Machine polish, first attempt question

[Mike Phillips]

Machine polish, first attempt question


Posted by raysaint on the geek forum here,

Machine polish, first attempt question



So I wanted to do a full correction before sealant. Car is a new (NOV. 2023) soul red Mazda.

Did the hood today, cool overcast day. Washed, dried, light clay mitt, rinse, dried again. Used Carpro Reflect, white Rupes pads, Porter cable RO. 4 small gobs of polish on the pad. I did 3 passes over an area; horiz, vert, horiz. Speed was 4 on the polisher. Wiped polish off with mf towels.

Sun came out, some swirls are still there. Maybe not as many, but still visible to me.
So maybe I had some success, but the sun wasn't as bright as it was when I assessed the swirls last fall.

First of all, how does a new car come from the factory with swirls? Dealer did no detailing as per my request.

I figured the swirls must be real light and would come out easily.

1) is it my technique? Did I go to fast, not enough pressure, ???

2) I noticed as I was polishing the pad looked like it was on a slant; I recentered it, but same thing so I'm thinking my hand pressure was uneven.

I know it's a learning curve but hopefully it can be short.

thanks for any suggestions.

 

[Mike Phillips]

Did the hood today, cool overcast day. Washed, dried, light clay mitt, rinse, dried again. Used Carpro Reflect, white Rupes pads, Porter cable RO. 4 small gobs of polish on the pad. I did 3 passes over an area; horiz, vert, horiz.

Speed was 4 on the polisher.

You're speed setting is way to low to do anything substantial. The Porter Cable is a capable tool, but you really need to be on the 6-speed setting.

Mark your backing plate and mark the side of your buffing pad. This will make it MUCH easier for your eyes see and monitor pad rotation. If the pad is NOT rotating and/or oscillating - for the most part, you're wasting your time.

Also – The PC works best with a 5” backing plate and 5.5” pads. If you're running a 6” backing plate and then - in the RUPES line, a whopping 7” pad (because this is what you would match to a 6" backing plate) – this size backing plate and matching pads are going to be useless on the PC.

And or course, a lot more passes than 3 passes. 8 section passes is a good rule-of-thumb for this type of paint correction. Of course, figuring all this stuff out starts with doing a proper Test Spot.


And then "yes" swirls from the dealership are normal. See my brand-new article here,

How to Detail Your New Car by Mike Phillips


Mike

 

[Mike Phillips]

Maybe watch this video. All the information I shared back then is still just as accurate today.

Mike