Machine Polish and Paint Treatment

[coopcj7]

A judge at the local cruise in pointed it out to me and told me that it was because of my cars finish i did not place. I was mad but only at myself because I let the finish get so bad.

It has come time to clean up the paint on my sky. After one year, 40,000 miles and over 100 times being washed, waxed or any other detailing it was attacked by swirl marks and scratches. Of course I was in denial, and for a daily driver it was bound to happen sooner or later.

If you are going to used a machine polisher make sure that the compund that you are using is designed for a machine polisher, not by hand, The heat that is produced by the machine heats ups the compound you are working with and if it is the wrong type it can clump and cause more scratches and more work. As with most chemicals test on a small inconscipous area to make sure it is compatible with your paint

All of this work is to be done in the shade. Not direct sunlight. A rule is if you can hold your hand on the paint and not get burned or have to pull away it is an ok temperature to polish,wax, or detail your finish.

Here is what I did to get my showroom shine back and yes I used a rotary polisher to do the work. Just be careful and take your time. This is not hard to do but time consuming. If you are doing the whole car set aside a day for the novice and about half a day for an experienced person.

1st. I used a wax/degreaser called prep all. Commonly used for painting and it was only 4.99 at my local Auto Zone. Wipe the area of which you are polishing with a terry towel and this cleaner. "I had no Idea my finish was in such bad shape until I removed the several coats of wax on the car. The wax really hid the scratches well. Repeat this several times until you are sure the wax and other comtaminants are off the paint. Anything left behind when polishing can ruin your paint job.

2nd. Using the 3M Swirl mark remover, Apply this directly to the pad not the car and blot the area where you are polishing so there wont be any splatter when the polisher is turned on. Starting on a low speed around 1200 RPMs go back and forth side to side making an "S" pattern on the finish. "DONT GO IN CIRCLES" and do not leave the polisher in one spot too long, you can burn through your clear coat and the paint so be careful. If the swirls are deeper but not able to catch with your fingernail they can be removed. It may be necessary to repeat this step several times to get the desired finish. Remove and splatter with a damp cloth. Do not go over dried splatter as they can cause more scratches. When done with swirl mark remover, clean the area with a new cotton terry cloth or microfiber towel. This should produce a deep glossy shine but you are not finished.

"Note" Use a new polishing pad for each type of compund do not try to clean one and re use it with another type of compound.

3rd. Using the Finishing compound repeat step 2 in the same manner. There is no difference just the compound you are using. This will polish the finish just a little bit more since it has a finer grit material. it will produce an amazing finish but then it needs protected.

Glazing. the type of glaze that I used was a hand applied glaze. Do not use the hand glaze with a machine it will ruin all the work you just did. Glaze is like a lotion for your paint it is not necesary but it helps to put oils back into your paint and give you a deep wet shine.


4th. Apply the glaze to a clean microfiber cloth and rub into the paint just like you would if you are waxing the car. Let it dry to a haze and wipe off with a new microfiber cloth. Turn the cloth regularly to avoid rubbing the dry glaze back over the paint. The finish is amazing even better than the factory finish since the car doesn't even come from the factory with this much of a detail.

Waxing. You can use which ever type of wax you prefer as it depends on your preference. I used turtle wax's new " Ice " polish since it is easy to apply and doesn't leave any white residue on my trim parts. it leaves the trim with a shiny clearcoat. Wipe the area again with a clean microfiber towel because once you wax the car anything left on the surface will be trapped in the paint.

5th. Wax Most people know how to wax a car so I wont go into much detail. Wax will create a white residue on some surfaces depending on the wax and surface, so masking off the area or can save time if you dont want to clean all the trim areas where you didn't want wax. Always apply the wax to a clean cloth not the finish as sometimes it can stain the car.

once you are done waxing the area you can sit back with a cold one and enjoy your beatiful work. It takes plenty of elbow grease but the finish is amazing. You can jump right into the paint it looks so deep and shiny.

Here is the run down of items used.

Pack of 12 microfiber towels 11.99
Prep-all wax/degreaser/contaminant remover 4.99
3M Swirl Mark Remover 32.99 quart size
3M Finishing Compound 12.99 pint size
3M Imperial Hand Glaze 12.99 pint size
Turtle Wax Ice Polish/Wax 14.99 Kit
Rotary Polisher Harbor Frieght 29.99
3M Foam 8-in polishing pads 4 qty -12.99 each

If anyone has any questions free feel to ask.

[SolScuba]

When we doing mine??

[coopcj7]

Next time we meet black cars look amazing after this procedure.

[Bopfan]

dang SolScuba beat me to the punch!

seriously next time we get together I will have you look at my rear quarter panel - just in front of the rear wheel. got about 4 or 5 scratches. I am swearing off the parking lot at Giant Eagle. anyways you can take a look and give me your expert advice about how to take care of the scratches.

