Glaze and Wax leaves swirl on corrected finish

[addo]

Hi Guys,

I've been able to correct the paint but when it comes time to apply glaze, wax, or sealant using the Porter Cable swirl marks began to be introduced...I used the speed setting at 2 and a gray and blue lakecountry pad. Is this because i need to prime the pad prior to spreading the product or is there something I am missing?

Thanks,
Addo

[swanicyouth]

Yes, very likely. Ive had the same issue, pads causing marring when I first started out with a DA. That's until someone here gave me a tip to spray the pad before letting it touch the paint with a spritz or two with detail spray. So, now I prime it pretty well with whatever product I'm using and spritz it with detail spray. Before I was just putting some polish as dots on the pad and getting marring before any correction was starting. Now I both prime and spray the pad and it fixed the issue. Spray first, prime second. I found you only need to do this once with a fresh pad. Since wax offers no correction, it's even more important to make sure your pad is either completely primed on the surface or is wet with pad conditioner or detail spray. Another thing that could be causing this is that your pad or surface isn't 100% clean. Any dirt on anything will cause marring once that DA starts spinning. When I was completely new to the DA I almost put it down forever before a member helped me with this tip.

[rider9195]

Also what kind of microfiber towel are you using to wipe off the glaze and wax? A poor quality towel can put those swirls right back in the paint.

[addo]

Thanks swanicyouth! I just realized that I haven not been priming my pads prior to the glaze and wax. Instead, I just put the glaze and wax on the pad and went at it...Rider9195 I use the cobra micro fiber towel and wipe in vertical direction only. Thanks guys I'm fairly new at this.

[mg6045]

To be honest with you, if you are using a high quality finishing pad , or any finishing pad that Autogeek sells, its not going to cause swirl marks on your paint if its not primed. A few drops of sealant on a dry pad will be worked over the pad very quickly once you turn the polisher on.

Priming is a VERY good practice to get used to, and its more important when using a coarse cutting pad with a compound, or when using a polishing pad on the final polishing step.

But people have been using ultra soft finishing pads to apply liquid or paste wax and sealants for YEARS without priming the pad without introducing swirls into the paint.

I have a feeling that the swirls you are seeing are being caused by something else. ie: towels, or technique.

Or Dirty pads. Sometimes the idea of a "Clean" buffing pad can mean many different things to many different people. I was at a detail shop and was hanging out with production detailers and there idea of a "clean" pad was VERY different of my idea of a clean pad.

Just to avoid confusion, priming the pad is a very good practice, and can only help. But there are many detailers and enthusiasts, many of who are on this site, that only apply a few drops of sealant to a dry pad before they start spreading it onto the paint without adding swirl marks or haze.

to make this easier, please let us know what product and pads you are using for the correction steps ? and what product and pad you are using for polishing ?

Also, which glaze are you finishing off with ? Some glaze's have fine abrasives in them, and if they are allowed to glide across the paint without using pressure to work them in, can be the cause of haze or light swirling. This is amplified if the paint is very soft. The reason I ask which products you are using for correction is because some glazes clean the paint of leftover oils before laying down there own oil's to finish. There is a chance that the glaze is cleaning up the paint of previous products and revealing swirls that were already there and not actually leveled or abraded away. Lots of possibilitys, which is why it will help if you post what products and techiques you are using.

[lkotsios]

The sealant or glaze probably hase kaolin clay or kaolin dust in it. Happens to me some times i just don't use those products again. What products are you using?