DIY Paint correction and polish?

Pismo · May 12, 2020

Anyone completed their own at home- 2 step paint correction and polish?
Looking to do my own with a pre-owned 2017 MX with some swirl marks from previous owner (car wash swirls). Trying to find the right setup.

Have a DA - but looking if people recommend the hybrid compound/polish, or the seperate, and what pads people use since Tesla is a softer paint.

Any tips and recommendations would be appreicated.
Right now, thinking:
Wash Car as normal
1.Chemical Guys OG Clay Bar
2.Griot's Garage 10948 Iron & Fallout Remover 35oz
3.Maxshine M15 15mm/900 Watt Dual Action/DA Polisher
4.3D One - Professional Cutting, Polishing, and Finishing Compound
5.Griot Garage Orange/green Pads for softer paint
or could do a mix of
4a.Meguiar’s DA Microfiber Correction Compound
4b.Menzerna SF3500 Super Finish

Thanks!

JasontheBeaver · May 14, 2020

Wash as normal.
Speedy Prep gray clay towel using Ferrex as a lubricant.
Rupes 21mm Bigfoot polisher on speed 4
Uro-Tec Maroon foam pads
Optimum's Hyper Polish. They also make an "Intensive Polish" but I'd like to see a few practice runs with regular Hyper Polish before I recommend anything more aggressive to a newbie.
Costco microfiber towels dampened with ONR for wiping polish residue off.
Final wipe with Optimum's Paint Prep
Protect with Optimum's Gloss Coat

By keeping it simple and using the same manufacturer's products you're assured of synergy between products and coatings. You don't have to worry about polishes having fillers that affect the next product you use.

Scooby24 · May 14, 2020

Spent several years detailing as a side gig. It's a fairly big learning process to get professional level results as my first several cars I was still learning on.

You'll get a TON of recommendations on different products. Process is more important IMO. The best advice is use the absolute minimum amount of correction necessary as you're learning. You'll eventually get to the point where you are more confident and you know what combination of polish and pad will get you the best results for that particular paint type. You can always do a second or third pass. You can't take back a burn.