Polishing by hand...

Beccia

Beccia

New member
Searching yielded little help - BUT (puts Nomex on) - what techniques/products are recommended when detailing completely by hand, no rotary or DA polishers present?



I do not currently own one, yet I love my car. Ergo, i have been polishing by hand. The paint definitely looks better afterward - surface oxidation is removed and the color looks much better - yet I doubt i'm scratching the surface (pun intended) when trying to polish the scratches and swirls out. I don't think i'm using a) hard enough pressure, b) long enough time, or c) aggressive enough polish.



Probably a combination of all three.



So, bring the flames.. but what is a good solution, aside from purchasing rotary/UDM?
 
I have had some limited success with Meguiars Scratch X. But I really had to work the product hard. I don't think I could do more than one or two panels without collapsing from exhaustion. You could try that approach and just do a section of the car at a time until it's finished.



Honestly, there is no good way to abrade clear coat by hand. Heat and pressure are required and absolutely cannot be replaced with a hand polish, no matter how aggressive it is.



If you really don't want to bite the bullet and buy a machine/backingplate/pads, etc. Then you can wash and clay the car, then hire a professional just to do the polishing. Or check local tool rental shops, they might loan you a polisher for $10/day.
 
Don;t even bother trying to do correction by hand. The time and effort spent working on it won't be worth it.



For one, you DON'T want to use an aggressive polish by hand. It'll leave scratches/swirls of it's own that you'll have to get out.



My advice is to use a light polish, a glaze, and then a carnauba wax. The glaze and carnuaba will hide any light swirls that the polish can not get out.
 
becciasm said:
Searching yielded little help - BUT (puts Nomex on) - what techniques/products are recommended when detailing completely by hand, no rotary or DA polishers present?



I do not currently own one, yet I love my car. Ergo, i have been polishing by hand. The paint definitely looks better afterward - surface oxidation is removed and the color looks much better - yet I doubt i'm scratching the surface (pun intended) when trying to polish the scratches and swirls out. I don't think i'm using a) hard enough pressure, b) long enough time, or c) aggressive enough polish.



Probably a combination of all three.



So, bring the flames.. but what is a good solution, aside from purchasing rotary/UDM?
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Welcome to Autopia!



Working by hand is, well, *work*. No way around that. Most sensible people will give up long before they attain a flawless finish.



I've removed nasty scratches from (hard) Audi clear by hand, so it can be done. But hey, life is short, and hard enough without trying for perfection without a polisher.



M105 can do some fairly serious work by hand. I'd use that, or Meguiar's Ultimate Compound, for nasty scratches. Then I'd do the whole car with 1Z Paint Polish, which I'd top with Collinite brand wax.



The 1Z Paint Polish is simply good stuff for use by hand. Not all that aggressive, but it does something. It fills a little bit, which isn't bad in this situation. The Collinite goes well with the stuff that the 1Z leaves behind.



As long as you settle for "much better" as opposed to "perfect" that approach oughta work OK.
 
Hi OP,

I'm in a similar situation as you. I don't have access to a good machine because I live in a condo and don't want to risk using inverters/power packs to power them. Plus its a daily driver so I have to put up with regular wear and tear.



From my research, Accumulator put it nicely:

M105 and/or ScratchX for the serious problems

Then either

1) a cleaner/wax type product if one-step is needed. I prefer several sessions of removing the problem little by little and protecting it.

I bought Poli-seal for this.



2) A glaze and a good wax to seal it in.

For me, I'm considering Poorboy's blackhole or Chemical Guys Ez creme or RMG.

Then any favourite wax.



3) Still researching this: finding a nice wax with filler. Currently seeing if Auto-balm will do the trick.



I hope that helps and I totally understand the situation.



On another note, I do try to save some money on the side so that a pro can help resolve the big problems.

And with the money saved, if its time to step up to a machine, I pull from that stash of money I've saved over time :)
 
After maintaining my cars by hand for years, I found Autopia.org and the detailing forum on Toyotanation.com a couple of years ago. Shortly thereafter, I bought my first PC 7424.



After using it the very first time, my immediate thought was "why in the heck didn't I buy one of these things YEARS ago".



It was such a HUGE improvement over what I was able to do by hand, that I couldn't believe I had struggled for so long to do things that way. Plus, the condition of my paint was so improved, that it made the things that I still did by hand, like applying and removing wax, WAAAYYY easier.



When you can pick up a regular PC these days for so cheap, or the new PC XP for a very reasonable price, I can't imagine trying to polish by hand any more.



If facilities are a problem, surely you have a friend or relative that would allow you to use their garage/driveway for a few hours on a weekend. Even if you only did a machine polish once a year it would make a huge improvement over doing it by hand.



Get a PC. You'll be glad you did.
 
