Clearing Out the Lightest of Scratches Via Power Polisher

[smata67]

My auto is a 1997 Avalon with original finish. You can imagine the clear coat has extensive, but very light scratches. What would be the least aggressive product that I could use with a power polisher? I've never used one before, but I'm probably not up to doing this by hand.

[Murr1525]

Re: Clearing Out the Lightest of Scratches Via Power Polisher

What kind of polisher do you have?

[smata67]

Re: Clearing Out the Lightest of Scratches Via Power Polisher

Wow, that was quick. It is a Wen Model 943, it is a 2 speed (1210/1500rpm) 7"er with a 2/3hp, 4amp motor.

[Murr1525]

Re: Clearing Out the Lightest of Scratches Via Power Polisher

Hmm... kind of sounds like it is somewhere between a rotary and the typical orbital polishers.

Assuming you have the appropriate pads/bonnets for it, SwirlX would be the mildest product to start off with. You would just have to do a test spot/area to see.

[Dsoto87]

Re: Clearing Out the Lightest of Scratches Via Power Polisher

That looks to be a rotary.....good luck. A lot of respected pros that have been doing this for years have a tough time finishing out hologram free on a rotary. A pc or g110 would be better suited for this situation

[Murr1525]

Re: Clearing Out the Lightest of Scratches Via Power Polisher

If it actually is a rotary, then it certainly wouldnt be recomended for a beginner to start using it on their paint.

[ClearlyCoated]

Re: Clearing Out the Lightest of Scratches Via Power Polisher

Aggressiveness Order for New Consumer Products

[Markus Kleis]

Re: Clearing Out the Lightest of Scratches Via Power Polisher

If it is a rotary, then I would suggest M205. Start with a finishing pad (W9207) and see how that works.

If you need more cut, try a yellow polishing pad (Part W8207)

If still these scratches are not coming out, there are many options...maybe start with that, and check back?

Any pictures of what you are working on by chance?

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Clearing Out the Lightest of Scratches Via Power Polisher

Does it look like this?





Have you ever buffed out an entire car using a rotary buffer?

It's a lot of of work and most of the time, while you'll remove a majority of all the defects you'll leave behind holograms or rotary buffer swirls that most people remove using a DA Polisher like our G110

Some people are happy to simply wax over any light holograms and mask them so the don't show up, as long as you keep a good coat of wax on the paint you won't see the holograms.

Just wanted to point out the two different options, remove or mask the holograms.

Our new SMAT products do work exceedingly well and I've seen first hand swirl-free results using only these products with a rotary buffer so because of our new abrasive technology not only is it easier to use a rotary buffer and get professional results, but on some paint systems you can get swirl-free results.

Another thing you want to look at is what size arbor or spindle your Wen RB had, the industry standard is 5/8" National Coarse Thread.

Usually the entry level rotary buffers like this Wen have a smaller arbor and that means none of the commercially available backing plates will fit your buffer therefor you cannot easily attach a backing plate and thus a buffing pad.

I think the backing plate that comes with your Wen is some kind of rubber doohickey and Wen supplies bonnets that tie on to this rubber backing plate with string?

It is possible I think to get a Heli-Coil that fits your buffer's spindle and has a 5/8" outside NC thread but you would want to go to a machine shop and see if that's an option.

Might be easier and faster to purchase another inexpensive Rotary Buffer like the Chicago RB from Harbor Freight that comes with the 5/8" spindle.

If you decide to move forward with buffing out your car with a rotary buffer and you don't have any experience then you might want to practice on a junker car first.

[MrCLRider]

Re: Clearing Out the Lightest of Scratches Via Power Polisher

Aggressiveness Order for New Consumer Products

was waiting for someone to throw that out there, its still amazing the cutting ability you can buy OTC.

[smata67]

Re: Clearing Out the Lightest of Scratches Via Power Polisher

I was hoping to use this rotary polisher I've had laying around for years for something, but it sounds like it may not be a good idea. The Wen is as shown above and has a 1/2" arbor. If not good for polishing cars, than what is its use?

So if an orbital is what I need, there is this one at HB:

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=90219

I'm willing to spend up to $30 if necessary. I don't plan on doing this often. My goal is to spend a bit of time to bring the car up to snuff for its second 10 years of use. The car has a dark green color and clear coat finish. I park in a garage 5 days a week for 8 hours a day, otherwise it sits outside. The scratches are due to the salt they use on the roads here near DC. I'm not a car person, the car gets washed maybe 4 times a year and I usually use NuFinish once a year. The finish is actually in not too bad a shape.

So the idea is to go with the M205 and an orbital? Will the W9207 pad be trimmable to be used on this HB 6" orbital?

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Clearing Out the Lightest of Scratches Via Power Polisher

The rotary is one extreme and the orbital in your link is the other extreme, one being the most powerful tool you can use and the other being the most ineffective tool for removing swirls and scratches.

Seriously, you could actually do a great job just rubbing this car out by hand if that interests you at all?

The rotary buffer you have won't accept the industry standard backing plate so that's the first problem to overcome, usually these 1/2" spindle rotary buffers also have small amp motors and it taxes them to hard for an entire day.

Besides that, buffing an entire car out with a rotary buffer is a ton of work, it's easier now with new products and pads but it's still a lot of work and a lot of time, 8 to 14 hours would be a good shotgun range depending upon your skill level and your expectations.

The polisher in your link, this one,





Is what we call a "Wax Spreader", that is all it's good for is spreading out a coating of a wax or paint sealant. If that's all you want to do and you want to try to take some of the work out of the job then you could use it for applying typically a liquid wax.


If you're goal is to remove swirls then you really need a DA Polisher like our G110 or the Porter Cable unit. If you don't care that much about the swirls then

Wash the car
Clay it really really good
Apply a coat of your favorite wax.

Done.


If you want to do a cleaning step to the paint to create a smoother and more clear surface then rub the car out with either SwirlX or Ultimate Compound by hand and then hand apply a coat of wax.

If the goal is to get the paint to last another 10 years before doing another waxing session then might as well keep it simple and short and use a few quality products.

:_

[ClearlyCoated]

Re: Clearing Out the Lightest of Scratches Via Power Polisher

Related question to the thread topic. My paint is in very good shape, but I wanted to give it a cleaning by the first week of May (3 months since it's last full polishing). I have some very fine, random scratches that come with daily driving.

My G110 bundle included a bottle of M02 Fine Cut Cleaner. On Meguiars website, the description seems to fit exactly what I need to accomplish:

Fine-Cut Cleaner is a mildly abrasive cleaner that removes fine surface defects including light oxidation, stains, scratches, swirls and fresh water spots. Diminishing Abrasives™ cut quickly, then reduce to a polishing rouge, while Buffered Abrasive™ action lubricates the finish to prevent scratching.

Yet if you look at the abrasion chart on the label, it seems that M02 has a medium level of aggressiveness, more than M205 or even the original ScratchX.

Opinions?