Trial and error for a new owner, got tips?

[Turbocress]

ok before even buying my makita 9227c, i checked out just about every thread i could find on what was good, what wasnt, what everyone liked etc etc.



im trying to correct the paint on my 89 cressida, it has original paint on it, and the clearcoat comes to a great gloss with polish even before, but had a ton of swirls from constant bad washing methods of course.



the first try on it i didnt get any swirls out, just made them less visible, so i came back today and tried again, and got much better results after the car was cooled down.



im using the 9227 with 7" pads, i have the meguiars velcro backed red, yellow, and polishing pads (cream colored pad)



the first time i started with the red cutting pad and #83, then went to yellow with #83 and then the cream with #82 and ended up getting alot of bad spots out but still had swirls and hazing left at the end of the day. fast forward to today.



i skipped the red since there was no heavy correcting to do this time, and did a quick double pass with the yellow+83 and then after wiping the area of all compound and being sure tha ti got everywhere on the trunk lid, went over with the polishing pad and 82. looks like i got alot more out but its still not perfect.



i keep the polisher between setting 1 and 3, which is 600-1200 rpms, mostly 600 though, especially for the polishing i kept it at the lowest setting.



so any suggestions to help me get this looking better? should i be using something else that im not to get it looking better, or should i try a different technique or speed to improve the quality? im hoping to get good enough soon so i can start doing some of my friends cars because all are going in a lot of car shows this year on oahu (hawaii).



thanks alot for any replies in advance!





oh also, i need a good way to remove the compound after im done with the area, its already half dried and i dont want to create new scratches by rubbing it off, whats the best way to remove excess compound thats dried or is drying when switching pads and compounds ??



thanks!







PICS

Ian

 

[Accumulator]

I dunno if those really low speeds are optimal for the Meg's products. The 600 would be OK for 1Z polishes, but I never worked Meg's stuff that slowly.



Maybe you need a more aggressive product to get the deeper marring out, or more passes. Or maybe you should just say "good enough" rather than thin the clear much more.



Try spritzing the almost-dry polish residue with some #34 before you buff it off.

 

[Turbocress]

i do think i got better results by running closer to 1000-1200 rpm this time as opposed to all 600 the first time, i definately had a lot of scratches left on the first try a week ago.



ill try another area using nothing but setting 2 or 3 and see how it goes.



oh and the car has plenty of clearcoat on it still, the paint was taken care of in its early life, but the car has a ton of miles on it (210k on the chassis and body/paint, the whole of everything else was rebuilt with supra engine and drivetrain), so doing a couple of passes wont be bad, just need to keep away from the red pad i think, which is where i mighta gone wrong the first time.



thanks for the tip accum



would using Isopropyl work good for getting the dried residue off before putting on another coat, or is that just a final step thing cause you dont want any of it left when you put on another coat of polish??

 

[imported_advs1]

im with accumulater on this one. maybe work it a bit in the 1000-1200 and get what you can out and say good enough. if you can feel the scratch with your finger nail its too deep, keep in mind the car is almost 20 years old. thats a lot of years and this is the first time its been properly cared for? i work on newer cars that would need color sanding to get some deep stuff out, but then you are talking about a whole different ball game.

 

[Turbocress]

i dont try to get out deep scratches, i defiantly know the difference between swirls and scratches, the car has many pits in it, but the paint is still in overall great condition for being as old as it is minus any pits or rock chips. my main concern is swirls, because with swirls removed from paint like that the car looks so so much better. and im using it as good practice before i decide to get new paint for the car anyway

 

[Accumulator]

..

would using Isopropyl work good for getting the dried residue off before putting on another coat, or is that just a final step thing cause you dont want any of it left when you put on another coat of polish??

It wouldn't work all that well for the product residue...not much/any lubricity for one thing. I'd leave it for removing oils/etc. (which I hardly *ever* do anyhow, but that's just me).