I guess I'm with Lauren in the frustrated group

[Grimm]

Well when I polished my car in the fall it wasn't perfect, but I figured I would tackle the perfection this spring. Well I've done about half my car so far, and I'm a bit less than pleased with it. I must have the same harder than heck clear coat on my Bonneville because I'm just not getting near the perfection I hoped for. I did two runs with OHC on an orange pad, followed by OP on a white pad in the fall. I thought I could hit it with OP on an orange pad this spring to clean it up. Well I must have gotten a lot of scratches over the winter because after the OP I think it looks worse than when I finished it last time. The finish is mostly swirl free, it just has so much light scratching. And with two young kids, I just don't have the time, or desire, to spend hours upon hours to get it perfect. Especially with two more cars waiting. Hopefully I can keep it from getting any more swirls/scratches and make a bigger dent in it in the fall unless I decide to work on it more in the next couple months. I'm seriously thinking of a rotary....

[Stittville Ed]

Get the rotary and use it on a test car/panel or a old beater car to see what you can do.
The rotary will be much faster but will up the DANGER factor

[Grimm]

Yeah, that's why I'm hesitant. Even if I don't burn through the clear with one, I'm not going to know how much clear I'm taking off. And since I keep cars for several years, I could get in trouble down the road.

[Totoland Mach]

Grimm: with the right rotary + pad combo, it can be as gentle as a pc.

Since I got the Metabo, I used it for virtually every application. What I found with this tool is: using a 6" backing plate and polishing pad (Meguiar's 8006 or similar), I can safely use it on plastic body panels, sheet metal, headlights etc. For larger surfaces, I change to the larger backing plate and larger pads. The Metabo has a push button spline lock that makes backing plate changes in a few seconds.

I'm diminishing the use of a "super" cutting pad that 3M has (which I used a lot with the DeWalt tool) as it sometimes creates more work in removing the hazing from cutting.

One of the best all around cutting pads I've found is the Meguiar's 7006.

Here's a pic of a black BMW trunk lip and rear bumper that I used with the 7006 pad, then switched to the 8006 polishing pad for glazing

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o212/Totoland/Apr07_BMWs/Black530i/0407_530i_RearPicOnLift.jpg

BTW: the lift isn't leaning in the pic....I am LOL

My advice would definitely be to not use an aggressive cutting pad for starting out.

Toto

[Nica]

Well when I polished my car in the fall it wasn't perfect, but I figured I would tackle the perfection this spring. Well I've done about half my car so far, and I'm a bit less than pleased with it. I must have the same harder than heck clear coat on my Bonneville because I'm just not getting near the perfection I hoped for. I did two runs with OHC on an orange pad, followed by OP on a white pad in the fall. I thought I could hit it with OP on an orange pad this spring to clean it up. Well I must have gotten a lot of scratches over the winter because after the OP I think it looks worse than when I finished it last time. The finish is mostly swirl free, it just has so much light scratching. And with two young kids, I just don't have the time, or desire, to spend hours upon hours to get it perfect. Especially with two more cars waiting. Hopefully I can keep it from getting any more swirls/scratches and make a bigger dent in it in the fall unless I decide to work on it more in the next couple months. I'm seriously thinking of a rotary....

Grimm, sorry to hear about your disappointment my friend. Must be frustrating to spend hours and got achieve desirable results. Now I'm with Toto on this (and I'm just finding this out) the rotary is a good tool but since I'm still new to the rotary I use it with extreme caution. I'm sure the rotary will make a difference to your hard CC but it just take's practice to feel comfortable with the rotary, that said perhaps different polish is required? The only reason I bring this up is because Lauren was actually considering purchasing some Menzerna products. Now I'm with you on the question as to how much CC you are actually removing, the only answer that I can see to that is getting a paint gauge. I've got the paint gauge I want picked out and I'll be ordering soon but by doing this it takes detailing to a different level my friend. First of all it all depends on the type of paint gauge that is chosen and the reason why it takes detailing to a different level in my opinion is because you are actually measuring in microns the paint level...microns...that just blows my mind away. The way I see it if you move on to a rotary a paint gauge is a must because you could do more harm then good.

Well that's just my input hopefully I'm not out to lunch with all I've said and my intention was to just share my input...I tend to ramble on sorry.

[Grimm]

Like you said Nica, to me a paint gauge really would be required, but I'm not going to spend that kind of money unless I got into it as a side business. And at this point, I'm not really planning to. I also don't really want to spend more money on another machine, but maybe I'll try the cheap one Justin mentioned at Harbor Freight. I think I'll see how the other cars go. If this is the only one I have to spend much time on, I can live with it.

I have thought about trying Menzerna. I'll have to keep an eye out if anyone has some for sale for a good price, or maybe some samples for trade.

I also plan to experiment a bit more with the amount of polish and the pressure/speed I use on the machine. I know you need to use Optimum products sparingly, and sometimes I get impatient and maybe go a bit too fast. I'm just cursed with the fact that I'm anal about how things look, but I don't always have the patience to do it the way it should be done.

[BlackCoupe]

Grimm: with the right rotary + pad combo, it can be as gentle as a pc.

