Which Polishes & Pads

[bamatt]

Dang dang dang I just noticed the DP coupon that expires today so I gotta hurry. I am going to give the PC one more try. I would say I have some decent swirl marks but I don't think I need Cut. I think I need Swirl & Finish. Do I need Amigo if I use Klass AIO (they sound liek the same thing)? Also which pads do I need for which products. Quickie advice please times a wastin

[kenchan]

for normal swirls on newer cars, i would probably get Swirl and Amigo and
go straight to Epic.

just make sure you break down the polish until it is dry. you may not
have broken down the diminishing abrasives enough on your previous
app.... or just chose the wrong polish... or watching TV or something.

[bamatt]

Last time I used M80 but I don't think it was aggressive enough. I have pretty good swirl marks as red shows them almost as bad as black does. I don't do Epic I do the Klasse twins & P-21S so I was thinking Amigo=Klasse AIO. Plus I dunno which pads to get. MBE I should just call DP

[kenchan]

Yes, I recommend you call DP for best results.

[MiniMaybee]

bamatt - I believe Heather told me at one time that there is bonding issue with Amigo and Klasse. You should probably PM here to verify.
I generally use Swirl and a white pad, though if I'm impatient I will go to the orange pad. As above, make sure you work the area long enough to allow the abrasives to do their thing. I usually go until the Swirl is clear and the film after your PC passes looks like it is almost drying.

[bamatt]

I don't wanna use both, I was thinking Amigo & Klasse AIO are kinda the same. If so I don't need Amigo as I will continue to use the Klasse twins & carnauba wax. Thanks for the pad advice. I called & left a message for Heather to call me

[MLPearson79]

Oy this sale is killing me. I don't NEED anything but it makes me WANT stuff!!

[bamatt]

The pads I see say they need a "hook & loop" backing plate. WTH is that? I have the velcro backing plate is that the same?

[MLPearson79]

Yup. "Hook and loop" is the generic term for Velcro.

[bamatt]

YAY!! I just talked to Heather I am good to go If I have another failed PC attempt we can determine for all practical purposes that it is indeed me & not the product

[mini44]

Originally Posted by bamatt

Last time I used M80 but I don't think it was aggressive enough. I have pretty good swirl marks as red shows them almost as bad as black does. I don't do Epic I do the Klasse twins & P-21S so I was thinking Amigo=Klasse AIO. Plus I dunno which pads to get. MBE I should just call DP

Bamatt,
I find that swirl on the white works similar to M80 and the w8006 megs pad on my Mini. If m80 wasn't enough cut you probably need the orange with swirl followed by white with swirl ( if you need too) or M80, then hit it with your twins. I haven't used Klasse but love p21s . I am sure DP will walk you through it.

[bamatt]

Originally Posted by mini44

Bamatt,
I find that swirl on the white works similar to M80 and the w8006 megs pad on my Mini. If m80 wasn't enough cut you probably need the orange with swirl followed by white with swirl ( if you need too) or M80, then hit it with your twins. I haven't used Klasse but love p21s . I am sure DP will walk you through it.

I think I am gonna do a test spot of Swirl with white & move to orange if necessary, then use Finish with white, then I am gonna go ahead & do Amigo with white or black, followed by the Klasse AIO (even thought that's kinda an overlap w/the Amigo I like the Klasse protection) & then top her off with P21-S.

I have decided to eliminate the 2nd twin, the SG, as I noticed when I used it for the first time last detail, the SG adds such a shine that it prevents my carnauba wax from deepening my finish & I like the depth over shine, well actually I want em both. When I used just Klasse AIO & P21-S my chili red appeared to go a shade darker but when I added the SG to the mix my chili red didn't get darker it just got real shiney (if that makes sense )

Should I do Amigo with white or black??

[Jeremy1026]

Originally Posted by bamatt

I think I am gonna do a test spot of Swirl with white & move to orange if necessary, then use Finish with white, then I am gonna go ahead & do Amigo with white or black, followed by the Klasse AIO (even thought that's kinda an overlap w/the Amigo I like the Klasse protection) & then top her off with P21-S.

Your crossing alot of steps actually. To do Amigo after Finish wouldn't do anything. Amigo and Finish are the same thing (almost) except that Amigo has fillers where Finish does not. So to do Amigo over Finish, it would make Finish be a wasted step.

[bamatt]

Originally Posted by Jeremy1026

Your crossing alot of steps actually. To do Amigo after Finish wouldn't do anything. Amigo and Finish are the same thing (almost) except that Amigo has fillers where Finish does not. So to do Amigo over Finish, it would make Finish be a wasted step.

