quick side note about this post: the colors of pads I refer to are Lake Country pads

MiniMaybee- You're right on!

Remember that different manufacturers use different kinds of paints- each with different hardness/softness. This will vary the product/pad combo that will yield the best results.

With the Expedition, which has fairly hard paint (most US manufacturers use harder paints), the higher density of the orange pad was necessary to "muscle up" the Swirl. Yet, the combo is not so harsh that you really needed a true finishing step to remove any hazing left behind by the corrections to the paint- because there wasn't any hazing left behind. Therefore, you could move right to the white pad and Amigo. The white pad and Amigo probably cleaned up the finest of micro-hazing left behind (that you probably could not even specifically see) and filled just the wee bit of imperfection remaining.

The white pad with Swirl, on that hard Expedition paint, just wasn't enough- as you found out. It was good that you tried it first though. Remember that it's always best to try a the least aggressive combo first.

MINI paint is softer than Expedition paint, but isn't as soft as some other paints (ie, BMW, Ferrari).

You're also right on with your comment about the yellow pad and Cut. That combo will leave hazing- hazing which is a necessary result of that level of paint correction.

Hazing is removed by following up with finishing steps. This means that you would then try, for example, the orange or white pad with Swirl. The exact combo will depend on your paint's hardness. Some paints may need a second finishing step with, say, the orange or white pad with Finish or even Amigo.

Note that 99.9% of the time you use the yellow pad, regardless of paint hardness, you will need to do a finishing step (maybe even 2). This applies even if you were to pair the yellow pad with something non-aggressive, like say Finish or Amigo. In other words, the pad itself has abrasive qualities.

The yellow pad and Cut are an excellent combo for serious paint correction, despite the fact you'll be setting yourself up for more finishing steps afterwards. There are some levels of imperfection which can only be successfully removed with this combination. When do you use this combo? It's difficult to give a specific, useful example. The real answer is, as always, start with the least aggressive combos and move up as necessary. You'll easily discover when you really need an aggressive combo like the yellow pad and Cut, or even the yellow pad and Swirl.

As a general rule, I think that the need for the yellow pad and Cut would be extremely rare on a MINI. The MINI paint is soft enough and usually new enough that I can almost guarantee yellow/Cut would be overkill. The only exception might be a small area where there has been serious damage or something. In most cases though, a MINI's paint imperfection of a serious nature should be able to be corrected with the orange or yellow pad and Swirl. That's just a guideline though.

Oh, and MiniMaybee's list of Lake Country pad aggression by color is also right on. So lots of DP points for MiniMaybee in just one post!


Didn't everyone miss my looooong explanations while I was away??

-Heather

 

Long, perhaps. Thorough, definitely! Informative, quite!
Oh and everything I know about detailing I learned here or from you so again, out of charity and goodwill, I hereby donate all my DP points to the OTBWD club.

Cheers!

 

Is there a cheat sheet or progressive list. I think I fallow, but I cant be sure. A nice line going from most agressive combo to finish would be nice. Complete with pictures of pad and polish

And yes, I have missed the insite, even if I dont fallow it all.

 

Your lucky to be close enough to get help wheen needed

 

For DP check HERE it will lead you to some PDF files on a couple of topics, pad/product combo being one of them.
Luck and living here have very little in common - goals and planning are the key!

 

Haha, I was just being smart, but thanks! Very good information to have. Just need to laminate that and post it in the garage.