What pad for the extra fine polishing step?

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Desertnate

Active member
Now we're in the depths of winter, I can only think about detailing. This can be dangerous depending on what catches my attention.

I freely admit to doing a lot of 1-step polishing jobs on my cars. Over the years, I've managed to dial in the right product and polish combo to get really good results on my well maintained vehicles. Today that means Rupes yellow's with either BOSS Correcting Cream or BOSS Perfecting Cream and I'm pretty happy. However, I saw Sizzle Chest's thread about the black C7 Grand Sport and when I asked him why it took three polishing steps, his reply was something like, "it needed a little something extra" so he did a third step to really make it shine. This struck me as I have to polish out my BRZ this spring and since the car is so small, an extra polishing step might yield great results with not much more time.

So, now the question to you guys. When you are jeweling (is that even a term anymore?) what pads are you using these days? Is it something really soft like Lake County's Black HDO pads? Someone else's fine/finishing pads? I'll freely admit to trying out a few polishes, but I've never experimented much when it comes to pads.
 
Thanks!

The last time I polished out the car, I couldn't help but wonder whether I could get a little bit better gloss. I'll have to give them a try. I have an orange HDO pad I got as a sample a while back and liked it. I'll have to get a couple black ones and give them a try.
 
Esoteric promotes a red closed cell buff and shine pad for special paints. They are very selective of the products they offer, might be worth a look.
 
wannafbody said:
Griots makes a fine red pad.
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Have you used it? I noticed they the red waxing pad, but also a black "finishing pad". I've never used Griots pad other than some 3" oranges and yellows and wasn't sure how soft the black might be or even the reds.

Despite using a Griots polisher, I forget they make pads too. Not sure why.
 
Desernate:
I assume you are using a finishing polish you already have in your existing detailing inventory of supplies.
You are more interested in a soft, ultra finishing pad than a true jeweling (or burnishing, as Accumulator refers to it)
But if you WERE interested in true jeweling polishes, here are four I know of:
1a) Menzerna's 3800 Super Finish Plus polish (the de-facto standard for jeweling)
1b) Jescar Micro Finishing Polish (I think this is more like Menzerna's 3500 Finishing polish, though
2) Scholl's Concepts S40 Ultra-finishing polish (Sky's The Limit Car Care is the sole USA distributor)
3) P & S Renny Doyle Envy Jeweling Polish (No longer carried by AutoGeeks, Order Direct from manufacturer. Pricy, but what is not these days)

Not trying to hi-jack this thread, but if other Autopians know of or have used other polishes for jeweling, let us know.
Interesting thread discussion on jeweling between autopian All-Stars Berry Theal and Kevin Brown (older, though):
Ref:https://www.autopia.org/threads/some-conversation-between-kevin-brown-and-barry-theal.157539/
 
I've used the Red GG Waxing Pad as a Finishing Pad with OK results. BUT generally I don't like the uber-soft/small-pore Finishing Pads, even for Burnishing (which I basically never do any more, but *good memory* Lonnie : ) ). As long as a pad is gentle enough that it doesn't have any cut of its own, that's gentle enough for me and I prefer how more "aggressive" pads work for me. I don't even like LC Black pads for this.

Desertnate- Since you're using the GG polishes, I wonder how you'd like their Orange Boss Correction Pad. "Wouldn't it be too aggressive?!?" I dunno...I just used it with the GG Ceramic 3-in-one on GM/Chevy clear and it was fine for that. Reminded me of how Cyclo only sold one foam pad (the Green one) for ages, and we used it for everything from correction to LSPing, back when paints ranged from white enamel to black lacquer.

Disclaimer: I never work on stupid-soft clear. BMW Jet Black? No idea what'd work/not on something like that.
 
Accumulator said:
Desertnate- Since you're using the GG polishes, I wonder how you'd like their Orange Boss Correction Pad. "Wouldn't it be too aggressive?!?" I dunno...I just used it with the GG Ceramic 3-in-one on GM/Chevy clear and it was fine for that. Reminded me of how Cyclo only sold one foam pad (the Green one) for ages, and we used it for everything from correction to LSPing, back when paints ranged from white enamel to black lacquer.

Disclaimer: I never work on stupid-soft clear. BMW Jet Black? No idea what'd work/not on something like that.
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I have a couple of the 3" Griots pads and in that size the orange's are very similar in cut to the the larger Rupes yellow's I use today for just about everything. I might have to try the Griots Black BOSS pads.

The paint on my Subaru is pretty soft. This has me wondering if the current pads aren't finishing out as well as they do on harder paints and whether adding a step with something softer will help bring out a little more gloss. I'm getting plenty of correction, but possibly missing out of some refinement.

I have an old, black LF Flat pad that is way too soft like you say and only use it for applying waxes and sealants. I think I'm looking for something with just a touch more structure to it, but little/no correcting ability.

I really appreciate all the input. I may end up buying one of each of the recommendations and doing a "fly-off" between them.
 
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Desertnate- IIRC (reasonably confident ;) ), the Rupes Yellow is very similar to the Cyclo (should I now say Cyclo/Rupes?) Green pad that we used for everything. And yeah, when I used the current GG Orange Boss Correcting Pad, I did think to myself that it was a bit firmer than the Cyclo Green.

The Cyclo/Rupes Green is sold out in 4" otherwise I'd buy some. I bought a few GG Finishing Pads instead, but I haven't used them yet.
 
For an ultra-fine finishing step, you’ll want a soft, low-cut pad. Pair it with polish and you’ll get that extra pop without removing unnecessary clear coats. Since your BRZ is well-maintained, this third step could really enhance the finish, especially under direct light. If you’re looking to preserve that extra gloss long-term, you might want to apply a ceramic coating after polishing. It’ll help reduce swirl buildup, make washing easier, and add a layer that keeps the finish looking flawless longer, especially useful for winter road grime.
 
Brenan Jiran said:
For an ultra-fine finishing step, you’ll want a soft, low-cut pad. Pair it with polish and you’ll get that extra pop without removing unnecessary clear coats. Since your BRZ is well-maintained, this third step could really enhance the finish, especially under direct light. If you’re looking to preserve that extra gloss long-term, you might want to apply a ceramic coating after polishing. It’ll help reduce swirl buildup, make washing easier, and add a layer that keeps the finish looking flawless longer, especially useful for winter road grime.
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Thanks. The car was previously coated and I'll be coating it again after I'm done.

In case anyone is following along, I ended up getting some LC Black HDO pads. I got a lot of great recommendations here, but last week Detailed Image was running a sale on pads. After the sale price, a coupon code I got in an e-mail, and buying three or more pads, I ended up getting them for over 30% off.

Now I just need a warm weekend!
 
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