Are you sure? It reads like Finish is slightly more abrasive than Amigo

[SimpsonGI]

Originally Posted by Jeremy1026

Your crossing alot of steps actually. To do Amigo after Finish wouldn't do anything. Amigo and Finish are the same thing (almost) except that Amigo has fillers where Finish does not. So to do Amigo over Finish, it would make Finish be a wasted step.

From the info on the website, I wouldn't say it is a wasted step. It's going from a low abrasive to very low plus the fillers and polymer base. Granted I haven't used either one yet, but that is what I am planning to use, Finish, then Amigo.

Prima Finish is designed for use on all types of paint finishes including new cars and paintwork that is well treated with very minor surface issues, including light swirl marks, spider webbing and slight imperfections. Cleaning action safely dissolves the toughest surface grime.Abrasive Level: Low

Prima Amigo: Mild cleaners in Amigo break up oxidation and remove dead paint. Embedded grime is gently lifted from the surface. Mineral deposits from water spots disappear. It is the perfect prep-step for well-cared-for paint that just needs a cleaning before wax.

As a polymer-based glaze, it fills slight imperfections, adds stunning gloss while leaving the finish slick to the touch. The unique thing about Amigo is the polymer. Although it doesn’t provide protection the way Prima Epic will, it does allow you to go directly to your wax step without any bonding or durability issues. Try that with a “normal” glaze and your protection will simply rinse off. Prima Amigo allows you to fill imperfections, add gloss then seal it in with your synthetic wax. No other product on the market gives you what Prima Amigo gives you.

If you have ever fought with black paint as you tried to remove the very last bit of hazing left by your polish steps, you will truly appreciate Prima Amigo. Used with your machine, it will remove the lightest of surface imperfections. Black becomes a crystal lagoon of depth and clarity. Red becomes a bright liquidy glow of its former self. Light colors pop with brilliance. Prima Amigo is your last step to perfection.Abrasive Level: Very Low

[Jeremy1026]

Originally Posted by bamatt

Are you sure? It reads like Finish is slightly more abrasive than Amigo

99% sure, that to finish with Amigo after Finish won't yeild a noticable difference on your paint. Finish isn't abrasive enough to haze the paint so Amigo isn't really going to have anything to 'tidy up.' But, I could be wrong, if you talk to Heather about it, please post the response.

[bamatt]

I talked to Heather today. I didn't specifically ask about Finish vs Amigo but I told her my plan & she said the Amigo & Klasse AIO would be the crossover step & kinda duplicate each other. I wasn't gonna order the Amigo because of the Klasse but I decided to order it at the last minute because I felt the Amigo would be the final polishing to-a-pure-megashine step as it is less abrasive than the Finish & the Klasse is non-abrasive but adds good protection. Plus I don't think they would include both Finish & Amigo in the polishing bundle if they were the same thing

[Jeremy1026]

I knew I wasn't totally nuts. I was pretty sure that Heather mentioned the differences in Amigo and Finish before. Here is the post from Heather from an older thread. So...I don't know, I'm now even more confused.

Originally Posted by Detailers Paradise

CR&PW- I think that this time around Finish was probably the best choice because without any fillers it showed you a very true representation of your paint's condition as you worked it.

I also agree with MiniMaybee that the next time around Amigo would add some pop and extra gloss. And like he said, you could do Amigo instead of Finish in your process. Then, every once in a while go back to Finish just to do more true "finish" abrading.

You both know this, but I'll mention it for others who are newer to Prima polishes:
Swirl & Finish are true abrasives and contain no fillers or oils. What you see is real... they don't hide anything as they work and abrade.
Amigo, while it is a super-fine finishing abrasive when used with the PC, also contains some concealer/fillers. So, Amigo is an excellent pre-wax step because it will fill any of the few micro imperfections that might be left and nagging at you, while also doing some super-fine finish abrading and paint cleansing before you wax.

So, one can see how Finish and Amigo overlap in some areas and yet are different in other areas. Most people enjoy using Amigo most of the time and then doing a step of Finish from time to time instead.

Again, great work!!

-Heather

[MiniMaybee]

bamatt - I think I would go from Swirl to Amigo. I never use my Finish except on the black A-Pillars. Swirl, even on the orange pad, has never hazed my paint so I have never needed to step down to Finish after it. Amigo will fill and is very easy to remove. I use Amigo on either the white or black pad depending on what I used for Swirl.

