How can I be more aggressive?

[Brook]

We worked on a test spot on the trunk lid of my son's 1987 BMW 325is that was repainted two years ago with BMW paint and clear coat. It has lots of swirls.

Using an orange Lake Country pad on a DA, we tried, Swirl-X, Scratch-X, and finally Ultimate Compound (two coats). It took out some of the swirls but I was unhappily surprised that the test area didn't look all that much less swirl-free than the rest of the trunk lid.

Any suggestions on how to be more agressive?

Thanks.

[Andrew C.]

Re: How can I be more aggressive?

How big of a test spot are you doing and how many passes? It may be you are working an area too big or not doing enough passes.

You could try a yellow LC pad. I'm not too familiar how that compares up to Meguiars Yellow or Burgundy pads.

[Brook]

Re: How can I be more aggressive?

It's about a 15 x 15 inch area. We tried to go very slowly and work the products until they were translucent.

[William_F]

Re: How can I be more aggressive?

I'm not familiar w/ the LC pad line up, so I will speak in generic terms.

You can try a more aggressive pad, or different amount of pressure on the machine. Try a little more or a little less with the pad and products you already have and a higher speed and see what the does. Then move to a more cutting pad if need be.

[THE BIG BUFFER]

Re: How can I be more aggressive?

I've used some of LC pads(but only when i could'nt find a meg's pad) and I would suggest their yellow heavy cuting pad if you want to be more aggesive. If you have access to M105/M205 I would give those products a try. I have to say I am very impressed with the results from those two products. As always if you can post pics it is easier to for members to give suggestions.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: How can I be more aggressive?

Before going more aggressive, maybe you should look at a less aggressive approach. That orange LC pad is very aggressive and may well be marring the paint. It certainly wouldn't be the first time we've seen an aggressive pad do this to paint.

If you don't have a Meguiar's W8207 or W8006 pad, step down to the LC white pad and use that with Ultimate Compound. Set the tool to speed 5, apply moderate pressure to the pad, and move the tool slowly over a 2' x 2' area. You should be able to work UC for quite a while without it drying out, but definitely wipe off while it's still a wet film, albeit a very thin film.

Even on extremely hard paint, UC with a W8207 pad can do wonders, as this thread will attest to.