What is the best choice for body polishing at home? How and how to polish a car with your own hands at home What is the best way to polish a car by hand.

Polishing a car in a car service is an expensive pleasure. It will be more profitable to buy once a special tool and materials for polishing and do this process yourself. What materials to choose, in what sequence to carry out actions, and will be discussed.

Preparatory procedures and precautions

Before proceeding with the polishing itself, we will announce the list of equipment that you may need.

List of required materials

Car wash shampoo.
A hard cloth or sponge.
White Spirit.
Polishing machine.
Polishing pastes.

Preparatory stage

Polishing is best done in a garage or outdoors in a calm, not sunny weather to avoid dust and direct sunlight on the body. Polishes cannot be used in the sun and at high temperatures.
Inspect the body for bitumen, tar, or dirt. Carefully. Clean everything that has not been washed off with water a second time with White Spirit. Wait for the coating to dry completely.
Polishing in the cold season (if the process takes place outside) should also be avoided.
Parts that do not need polishing must be sealed with tape or masking paper, because stains are formed when polish hits them.
Provide good illumination of the area in which the polished object will be located.
Polish away from other machines, if you do not want to then wipe off paint stains on nearby modes of transport.
If the surface of the car has recently been painted over the entire area or spotted, then it is not worth polishing it. The polish will prevent the paint from drying out quickly, paintwork will remain soft and grow old soon. Wait 2 months.

Body polishing process

Polishing can be done either by hand or mechanically using a polishing machine. Let's consider both methods.

Hand polishing.

Shake the tube of polish well before use.
Apply polishing paste to a hard cloth. Wait 10 seconds for the composition to dry and absorb. Rub in a circular motion over the body. However, do not overdo it with the thickness of the polishing layer.
It is best to polish in small patches without covering large areas. Because polish dries quickly and may unevenly polish.
Polish until the surface is shiny. Each section requires at least 15 repetitive circular movements.
After processing two, three surfaces, rinse the sponge with water, if you use polishing napkins, then change them often.

Mechanical polishing

Manual polishing is quite laborious and requires diligence and speed of action. A lighter option is to polish the body with a polishing machine. This type of polishing is used for.

Put on a rough polishing wheel on the polishing machine.
Start polishing with a coarse abrasive paste.
Apply 20 grams of paste directly to the surface. Smear the paste over the entire area.
Turn on the machine at low speed and start polishing. Movements should be cruciform (first horizontal, then vertical). In this case, the circle of the machine should be located parallel to the treated area.
Repeat the procedure two times, then increase the speed and do the same until a shine is achieved.
Wipe off the remaining paste with a special napkin or microfiber cloth.
Repeat the entire procedure on another polishing area.
Having processed the entire body with a paste with a coarse abrasive, proceed to the same processing with a paste with a fine abrasive.
Remember to rinse the polishing pad with warm water.
IN hard-to-reach places manual polishing is recommended.
The final touch will be polishing the body with a paste without abrasive.
In addition to everything, you can apply a special protective polish twice. It resists corrosion and ensures gloss longevity. Protective polishing, as a rule, is carried out twice a year, more often in winter and spring.
Pour water over the machine if water collects in large puddles and runs off the body, then the polishing process was successful. Complete drying will come in a day, but you can drive a car after three hours.

Expert opinion:

To keep the chic appearance car, it is not necessary to load up to the eyeballs with expensive equipment. at home, perhaps with the help of improvised means. By and large, car care is simple, but requires regularity. If a vehicle does not participate in rallies or safari, but is used for driving on city roads, then polish its body with restoration polishes that require the use special tool, will be needed no more than once a year. The rest of the time, you can use protective compounds based on wax or silicone, which are easily applied with the help of soft rags accumulated at home or napkins or towels specially purchased for this purpose. If a car is polished in this way once every two to three months, then its body will be in excellent condition almost all the time.

Polishing machine to help

The polishing machine, of course, speeds up the process, and the prices for these products are far from exorbitant, so it's better to still have it in your bins. Then polishing the car body at home will not be difficult. How this work is done, you can watch the video and repeat the techniques you like the most in your garage. A polishing machine can handle not only cars, therefore, if you learn how to use it, then it will not remain idle.

Using a polishing machine to polish your car allows you to:

reduce the polishing time several times;
significantly improve the quality of work;
use thick polishing compounds that adhere well to the surface;
significantly facilitate work.

