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**ziggo99** · Sep 14, 2009, 07:56 AM

Re: New car, swirled..what did I do?

Seeing as this is your first post, welcome to MOL.
What kind of pad and what speed were you on when you used your 7424? You may need to step up to a stronger pad, or maybe try some Scratch first, and if that doesn't work go to Ultimate Compound. I would think that swirl-x would've worked, seeing as the car is recently new.

**cardriver** · Sep 14, 2009, 07:58 AM

Re: New car, swirled..what did I do?

When you used SwirlX on the Porter Cable, what kind of pad did you use? Was it a Yellow SoftBuff 2.0?

**jeffs42885** · Sep 14, 2009, 08:01 AM

Re: New car, swirled..what did I do?

nope. I didn't realy think that the pad made a difference. It was a regular foam pad that came with it. What pad should I use.

Better yet, if you guys had a 7424, what pad would you use to take swirls out?

**cardriver** · Sep 14, 2009, 08:04 AM

Re: New car, swirled..what did I do?

Do you know what kind of pad it was? The pad does make a difference sometimes.

Just ask anyone who's ever wasted much of their time with a Yellow SoftBuff 2.0 on the DA polisher

.

**jeffs42885** · Sep 14, 2009, 08:09 AM

Re: New car, swirled..what did I do?

it was a foam pad. I am going to order a lake country 6.5'' cutting pad, and a 6.5'' super soft jeweling pad.

**cardriver** · Sep 14, 2009, 08:13 AM

Re: New car, swirled..what did I do?

There ya go. I think you might have more success with an orange LC 5.5-incher (assuming it'll fit your DA's backing plate) and perhaps a white for the jeweling/finishing polish. The 5.5'' fit my G110 DA just fine.

**jeffs42885** · Sep 14, 2009, 08:28 AM

Re: New car, swirled..what did I do?

What should I use to remove the swirls.

I have..

Show car glaze Tan bottle
Swirl-X
Machine Glaze

What should I wax with..

Zaino
NXT
Gold Class

Anything else I should throw on in-between?

**akimel** · Sep 14, 2009, 08:40 AM

Re: New car, swirled..what did I do?

Jeff, may I suggest that before you invest in any more equipment and supplies you do a bit more research. You have the PC, which is the major portion of the investment; but you will also need to invest in other stuff. For example, you will want multiple pads, not just one cutting pad and one finishing pad. There are guys here on MOL who know the Lake Country line well, and they can advise you what pads to get. You also need good quality microfiber towels and painters' masking tape.

You chose the wrong polish to smooth out your paint finish. Show Car Glaze is a non-abrasive (pure) polish. It does not remove swirls and scratches; it only adds a touch of oily wetness. You will need to get a bottle of SwirlX and Ultimate Compound. Which one will work best can only be known through doing a TEST SPOT: How to do a Test Spot.

Check through the articles cited here: Internet Resources for Detailing Newbs--especially Dave McLean's Dual Action Polisher Guide. Also check through the articles cited in Meguiar's List O' Links.

Research thoroughly how to properly use the PC. If you get your ducks lined up before you make your next attempt to polish out your vehicle, you will maximize your chances for success.

Good luck!

Cheers,
Al

**CieraSL** · Sep 14, 2009, 09:34 AM

Re: New car, swirled..what did I do?

You said the paint looks rough and isn't smooth. Have you clayed it yet?

**jeffs42885** · Sep 14, 2009, 10:28 AM

Re: New car, swirled..what did I do?

I haven't clayed yet. So, based on the video / links.

1) wash
2) clay
3) ultimate compound on the cutting pad
4) swirl-x on the cutting pad
5) nxt on the polishing pad

**Michael Stoops** · Sep 14, 2009, 10:39 AM

Re: New car, swirled..what did I do?

Jeff, as Al already mentioned, M07 Show Car Glaze has no cleaning ability so it won't remove any defects from your paint.

