choice of buffer/compounds

R

ralessi

New member
I'm young (16) and just got a car. Dark green '99 mazda protege ES... pretty lucky I would say. Well my dad gave me 200 bucks to get detailing stuff if I would do his 2 cars for him (silver lincoln continental and beige lincoln navigator)...



anyway, I got klasse stuff, and a variety of other things but the thing I am most concerned about is swirls/scratches and things like that. My car is a 99 so it has a modest amount of swirls... multiple paint chips and another thing like where i hit the garage (ugh)... but what I was wondering was what should I do for the swirls?



I have 3m SMR dark and eagle one scratch remover... used this a couple of times today but decided it would be a little hard to do the whole car like this... So I decided that I would just use my klasse/sg x5 then blitz on top until I got a PC. Does this seem ok? When I get the PC what should I use to get rid of the swirls though?



http://www21.3m.com/dr/v2/ec_MAIN.E...7836&xid=28181&DSP=&CUR=840&PGRP=0&CACHE_ID=0



What is the best from that list to do basically medium swirls I guess I would say... they aren't fine but not deep deep either. Or is there something else I could use that is not on that list?



Also, would a PC be able to handle something like a very heavy duty rubbing compound? I ask this because I figure if I can get my mom to give me $100 or so for a PC and I get the rest of the stuff, I could do her car. 1988 Cadilaac Deville... VERY SWIRLED, badly taken care of... etc. What would be the best to use for this and could a PC handle it?



Sorry for the length...



raley
 
I am not much older than you, I turned 18 two months ago. Dark green, one of my favorite colors (Polo Green is my favorite, similar dark green.) Congrats on the car :)



If you have $200 from your father and $100 from your mother I think you should be good to go.



To protect your car now until you get the PC, just Klasse AIO X2, Klasse SG X1.



I got my PC from www.coastaltool.com PC 7336 ($115) (I got the older 7424.) and pads from CMA ( www.properautocare.com ) $60



David B. wrote a very nice article on paint chip repair, slow and tedious but if you have a few of them and not many you can touch them up.



I never tried anything from www.rightlook.com but I have used Automotive Itnernational's ( www.autoint.com ) stuff. I got almost all of AI's product line, except ETR II.



You would always want to go from least abrasive polish and work your way up if that polish does not work. I find 3M SMR remover to be very fine, but on medium swirls I recommend 3M Finesse It II Finishing Material (used this on a 99 Corolla dark blue (used PC and foam cutting pad), ready for another detail soon.) This is a medium polish (3M Finesse It II) or if you want you can try Automotive International's Machine Polish which is similar to 3M Finesse It II Finishing Material.



If you see a slight haze after using a medium polish don't worry, it is the polish working to break down these medium swirls into smaller ones. Follow up with 3M SMR or Klasse AIO with a foam polishing pad and this hazing should go away.



Search the forum for PC usage and techniques.



If your're mothers Cadillace Deville is not repainted, then you can try the Clear Coat Compound (www.autoint.com) same as Liquid Paint Correction Cream (this is a little cheaper.) Use the PC and foam cutting pad, if this is not getting anywhere after two applications of product, try the lambswool polishing pad.



I recommend not to use this compound on repainted surfaces. The front passenger fender of my father's 91 red corolla was repainted in 92 and I tried some compound on it, it is now failing so I will have to repaint it soon.



Also the PC will not restore neglected finishes back to showroom condition. The PC is a good polish for good to excellent finishes. For really neglected finishes, a rotary is the buffer of choice. The rotary is a much heavier and much more powerful machine compared to the PC. Without experience and practice you can ruin a paint job quickly.



My first try with the rotary



http://autopia-carport.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=9811



Also use quality wash mitts, 2 bucket wash method, a good car wash shampoo, glass cleaner, a PDMS rubber, vinyl, and plastic dressing (Lexol Vinylex for medium gloss, 303 for satin finish, or try Eagle One's protectant lotion), also towels, MF towels are what most use on here. I use 100% cotton bath towels (Canon) to remove polishes and carnauba waxes, for sealants though I use MF. www.neatitems.com has good towels, www.yosteve.com has even better towels, but if you want a kit of towels for a reasonable price www.properautocare.com has the 5 towel kit.



Automotive Detailing clay is also a good product to try. Msot like Pinnacle poly clay, $40 for the kit seems like a good price. I use Meguiar's C-2000 overspray clay (if found cheap its worth the extra residue) and I got some Clay Magic.



Happy Detailing :)

Jason
 
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