Regardless of whether there is a tool in the home arsenal or it is decided to do with the old old-fashioned way, the car must be thoroughly washed before processing, and wet cleaning must be carried out in the room. The paintwork is very sensitive to the smallest micro-particles, so any grain of sand that gets on the body can scratch it. Especially careful polishing is required on a black car.

When working with such cars, a tool or rags must be carefully inspected, not allowing them to have traces of old paint and dirt. It is best to use the softest types of rags, wipes and discs. Light cars are less picky about the quality of the material, but it is still not recommended to use hard fabrics.

When using a polishing machine, the composition is applied in small portions to the car body and then evenly triturated at medium speed. You should not rush anywhere, you need to polish the car in sections, step by step. Perhaps the most important point work is the position of the tool.

To properly polish a car, the disc must be strictly parallel to the surface being processed. If the angle of inclination is changed, then the body can be damaged by scratching it, which will greatly complicate the restoration of the paintwork.

During operation, the surface heats up, due to which the polish fills microcracks, protecting the metal of the structure from possible corrosion. Thus, the entire car should be polished, which after the procedure will begin to shine like new. But this will happen only after repeated washing, which will wash away the stains formed on the surface and hiding the induced beauty.

Rags and napkins

Some types of polishes do not require the use of a polishing machine and a rag or napkin is sufficient for them. There are several important requirements for them:

lack of lint, dirt and dried paint;
softness;
hygroscopicity.

Aerosol formulations allow you to perfectly polish a car at home using such improvised means, but unfortunately, the age of such processing will not be very long. Also does not require use. A coated car body will look like new for over a year. There is no better polish at the moment, and only too high a price can limit its use.

The most suitable material for polishing a car is microfiber, which has an ideal structure for this.

Although working with a rag or napkin is even easier than using a typewriter, there are still a lot of nuances and subtleties that may not be clear the first time. Therefore, before polishing a car, it is better to look at the video how this is done. Technologically, work with a polishing wheel and a rag is very similar, only they occur at different speeds. The process also takes place sequentially, in small sections. Manual polishing it is convenient when it is necessary to process not the whole car as a whole, but its small section. In other cases, this is a titanic work, available to few. Anyone who tries a couple of times to thoroughly rub a car completely to shine, be sure to go to the store before the third time and get at least a simple one polishing machine.

Many car owners often encounter small scratches on their car. Polishing will help remove them, this article will talk about using abrasive pastes and using a sander. To do everything efficiently with your own hands without a car, an ordinary car owner will hardly succeed. Therefore, the most correct option, even at home, would be to polish the car in three stages, two of which involve polishing the paste. polishing machine or at least a drill or grinder attachment.

The essence of polishing

When processing with such pastes, we remove the paintwork, more precisely, only a thin top layer of varnish. We do not need it anyway, because of it only the appearance of the car deteriorates, the fact is that under the influence of an unfavorable environment it has oxidized, and there are many scratches on it. After everything is removed, we get a shiny, fresh and beautiful surface.

Now we take a protective polish. It is applied immediately on newly refurbished paintwork. This applies to everyone.

Polishing will give your car a great shine and will also protect the car body from oxidation. Unfortunately, such protection does not last long, so experts advise repeating it at least once a month or two.

Body polishing

First stage

We start with common truths - the car needs to be prepared for polishing, first of all wash off... You need to wash so that no dust, dirt or grains of sand remain. After you need wipe dry... Now, using White Spirit, it is necessary to wash away traces of tar from the surface that could not be washed off with water. Those who want to achieve an amazing result can use abrasive clay, it can be used to clean the body before starting to polish.

Second phase

At this we can safely say that the first stage is completed. Now I will try to describe the process of polishing in detail for you, your business will only have to comply with it. To be honest, if you follow it completely, you will receive perfect result... As a result, you should get a wonderful deep shine, it is also called wet. So, now you can start the most important thing, the very polishing. To do this, you will need:

special machine with foam rubber circles,
a set of pastes,
a little patience and hard work.

In the event that you do everything conscientiously, you can do it in a day. Total you will need three types of pastes, with coarse abrasive, fine and non-abrasive.

