01 Vette with short light scratches

[LemNasty]

First posting on AGO for advice.

I began machine polishing with a PorterCable 7424XP this summer on my 2010 Mazda 3 and my girlfriends 2012 Hyundai Elantra. I've always taken care of our cars and find it extremely easy to maintain the paint on these newer finishes with a white or black pad and a combination of light polishes and waxes. About 2 weeks ago I purchased a 2001 Corvette with Magnetic Red tint coat. The paint looks to be in good condition, but sunlight quickly reveals short random light scratches. I've attached a picture and you can see around the light source parts of these scratches. Due to the constant rain up here in PA I have not been able to take any outdoor shots.

I decided to use the hood as a test spot because of the ease of which I can work and the majority of the defects are in this location. After a wash and clay of the hood, I started with XMT 360 to clean and remove light swirls with a black pad. No change. I stepped up to XMT #1 with a white pad and still no change. My third test spot consisted of XMT #3 with an orange pad. I managed to remove the larger swirls and scratches, but the smaller random swirls remain. They are really hard to notice, even with light(must look at sharp angles), but they stick out in the sun.

I'm hoping to get some advice on what products and combinations I should try next. This car is pleasure driven and garage kept only. I would like to restore this to show quality and put a high quality wax on to protect it(I'm thinking Griot's liquid wax). I plan on purchasing Optimum's No Rinse Wash & Shine soon and would like to add any products I need to remove the swirls to this order.

Thanks in advance for any help!

[rbss]

First posting on AGO for advice.

I began machine polishing with a PorterCable 7424XP this summer on my 2010 Mazda 3 and my girlfriends 2012 Hyundai Elantra. I've always taken care of our cars and find it extremely easy to maintain the paint on these newer finishes with a white or black pad and a combination of light polishes and waxes. About 2 weeks ago I purchased a 2001 Corvette with Magnetic Red tint coat. The paint looks to be in good condition, but sunlight quickly reveals short random light scratches. I've attached a picture and you can see around the light source parts of these scratches. Due to the constant rain up here in PA I have not been able to take any outdoor shots.

I decided to use the hood as a test spot because of the ease of which I can work and the majority of the defects are in this location. After a wash and clay of the hood, I started with XMT 360 to clean and remove light swirls with a black pad. No change. I stepped up to XMT #1 with a white pad and still no change. My third test spot consisted of XMT #3 with an orange pad. I managed to remove the larger swirls and scratches, but the smaller random swirls remain. They are really hard to notice, even with light(must look at sharp angles), but they stick out in the sun.

I'm hoping to get some advice on what products and combinations I should try next. This car is pleasure driven and garage kept only. I would like to restore this to show quality and put a high quality wax on to protect it(I'm thinking Griot's liquid wax). I plan on purchasing Optimum's No Rinse Wash & Shine soon and would like to add any products I need to remove the swirls to this order.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Corvette clear is on the hard side I have always had good results with megs 105/205. I use 105 with a orange LC pad and 205 with a white or grey LC pad. XMT heavy duty swirl remover would get the job done make sure you follow up with XMT#2

[LemNasty]

Thanks for the info. Just placed an order this morning and threw 8 oz. of M105 and M205 in there to give them a shot. I'm also gonna give the #21 sealant a go instead of Griots Best in Show Wax.

The description of M105 says to run the polisher at a maximum speed of 1500 to 2000 RPMs. That seems awfully slow considering 1 on the PC is 2200 RPMs (as far as I can recall). I'll assume for the moment that the maximum speed is referring to a rotary and that I should be running 4-6 on my PC.

[rbss]

I run the PC at 5.5 to 6 with m105 and 4-5.5 on m205(polishing step). M105 does have a learning curve it has a short working time and will dust if you are not used to it. Add a dab of the m205 this way you can work it a little longer with less dusting:dblthumb2:

[LemNasty]

Good stuff. Going to be at least Monday before I see my goods, but I'll definitely post follow up pics when I do the work!

[The Guz]

Give M105/M205 a shot. Meguiar's microfiber and D300 works well on hard clear. You will like M21.

[LemNasty]

Just a quick update.

This morning I worked on the hood. The M105 worked very well with a couple of dabs of M205 to extend the working time. Some of the heavier scratches I made two passes because they wouldn't come out. I'd say I removed 95% of the defects before finishing with M205 and finally the 21# sealant. I'm definitely considering investing in some microfiber pads for heavier correction and ease of use. The sealant was also great to work with. Easy to spread and easy to take off. Thanks for the great advice!