correction steps and a DA polisher

[Skoob]

I have a DA polisher and I am going to do my first correction with it. From what I have read from aggressive to least aggressive Ultimate compound, Swirl X, Ultimate Polish.
I have the pads do I am deciding on removing swirl marks in my paint. Thanks.

[Murr1525]

Re: correction steps and a DA polisher

Yeah.... If a lot of swirls, probably will end up wanting UC. But can do a test spot with SwirlX first.

[Nick Winn]

Re: correction steps and a DA polisher

The following below link to our D/A Buffing 101 thread should assist you in basic techniques for starting a test spot and determining which product you are going to use for removing the defects:

Meguiar's D/A Buffing 101

Our Pictures from Saturday Detailing 101 Classes can also be a great reference for seeing how a test spot is done and when certain products are used:

Meguiar's Pictures from Saturday Detailing 101 Classes

When machine polishing you will also want to be aware that some paints can be delicate and sensitive. The following below thread is a great read to keep in mind when your working on different cars/paints:

The Challenge of Delicate Paint

and don't forget to have fun!

[Michael Stoops]

Re: correction steps and a DA polisher

SwirlX is pretty light duty stuff, so depending on how bad the defects are and what the paint is like we'd recommend going with Ultimate Compound. A picture would really help with an evaluation here.

[Skoob]

Light swirls, it is a gold colored car, pics are hard to get. I wanted to start with a least aggressive approached like you guys teach. .
I am just excited about doing it.
I have lined up some pads, a new DA. I am starting with swirl X first. If I don't like it UC is next on the list as well as a More aggressive pad.
Thanks for the link

[Murr1525]

Re: correction steps and a DA polisher

Stay with the UC and polishing pad, at least if possible.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: correction steps and a DA polisher

Light swirls, it is a gold colored car, pics are hard to get. I wanted to start with a least aggressive approached like you guys teach. .

While we do teach that you should use the least aggressive approach to get the job done, it seems that some people have taken that to a bit of an extreme. We certainly don't intend that philosophy to be a marketing or sales tool, meaning we don't say that in hopes that you'll all rush out and buy SwirlX, ScratchX 2.0, and Ultimate Compound so that you cover all bases, just in case.

In most cases, when dealing with swirl marks in the paint, Ultimate Compound is going to be your best bet unless you know for a fact that your car has very delicate paint and is easily prone to marring. But whether you have a light distribution of swirls or you can't find the shiny paint because of all the micro scratches, UC is a great choice. Having a lot of swirls versus light swirls doesn't necessarily mean the marks are any deeper, there are just more of them. And since you're going to be working the entire surface of the paint, you're working against the paint with equal aggressiveness (no matter how much or how little) whether you've got a swirl mark there or not. A very small amount of swirl marks in really hard paint aren't going to go away with a very light duty product, and it's very easy to dial back the aggressiveness of any product by selecting a less aggressive pad, or reducing the speed setting on the tool, easing up on the pressure, or any combination of these.

Where we seriously stress the "use the least aggressive method" philosophy is when dealing with very aggressive processes like rotary compounding and wet/damp sanding. These process can and will remove significant amounts of paint in a hurry, and can get you into trouble very quickly. But when DA polishing you are removing such a minute amount of paint that it often can't be measured. For example, in the image below, we used Ultimate Compound on a yellow foam polishing pad with the G110v2 set to speed 5, moderate pressure, and two section passes.



The swirls were obviously pretty nasty but the level of correction was darn near 100%. Paint thickness readings before and after showed no difference in paint thickness. How is that possible when we obviously had to remove some paint in order to achieve this level of correction? A lot of what you're doing when removing swirls is to round off the edges of the fine scratches - which is all a swirl mark is - so that it can't reflect light back into your eyes. Any other paint removed is so insignificant that it didn't register on a paint thickness gauge that was reading to 0.1 mil accuracy.

Obviously, as with anything, there are exceptions here. If you're dealing with old single stage paints you can remove more paint with less effort, or if you're dealing with extremely scratch sensitive paint you can leave a DA haze if you're overly aggressive. An example of the former is the Porsche 911 we had in our most recent Thursday Night Open Garage; it presented with really nasty pitting in the hood, primarily from road debris impacts over the course of 100,000+ miles of exposure, and although we could significantly decrease the appearance of these defects using the DA Microfiber Correction System (admittedly much more aggressive than UC on a foam pad) we also removed close to 0.2 mil of paint. The owner had previously used UC/foam without a lot of success and wanted to see if we could further improve the appearance, which we did, but at a bit of a cost. This was original single stage enamel that was in very good condition, other than the pitting (the rest of the car looked absolutely stunning!) and it's softness, along with the more aggressive approach, removed measurable amounts of paint. An example of the latter is the 2011 Prius that's a regular at our TNOG sessions; it's a non metallic black and super scratch sensitive. UC/foam will remove swirls in the blink of an eye but it will also micro mar the paint and leave a noticeable haze. This haze is easily removed with nothing more than a good cleaner wax because it's extremely shallow. But this is a double edged sword: if the swirls are really bad you might still need the power of UC to remove them all, but you then must do a finishing polish or cleaner wax to remove the haze.

In this day and age, where 99% of cars sold in the US have a clear coat, the above scenarios are very rare encounters and demonstrate opposite ends of the paint correction spectrum. They're also a big part of the reason why we always stress that you do a test spot before working on any car for the first time.

[OzPapaSmurf]

Re: correction steps and a DA polisher

I must say that this forum sure has opened my eyes to what IS available and, what you can do if you READ all the info you can and start
small then build big. I am still to get a DA and try it out but soon I will have one and will try on a couple of panels I have that are not critical.

Thanks fellas for the considerations.