advise for swirl removal with g220

[kdiz]

Right I have been reading a hell of a lot on detailing world in the last week or so and just thought I would state what I think is the best method then any of the more experianced people on here like envy or guy if they got time can correct anything I have written down which isnt correct.

first hose down the car to remove surface dirt
use two bucket method with grit guards, proper washmit, good car shampoo [ Meguiars Gold Class Shampoo or something similar ]
rinse car again
once finished with the thougher wash start to use clay with a spray lubricant
dry car with a microfibre cloth making sure not to rub the paint but in 1 smooth motion move it accross the car to soak the water up
tape bumpers and any other plastics off
start with a polish with a higher cutting agent [ Menzerna Power Gloss S100 ] and a medium pad
start on a smaller area tape it off etc, start off on a low rpm until its even distributed over the area 600 or so rpm
increase the rpm 1000 ?? and then break down the polish, do several passes until fully broken down
then do another few passes on 600rpm again
wipe the car over to remove any remaining polish
once this process has been carried out then start polishing using the lighter pad and a polish with lower cutting [ Menzerna Final Finish (PO 106 FA) ], carry out same rpm technique as with the other polish
once complete wipe the car down, possibly use finishing sprays and a clean microfibre

obviously then do other stuff to do with cleaning but that is irrelevent here as that doesnt affect the polishing.

Does this sound about right or am I going wrong anywhere? I think I am going to get a scrap bonnet to try techniques out

Cheers for any feedback if anybody can help me out 

[Dan J]

menzerna powergloss is fairly aggressive so go easy

depending on how bad the paint is you dont always need to do a multi stage polish, what car have you got?

[kdiz]

mk2 gti 8v with blau schwartz as it's paint. It's literally never had a detal in it's life. Maybe I could use a lighter one then like ( Menzerna Power Finish (PO203S) ) then just re-do it a few times if it doesnt do the job the first time round. that would be safer

[waxamomo]

Start machine polishing with caution, always start with the lightest combination you have got and then work up, you may be surprised how many defects you can remove with a lighter polish and pad combination. You don't really want to go in with the big guns to start with as you may be removing a hell of a lot of paint when there is no need too.

[Dan J]

mk2 gti 8v with blau schwartz as it's paint. It's literally never had a detal in it's life. Maybe I could use a lighter one then like ( Menzerna Power Finish (PO203S) ) then just re-do it a few times if it doesnt do the job the first time round. that would be safer

is that metalic with a clearcote? if its non metalic paint then approach with extreme caution, the paint on mk2's without clearcote will be very thin, go very carefully dude.

and as chris said, start with a light cut compound and softer pad.

[kdiz]

cheers guys I have revised my order now, will play it safe and use a very light polish first and see if that does the trick if it doesnt then i can either do the same thing again or use a slightly heavier polish.

[JonnyG]

Try a trial area on your bonnet in good lighting ... Menzerna Intensive Polish will probably be your best bet for full swirl removal but can be a bit tricky in cold weather.   If you have/can borrow a paint thickness guage that will be very helpful as you won't need to worry about taking too much clearcoat off....you can measure it,  pass by pass. 

If you're doing a full polish, you could use something stronger than shampoo for the first wash, to completely degrease the paintwork (e.g spray diluted APC, or citrus degreaser)

I think I'd wash and rinse the car quickly again after the claying stage, before drying.

Have the new G220's changed ?      Mine just has settings 1-6 ... and I use 2-3 for spreading and 5 for full swirl removal.   

My other tips would be :-

1. Best do the swirl removal under very good lighting (edit : I see from another post you have just bought some halogens )   
2. Try and do it in warm weather or inside a warmish garage this time of year.
3. Have plenty of clean MF cloths around and a detailer spray ...  it's surprising how hard polish can be to remove,
4. Mask/cover your windscreen & glass as well if possible (same reason as 3 above  )

Good luck with the detail !!

[Dan J]

id recomend a water spray instead of a detailing spray due to the detailing spray having gloss enhancers in it and will make it look like the swirls have gone.