Can you really remove all the swirls?

G

golfdude

New member
Over the weekend I was practicing my polishing technique using the PC, Sonus SFX 1, 2, 3, and the Sonus DAS Orange, Green, and Blue pads. My friend's Civic was filled with horrible swirls on the hood, so we took the whole day trying to remove them. The pics will be coming soon (I still can't properly capture them on my camera, though). After using SFX 2 and the Green pad, and after removing the residue with a BRAND NEW towel, we pulled the car out and noticed that the swirls were still there. We then went down to the Orange Pad and SFX 1, then went back to the Green pad and SFX 2. The swirls were improved, but still existent. So, then I thought that maybe it was my polishing technique...see, I never put pressure onto the pad, I only allowed the PC's weight to apply pressure to the pad. So, I went back to SFX 1 with the Orange Pad, with some light pressure, then back to the SFX 2 with the green pad. The swirls were still there, improved, but still there. The only victory that I had with the paint was the small scratch that I made with my water blade had been removed. Any suggestions on completely removing the swirls? Should I apply more pressure to the pads? Should I lower/increase the PC speeds (I was usually working in the 4-5 range on the 7424)? Could it be that the polish was not properly broken down? Should I buy another brand of polishers/pads? It has been the second straight time that swirls were not completely removed (remember how I couldn't completely remove them from my Crossfire).
 
Hard to see without photos for now. It sounds like multiple passes, plenty of time spent doing so, or perhaps likely, the use of a rotary polisher to get out the most severe swirls then switch back to the PC and see if you can finish it off from that point. But, that's just my guesses without seeing.
 
Before the actual polishing, I washed, clayed, then washed again with some (sorry guys) Armorall Car Wash using a Chenille wash sponge. Then came the polishing:



before polishing:



4u751e




4u75mh




4u7694




After Polishing:



4u77n9




4u77tg




4u7800




4u785v
 
I too have no real joy at removing swirls with a PC, and I too have used many products and pads, and speeds and pressures. The only thing I can think of is that perhaps some paints are so hard that only a rotary will do. The only time I had real success was with an F150, and I was able to remove the swirl marks, but only by using a rotary.
 
How are you moving the PC? When I am trying to remove swirls, I move the PC front to back, side to side, and diagonally each direction (for each area I do). Swirls go in every direction so you need to polish in every direction.
 
Interesting Zane, although I don't really see how that is a solution, the PC is 'Random Orbital' therefore it should cover all angles regardless of the direction one pushes the unit, surely?
 
xfire- I haven't used the Sonus stuff, but I have been able to completely remove swirl-type marring from a number of vehicles with the PC (some hard paints, like on Audis, absolutely require a rotary to get perfect, at least with the products I've used).



FWIW, I do apply some pressure and I use speed 6, but again, that's with products/pads other than Sonus.



IMO you oughta try the 4" pads (with an appropriate backing plate). These smaller pads allow you to put some pressure on the PC without it merely "jiggling". This is the only way I've been able to do "rotary type work" with the PC; with the larger pads A) it's just too mild and B) it loses the "dual action" motion when you apply pressure.
 
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