Newwb Paint Correction PC 7424

[Egleone6]

I have been steadily working on figuring out removing swirl marks from my car.

I thought my car was a little less marred than I orignaly thought. From the surface, it looks good. Don't get me wrong, it is a nice car with a decent paint job. But under the halogen, it is not so pretty.

A buddy is going to come over this weekend and help, guide and bring in his rotary.

I worked in smaller areas, slowed down the movement of the DA, and got some better improvements. The surface of this paint was a lot worse than I thought.

Here are some pics of what I did tonight. I just worked the top part of the passenger side. Front 1/4 panel door and back 1/4 panel.

http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e110/Egleone6/Detail/th_GrandPrix032.jpg (http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e110/Egleone6/Detail/GrandPrix032.jpg) http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e110/Egleone6/Detail/th_GrandPrix036.jpg (http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e110/Egleone6/Detail/GrandPrix036.jpg)

[Egleone6]

Here are some pics from what I did the other day, like I said earlier, I removed about 90% of the marks, but either am doing something wrong, wrong product, or they wont come off, I consider this a moral victory.

I just finished half the roof and the hood. I think I did some good, but think there could be more do be done, maybe with a rotary, but for now, it is definately better.

Thoughts?


http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e110/Egleone6/Detail/th_AfterRoof.jpg (http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e110/Egleone6/Detail/AfterRoof.jpg) http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e110/Egleone6/Detail/th_BeforeRoof.jpg (http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e110/Egleone6/Detail/BeforeRoof.jpg)


http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e110/Egleone6/Detail/th_DoneSide.jpg (http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e110/Egleone6/Detail/DoneSide.jpg) http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e110/Egleone6/Detail/th_UndoneSide.jpg (http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e110/Egleone6/Detail/UndoneSide.jpg)


http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e110/Egleone6/Detail/th_GrandPrix014.jpg (http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e110/Egleone6/Detail/GrandPrix014.jpg)

[Charlies02GLS]

The improvement is pretty substantial, there's no doubt about that. As you can see from your own work the swirls are removable, they can just be time consuming. First time I polished my car I spent 8 hours on the exterior removing swirls and scratches with the porter cable, so there's definitely a learning curve. As for the remaining swirls they might be there because you didn't make enough passes, wrong product/pad combo, or technique. So, just a few questions:

Which product/pad combo are you using to perform the correction?

What speed are you operating the D/A at?

About how many passes are you making per unit area?

Are you using a decent amount of pressure on the pad as well?

[Egleone6]

Which product/pad combo are you using to perform the correction?

What speed are you operating the D/A at?

About how many passes are you making per unit area?

Are you using a decent amount of pressure on the pad as well?

First off, thanks. The marks are getting there. This is from 6 years of washing the car with a sponge not taking the time to worry about the surface, but the look of a clean car.

I am using the remainder of four compounds that I got from the guy who sold me the PC.

Here are the items:
Porter Cable 7424 (includes owner's manual, side handle, flat wrench, 6" non velcro backplate)
5" flexible backing plates
2 Unused Lake Country 6.5" white polishing pads
1 Unused Lake Country Orange Light cut pad
1 Used Lake Country Orange Light cut pad
16 oz. 3M Imperial Microfinishing Compound(heavy/med cut)
8-9 oz. Valugard Cerious Compound/Polish(med cut)
12 oz. Pinnacle Advanced Swirl Mark Remover(med-light cut)
16 oz. 3M Imperial Microfinishing Glaze(light cut/polish)
12 oz. 3M Liquid Showcar wax

I am using the Orange pad with the 3M IMC and the VCC. The White pad I am using the PASMR and the IMG.

I use the PC at 3 to spread the compound, and then at 5-6 to break the compound down. I make atleast 4 - 5 passes slowly on a 2 x 3 area. I can feel some abrasions, those I was told cannot be taken out. Or I was told.

I am pressing more on the PC than I did at first. I was told to take the PC and put it on scale and push to 25 pounds, and that was how much pressure you should use. I have not done that, but I am using more pressure.

[Charlies02GLS]

To be honest with you I'm not all that familiar with the 3M or Valugard line. The last time I used them was ~1.5 years ago so i can't give you any particular tips on working with those products.

As far as the scratches/abrasions you can feel, a general rule of thumb is that if you drag the back of your nail across it and catch the scratch it is too deep to be polished out completely.

For the products you're using:

I doubt that the IMG has any cutting ability as glazes are typically used to give paint a bit extra pop, protection, and can also be used to help hide defects. A good way to check if the IMG is just hiding the swirls is to use a 50/50 alcohol solution and wipe down a small area then check it with the halogen.

If you find that the IMG has hidden the swirls try using the swirl remover with an orange pad before switching to the white pad as the swirl remover has a pretty mild cut. Going from the compounds on an orange pad to a white pad with a swirl remover is kind of like trying to sand out 60grit scratches with 400grit. It can be done but it's going to require far more time than it should.

Also, if you're putting too much pressure on the pad you could actually be stopping the rotation and therefore polishing. A pretty easy trick for using the P/C is to mark your backing plates with a Sharpie so you can see how quickly the pad is rotating and adjust your pressure accordingly.

Your overall technique sounds good though, small areas, multiple passes, pressure, slow speed are what you're after and it sounds like that's what your doing.

If you've got any other questions fire away and I'll do my best to answer 'em.