Should I try to polish my swirls with a rotary or buy a PC

E

es350

New member
Hi All,



I've been reading these forums for a while and am amazed at the experienced detailers on this site! I have a dark charcoal Lexus es350. The finish was perfect except my dealer washed my car after my car was serviced and introduced some light swirls. It was my fault! I should have told them not to wash it.



I know the day was coming when I would need to polish my car. So far I have been using Jeff W.'s Prime and AJ.



So my question:



I already have a DeWalt rotary polisher from other polishing projects such as polishing granite slabs and glass shower enclosures. However, I've never used it to polish my cars.



1) Should I go through the expense of purchasing a DA PC or can I learn to use my rotary to polish out the swirl marks without ruining my clear coat?



2) In either case (with a PC or my rotary), what pads/polish do you recommend?

I saw some new green pads for german cars from CMA. I also saw Merzerna Final Polish II that looked pretty good. Can I just use Prime with a white polishing pad?



Thanks a bunch!



Rich
 
1) Should I go through the expense of purchasing a DA PC or can I learn to use my rotary to polish out the swirl marks without ruining my clear coat?
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i have not learned to use a rotary yet...but from everything i've read, you should practice on old junkers or test panels from body shops first. part of the learning process is to screw up and burn paint...and you don't want to do that on your car.



.02
 
paradigm said:
i have not learned to use a rotary yet...but from everything i've read, you should practice on old junkers or test panels from body shops first. part of the learning process is to screw up and burn paint...and you don't want to do that on your car.



.02
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or....

Drop $110.00 and learn the basics of car care, as well as learn some of the product (Of your choosing) characteristics. Getting into car care with a rotary at the onset, could be very easy for you, or at the least, very dissapointing. Products respond very differently with both machines, but understanding the basic do's and dont's is extremely important.
 
es350- Welcome to Autopia!



IMO the people who can do flawless work with only a rotary are few and far between; even some of the most highly respected rotary experts often use a PC for the final polishing (e.g., lest they have holograms).



Often the PC (or a Cyclo) is simply the better tool for the job, so I'd say you oughta spring for one.



And yeah, somebody who's already familiar with a rotary should be able to take it to a car without any big problems. Just remember that autopaint (especially paint on the plastic parts) won't be the same as the materials you're used to working.



It's hard to say which polish will work, but the FPII is a good start. Maybe too mild, but it's still good stuff to have on hand. A good polish that fills a multitude of roles is Optimum, which most people find pretty user-friendly. It's a bit more aggressive than the FPII but still pretty gentle. I usually assume that this stuff will be harder than somebody expects, just seems to work out that way most of the time, so don't handicap yourself with a too-mild approach (but no need to get all aggressive either ;) ).



I'm pretty old-school when it comes to my choice of pads, but a regular "polishing pad" oughta work OK as long as your marring isn't too severe. I'd rather use mild pads and adjust the product, but with either of the above polishes a polishing pad oughta work fine.
 
If I start out with the rotary I almost always do my final polish with the pc. I use the pc a lot more than the rotary. Around here most people don't care to get their swirls taken out. They just mainly want a polish and wax.
 
Thanks for all the great input!



I have some really light swirls. I would post a pic of the swirls, but the swirls are so light that you cannnot see them when you look directly at the car in full sun. You can only see some of the swirls when viewing the car in full sun at an angle. I still haven't been able to capture the swirls with my camera.



Do you think that a PC using a polishing pad with Optimum will take out these minor swirls? After Optimum, would I need to finish with FPII or can I go to Prime and then finish with AJ?



Thank you!
 
Welcome to Autopia. As far as the rotary, if your not in a rush to polish your car then I would practice with your rotary. I have used a PC for about 3 1/2 years and just recently switched to the rotary polisher, PC now collecting dust. I find it very easy to use with better results especially for final finishing but that may be because of using the PC for so long, I don't really know. If you practice on some older cars first untill you get the hang of it, I think you will be fine. Keep the pad flat as much as possible and the rpms low and I think you will find it's not that hard to use. If you do decide to use your rotary and not a PC make sure you read "rotary use" in the machine polishing fourm. I would also reccomend 6.5" pads as they are a lot easier to use, so a new 4 3/4" - 6" backing plate is needed.
 
es350 said:
Thanks for all the great input!



I have some really light swirls. I would post a pic of the swirls, but the swirls are so light that you cannnot see them when you look directly at the car in full sun. You can only see some of the swirls when viewing the car in full sun at an angle. I still haven't been able to capture the swirls with my camera.



Do you think that a PC using a polishing pad with Optimum will take out these minor swirls? After Optimum, would I need to finish with FPII or can I go to Prime and then finish with AJ?



Thank you!
Click to expand...



If the swirling is light then Optimum polish and a polishing pad might do it. If that dosen't work then bump up to the compound with a polishing pad. On a dark colored cars most of the time I find it necessary to finish with a finishing pad to clear up the paint. On some paints you still can't get a perfect finish with the PC, thats the reason I use the rotary now. Optimum polishes a very good with PC or rotary it's my go to polish.
 
