. 

3. Sticky Paint: S20 Black is awesome, but on sticky paint, it's not as awesome as the now unobtanium S20 Blue. There are some paints (Subaru, for one...) that it can dust/ball-up on like crazy... 

4. Too much speed: Keep your speeds down to 3-4, and make slow, deliberate passes. Excess speed (Especially if applied too quickly, before the lubes are warmed up.) can make all polishes dust. 

5. Keep your polishing sections small: 18X18 inches, or a roughly equivalent surface area, is a good rule of thumb. Spreading out the polish over too large an area reduces the lubricant and abrasive density. 

6. Balancing pad loading: Scholl polishes really like being 'semi-primed' (Halfway between the KBM, and ZPM priming techniques... Russ @ Reflectology described this as keeping the pads 'humid'.)... You don't want lots of tall blobs on the pad, as this creates over-primed spots that can lead to gumming/dusting... You want zero-height 'stains' of product on the pad in at least a dozen spots, evenly distributed. People complain about the Scholl bottle caps, but actually they really help with the correct priming technique, because you just 'tap' that bottle against the pad and get the exact amount of priming you need to 'smudge' the pad... Then rub the pad with a nitrile gloved hand to even it out just a little bit... Then add your working product; 2-4 pea-sized blobs.

Once the pad is initially primed that way, you polish your first section, and then clean the pad. Then you might need 2-peas for the next section. Then you clean, then you add 2-3 blobs. Work, then clean. Then you might need 3-4, as you'll have stripped more out of the pad by that point... Do half a large panel, or 1-2 small ones, and change pad to a fresh one. Start the priming process afresh. 

-

I've encountered this sort of situation 'in the field' that you have... It typically comes from a mixture of atmosphere (Outside is always more unforgiving than inside a garage, let alone a climate controlled space. There's more heat and humidity and wind.), using a pad with too open pores, dirt on the paint remaining after decon (Chemical isn't enough; clay only does part... The first cut will always bring up more.), and being in the heat of the moment that tends to throw polishing discipline out the window... Polishing too long before cleaning, or changing pads; polishing too large of an area; working too fast, and not taking your time to keep those passes slow, and keeping the pad perfectly balanced... I have to constantly fight not to do these things. 

Hope this helps... 

- Steampunk


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## SuperchargedLlama (Apr 25, 2008)

Thank you as always @steampunk.

Straight away from what you've said there I can see where I've potentially caused some issues.

As I'd already suggested, I knew the pad wasn't clean and overloaded by the end but didn't realise how early I should have given it a clean (and yes, it was a Green Hex pad). I suspect I was also working too large an area (for example, the bonnet could have been split in to three segments across, rather than two).

I had read your detailed post about speed and priming before so I'd gotten that right, although the latter was largely undone by the overloaded pad.

I'll still say that whilst I produced a lot of dust, the results on the paint were sublime!


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## Brian1612 (Apr 5, 2015)

I would guess you are overworking it personally.

Sent from my SM-G975F using Tapatalk


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## SuperchargedLlama (Apr 25, 2008)

I'd agree due to the size area being worked.


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