Need a pre wax polish recommendation.

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Hello I'm looking for a recommendation for a polish to use by hand for my black 03 f250. The paint is in very good shape for the year my plan is to try blackfire wet diamond sealant on the truck after I clay bar and polish it. There are so many different products out there I don't know which to try. I need something to use by hand though that will bring out the shine before I apply the sealant. Thanks
 
If you want to stay in the Blackfire lineup, they have a polish. Personally, I am a Meguiar's fan; using their 3 step process; although on a new car you should not need the first step. but have also used 3m products. you will likely get a variety of responses here covering a wide range of products - mostly very good.
 
Maybe use the clay bar and then a good polish like a 'Mothers' or 'Meguiars'... you can do it by hand, or you can go buy Mothers PowerBall 4Paint drill attachment, WAY EASIER, trust me. 10x faster than by hand, and no hand cramping.
 
"Polish" is a trade off depending on how fast you want it to go versus how much correction you need.

If you're not really wanting to correct your paint, after doing a clay bar, you don't really want a pure "polish" anywyay. When you're using a polymer sealant, you'd want it to bond directly to the paint to give you a bit more durability.
 
I am a huge fan of Turtle Wax's Ice liquid wax. It lasts for quite a while despite my car sitting outside all the time. The shine is very impressive also. I used to use Meguiar's NXT liquid wax, however it doesn't last as long the the Turtle Wax Ice.
 
This is what I settled on after research last year:

1) Autoscrub Fine Mitt with Optimum No Rinse used as clay lube
2) Meguiars Ultimate Compound and / or Polish
3) Collinite 845

Having done some research, I think I would be tempted to do the following next time

1) Autoscrub Fine Mitt with Optimum No Rinse used as clay lube
2) Optimum Spray Compound and / or Polish or nothing
3) Optimum Opti Gloss for several years protection or Optimum Opti Seal for 6 months protection

Optimum even have combo products for stages 2 + 3 which are spray on and wipe off and you're done.

All Optimum products seem easier and faster to use and are compatible with each other. So you don't have to worry about residues from one stage interfering with the next.
 
I might catch fire for posting this here, but I've been using Amway Silicone Glaze for about 10 years now and I always get great results on all colors and shades.

Not too expensive and IMHO the only Amway product worth buying
 
3M products are my favorite. Perfect-it III compound for scratches, Imperial hand glaze for polishing, and perfect-it "show car" wax to finish. Usually have to be bought from an automotive paint store but work great and not all that pricey for the results
 
Here is my routine

1) Wash
2) Clay
3) Meg's Ultimate Compound where required
4) Autoglym Super Resin Polish (SRP)
5) Autoglym Extra Gloss Protection (EGP) Sealant
 
Polishing a full size pickup by hand is a lot of work. It's certainly doable, but takes a lot of "finger fu." I've done a lot of paint polishing over the years. Lately my go-to polishes are Meguiar's 105 and 205. I also like Menzerna Super Intensive and Final Finish.

If I have the time to do a really thorough job I'll start with 105 or Super Intensive on a Purple Foamed Wool pad on a rotary polisher. Then I'll switch to 205 or Final Finish on an orange or white foam pad on an orbital polisher. Doing it by hand you could probably just use the finer polish. You won't remove all the swirl marks and minor scratches in your clear coat, but will definitely improve the gloss and get it ready for the sealant. Good luck!
 
Griots Complete Compound looks like a good way to go
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http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/complete+compound+16+ounces.do?sortby=ourPicks&refType=
 
Polishing by hand is quite time-consuming and usually results in mediocre results.

If you are not interested in purchasing a DA polisher, I would stick to claying and applying a coat of sealant or wax.
 
Thanks for the replies. Last year I had my truck buffed with a foam pad and m205 compound. That took out most of the defects. The reason I was looking for a polish was after I wash my truck I get water spots even though I try to dry it the truck is so big that some of the water drys on it creating spots and when I was using the collonite 845 it wouldn't even take them out. Or the ocasional bug or grime on the paint washing didn't remove. I'm looking to try a sealant so I figured they would be similar to collonite meaning "without cleaning ability" I have 3m hand glaze and that really makes the paint shine but would that affect the bonding of the sealant? I was thinking of trying blackfire wet diamond or duragloss 105. The truck is 12 years old but I get a lot of complements on how well it looks. I just enjoy detailing it.
 
Use a California water blade to get most of the water off first, then finish drying with a spray wax after every wash. If there are steaks after that, quick buff with a microfiber shines it right up. I don't get water spots with that routine and the water blade cuts drying time significantly.
 
Originally Posted By: ryanschillinger
Use a California water blade to get most of the water off first, then finish drying with a spray wax after every wash. If there are steaks after that, quick buff with a microfiber shines it right up. I don't get water spots with that routine and the water blade cuts drying time significantly.



The water blades will scratch the ever loving Hades out of your paint if a piece of crud remains on the surface. I have seen it happen to people. One of the reasons I don't use them on anything but glass.
 
Gary deans indicate use detail juice when used immediately after drying works for me in removing the few water spots that happened.

You may want to switch to an all in one product in this case. A pure sealant won't take any spots out, but an all in one has a bit of abrasives to clean the paint while waxing.

A DA would dramatically improve your results and take far less time than doing it by hand. There are MUCH cheaper options than the multiple hundred dollar one like the flex or cyclo.
 
Originally Posted By: Jschreffler81
Is duragloss 105 an all in one sealant?


Yes it is a synthetic paint sealant with some marginal correctional properties.
 
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