Polishing begins with a "coarse" paste. This paste is applied directly to the surface of the car, do not apply much, about 10-20 grams should be enough for you, the size of the area that you are polishing should not exceed the area of \u200b\u200ba square of 40 by 40 centimeters. Otherwise, the paste begins to dry out before it is used.

Now you need to put a "circle" on the polishing machine for rough processing, it usually has a light orange color, not including the machine, spread the paste evenly over the area. Now we turn on the machine, put the most low speed and evenly distribute the surface paste, dividing the polished surface into sections of 40x40 centimeters, we go through all the body elements. After we have finished with a rough polish, we take a soft paste and use it to repeat all of the above.

Do not forget to rinse the sponge in warm water, the sponge is usually rinsed after three to four areas have been polished. You can dry it on a polishing machine, turn on maximum speed and we are waiting.

Now we start working with the ugly paste, everything is quite easier. You can already remove the rough wheel from the machine, and put the wheel intended for soft polishing. It is light gray and soft.

Stage three

Now, using a cloth, a non-abrasive polishing paste is applied, it must be rubbed over the surface in a circular motion. It is not necessary to allow pasta clots on the surface, if clots have formed, rub them.

Wait a few minutes, when the paste begins to dry out and turn white, you can turn on the machine, set the medium speed and polish this paste.

We can assume that the body is already almost perfect. But professionals advise adding the final touch, that is, applying a protective polish, it's as easy as applying a non-abrasive paste. All actions are similar. It is not advisable to forget, to repeat the treatment with a protective paste, usually it is processed once a month. It so happens that “holograms” appear on the body after polishing, they can appear from the fact that dust got in during polishing or the circle has already served its purpose. Polishing a car before selling it significantly increases its price.

Problems of how to polish a car begin to bother car owners already in the second or third year after purchasing a car. Even durable car enamels of premium foreign cars fade and fade during this period. Less durable paint budget cars not only loses its luster. Paintwork without protective polish begins to peel and crack.

Reasons for the need to polish and restore paintwork

The main reasons for the need for polishing are natural aging of car enamel and dirt on domestic roads... All road debris lifted by the movement of passing and oncoming vehicles leaves marks on the body of your car. Micro-scratches are difficult to see with the naked eye, but their accumulation affects the reflectivity of the varnish. More noticeable on the paint are traces of hard sand, gravel, flying stones, roadside branches hitting the body.

Faded and dull color car paint brings road chemistry, winter sprinkling of highways with salt, sand, chemical reagents. Various bischofites and modified calcium have a destructive effect on the body paintwork. Acid rains, hail and dirty snow leave traces on the car enamel.

Oddly enough, but auto mechanics consider an important cause of scratches and scuffs to drive in an automatic brush wash. From regular cleaning with rotating brushes, body paint (especially soft enamels) loses its shine and tarnishes. And if the owner of a car wash saves on timely replacement of worn brushes, the hard ends of the bristles leave deep scratches on the paint. Road dirt is stuffed into micro-scratches and small chips, expanding and deepening damage.

In addition to the loss of gloss and brightness of the factory color, all damage to the paintwork is dangerous with more serious consequences. Scratches, overlapping each other, completely cut through the paint layer and can become hot spots of rust, which will require expensive body repairs with repainting of the car.

Every driver wants to restore the perfect shine of the body and glass, but the services of branded technical centers and road detailing studios are not available to an ordinary car owner every two to three months. With limited financial resources, many Russian motorists have no other choice but to polish the car themselves.

How to polish a car at home

Naturally, home conditions mean a dry, well-lit garage. It is impossible to polish a car outdoors or in the yard even in warm summer. Dust blown by the wind, fallen leaves will spoil the results of your work instantly. Uneven drying in the sun of many types of pastes and polishes is also important, which affects the quality of work, the general appearance of the machine.

Preparatory operations

The garage must be cleaned before work, removing dust as much as possible. Experienced auto mechanics advise against polishing the car at sub-zero temperatures and in heat (over 35 - 40 degrees). Before starting polishing, a number of preliminary operations are required:

body wash (manual or contactless);
removal of stains and stubborn dirt (oil, bitumen);
pasting decorative parts (chrome, nickel, rubber, plastic);
inspection of a clean body (the choice of abrasives, the granularity of polishing compounds depends on the degree of damage).

If you do not have a place or conditions for washing your car yourself near the garage, you can visit a car wash right before polishing, preferably a contactless one. After driving into the garage, you need to wipe the car again with a clean, dry cloth.

