Is this as good as I'll be able to get?

[kpagel]

Yesterday I pulled out our 2000 Ford F-150. My dad bought it used from a friend of his who used it as a light work truck. Since then it has been in the hands of three teenagers (myself, my brother, and finally my sister). Needless to say, its finish is now in terrible shape with swirls galore and dents and scrapes all over. Although I did what I could to take care of it, my wash technique when I was 16 simply wasn't that great. Anyways, its great for rotary practice, so yesterday I decided to see what I could do with something "extreme."

Here was my process:
-84 with W7006 x3 (by x3 I mean I applied product, worked it in, wiped it off, then re-applied three times). First two times I was running it at speed 3 on my Makita, which is 1500 RPMs, on the third pass I bumped it up to one click under speed 4, which I believe is around 1900-2000 RPMs
-83 with W8006 x2 @ 1500RPMs
-80 with W8006 x1 via PC @ the 5 setting
-Applied 26

The pictures don't capture the amount of swirls in the paint, but here is the comparison shot.



And here is the full sun shot of the "finished" panel



My questions...

Based on what I've described, does it seem like I should have removed more? Should I keep working on my rotary technique?

What are the whitish dots in the paint? They are especially visible in the second picture. Can these be removed or is it something that must be lived with?

I'm not concerned with getting this truck perfect, because its a basketcase. I'm using it to see what my limits are and to get an idea of what can and can't be done with a rotary.

[gbackus]

The white dots are caused by acidic dew damage, typical of most cars in California that aren't garaged.

You may want to try repolishing the panel with #80 with the rotary, and then go back and finishing with the PC. That MAY improve your results.

[kpagel]

Thank you for the info regarding the spots. I assume once the acidic dew has worked its magic its not fixable, correct?

One more question... when I bumped the speed up on my rotary when using the #84, I was just trying to see how high I could take it (I'm not worried if I burn the paint on this truck, like I said, it already needs a LOT of body work as it is). When you bump up the speed do you cause the abrasives to break down too quickly to be effective, or am I doing the same thing as running it at a slower speed, except speeding up the work?

[gbackus]

You can polish the spots out, but it depends on how deep they are, it may not be worth it to try polishing them out.

Speed I find to be a personal preferance thing. The higher your speed, the more quickly, or more agressively you can cut. However, it may dry out the polish/compound too quickly, or burn the paint, etc.

The only way to know for sure is practice and experience.

[kpagel]

Thanks so much for your help.

BTW, I've never taken the rotary past 1500 on a "good" car. This truck is just practice.

[RLdetail]

As a long time Ford owner I have found that after using the rotary to remove defects and going to the da to polish I lose shine. It almost looks like it dulls the finish. I've tried #80,#9,#82, and #83 with my DA and it always dulls the shine. The only thing that has not done it with the DA is #66 which I use during the summer once a month for maint. especially when it's hot or going to rain and I don't have time to have at it.

Right now I have a white '96 Crown Vic Police Interceptor that I use a RB & W7006 w/#84 with medium pressure on the first pass to remove swirls and scratches and then the same combo with a light pass to remove the marks from the pad. Then I use a RB & W1000 with #83 and light pressure to bring out a high gloss shine. I usually follow this up with a wax as I have found #80/#82/#9 do nothing for the appearance at all. I wax by hand too because I like to be able to take a close look at the car as I do it just to be sure I got everything and to keep an eye on the overall condition of the car.

Now my wife has a silver '03 Windstar and I use the W7006/#84 on tough spots when needed but for the most part just the W1000 and #83 do the job. Again I tried to follow that up but it didn't appear to change the look so I don't bother.