Need help with these swirls

[Visitor92014]

I used an orange cutting pad with Poorboys SSR2 first, then followed up with Poorboys SSR1 with a while polishing pad and then yet again with another round of SSR1 ( same white pad ) but the swirls in the picture will not go away :(

Both pad are brand new btw and I used light pressure while using the SSR1. Should I try a little more pressure or try less?

I also have Poorboys Professional Polish of which I planned to use last. Should I just move on to that step or are the swirls too much for that at this point?

http://i.imgur.com/DgwNJ.jpg (http://imgur.com/DgwNJ)

[LuxuryMobile]

What machine are you using and at what speed?

[Visitor92014]

Thanks for the reply.

I have a PC . Start on speed 3 to spread it all around then moved up to 5 using the SSR2 and I used 3 then 5/6 on both rounds of the SSR1.

[tw33k2514]

I think you need a more aggressive product. Something like Ultimate Compound would be a good start as you can just go buy it almost anywhere.

[jekyl05]

how many "passes" are you making with each step? and as Ben stated appears you may need something more aggressive

[Visitor92014]

Not really counting the passes but I usually just go over the panel slowly and overlap each pass until the product breaks down and is a little transparent.

What kills me is that those in the picture were done by SSR2. I thought the two products were designed to work together :(

Am I right in using the white pad for SSR1 or should I be using more aggressive pad?

[Visitor92014]

I think you need a more aggressive product. Something like Ultimate Compound would be a good start as you can just go buy it almost anywhere.
No kidding? A compound? I'll give that a shot ;) Thanks!

This panel was repaired two years ago and the body shop used BMW-grade hardener in the paint they told me. The rest of the car isn't this hard to polish. Is the hardener in BMW paints really that stiff?

[ShaunD]

Hard to say if you need something more aggressive without a before pic of the panel. You said you are using setting five with SSR2(medium swirl remover), and then for SSR1 you are using setting 5-6. Is that right? If so you could be instilling swirls yourself. How did the polishes and technique you are using workout on other parts of the car? Did you do a test spot on each type of paint that is on the car(OEM and repaint w/BMW hardener)?
It looks that you should slow down your hand/arm speed with the SSR2 and make sure the pad is primed before working the polish. You may even want to use setting 6. Keep a count on how many passes you are doing that way you can do a couple lighter passes before the polish is used up. This should help mitigate the amount of work needed with the SSR1. If the swirls are still there after the SSR2 then there is no reason to move on with a lighter polish. If you do follow with a lighter polish the polisher speed should be slower than what you used with the cutting step. The pressure should be less as well, and the arm speed can be a little quicker.
Were the swirls in the pic there before you started polishing that panel? If the paint is harder on that panel and you're not getting the same results as on the rest of the car, then you probably need a more aggressive swirl remover/compound.

[Visitor92014]

Hard to say if you need something more aggressive without a before pic of the panel. You said you are using setting five with SSR2(medium swirl remover), and then for SSR1 you are using setting 5-6. Is that right? Correct

If so you could be instilling swirls yourself. I do believe the marks in the pic are more prominent after using SSR2 in fact

How did the polishes and technique you are using workout on other parts of the car? Did you do a test spot on each type of paint that is on the car(OEM and repaint w/BMW hardener)? The rest of the car didn't need swirl remover at all. I used Pro Polish on a white pad as the only product and those areas turned out great. In fact, with this particular panel, I used the pro polish first ( probably should have mentioned that ) but it didn't have an affect on it, I moved directly to SSR2

It looks that you should slow down your hand/arm speed with the SSR2 and make sure the pad is primed before working the polish. That is something I will try. :) Yes, the pads are primed ( something I learned the hard way long ago lol

You may even want to use setting 6. Keep a count on how many passes you are doing that way you can do a couple lighter passes before the polish is used up. This should help mitigate the amount of work needed with the SSR1. If the swirls are still there after the SSR2 then there is no reason to move on with a lighter polish. If you do follow with a lighter polish the polisher speed should be slower than what you used with the cutting step. The pressure should be less as well, and the arm speed can be a little quicker.
Were the swirls in the pic there before you started polishing that panel?There were swirls before but they weren't as bad I hate to say. Using the SSR2/orange pad made them worse. When I used the Pro Polish at first, it had zero affect on them.

If the paint is harder on that panel and you're not getting the same results as on the rest of the car, then you probably need a more aggressive swirl remover/compound.


....

[Visitor92014]

Good news. I tried the ssr2 and 1 again and things look MUCH better! What I did was use less pressure, longer time, and slower movement for both. PLUS I used a gray pad for ssr1 which I think was the ultimate key.

I'll post a pic soon. There are still some marks but I'm thinking the pro pOlish will take care of that.

Should I use a gray pad for that as well? I thought the white pads were for final polishing but they do have some cutting power right?

[jekyl05]

Good news. I tried the ssr2 and 1 again and things look MUCH better! What I did was use less pressure, longer time, and slower movement for both. PLUS I used a gray pad for ssr1 which I think was the ultimate key.

I'll post a pic soon. There are still some marks but I'm thinking the pro pOlish will take care of that.

Should I use a gray pad for that as well? I thought the white pads were for final polishing but they do have some cutting power right?

yes the grey pad will ensure best results since it has no cutting power... the polish along with enough passes and correct pad pressure will do the trick.

[Visitor92014]

Here's the result:
http://i.imgur.com/dOBql.jpg

I'm going to try the gray pad with Pro Polish and see if that finishes the job ;)

Thanks to everyone that's commented so far!

[RFulmer]

When mine looks like that I use a less aggressive polish like 85rd or Wolfgang Finishing Glaze and a finishing pad (gray/black). I have soft'ish paint and needs something mild to finish off the haze left by other polishes.

[Visitor92014]

Well, I never could get it looking 'just right'. So, I took the advice from earlier to try Ultimate Compound this morning. I went to a local all-in-one store (that rhymes with Margret) and picked up a bottle.

I used it with a gray buffing pad as directed and... Holy crap! It looks amazing! I can't find a single swirl mark anywhere. I've never seen the paint on this car so smooth and shiny. I've found my product I do believe lol

Question for those that have use UC... Would it be a good idea to follow up with Pro Polish using a gray pad? I will be putting on EX-P after it's all said and done.

[Tundra1316]

first clay bar that section thenTry meguiars 105 ultra cut compound then follow it up with meguiars 205 mirror glaze,
it should work out