After washing, stains of bitumen, oils are clearly visible, which are removed by hand, mild solvents, degreasers, white spirit. In this case, you do not need to use screwdrivers and knives. After soaking the stain, it is easy to remove it with a fingernail or a plastic card.

In order not to damage the decorative elements (glass edging, moldings, mirrors), they are pasted over with masking tape. Professional polishers also remove nickel-plated door handles, but beginners are not recommended to do this at their first experiments.

Experienced lovers of independent work with the car, simultaneously with polishing the body, polish the glass of the car. Technologically, the operations differ little (only in the compositions of pastes and protective agents), having gained experience, you will be able to polish the glass yourself. At the first attempt to polish, it is better to glue all the glasses.

Restorative abrasive polishing of the body

Before you polish the car with your own hands, you need to take care of the tool and consumables... There are two ways to abrasively repair damage to the paint layer - manual and mechanical (using a grinder). For beginners independent work experts advise you to first try your hand at manual abrasive polishing, which requires less material costs.

For manual grinding of paintwork you will need:

abrasive grinding cloth (R-2000, R-2500);
spray for water;
special napkins or cotton rags;
polishing pastes and polishes.

Abrasive body grinding operations

Before use, cut the sandpaper into small pieces and round off their edges so that sharp corners do not leave deep scratches. Manual grinding begins with a small area of \u200b\u200bthe body, then moving from it in different directions. Before grinding, the surface is moistened with water from a spray gun.

The paint soaked with sandpaper is sanded in two perpendicular directions, achieving an even matte paintwork color. The process is repeated several times, wiping off the water with a damp and dry cloth. After sanding P-2000, the second grinding can be done with sanding paper P-2500. After that, with a fine-grained sponge or a plastic card, a polishing paste is applied to the sanded area and rubbed with force in a circular motion with special tampons or napkins.

Polishing after sanding will be much faster if you use a sander. Instead of a machine, you can use an electric drill with a special attachment (only drills with regulated turnovers).

For mechanical polishing, you will need to add the following tools to the original set:

grinder (with adjustable speed from 700 to 3000);
protective glasses;
grinding and polishing discs;
mandrels for fixing discs of various thicknesses;
felt or fur polishing wheels;
hard brush for cleaning circles.

In the process of mechanical polishing, the machine is driven in a circular motion. Start at low speed, making an effort to rub in the polishing paste. In the future, the revolutions increase, reducing the clamping force. Begin to work with coarse grained pastes and hard circles. According to the results of polishing, they are successively changed to softer circles and pastes with a small grain size.

Working with a grinder requires experienced skills, so before polishing the car body, you can practice on the removed body parts... With the wrong choice of the grain size of the paste, the rotational speed of the disk and the pressure force, the car enamel can be erased to metal, burned out (iridescent tarnishing spots appear, the paint swells). Bends of the body, curly stampings on the hood, fenders, doors, which need to be polished with particular care, become especially critical places.

Choice of pastes or gels. How to polish the car.

In addition to polishing technology, the question is no less important than polishing the car. Having understood the basics of production processes, you need to choose polishing pastes, protective and restorative polishes. It is customary to divide polishing pastes into powder and gel. The first type of pastes is chosen for hard coatings with numerous damages and polishes the enamel with a reduction in graininess.

Gel pastes work more gently, they are used for polishing soft paintwork of budget foreign cars with relatively little damage. Gel (pasty) and aerosol (liquid) pastes in cylinders are used for various parts of the body. Gel paste is applied to the polishing wheel, it is convenient to process the side surfaces (doors, fenders) of the car with it. Aerosol paste is sprayed on the roof, hood, trunk of the car, and then rubbed with a soft polishing wheel.

When using abrasive polishing pastes, remember that the number of polishes is not infinite. Each polish removes the layer of paint, polishing the machine weekly, you will wipe the paint off in a year.

In the same way, the machine is abrasive polished after body repairs and touch-ups of the car. In this case, its goal is to level the paint layer, eliminate paint drips, "shagreen". After painting, it is better to use gel polishing pastes.

You can see in more detail how to properly polish the car in the video:

Protective paint polish

After processing with abrasives, restorative polishing pastes, filling in micro-scratches, level the surface of car enamel, correctly reflect light rays, which gives the paint a mirror shine. But refinishing does not protect the body from new damage. Protective polishes are designed to prevent minor damage to the paint.