Optimum is my go to polish as well. Most of the time when I use the Compound I don't even have to finish off with the Polish. The New HyperCompound works great with the rotary and pc too. You can also mix the HyperCompound and Polish to make the Compound. Lately I've been finishing off with the Poli Seal. It is a great product!
 
es350 said:
1) Should I go through the expense of purchasing a DA PC or can I learn to use my rotary to polish out the swirl marks without ruining my clear coat?
Click to expand...

With PC currently being $89 at Lowe's I would not think even for a second.
 
es350 said:
1) Should I go through the expense of purchasing a DA PC or can I learn to use my rotary to polish out the swirl marks without ruining my clear coat?
Click to expand...

With PC currently being $89 at Lowe's I would not think even for a second.
 
Thanks again! Yes, I just purchased the DA PC from Lowe's for $89.



From everyone's input, I'm going to order Optimum Polish.



Now I'm trying to figure out which pads to purchase. I was thinking of going with the organge and white Lake Country pads. However, I just stumbled on the EDGE pads with the waffle feature. These pads don't use a traditional backing plate. Any feedback for my application of just removing some really light swirling? Are the EDGE pads with the waffle pattern worth it?
 
another reason to get a PC is many plastic painted parts dont dissipate heat well and you run the risk of burning the paint faster with a rotory, so you can switch to a PC for plastic bumper covers and such.
 
es350 said:
Thanks again! Yes, I just purchased the DA PC from Lowe's for $89.



From everyone's input, I'm going to order Optimum Polish.



Now I'm trying to figure out which pads to purchase. I was thinking of going with the organge and white Lake Country pads. However, I just stumbled on the EDGE pads with the waffle feature. These pads don't use a traditional backing plate. Any feedback for my application of just removing some really light swirling? Are the EDGE pads with the waffle pattern worth it?
Click to expand...





EDGE pads are great. you are getting 2x the pad for 1.3x the price. the waffle pattern is more a rotory thing because the pc w/ 6 inch pads do not generate as much heat at your average rotory.



you can get normal pads for your PC



Now what waffle pads would be good for on a PC are stuff like Swirlbuster and LSP because the groves tend to hold a bit more product while in use.
 
es350 said:
I just purchased the DA PC from Lowe's for $89.
Click to expand...



es350 said:
Any feedback for my application of just removing some really light swirling? Are the EDGE pads with the waffle pattern worth it?
Click to expand...

I can not say whether they are worth it or not as I have not worked with them but personally I would cost optimize at beginning stage. They might last twice longer because of two sides but also cost twice more. Not to mention that I am uncomfortable with metal being part of the pad as I am pressing down.
 
es350 said:
Thanks again! Yes, I just purchased the DA PC from Lowe's for $89.



From everyone's input, I'm going to order Optimum Polish.



Now I'm trying to figure out which pads to purchase. I was thinking of going with the organge and white Lake Country pads. However, I just stumbled on the EDGE pads with the waffle feature. These pads don't use a traditional backing plate. Any feedback for my application of just removing some really light swirling? Are the EDGE pads with the waffle pattern worth it?
Click to expand...



how did you do?
 
I tried the Optimum Polish with the white pad and it worked OK.



I only tried it on 1 door and it took out the longer swirl marks that the dealer put into the paint. These longer swirl marks left a halogram look to the finish in bright lignt. I tried several separate passes on the door but was still left with very short (like 0.5 cm) marks that appear random. I see these marks only when really close up (like within inches of the paint) and viewed from an angle. I'm ok with these really small marks since when viewing from a foot away, the finish looks great! I will post pics later this week. Are these really short marks normal? My camera won't be able to capture these small marks.



I ordered a green pad (which is 20% more aggressive than the white pad) to try polishing next week.



Any comments or suggestions?
 
es350 said:
I tried the Optimum Polish with the white pad and it worked OK.



I only tried it on 1 door and it took out the longer swirl marks that the dealer put into the paint. These longer swirl marks left a halogram look to the finish in bright lignt. I tried several separate passes on the door but was still left with very short (like 0.5 cm) marks that appear random. I see these marks only when really close up (like within inches of the paint) and viewed from an angle. I'm ok with these really small marks since when viewing from a foot away, the finish looks great! I will post pics later this week. Are these really short marks normal? My camera won't be able to capture these small marks.



I ordered a green pad (which is 20% more aggressive than the white pad) to try polishing next week.



Any comments or suggestions?
Click to expand...



I mentioned earlier that some paint can't be finished out perfectly with a PC, and this is the reason, all thoses small random marks that are "left by the PC". On some paint no matter what I did to get rid of them I couldn't, only a rotary will because it rotates opposed to the orbital path of the PC. This is the very reason I switched to the rotary, and also to cut down on the over all polishing time on cars(wear & tear on the body). So if you want a perfect finish you better practice up with that rotary because it might be the only way.
 
DSVWGLI said:
I mentioned earlier that some paint can't be finished out perfectly with a PC, and this is the reason, all thoses small random marks that are "left by the PC". On some paint no matter what I did to get rid of them I couldn't, only a rotary will because it rotates opposed to the orbital path of the PC. This is the very reason I switched to the rotary, and also to cut down on the over all polishing time on cars(wear & tear on the body). So if you want a perfect finish you better practice up with that rotary because it might be the only way.
Click to expand...





Should I try finishing off with a white pad and Klasse AIO? Would this remove these really small micro scratches? At what speed should I perform this final polish with my PC? Thanks!
 
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