What is a testspot
Written by: Vinnie van Rooij
A test spot is done to determine what combination of polish, polishpads and technique will give you the best results when correcting a surface. A test spot is done in a small area before you start to fully detail the entire vehicle.
Contents
Why doing a test spot
When you are going to polish an entire vehicle, you might have a lot of work ahead of you. Using a combination of pads and polishes that give the best result in the shortest time will save you quite a bit of time and effort. Possible even the amount of product you need to use, which means you save on cost. This combination should be aimed at only saving time, because you can simply skip steps to save time, but mostly at finding the most efficient and effective combination of products and techniques. More can be read in “How do you do a testspot”.
When do you do a test spot
A test spot is done after fully cleaning and decontaminating the surface, but before you start to polish. You grab a few polishes, a few polish pads and start with the least aggressive combination to see how the perform. If you find that they don’t cut enough, or perform well enough, you change the product or the pads. You can also change the machine or the technique you are using. In the end you’ll have a combination that will save time while still getting you top results.
The benefit of a test spot
While doing a test spot you will learn and see that not every product always performs the same way on different surfaces. Some paint might be harder, of softer. Others are a bit more grabby or simply need much less correction. You’re experience in insight will grow and in time you will be able to make a better choice on what product would work best for your situation. Don’t just go in there with your most used polish and a random pad, but make an educated choice that will help you to get the best results.
Question arise occasionally about the buffing of compound. Buffing compound can be done in a few simple ways, and since it's the same as polishing it won't be have a high learning curve....
It is often asked on detailing fora and social media: "what is the best claylube". Off course there is a difference between certain products and brands, but it is important to know what you are asking. In this guide I will try to explain what the problem is with this question unless it is asked more in-depth....
Menzerna is a Germany based manufacturer of industrial polishes, partly for the automotive detailing industry. Apart from manufacturing their own products, they also develop and manufacture products for others industrial companies....
Overspray is caused by the mist that is created when spray painting a surface. The tiny paint particles are light enough to float around in the air, when they land they slowly start to harden and become overspray. Overspray can be removed safely in many cases....
A pre-wax cleaner is a product that helps to prepare the surface for a layer of wax, the effects the product can have can differ from just preparation by cleaning, to filling swirls (like a glaze) and leaving an oily residue for added gloss....
3M is one of the largest manufacturers in the world in many different fields. 3M is known to be the owner of brands such as Scotchgard, Mguiars and many more. The company also makes many different products under their own brand....
[…] Not every vehicle, surface or material is the same. And they also don’t all react the same to a certain product. Some cars have soft paint, others have very hard paint. This might require a different polish, different polishing pads, different machines and even different techniques. A testspot can show you which combination of the above will give you the best result. This will help you to save time on the long run by having a much more effective and efficient combination. More on this can be found in “What is a testspot”. […]