Manufacturers produce protective polishes based on:

artificial and natural waxes;
teflon;
wood resins;
silicone;
ceramics;
"Liquid glass".

Before choosing a polishing paste for protective polishing, you should carefully read the instructions for use. Some of them can be applied to the car by hand, while others require the use of a sander.

The principle of action of protective pastes is the same. They create a thin layer on the paintwork that protects the enamel from ultraviolet radiation (paint fade less), repelling water, dirt, chemicals.

Simple soft pastes include wax compositions that can be manually applied to the body and rubbed with a special napkin. Preventive protection the car owner can apply to the car body in an hour, but the soft paste withstands only two or three contact washes.

Polishing protective pastes based on silicone, Teflon are more durable. They can withstand 30 - 40 washes, but you need to polish the machine with a grinder with replaceable attachments. Polishing technology is similar to abrasive, but requires an accurate time delay, depending on the drying of the protective compound.

In more expensive nanoceramic protective polishes, a hard outer layer is created by polymerized compositions containing the smallest crystals of silicon dioxide, titanium oxides. The polymer ceramic layer fills the unevenness of the paint, tightens microcracks, protects the enamel from peeling. The protective properties of nano-cream increase depending on the applied layers of polish (up to ten layers are used). Professional polishers highly appreciate the polishes Ceramic Pro, NANO POLISH, CERAMIC PRO LIGHT, Restor FX. Determining the effectiveness of protective polish is quite simple. If you pour a bucket of water onto the hood of the car, the liquid will collect on the surface in large droplets.

Compositions under the common name "liquid glass" contain plastic solutions of silicon dioxide, sodium silicate, which, when hardened, fill microdamages and irregularities in the enamel. The mirror layer of silicon compounds obtained from quartz sand is harder than car paint coatings, therefore it becomes a reliable and durable paint protection. After finishing polishing, the machine must not be washed for about two weeks, until the protective layer has completely hardened.

Having made an abrasive restorative polishing on your own, having polished the car with durable protective compounds, you will return the appearance to the car that is not inferior to new car... Protective polishing operations, which must be repeated once or twice a year, will reduce the need for abrasive refurbishment.

Car body before and after polishing.

Why do it?

Gives the car a good appearance. After leaving the conveyor, the paintwork of the car body is exposed to the active influence of the external environment. These are temperature changes, dirt, precipitation and many other factors. You can't get away from mechanical stress, vibrations, collisions, which cause defects in the paintwork. Polishing can be performed to restore an already tarnished coating, as a result of which it will acquire a presentation.
Refurbishing body resurfacing will allow paint and scratches. The fact is that scratches and cracks on the paintwork that appeared during the operation of the machine can lead to the formation of corrosion. You can get away from this by carrying out protective polishing of the body.
With protective polishing, applying a special layer can extend the life of the car paintwork. At the same time, the gloss of its surface is preserved.

Types of car body polishing

Restorative. It is carried out to eliminate small scratches that have a shallow depth. If the damage to the paint layer occurred before the primer itself, then the polish will not help. Restorative polishing can remove various abrasions, streaks and stains. The work consists in mechanical removal of the thinnest layer of the coating using abrasive pastes. In the process of work, about five microns are removed, but there is an obvious dependence on the granularity of the paste. This is not much for the original factory coating, so the thickness of varnish and paint can be from 100 to 150 microns. Most often, this type of work is applied before selling a used car to give it a presentation.
We add that you should not use the restorative polishing too often, since it can be sanded to such an extent that the places where the primer is visible through the paint will be visible.
Protective polish. Manufactured to protect the body from adverse environmental influences. This type of polishing is carried out without the use of abrasive pastes. It is carried out using a non-abrasive polish, created on the basis of synthetic substances and different types waxes. In the process of carrying out the work of the body, the layer of paintwork is not removed at all. The protective polish is ideal for new cars, in order to protect the car body from minor damage.

The period of time during which the protection will be effective depends on the composition of the mixture. For example, a protective layer applied with polymer polish for at least six months, and based on silicone or wax - several months. But if you apply polymer polish, it will require more time and appropriate special equipment.

How to polish a car at home

Preparation for body polishing

After washing the car, you need to dry it and cover the parts of the car with adhesive tape so that abrasive agents do not damage them.

