Decisions, Decisions, help me find the right polish/swirl remover!

G

GTOGIRL3000

New member
Sorry I bet you guys get these questions all the time, but I've tried searching and I'm just not getting my questions answered.



So I've been trying to plan my spring detail but i haven't even gotten as far as purchasing the products b/c I can't decide what's best for what I want to acheive! :hairpull



It'll be my first time using the Porter Cable, I've watched a video tutorial and feel pretty good about it giving it a shot, I have a old dull/oxidized spoiler to practice with and my truck could use some buffing as well, so I plan to practice a bit on those before I attempt to use the PC on my red car. I've always hand waxed, but I'm just not acheiving the results I want.



My paint is in great shape and has good depth and gloss, but there is some swirling I'd love to get rid of.



My original plan was to clay bar, P21S cleanser, and top her off with some of that Zymol Red Rouge wax I've been dying to try! But since I've been reading a bunch, I've came to the realization that my paint could really benefit from a good polish with a buffer.



So here's my dilemma-

With so many products to choose from, I don't know what's best for me.

I have a non-clear coated red. (See pic in sig)





Questions:

Could someone point me in the right direction as far as a polishing product (i know there's a ton of different stuff, but something that's not too difficult to use with the PC would be great since I'm a buffer newb!



I don't know much about buffer pads (like what ones are used for certain tasks and why they differ) could someone please shed some light on that subject?



If I clay & buff with a polish, is it still necessary to use the P2S1 Cleanser?



From what I've read P2S1 Cleanser is comparable to HD Cleanse (besides the price!) Any objections?



Again I apologize for the questions, but its tough to find out everything through a search!
 
The Meguiars line of polishes (83 and 80 in particular) take very nicely to single-stage paints. The Optimum line of polishes are also great to start off with since they're very user friendly (almost no dusting, long working time, very little polish needed).
 
I agree with firegate, I like Optimum polishes too, but on single stage paints the polishing oils in Meguiar's polishes really bring out the best in the paint. Which polish you need also depends on the condition and hardness of the paint, but I'd suggest starting out with Meg's #80 on a polishing pad and see if that achieves what you are after.



Since you are going to clay and polish the paint I would skip the P21S cleanser, the polish is going to clean the paint fine. Meg's actually categorizes #80 and #83 as cleaner/polishes to describe this ability.



Regarding buffer pads, the primary difference is in the "cutting" ability of the pad, so for removing defects on hard paint you would choose a more agressive pad (cutting pad). For the final polishing you would usually chose some grade of polishing pad. And if you wan't to apply a wax with the pc you need a finishing pad. Which pad to choose again depends on the hardness of the paint, so on soft paint you could need to do the final polishing with a finishing pad to leave a perfect finish.



All in all, it's a good rule of thumb to start with the least agressive combination of polish and pad, and then work towards more and more agressive combos, until you find one that removes the defects. Then you can use this on the entire car. Afterwards you can work towards less agressive combos until you find one that leaves the desired final finish.



Even if you don't wan't to use Meguiar's, they have a good PC (G-100) polishing article on their forum, lots of good technique tips:

Using the G-100 to remove swirls with the Professional Line
 
So could I use a orange light cutting pad with # 83? Or do I need to finish it with a finishing pad? If so, what type of pad would be recommended?
 
It really all depends on the hardness/softness of your paint - you'll have to experiment with it. You might very well be able to correct the paint and finish out fine with #80 and a polishing pad (IE the LC white) - that would be the first thing you should try. If it's not aggressive enough, step up to the 83 with the orange to remove the marring and then finish it out with #80.
 
I second trying #80 first as it is very safe. Even I wasn't able to mess up with that one. :LOL



When it comes to pads, do you have an orange pad or you don't have any pad? Is your budget low? I see people on tight budget getting away with just two to three pads, like orange, green, and white.
 
I'd like to keep costs down as much as possible. I don't know if my paint is hard or soft, all I know is that it's 13 years old and a single stage red. Dispite it being older paint it is really immaculant, I doubt I would need a agressive pad.



