New here and need help

[THE BIG BUFFER]

Re: New here and need help

"....you should know that Ultimate Compound is not formulated for use with a rotary polisher."

I use UC everday with a rotary and a wool pad. Works wonders( for me). Formulated or not. But that's just me.

[akimel]

Re: New here and need help

I use UC everday with a rotary and a wool pad. Works wonders( for me). Formulated or not. But that's just me.

I know others successfully use UC with a rotary, too. I just thought I'd mention the official recommendation. I've had great luck using UC with my Flex and G110.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: New here and need help

It sure does sound like you're dealing with some pretty stubborn clear here. We are very curious to see the results of your test with the wool pad on a rotary, and we expect to see some hologramming. Hopefully we'll get to see some straight on sun shots of the rotary worked area.

Keep in mind that you are moving to a very aggressive process with a wool pad and a rotary buffer. What sort of speed are you running this tool at? We would suggest starting around 1400 rpm and working up from there only if needed. Do your best to keep the pad flat against the paint and don't move too quickly over the paint. This will help to minimize holograms, but you're still bound to get some - maybe even a lot, depending on your skill with the rotary.

As Al mentions, UC is not officially rated for rotary use, but we've seen plenty of folks, like THE BIG BUFFER here, achieve outstanding results with this combo. Remember, when we state that a product is not recommended for use in a certain way that doesn't mean it's impossible to use it like that, just that we won't expect really consistent results with it. (There are cases where stepping outside our recommendations is virtually guaranteed to cause a problem and we'll spell those out pretty loudly - chief among them is using Chrome Wheel Cleaner on polished aluminum wheels. Damage is virtually guaranteed if you do that.) So, if you want to try UC on a rotary, go for it. But if you don't like the results, don't say we didn't warn you!

Oh, and the G18110 Polishing Compound is a hand only application product. From what R&D tells us, you will hate this product if you try to use it by machine as it will gum up on you very quickly. By hand it's pretty terrific stuff though. But since you've got some power tools and you're working on a full sized pickup truck, we'd recommend some SwirlX instead.

Now, about the truck itself. You've got a 15 year old truck with a ton of cobweb swirls, scratches and haze in it. A ton. Some old paints can become dried out and extremely hard, which is likely what's going on here. In fact, we wouldn't be terribly surprised to find M105 would not play well here if that paint is a dry as it might be. Just so you know.

Lastly, the pad you're using. 3M has a huge selection of pads so a part number or color and size description might help here, but since you refer to it as a glazing/polishing pad that would seem to indicate that it's a fairly gentle pad. That alone could be holding you back significantly. Hopefully since you have a D/A you've got more than this one pad. If not, get one. Heck, get 4 or 5 - you're working on a full sized pickup truck for goodness sakes!!! We highly recommend our W8207 Soft Buff 2.0 polishing pad for use with UC, but Lake Country pads are fine too. The LC white pad is pretty close to our W8207 and their orange pad is a good bit more aggressive. If those are easier for you to source, then so be it.

All that said, we'd like to see the following:

• Your results with the rotary and wool pad
• A serious shot with a different pad on the D/A

Oh, and before we forget, you might want to change the way you're applying the product itself. Smearing some around with a rag first isn't the best way to go. When using a D/A apply the product directly to the pad in an "X" pattern. We have a feeling you may not have been using quite enough product, but this process should remedy that at least.

[95LightningKid]

Re: New here and need help

Well there wont be any direct sun pictures today, its cloudy. I looked at it this morning when the sun was still out and tried a little more with the rotary and it seems to be working well taking the swirls out. There are a lot of deeper scratches and marks in the clear besides the swirls that i'm afraid to try to take out because i dont want to go through the clear or make it too thin, but as long as the swirls are gone i'll be very happy. I know this is a really tough question, but is there any way that i can tell if i'm removing too much clear trying to get scratches out? (i cant feel them with my fingernail, i dont know if that helps) And I dont know how fast the rotary is spinning but for now i'm using it on the slowest setting and going very slow with it.

The borrowed the PC from my uncle so no, i dont have any other pads for it. I think i will order a few of the right pads for it but until i get them i'll keep using the 3M pad i have.

I'll post pictures as soon as the sun is out. Thanks again for all the help everyone!

[k3ith]

Re: New here and need help

I would for sure try a different pad with the PC as it should do the trick without needing the rotary. Also, I have found that results of UC are sometimes not fully realized until you put more oils on top of it. While they are still somewhat visible after the UC, it can diminish the swirls enough that when you apply SwirlX over it you can't see them anymore in sunlight.

I notice this particularly when using sand paper. I apply UC after the sand and it helps but is still noticeable until an application of SwirlX. That being said you should certainly see some benefit from the UC before applying SwirlX.

Also, switch to a lighter pad on the PC for the SwrilX.

[Underdawg736]

Re: New here and need help

I think Mike said it all! UC is awesome stuff, even if it takes a number of passes, the worse off the paint the more you have to put into it and if you stick at it I believe you will be pleased with the results....even if it's not 100% perfect.

Good luck with the rest of the truck, I'm looking foward to seeing future results.
BTW, welcome to MOL! Where at in Pa are ya from?

[Michael Stoops]

Re: New here and need help

I know this is a really tough question, but is there any way that i can tell if i'm removing too much clear trying to get scratches out? (i cant feel them with my fingernail, i dont know if that helps) And I dont know how fast the rotary is spinning but for now i'm using it on the slowest setting and going very slow with it.

Yes, with a paint thickness gauge. A good one will run you about $400 though. It would be nice to know what speed the rotary is actually turning at, but we can tell you that a wool pad even at 1200 rpm on a rotary (which is fairly slow) is far, far more aggressive than a glazing/polishing pad on a D/A. Of course, you've already figured this out (right???) since you're using the exact same liquid and making a lot more headway with it. This is a classic example of how dramatically one can alter the cut of a liquid by using with different pads and/or different tools.

The borrowed the PC from my uncle so no, i dont have any other pads for it. I think i will order a few of the right pads for it but until i get them i'll keep using the 3M pad i have.

We still think that, ultimately, this is the way to go for best overall results. Why? ........

I'll post pictures as soon as the sun is out. Thanks again for all the help everyone!

....... don't be surprised to find a bunch of holograms in the paint after rotary work with a wool pad. Wipe down an area with some isopropyl alcohol and water and then check it in direct sunlight. The holograms are perfectly normal and should be easily removed with either UC or even SwirlX on the D/A with the pad you already have. But you're going to want more than that one pad for doing the entire truck.

[95LightningKid]

Re: New here and need help

Well i got about 5 minutes of sun today so i tried to take a few pics of that fender. I looked up the rotary and it is variable from 1000 to 3000 and i have it as slow as possible, so 1000, and maybe slightly slower when it hits the truck. There are a lot of holograms but if you cant tell in the pictures, it already looks better than it ever has since ive owned it...

this is after 2 or 3 applications with the rotary and i'm going to wait until i get the right pad to use the PC on it...




Heres the hood, i did half of it with the rotary 2 applications and i tried to take a picture using the camera flash because its cloudy again.

This side was washed and clayed...


This side is washed, clayed, and 2 applications of the UC with the rotary... (ignore the big scratch, i'm not trying to get that out)


I think the swirls in that last picture are from the rotary and i'm hoping they'll come out with the PC.

I'm ordering a few of the W8207 pads for the PC but i may be able to get one locally later today so i can keep going this weekend.