How you use the Porter Cable 7424 is equally important. Most people make a few of the following very common mistakes:

Machine speed - many people are afraid to run the machine at too high a speed, but you should be running at speed 5 for defect correction and down to 3 for applying wax
Arm speed - when the machine starts to rev up, many people rev up with it and move it too quickly over the paint. You need to really slow down and take your time, overlap your passes by 50% and keep the pad flat against the paint
Work area - small is NOT a relative term here, and many people think working half the hood is a small area. 2' x 2' is a small area, so unless you're driving a SMART car you hood is waaay bigger than that.
Pressure - the weight of the machine itself is not enough, you need to put some downward pressure on the pad. While the generally accepted pressure range is in the 10~15lbs range, that can be hard to judge, so do this instead: take a Sharpie marker and make a couple of hash marks on the back of the pad, the portion that extends beyond the backing plate that you can see when the pad is down on the paint. Put the machine down on the paint and turn it on - you'll be able to clearly see the marks spinning around. Now apply enough pressure to almost stop the rotation, then back off just enough so that the marks rotate fully, but slowly. For wax application, ease way up on the pressure, but still use more than just the weight of the machine.
Pad selection - we don't recommend use of a foam cutting pad (W7207) with a D/A polisher because the cut of this pad couple with the motion of the machine tends to haze the paint. Not always, but often enough that we don't recommend it. Use a polishing pad (W8207) for defect removal with products such as Ultimate Compound, M105, M80, etc. Use a finishing pad (W9207) for application of pure polishes (M07, Deep Crystal Polish) and waxes or sealants such as NXT Generation Tech Wax 2.0, Gold Class, M26, etc.

Contrary to cardriver's assertions, you can get excellent results with a W8207 polishing pad on a D/A polisher. Whether it's used with M80 Speed Glaze, Ultimate Compound, M105 or many other products.

From this past Saturday's Detailing 101 Class - a single pass of UC on a W8207/G110:

From our 8/22/09 Detailing 101 Class:

From our 7/11/09 Detailing 101 Class:

From 6/6/09, this time on horribly neglected and very old single stage paint:

From our 2/21/09 Detailing 101 Class, this is 9 year old paint that's basically never had anything done to it except the occasional wash.

**Michael Stoops** · Sep 14, 2009, 10:43 AM

Re: New car, swirled..what did I do?

Originally posted by jeffs42885 View Post

I haven't clayed yet. So, based on the video / links.

1) wash Yes
2) clay Yes
3) ultimate compound on the cutting pad NO, don't use a cutting pad, see comments in previous post
4) swirl-x on the cutting pad IF you need SwirlX after UC, stick with a polishing pad. Odds are you won't need SwirlX, however, as UC should get you LSP ready.
5) nxt on the polishing pad No, use a finishing pad for application of NXT or any other wax

Comments in red above should clarify some things for you, but make sure to read through our post just prior to this one as well.

**jeffs42885** · Sep 14, 2009, 10:56 AM

Re: New car, swirled..what did I do?

Okay cool. I am going to try using UC on a white polishing pad. Here's the description of the pad from the website.

"White Polishing Foam 6.5"- Less dense foam formula for the application of waxes, micro-fine polishes and sealants. This pad has very light cutting power so its perfect for pre-wax cleaners"

**Michael Stoops** · Sep 14, 2009, 11:03 AM

Re: New car, swirled..what did I do?

Originally posted by jeffs42885 View Post

Okay cool. I am going to try using UC on a white polishing pad. Here's the description of the pad from the website.

"White Polishing Foam 6.5"- Less dense foam formula for the application of waxes, micro-fine polishes and sealants. This pad has very light cutting power so its perfect for pre-wax cleaners"

At the risk of confusing you even further, and we're assuming this is a Lake Country pad, you may want to step up to their orange pad instead if you're going to use that brand. Just from reading the description of the pad it doesn't have the cut you need when removing defects - they recommend it primarily for use with waxes, sealants and light duty pre-wax cleaners. You're looking to accomplish more than that.

Yes, we know they refer to their orange pad as a "light cutting" pad and we just recommended against the use of our cutting pad - this LC pad is not as aggressive as our cutting pad; it's more along the lines of our polishing pad. Unfortunately, there are no industry standard "cut levels" or even colors for pads.