[Prima Car Care]

Yes, on MINI paint, Finish and Amigo do overlap in some ways; however, they are very different as well. In most cases (but not all), a MINI owner would go with Amigo after Swirl. Finish is sometimes necessary on MINI paint but usually one can go straight to Amigo. MINI paint leans towards the soft-side but is certainly not super-soft either. Finish is often a necessary tool on super-soft paint (BMW, Ferrari, Lotus, and others). Does that help clarify? This can be a confusing topic.

Finish is a finishing abrasive with no cleansers or fillers.

With a PC, Amigo is super-fine abrasive (almost completely non-abrasive with the white or black pads) with paint cleansers and fillers. The super-fine abrasives are not enough for any kind of correction in most cases- just a tad of finishing. The primary purpose of Amigo's super-fine abrasives is to help muscle up the cleanser component- not to abrade, in most cases.

Klasse AIO, while it is not abrasive at all, also has cleansers (excellent ones at that) and fillers.


For bamatt and her CR paint, I suggested Swirl with the Lake Country Orange pad because she has some stubborn swirls to remove. Then, I suggested she have Finish and the white pad on hand, simply there is always a chance you'll end up with a little hazing. Different cars of even the same paint color can respond just slightly differently. So, it's best she has Finish to work with. *This is also why we always suggest you work on a 2'x2' section to "pre-glaze and pre-wax perfection" (pre-Amigo or pre-AIO, in this case) before doing the whole car- simply to figure out what combination and steps are going to work best on your paint.

The reason I did not suggest Amigo is because bamatt wants to use Klasse AIO. Not only do these two overlap in many ways on MINI paint, but remember that they both contain paint cleansers. Amigo's cleansers are very powerful and Klasse AIO's cleansers are extremely powerful- one of the best cleansers on the market, IMO. Sooo, when you use a cleanser over a cleanser, guess what happens? You clean one off with the other.

So, I would not suggest using AIO after Amigo (or the other way around, for that matter). It would be a wasted step.


In summary:
If bamatt wants to try Amigo, then do Swirl w/ Orange then Amigo w/ White. It's likely to be a successful combo (although there is a slight chance that she'd still need Finish after Swirl but probably not).

If she wants to use AIO, then do Swirl w/ Orange then look to see if Finish w/ white is necessary, then do AIO with White.

*Bamatt: Be sure to assess your swirl removal progress before using either Amigo or AIO. Remember that either of these will "trick" you into thinking that you've removed imperfections when really you've just concealed them. Get your paint to your desired level of perfection before using Amigo or AIO (pull your MINI into the sun or use a xenon light to make sure you've removed your swirls).

If she is successful in removing her swirls, then when she polishes again, perhaps in the Spring, she may only need to do either Finish with the White pad or perhaps Swirl with the White pad.

I hope that helps! Final finishing can be a finicky step and thus the products and techniques need to also be finicky and often overlap just a bit! It's a fine-tuning step.

-Heather

[bamatt]

Thanks Heather. I am going to leave the AMIGO out & use the Klasse AIO as my cleaner since I rely on the Klasse for extra protection under my carnauba


Hey anybody want to buy a bottle of Amigo cheap

p.s... how will I know if I need to use or skip the Finish? What do I look for.

[Jeremy1026]

Thanks for clarifing that Heater. I know the debate of Amigo vs Finish has been beaten to death in this forum, but the answer was still illuding me to an extent.


Its great to have vendors like DP here, they make our lives so much easier!

Originally Posted by bamatt

Thanks Heather. I am going to leave the AMIGO out & use the Klasse AIO as my cleaner since I rely on the Klasse for extra protection under my carnauba


Hey anybody want to buy a bottle of Amigo cheap

p.s... how will I know if I need to use or skip the Finish? What do I look for.

How cheap? I just bought a bottle, but if you make me an offer I can't refuse, who knows

You will know if you need to use Finish if there is hazing left. If the paint has hazed it will have lost it luster, and might even appear to have a very thin film over it.

[Prima Car Care]

Originally Posted by Jeremy1026

Thanks for clarifing that Heater. I know the debate of Amigo vs Finish has been beaten to death in this forum, but the answer was still illuding me to an extent.

Who is Heater??

I'm sure this won't be the last of the Amigo vs Finish debate either! It's just one of those topics that is bound to be a little confusing until you've used them both enough to fully understand them.

The good part is that you can't mess anything up or do anything wrong by mixing them up. You'll just get slightly better results by choosing the right product for the particular job. So, it's a risk-free learning curve!

-Heather

[kenchan]

heather- does Amigo wash off after a single car wash, or does the
filler stay in place for some duration?

[MLPearson79]

In theory, isn't it sealed under Epic?