Welcome to AutogeekOnline!
And just to comment... you could never get these kinds of results by hand...
You can clean the paint surface by hand and you can apply a wax by hand but the average person doesn't possess the skill, muscle or technique to actually remove swirls and scratches by hand.
If you're using a PC or Porter Cable 7424XP then a couple of comments...
First, water spots, especially Type II water spots and these are crater etchings where there's actually a kind of hole in the clearcoat, are the worst paint defect in my opinion to have to remove. IF they are only on the roof and the car is a DAILY DRIVER then I would recommend only improving them not trying to 100% remove them because to remove them you may end up removing a lot of the precious and THIN clearcoat.
If the car is a daily driver then chances are they may just come back again, depends on where you park the car and where the source of the water spots originates.
If you do want to remove them 100% then get a Lake Country ThinPro pad because they rotate GREAT on PC type tools and get the orange cutting pad to use with the M105. There is a gray cutting pad that is even more aggressive and we used it for just this purpose but be careful and the gray pads are SHARP and will cut fast.
WE removed Type II Water Spots out of the basecoat/clearcoat paint job on this old 2-door Chevy. We tried using the ORANGE ThinPro pads but they were not aggressive enough so we switched to the GRAY.
1955 Chevy Bel Air with a $15,000.00 Custom Paint Job - How to remove water spots
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...hp?file=105732
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...hp?file=105733
Here's the owner Guy machine polishing for the first time on his $15,000.00 paint job on his incredible 1955 Bel Air
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...hp?file=105752
Now everyone is getting busy...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...hp?file=105753
Guy and his buddy Jay
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...hp?file=105754
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...hp?file=105755
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...hp?file=105805
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...hp?file=105806
http://www.autogeekonline.net/galler...hp?file=105807
I understand why people use Facebook but the fact is... you simply cannot share things like the above on FB. The interface just doesn't work so in my opinion, it doesn't work as well for teaching or learning. Just my own rant. :)
To the OP - More information about our process in the actually write-up plus lots of great pictures. And note, the owner Guy is using a PC and this is his FIRST time machine polishing.
1955 Chevy Bel Air with a $15,000.00 Custom Paint Job - How to remove water spots
Thank you for your purchase and your trust.
Menzerna makes great products and uses great abrasive technology. In my opinion and my experience, abrasive technology is the most important factor when polishing clearcoat paints.
I love and use the Pinnacle Black Label Surface Coating on my wife's Mercedes-Benz with a perfect finish. For my own truck, a 1987 Silverado sitting on 40s, I use a one-step cleaner/wax because it is a daily driver.
While I love how fast and easy the wife's MB washes and dries, and how the paint looks so glassy all of the time, Los Angeles is a very dirty area to live. I know, I taught detailing classes at Meguiar's in Irvine, California for 7 years. Tons of dirt and pollution in the air in LA.
My recommendation is to find a great, light cutting one-step cleaner/wax and use it often. That's what I do and "most" of the time my truck looks great. I need to machine wax her right now, might even do it this week.
Update this thread and let us know your status with this project.
Are you working on a Chevy K20 truck?
:)