Video: Self-polishing preparation

Car wash
The car is thoroughly washed using detergents;
The body is cleaned of bitumen, primer, anti-corrosion treatment and so on;
Seal, using special tape (paper), the places that do not need polishing. These are plastic, rubber parts, headlights;
What should be the room
For the high-quality performance of polishing the car body, you need to carry out preliminary preparation and create conditions. For this, a suitable closed room is selected, with limited dust ingress and reliable ventilation. One of the important conditions for choosing a room is the absence of direct sunlight in the room, as this can cause the polishing components to dry out too quickly.
Of course, you should provide excellent lighting in the room in order to see and identify various defects in the car body. If you cannot find a room, then it is advisable to carry out work on the street in the shade.

The polishing process

Video: How to quickly and easily polish a car

1. Body cleaner 2. Scratch remover (Anti-scratch) 3. Professional polishing paste (abrasive) Farecla G6 4. Fine polish (finishing) Runway

1) So, the car is washed and free from insects and heavy dirt.

It is necessary or desirable to carry out an operation to degrease the body using a degreaser, for example, W900 APP, or white alcohol. With these means, dirty film is removed from the body, small spots are cleaned, and the car body is prepared for work.
For protective polishing, the paste is applied to a piece of clean cloth and roundabout is rubbed over the body. In this case, do not get carried away by applying an excessively thick layer. This will cause clouding of the surface, which is difficult to correct. It is better to polish in small parts, since the paste dries quickly and while you are busy polishing the hood, in another place it can already dry out and become rough. The body must be protected from direct sunlight.
After applying the polishing compound, take your time, you need to stand for a while for a white film to form, after which this place is sanded with a soft and dry cloth. When doing this, do not use any towels, but use a special car microfiber cloth. There is a very expensive branded version on sale, and if you want less expensive, then use Taiwanese-made napkins. The Chinese produce such napkins with synthetic thread, which, with prolonged use, can cause the appearance small scratches.
Grinding the body by hand is a very laborious process and therefore a special polishing machine is often used or a drill is adapted.

Video: Car polishing (tools)

You will need a nozzle under a grinding drill so that you can fix the desired circles. Usually a standard circle with a diameter of 18 cm is used. You will also need a pad under the circle, usually Velcro fasteners are used for simple self-polishing. All this can be bought.

It looks like a drill attachment with Velcro

2) Self restoration polishing of a car body with an abrasive polish will require 2 - 3 times more time and effort than a protective one. Therefore, it is definitely desirable to use a technique, that is, either a polishing machine or a drill.

Hood polishing

At the first stage, a coarse-grained abrasive polishing paste is applied to a small surface of the body and evenly rubbed with foam rubber or simply by hand.
Then a nozzle is put on the drill, preferably with a hard felt circle, the speed is set in the range of 1200 - 1600 and we begin to gently rub the paste with horizontal movements of the drill. Do not press the disc very hard against the surface, but let it slide over it. The disc must be held without distortion, otherwise spots may form on the surface. Work with abrasive polish carefully. If you show excessive zeal, you can literally "wipe the hole".
It is recommended to carry out manual polishing in places of any abrupt transitions of the body surface, modings, bumpers, and various corner transitions. These weak spots can be erased to paint. Therefore, large flat areas are sanded with a drill, and the remaining areas are polished by hand using a special cloth.
After polishing, the car is washed and the body is degreased again and, exactly as in the previous method, a composition with a fine abrasive is applied. This is done to remove a cloudy shade, hide small scratches and microcracks. At this stage, it is practiced to use a softer foam rubber polishing disc, at an increased drill speed to speed up the process.
After completing this procedure, the surface is washed again, wiped, after which a protective polish is applied.

In order to check the quality of work, you can pour water on the polished body. When good quality water should collect in large droplets and drain off the body. This is called the “droplet effect” and is considered the main indicator of good performance.

Protective polishing at home is performed 2 times a year. Usually before and after winter. This will protect the body own car from rapid aging caused by the influence of poor ecology. In addition, the appearance of your car will be respectable and sparkling, pleasing to the sight of strangers and your own pleasure.

Advice:
Ideally, if you have no experience, then do a training session on an unnecessary part from any car (fender, hood ...). Practice in this matter is very useful.
As experts in this field say - you need to feel the paintwork ...