some detailing questions: FR, polish, glaze, applicators...

[mbt]

1. is FR abrasive and levels off swirls/scratches or does it just fill them? how often can FR be safely applied (like, once per two months?)

2. what about polishes? are they abrasive or just fill swirls? (in particular, Meg DC S2 polish, which I'm finishing a bottle of)

3. can carnauba wax (like DC S3 or EO wet) be safely applied on top of a glaze like IHG? do you apply glaze before or after a polish?

4. is a terry cloth just effectively the same as a terry applicator for applying stuff (FR, wax, polish...)? (hand application) and is a terry cloth suitable for buffing in the absence of an MF towel?

5. when a multilayer application of carnauba wax completely evaporates over time, is it ok to FR+polish+wax the paint every time this happens (about every 3 weeks or so?)? or just glaze + re-wax to save the clear coat from excessive wear (this is assuming that FR and polish are considerably abrasive)?

thanks

[green]

MBT,

Lemme take a crack at your questions...

1. is FR abrasive and levels off swirls/scratches or does it just fill them? how often can FR be safely applied (like, once per two months?)

FR is more of a chemical cleaner rather than an abrasive cleaner. Meaning, the chemicals are the ones removing the oxidation and rounding off the edges of scratches rather than abrasives. Once per two months should be ok.

2. what about polishes? are they abrasive or just fill swirls? (in particular, Meg DC S2 polish, which I'm finishing a bottle of)

Polishes come in different degrees of abrasiveness. It really depends on the "blend" of the polish. There are some polishes that tend to fill in the scratches more, rather than abrade them away(like DCS 2, Megs #7, EO Wet). While some will tend to abrade the swirls away more than fill them. Really depends on the polish and your application.

3. can carnauba wax (like DC S3 or EO wet) be safely applied on top of a glaze like IHG? do you apply glaze before or after a polish?

Glazes are polishes that have very little or no abrasives. What they do have a lot of are oils to fill in swirls. The procedure is usually to polish your paint to remove swirls and then glaze it to cover up the left over swirls. Then top off with your favourite carnauba. Basically its compund (if needed) - polish - glaze - wax.

4. is a terry cloth just effectively the same as a terry applicator for applying stuff (FR, wax, polish...)? (hand application) and is a terry cloth suitable for buffing in the absence of an MF towel?

I would use terry cloth for FR. For waxes, hand polishes, and glazes, I would use a foam applicator. The terry cloth would soak up too much product. More product would wind up in the cloth than on the paint. A terry applicator is just a piece of foam wrapped with terry cloth. Terry towels can be used for buffing but I still prefer to use an MF cloth to buff. Less chances of scratching. Some terry cloths I've used scratch the paint.

5. when a multilayer application of carnauba wax completely evaporates over time, is it ok to FR+polish+wax the paint every time this happens (about every 3 weeks or so?)? or just glaze + re-wax to save the clear coat from excessive wear (this is assuming that FR and polish are considerably abrasive)?

It really depends on you. I would just do the glaze and the wax. I think three weeks would be too soon to go through the whole shebang. Some would just rewax. If you properly maintain the paint after going the full route (cleaner+polish+glaze+wax), you should be ok with just a weekly or bi-weekly wax job or glaze+wax job. If you have a good weekly regimen of taking care of your paint, you shouldn't go through the whole detail route till after 3 - 6 months.

I suggest you visit theveed's PAD site for a ton of information.

thanks

Glad to be of help :mrgreen:

[theveed]

Impressive green... proud of ya!

[mbt]

o nga no! i forgot about PAD... i'll drop by there

[green]

Theveed: Hehehe :mrgreen: Thanks... I learned from the best! :mrgreen: