What products should I use????

[#1STUNNA]

I'm in the process of polishing my car and I would like to know what products to use. The car is a 1973 Impala with House of Kolor Brandywine on it that was painted about 5 year ago and has always been garaged kept.

The paint is in very very good condition but has minor surface scratches and very very light swirls that can only be seen under very bright garage lighting. I dont think i need to use a compound to remove this because of the condition of the paint.

what products should i use and what steps should i take to remove these blemishes?

I'll be using a Makita rotary polisher.

I have used one before so that's not a big issue.

I have included some pics of the car for your review. Although the car looks very shiny in the pics, which it is, but you can't see the small defects that i would like to remove so I'm looking for the best advice I can get as far as polishing it up to a crisp shine.

I have the lake country foam pad polishing kit (5.5 inch 6 piece set) with a 5 inch backing plate. which pad should i use with what product, etc.

Thanks for any and all comments.

[IID]

Is it single stage or base coat/clear coat?

[Mike Phillips]

I'm in the process of polishing my car and I would like to know what products to use. The car is a 1973 Impala with House of Kolor Brandywine on it that was painted about 5 year ago and has always been garaged kept.

Cool Kolor

what products should i use and what steps should i take to remove these blemishes?

I'll be using a Makita rotary polisher.
I have used one before so that's not a big issue.

I have the lake country foam pad polishing kit (5.5 inch 6 piece set) with a 5 inch backing plate. which pad should i use with what product, etc.

Thanks for any and all comments.

First, here's a full size picture of your car inserted instead of attached, makes it more fun and easier to look at in the thread and here's the link to your gallery where the below picture is now hosted. #1STUNNA's Photo Gallery



Here's how I inserted it for anyone that wants to learn how to work with photos on a forum...

Photography and Working with Pictures on the Internet

How to resize your photos before uploading to a photo gallery - Using Easy Thumbnails

How to upload a photo into your Autogeek Photo Gallery

How to insert an image from your photo gallery into your message






Second, if all you have and want to use is a rotary buffer then get some Menzerna PO85RD Finish Polish and apply it on the slowest setting on your Makita Rotary Buffer holding the pad as flat as you can whenever you can on all the panels using slow, overlapping passes.

CLEAN YOUR PAD OFTEN

I demonstrated how to do this and how to clean your pad using both a nylon Pad Conditioning Brush and a terry cloth towel during both the live feeds our our Detailing 101 and 102 Classes over the weekend.


Pictures & Comments from May 14th, 2011 Saturday Detailing 101
Pictures & Comments from May 15th, 2011 Sunday Detailing 102 - Advanced Class


After you wipe off the polish residue apply your favorite wax or paint sealant and your paint should have a 100% swirl free finish.

[#1STUNNA]

Is it single stage or base coat/clear coat?

Actually it is a 3 stage paint. two base coats and a clear.

[Mike Phillips]

Be sure to get the car super clean...

Rotary buffers can create their own air current at the surface level and you want to make sure there are zero particulates of dirt of any type in any of the body seems, cracks and crevices that could be caught up into the buffing process and trapped between your pad and the paint.

I always knock out the roof first, all the way through the process for the reasons stated here,

Knock out painted roofs first, then tackle the rest of the car...


Then for cars with large hoods I do them next, that is do all the machine polishing step and work the paint all the way up to the waxing/sealing step. Then do the vertical panels. The reason for this is on a car with a very large hood you don't want to machine polish the sides of the fenders to perfection only to come back later and potentially lean against them while applying the wax or paint sealant, so work the hood up to the waxing/sealing step and then knock out the rest of the car.


That's just my way you of course can use an approach that works best for you...

[Mike Phillips]

What is the softest pad in your kit?

[Mike Phillips]

Also, in the future if you want to do all your work by rotary buffer, consider getting a flexible backing plate, I love these things for rotary buffer work.


Flexible Backing Plates for Rotary Buffers


Flexible Backing Plates provide,

• An extra level of cushion when using a rotary buffer which helps you when buffing on curved panel and over body lines.

• The flexible foam interface heps to distribute pressure more evenly over the face of the buffing pad.

• They can also make the buffing process less aggressive as compared to using a stiff backing plate which can help to reduce swirls.

Currently we have two flexible backing plates besides the flexible backing plate in the 1-Pad system, which is specific to the 1-Pad buffing pads.

1. The Flex-Foam Heavy Duty Rotary Backing Plate, which has a 5" Diameter
2. The Meguiar's Easy-Buff Solo Backing Plate, which has a 6" Diameter

Below are some pictures to show the size of the backing plates relative to some popular buffing pads to help you get an idea of the fitment of the backing plate to the hook-n-loop interface on the back of the buffing pads.

Flex-Foam HD Rotary Backing Plate




Flex-Foam Backing Plate on a 5.5" Blue Finishing Flat Pad

[#1STUNNA]

Second, if all you have and want to use is a rotary buffer then get some Menzerna PO85RD Finish Polish and apply it on the slowest setting on your Makita Rotary Buffer holding the pad as flat as you can whenever you can on all the panels using slow, overlapping passes.

Is there any products that i can use that i can get at my local automotive paint store? i'm sure they dont sale that product you listed but if there is another product that can be used i would appreciate it. also, instrucitons on using the other product would be nice just like you did for the Menzerna.

thanks

[Mike Phillips]

Is there any products that i can use that i can get at my local automotive paint store? i'm sure they dont sale that product you listed but if there is another product that can be used i would appreciate it. also, instrucitons on using the other product would be nice just like you did for the Menzerna.

thanks

Most PBE stores carry 3M and Meguiar's, some also carry a few other brands...

Trying to create a 100% swirl free finish using only a direct drive, rotaty buffer is usually a challenge depending upon your criteria for perfection and how you check for it.

You can try Meguiar's M205 or M09, or 3M Ultrafine

Let us know how it goes...

[#1STUNNA]

What is the softest pad in your kit?

Probably the blue lake country pad.