[doc-o-pharm]

Nice write up! Just FYI for anybody looking for more info on detailing, this site is awesome for that: http://autopia.org/

[samunoz1]

where are the pictures?

[coopcj7]

I will be uploading the pictures in the morning I am doing the final polish on the hood. I had a lot of swirls so the hood alone took about 3 hours to rub out.

[coopcj7]

The car is like glass I can actually shave in the relection of the paint.

[samunoz1]

Awesome. I will be giving this a try then. Are there any areas that you found difficult to do? I am fairly scared of burning the paint near edges.

[coopcj7]

I was at first afraid of burning thru the edges but I found that if you go over them lightly with very little pressure you wont burn thru.

I applied a decent amount of pressure to the flats and it turned out great. If you happen to have something lying around that is already painted that you don't mind practicing on, this is a great way to get the feel of the polisher.

If you get a polisher make sure that it has an adjustable rpm setting as going to fast takes off too much too quickly and can lead to burn thru. You will hear the polisher bog down when you start to apply too much pressure. Dont compensate by increasing the speed until you feel more confident using the polisher. The job will turn out the way you want just the same on the slower setting, you will just take a longer time. This is one of the times where the slow turtle wins the race instead of the quick hare.

[samunoz1]

I have a Porter-Cable 7424, not a rotary. It has an adjustable RPM setting. I am thinking of giving this a try with the Meguiar line of products.

Did you notice any difference between the Hand Glaze and Polish steps?

[coopcj7]

the hand glze went on just like a wax but it took more elbow grease to get it off. I dont think it is a necessary to do the glaze but it does fill in, if any are left, the deeper scratches/swirlmarks.And also conditions the paint with oils to help keep it shiny. Then once you apply a coat of wax on top of it you can't tell there were ever any swirlmarks.

Your polisher should work wonders. Since it is not a rotary you have less of a chance of burning thru the paint. It is a great polisher for people that have never ran a machine over a cars paint before and for todays cars that have a thinner clear coat on them

[MidniteBlues]

Just a bit of advice, the rotaries or circular polishers are really really designed for someone who knows how to use them, in another words in a professional hands. As posted above, IF not careful you CAN damage your paint by burning. These units are more designed for "deep-scratches IMO, altho, designed for all applications including from "mild-swirls to deep scratched".

That said, it is one reason I also purchased a Porter-Cable 7424, this was designed for a more "amateur" user thereby almost totally eliminating paint damage but yet still CAN remove all swirls. Here I'll post the place where I bought my porter. Read and learn before you spend your hard earned doe on a mechanical device--

Read and educate yourself--

http://www.autogeek.net/dual-action-polisher.html

[coopcj7]

Originally Posted by MidniteBlues

Just a bit of advise, the rotaries or circular polishers are really really designed for someone who knows how to use them, in another words in a professional hands. As posted above, IF not careful you CAN damage your paint by burning. These units are more designed for "deep-scratches IMO, altho, designed for all applications including from "mild-swirls to deep scratched".

That said, it is one reason I also purchased a Porter-Cable 7424, this was designed for a more "amateur" user thereby almost totally eliminating paint damage but yet still CAN remove all swirls. Here I'll post the place where I bought my porter. Read and learn before you spend your hard earned doe on a mechanical device--

Read and educate yourself--



http://www.autogeek.net/dual-action-polisher.html

Thanks for restating that. It can't be stressed enough that you need to be experienced to use a rotary polisher. The money spent on a DA polisher is well worth it compared to the cost of a new paint job if you burn through

[settingstx]

I just got a Sky Redline (black) with 5000 miles on it. The dealer waxed right before I picked it up. Looked great until I washed it and got a closer look. Lots of water marks (circles) and some swirls from something. I cant even wax this stuff out. Any suggestions?

[Asucar]

Originally Posted by settingstx

Any suggestions?

Yup....go to the site doc-o-pharm suggested: http://autopia.org/ and start reading.....auto detailers' site that will become addicting!

[empirekevin]

Originally Posted by MidniteBlues

Just a bit of advice, the rotaries or circular polishers are really really designed for someone who knows how to use them, in another words in a professional hands. As posted above, IF not careful you CAN damage your paint by burning. These units are more designed for "deep-scratches IMO, altho, designed for all applications including from "mild-swirls to deep scratched".

That said, it is one reason I also purchased a Porter-Cable 7424, this was designed for a more "amateur" user thereby almost totally eliminating paint damage but yet still CAN remove all swirls. Here I'll post the place where I bought my porter. Read and learn before you spend your hard earned doe on a mechanical device--

Read and educate yourself--

http://www.autogeek.net/dual-action-polisher.html

Hey, That looks like the tool for me! "No Risk"