I am about to give up!

[scooterguitar]

I just don't think thsi pc is doing it for me for swirls. Did my mom's '96 car, pretty bad, I mean bad, no big scratches, but tons of heavy swirls, etc.
I hit it with everythign I had: cutting pad, SSR2, Opt compound, trie dmixing a few even. Went over it and over it, no luck, just cleaned them up a little.
I marked the top of my pads so I could see rotation, et. I went super slow, pad rotaing maybe once per few seconds, varied it so it moved faster.
What am I doing wrong? Most of the cars I do are older and have not been taken care of. think I should buy an orbital, if I do its gonan be a Wal Mart special, but use it jsut for stuff like this? Any heavier compound I should go with?
Any help? Its just frustrating.

[abrcrombe]

I use SSR 3 with pretty good success and only a Meg's polishing pad. SSR 2 is only considered a light cutting compound, and SSR 3 is heavy cut. A cutting pad would only increase it's effectiveness. Careful if you get an orbital, can't use it like it like a PC.

[scooterguitar]

If I get one I can go VROOOOOM! I might get a cheapie and play around with it.
What are some heavy cutting compounds out there? What baout the cheapies (TW I think) at OTC?

[abrcrombe]

TW?

http://dano.pocketrubbish.com/detailing/productchart.htm

I don't know what is OTC anymore, never really look at the products too much. I know there is a lot of Meg's floating out there, and they seem to do a good job. Hope that helps.

[DS Detailer]

The PC sometimes can't remove everything. it takes Orbital sometimes.

[wytstang]

I talked to Ranny (owner of Pakshak) and he doesn't recomend SSR3 via pc. He said it doesn't generate enough heat to break down the compound. I would go with SSR2.5 and apply moderate pressure (not enough to bog the pc down). Were you applying pressure??

[scooterguitar]

Yes, I ranged from the pad barely moving (lots of pressure) to slightly flwoing along.

[abrcrombe]

I talked to Ranny (owner of Pakshak) and he doesn't recomend SSR3 via pc. He said it doesn't generate enough heat to break down the compound. I would go with SSR2.5 and apply moderate pressure (not enough to bog the pc down). Were you applying pressure??

Does Killr have an opinion on this? I'm not doubting you, I am just curious. It worked relatively well for me.

[ScottB]

The PC is not a perfect machine when removing swirls, and it is much safer than a circular/rotary. That said in the past I have seen alot of individuals giving up and moving on without giving it a fair shake either.

You are going to need to work, and rework the area. Your going to spend alot of time. You are going to need to be patient. You cannot rush the polish. You must reapply and move down the pad and polish scale from most to least abrasive, step by step. But when you are done .... you will likely NEVER need to work that hard again. WHY ?? Because you will not allow the finish to get so bad.

I would warn that several individuals complain about the rotary also !! I have a Hitachi thats been used 2-3 times max. Sure it has power. But it transfers alot of heat and can easily burn thru clearcoat especially on corners. I would highly suggest one and taking the time and effort to test on panels and other items (like your mailbox) prior. In most cases you just might find a new fondness for the PC also ....

[scooterguitar]

Here's what I did, on the hood of Olds Cutlass...
There weren't scratches, just heavy swirls, and on white not real; easy to see. Got the halo light shining just right (that should be a song title btw).
Tried light swirl remover on 1/4 hood, blue pad, no luck. Stepped up to green pad, no luck. Added SRR2, no luck. went to opt compound, no luck. I kept redoing the one spot. I spent a good 30-40 minutes just trying half the hood.
On my Durango when I first did it, it took forever just to work a heavy scratch down, but couldn't get there on this car.
Only one thing that might affect this I can think of...The car was repainted years ago after it was wrecked and there is still lots of overspray from a poor paintjob. Possibly, swirls, etc were already there (likely), wrecked, repainted over and cleared over the swirls? Make sense? I dunno. Maybe I'll go back to playing geetar, something I'm familiar with.

[Mr. Clean]

scooterguitar, A couple of observations...

You don't mention whose pads you are using, so I can't be certain but in the pad line I'm using, the green pad is a light cutting pad. You might need to step in pad aggressiveness. I would suggest that before going with a stronger compound than PB's SSR 2.5. OTC you could also try Meg's DA/
CP (#83), although I've read that it is very similar to the 2.5, which I have not tried. I will warn you, #83 dusts, but it has been effective for me.

Although paint correction is not brain surgery, it isn't always as easy as picking up a PC and going to town. If it were, everyone would do it, and everyone would be an expert. It takes practice and patience. It can mean more than one buffing session also. It sounds like you are doing the right things, by varying the pressure and speed. Keep at it and you will see real results.

BUT, as killrwheels@autogeek mentioned, a PC has its limits, and you might just have reached those limits.

OT - That is a really cool collection shown in your avatar. Are all of those yours?

[abrcrombe]

Man, I don't want to get a rotary though. I am too afraid!

[scooterguitar]

Mr. Clean good info. And yes, they're mine! have more too, guitars used to be worse than this detailing disease!
I am using Edge 2k pads. I tried the yello, same thing, not much better. I guess I wa sunder the assumption it would just cut through easier, thus my looking for a rotary.

[Neothin]

smaller pads maybe? I've ALWAYS had difficulty with larger pads (6"+) when used for defect removal. 4" pads are all that I use for polishing.

optimum compound is a finicky polish, just like the rest of the optimum line. it takes about twice as long for OC to "work" when compared to similarly abrasive polishes.

move the PC SLOWLY. I'm talking 1/2-1" per second slow. I do 4 passes or so. vertical pass, horizontal pass, vertical, horizontal, check for progress, repeat if necessary.

[scooterguitar]

Too late, I sold my PC at a garage sale today for $50!
Nah, j/k, I'll keep trying!
Geez, more pads to buy!