Danase said:
Don;t even bother trying to do correction by hand. The time and effort spent working on it won't be worth it.



For one, you DON'T want to use an aggressive polish by hand. It'll leave scratches/swirls of it's own that you'll have to get out.



My advice is to use a light polish, a glaze, and then a carnauba wax. The glaze and carnuaba will hide any light swirls that the polish can not get out.
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+1 to Bob's response.....unless, as someone on this forum once wrote, "........your wrists can rotate at over 6,000 OPMs....." :chuckle:, but seriously listen to the pros on this board they are a wealth of knowledge.
 
Maybe our seemingly different advice isn't all that different after all :think:



The Ultimate Compound *does* work OK for spot-repairs by hand. That's what it's made for.



The 1Z Paint Polish I like for this *is* a mild polish and the wax it leaves behind is kinda like a glaze.



So in a way, my advice and Danase's is the same :D



[Insert my usual lecture about not falling into the "nothing but perfection" mindset that's so common here at Autopia ;) ]
 
Accumulator said:
Working by hand is, well, *work*. No way around that. Most sensible people will give up long before they attain a flawless finish.



I've removed nasty scratches from (hard) Audi clear by hand, so it can be done. But hey, life is short, and hard enough without trying for perfection without a polisher.



M105 can do some fairly serious work by hand. I'd use that, or Meguiar's Ultimate Compound, for nasty scratches. Then I'd do the whole car with 1Z Paint Polish, which I'd top with Collinite brand wax.
Click to expand...



I've done the same with #105 using a folded MF towel and keeping my hand flat across the paint (if you use your finger tips you will mar the paint like crazy).



Older paints, especially single stage, can still be worked by hand, I did all detailing by hand the first 10 years I had my detailing business but newer paints are so much harder now that I've quickly gone from the PC and Cyclo to the rotary.



A machine will give your paint a much deeper and more even polishing than you can by hand. That being said, #105 and a MF towel can be very effective for spot correction and paint transfers. I'd still follow up with machine polishing.



If you have to work by hand, I'd suggest using Meguiars #205 or Optimum Polish II followed by Clearkote's RMG. That will at least enable you to remove minor defects and hide most of the rest. Remember though, do not use your fingertips to work polish into the paint. Keep your hand flat across whatever applicator you are using.
 
Well I appreciate the responses. Thank you.



I've been lurking for a long time, taking notes here and there on machine polishing - just haven't had the funds to pull the trigger.



I'll be attending bufferbarry's paint correction seminar in a few weekends, so that should give me some in person opportunities to ask more questions!



Thanks again.
 
Scottwax said:
I've done the same with #105 using a folded MF towel and keeping my hand flat across the paint (if you use your finger tips you will mar the paint like crazy).



Older paints, especially single stage, can still be worked by hand, I did all detailing by hand the first 10 years I had my detailing business but newer paints are so much harder now that I've quickly gone from the PC and Cyclo to the rotary.



A machine will give your paint a much deeper and more even polishing than you can by hand. That being said, #105 and a MF towel can be very effective for spot correction and paint transfers. I'd still follow up with machine polishing.



If you have to work by hand, I'd suggest using Meguiars #205 or Optimum Polish II followed by Clearkote's RMG. That will at least enable you to remove minor defects and hide most of the rest. Remember though, do not use your fingertips to work polish into the paint. Keep your hand flat across whatever applicator you are using.
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Optimum Polish II can be used by hand? How long should you work it by hand?
 
Scottwax said:
I've done the same with #105 using a folded MF towel and keeping my hand flat across the paint (if you use your finger tips you will mar the paint like crazy)..
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Heh heh, trying to remove scratches from the hatch-jamb of the Yukon, I was actually using a wooden dowel behind the cotton so I *could* concentrate my efforts like that :eek: Still didn't get 'em all out but it helped me be *really* aggressive with the first 8-10 passes. Guess that's a "don't try this at home, kids!" kind of thing.



Yeah, that's a good point both with regard to spreading the pressure out over a large area and also about how aggressive products can bite you when used by hand. The 1Z Pasta Intensiv (that I used before M105 came out) was really touchy in this regard, it could leave tracers that were almost impossible to get out without resorting to sandpaper.

I did all detailing by hand the first 10 years I had my detailing business...
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You spent some of those years working on pretty hard clear too ;) I always think of you when people discuss working by hand.



And remember MirrorFinishMan? He has a successful business and he was always saying how he (and his employees) do everything by hand. Some here scoffed at him, but hey...he's bringing home the bacon that way.



.. How long should you work [Optimum PolishII by hand?
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Does it have a *MUCH* shorter work time than OPI? I can't imagine using the origianl OCP by hand, it'd take forever. That stuff takes forever by machine IMO.
 
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