I was just going to get #83 as I'm under the impression that its a 2 for 1 kinda product since its a cleaner & polish (correct me if I'm wrong please).

I don't have any pads. Would i be able to get away with orange & white pads only? If I were to choose one pad to use what would it be? Maybe thats not recommended but thats why I'm asking. Just curious :)



Thanks again,

Jackie
 
Both M83 and M80 are cleaners/polishers. M83 is more aggressive than M80. Without knowing whether paint is soft or not it's hard to say. If paint was soft and immaculate M83 would be too much and so would be orange pad. Try to get little ScratchX somewhere and try to do test spot by hand with applicator. If that is able to start taking swirls out, even a little bit, then your paint is soft.



If I could get just one pad and paint was soft and immaculate I would get either green or white. Maybe white because you always want to try softest things first.
 
GTOGIRL3000 said:
Sorry I bet you guys get these questions all the time, but I've tried searching and I'm just not getting my questions answered.



So I've been trying to plan my spring detail but i haven't even gotten as far as purchasing the products b/c I can't decide what's best for what I want to acheive! :hairpull



It'll be my first time using the Porter Cable, I've watched a video tutorial and feel pretty good about it giving it a shot, I have a old dull/oxidized spoiler to practice with and my truck could use some buffing as well, so I plan to practice a bit on those before I attempt to use the PC on my red car. I've always hand waxed, but I'm just not acheiving the results I want.



My paint is in great shape and has good depth and gloss, but there is some swirling I'd love to get rid of.



My original plan was to clay bar, P21S cleanser, and top her off with some of that Zymol Red Rouge wax I've been dying to try! But since I've been reading a bunch, I've came to the realization that my paint could really benefit from a good polish with a buffer.



So here's my dilemma-

With so many products to choose from, I don't know what's best for me.

I have a non-clear coated red. (See pic in sig)





Questions:

Could someone point me in the right direction as far as a polishing product (i know there's a ton of different stuff, but something that's not too difficult to use with the PC would be great since I'm a buffer newb!



I don't know much about buffer pads (like what ones are used for certain tasks and why they differ) could someone please shed some light on that subject?



If I clay & buff with a polish, is it still necessary to use the P2S1 Cleanser?



From what I've read P2S1 Cleanser is comparable to HD Cleanse (besides the price!) Any objections?



Again I apologize for the questions, but its tough to find out everything through a search!
Click to expand...



Have you considered Meguiars #9 - "Swirl remover 2.0"??
 
GTOGIRL3000- I'd recommend 1z brand polishes (I get mine at Aloha & Welcome to Our Oasis for All Your Auto Detailing Supplies & Accessories ). The 1Z stuff is about as user-friendly as this stuff gets.



Recnet, real-life example you might appreciate: A friend of mine got tired of waiting for her husband to polish her Lexus. Using my PC, 1zMetallicPolishWax and then a paste wax topper, she did her Lexus by herself. This is a woman with no interest in, or experience at, detailing- NONE at all. No coaching from anybody, no help, nothing but her common sense. It turned out great, she was was justifiably proud of herself.



The MetallicPolishWax ("MPW", gotta love those weird translations of German names) is a little bit stronger than the HD Cleanse and the P21S GEPC, but not enough that you'd have to worry about it doing any damage. You might want to use the slightly stronger 1Z Paint Polish, but it's hard to say without seeing the car. I'd probably recommend you stick with the MPW.



FWIW, #83 often (usually, IMO) requires a follow-up with a milder product and IMO it's not easy enough to use for your first try at this stuff. Sure not in the class of the 1Z when it comes to user-friendliness and neither is #80 (which I do think in an OK product).



Heh heh, if you try the 1Z and it somehow displeases you, send me a PM about it. I can pretty much *guarantee* that you'll do OK with it ;) Haven't had anybody be disappointed yet, and I've recommended it to plenty of people just getting started with this stuff. You wouldn't need to practice, you could just take it to the red car and be confident that things'll turn out great.



Oh, and welcome to Autopia!
 
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