Since I got the Metabo, I used it for virtually every application. What I found with this tool is: using a 6" backing plate and polishing pad (Meguiar's 8006 or similar), I can safely use it on plastic body panels, sheet metal, headlights etc. For larger surfaces, I change to the larger backing plate and larger pads. The Metabo has a push button spline lock that makes backing plate changes in a few seconds.

I'm diminishing the use of a "super" cutting pad that 3M has (which I used a lot with the DeWalt tool) as it sometimes creates more work in removing the hazing from cutting.

One of the best all around cutting pads I've found is the Meguiar's 7006.

Here's a pic of a black BMW trunk lip and rear bumper that I used with the 7006 pad, then switched to the 8006 polishing pad for glazing

http://i121.photobucket.com/albums/o212/Totoland/Apr07_BMWs/Black530i/0407_530i_RearPicOnLift.jpg

BTW: the lift isn't leaning in the pic....I am LOL

My advice would definitely be to not use an aggressive cutting pad for starting out.

Toto

Toto--what is your RPM with the rotary. How quickly do you move it around?

[Totoland Mach]

BlackCoupe: On plastic panels, I keep the rpm pretty slow: #2 setting on the Metabo equals 800 rpm or so. Fast rotary speeds on plastic generate too much heat and can/will cause melting.

On sheet metal, I use a Metabo setting of #3 which equals 1,200 rpm.

Even my die-hard DeWalt dealer is seeing how effective this slower speed is. While the work is slower, it's more effective and less prone to burning or accidents.

I'm also convinced that the smaller pads 6"-6.5" are easier to control and work. The big pads work on hood/door/trunk but I like the control of the smaller pads myself.

Toto

[orngez]

BlackCoupe: On plastic panels, I keep the rpm pretty slow: #2 setting on the Metabo equals 800 rpm or so. Fast rotary speeds on plastic generate too much heat and can/will cause melting.

On sheet metal, I use a Metabo setting of #3 which equals 1,200 rpm.

Even my die-hard DeWalt dealer is seeing how effective this slower speed is. While the work is slower, it's more effective and less prone to burning or accidents.

I'm also convinced that the smaller pads 6"-6.5" are easier to control and work. The big pads work on hood/door/trunk but I like the control of the smaller pads myself.

Toto

i definitely like the smaller pads on a rotary...much more control...definitely be cautious like totoland says on platic...slower is better...even on any surface slower is better...the 600-800 rpm (often setting 1/1.5/2ish....) on a rotary can still do more correction in less time than a pc on speed 6....just keep that in mind when tempted to crank up the speed on a rotary...i once practiced on a plastic bumber from an old civic i found in a dumpster and decided to try and abuse the hell out of it...less than half a second at speed setting 4 on my rotary and holding the pad at a sharp angle so just the edge of the pad was touching burned right through the paint...speed and sharp angles are not your friend when it comes to a rotary...learn how to use a rotary and it will be your best friend...

[Gary Sword]

If you are putting yourself in Lauren's swirl category things are indead looking pretty grim.:(


Just kidding Grimm/Lauren! I hope you get your swirls out.

[Surfer]

Some cars just have hard clears that a PC can't do much for. One of our other trucks (Explorer) and car (Lincoln), I couldn't get maybe half the swirls to budge using OC and yellow Edge cutting pad with tons of works time, if OC doesn't work...plain and simple..time for a rotary. Our Lexus was easy, Jag was easy, my truck was easy (go figure, Mercury Mountaineer, sister to the Exporer, yet the Explorer has rock hard clear).

[ltoman]

Some cars just have hard clears that a PC can't do much for. One of our other trucks (Explorer) and car (Lincoln), I couldn't get maybe half the swirls to budge using OC and yellow Edge cutting pad with tons of works time, if OC doesn't work...plain and simple..time for a rotary. Our Lexus was easy, Jag was easy, my truck was easy (go figure, Mercury Mountaineer, sister to the Exporer, yet the Explorer has rock hard clear).

you are always so cool, surfer. just straight to the point- that is what I like about you!
what is your opinion of menzerna?

[Surfer]

you are always so cool, surfer. just straight to the point- that is what I like about you!
what is your opinion of menzerna?:righton:


miza neva usa da menzerna:D Scott loves it

[ltoman]

:righton:


miza neva usa da menzerna:D Scott loves it

oh, well thanks anyhow.
yes, scott was kind enough to advise me. but i am waiting till this summer when i am off to work on the vette. working on our vans now!
ttyl!

[Surfer]

oh, well thanks anyhow.
yes, scott was kind enough to advise me. but i am waiting till this summer when i am off to work on the vette. working on our vans now!
ttyl!my Italian accent kicked in from South Park tonight :D.

Still not sure what gives some clears a hard coat and some soft, the swirls on the Explorer weren't bad but after spending a whole day with OC and yellow cutting pad on it at speed 6, I was barely making any progress, that same combo on my truck took out swirling that was worse. The Lincoln forget, that damn thing has a superman clear, I swear it's as hard as the cerami-clear on the new Benz's. Did one of my grandparents and what a b!tch that clear was even though it barely needed anything and was just a quick polish, could barely get out the few faint swirls there were. Need a rotary lol.