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Polisher/Polishing and waxing question(s)

3K views 10 replies 6 participants last post by  BlackBoost2015 
#1 ·
I ordered a griots garage random orbital.
I plan on using this spring, but I am a little hesitant as I have never polished a car before. The thing that worries me the most is the sharp angles on the car. I don't want to burn those areas.
Anyone here use this type of polisher before and do you have any tips?
Also. I have maquires polish and wax. Would this be good to use or should I look into another product?

Any help appreciated.

Thanks,
 
#2 ·
Do not polish edges at all. Get the flats shiny and do the rest by hand if it still needs it, chances are the edges will polish themselves.. I like 3M polish, but McGuire's is ok too. Is the paint oxidized?
I use a Snapon polisher with trigger variable speed and a dial for maximum speed, it's an all metal body and is perfect for polishing as the weight of the polisher is enough that you never need to press down on it. I wouldn't buy any polisher with a plastic body personally and random orbit is not needed if you learn to polish without swirling paint.
Make sure you use a wool bonnet and keep a lot of air in it so it doesn't compress and heat up.
 
#4 ·
If you have oem laytex paint, DO NOT USE A WOOL BONNET! This paint materials does not like heat buildup and that is what a wool bonnet is designed to do...… there are what I call "waffle faced" foam type bonnets that can be purchased online or at any auto body/paint supply shop that are excellent for polishing paint... even apply wax....they are specifically designed for water-based oem paints)

A tip for apprentices is 1) you will find that it is not necessary to use your "big polisher" a lot.... just for maybe the annual detailing. 2) oem paint is this (water based) and if the clear coat is brought down to 3 mil... you will find the paint will fade very quickly …. in short...there is no longer enough paint on the car and there is no correction except to re-paint, 3) protect edges/corners/sharp body edges by running masking tape over them (1/2" is perfect) as this protects the edges from accidental "hits" with the buffer.....these edges are often "raised" as compared to the rest of the flat panels and get for friction applied to them.

As far as products go......Megs, etc. are not badproducts but they just don't hold up or work as well as commercial/professionalgrade products (that actual cost the same or less). You have to remember,everyone uses the same substances to formulate their products, what isdifferent is the purity/concentration & price.....typical retail names aremuch more expensive per ounce than commercial lines.

For specific swirl mark issues Iuse BAF/Pro Car Care Beauty Products P21 Swirl Eliminator & Polish-although for 30 years I used 3M products specifically, I have not been as pleased with the quality of 3M’s hand glaze for the past few years. I typically do not like"combination" type products but P21 is very, very impressive &effective from end result, ease of use & overall effectiveness.

As far as Wax/polish...

The absolute best ($ for $) IMHO is "Satin Cream" (for dark colors),it is made by BAF & distributed through Pro Car Care products. It is veryeasy to work with either by hand, orbital or buffer. It has the same acrylichardener as the high dollar paint sealants but it has 30% German importedcarnauba....no, your arm will not fall off putting it on or taking it off &it has a very mild polish in it as well. Even parking the vehicle outside, theMFG gives a 6 months warranty before another application is required. I usethis personally on my toys & daily drivers (which include a 1997 black Cougarsport) and all I can tell you are not even bugs like to stick to the paint-most of the time when water is applied they just float off- bird poop is justas easy. No smeary look either- very clean clear deep look. On my toys, I givethem a fresh coat about every 2 years (literally, even for a show), my dailydrivers (I have one that sits outside), I apply to the entire vehicle every 6months, and do the hood, roof and trunk every 3 months (probably overkill, butI know it is well protected from the elements including industrial fallout).

For light colored cars I use Profection PaintSealant (P-73-Q)…it is the same product as “Satin Crème” but without thecarnauba….it brings up a much higher shine which on light colored cars looksbetter IMHO (although it has less depth of shine that carnauba gives) and ithas a much higher level of polish in it.….I also use this on all my chrome,stainless, etc…it not only shines it up like new but it is sealed from theelements as well……it works very nice on the poly carbonate headlamp lenses aswell- cleaning up the lighter haze that happens over time.
BAF Industries 1910 S. Yale Street Santa Ana, CA 92704 800-437-9893

An excellent alternate product is 3M Perfect It Show Car Liquid Wax- a siliconewax/polish but excellent results as well, just maybe about 90% of the qualityof the satin cream.....this is readily available online, amazon or any auto body paint supply store as well.

For heavier polishing (compounding) I use 3M finnese series products.
and yes, while I do have a "high end" polisher, unless I have a paint correction issue (where I have had to get out my air brush or gun and spray paint), my orbital is and has been my best friend for 40 years..... and I just use a plain foam pad on it. I remove the residue with felt (heavy cotton) I purchase (about 1 yard at a time for $6-$10) from the local fabric stores.

FYI- one of your best detailing friends is water.... get a small spray bottle and fill it with water.... mist the water onto the pad 1st, then apply your product..... this is a technique I was taught 40 years ago that is still used today by your high end detailers (not the You-Tube trained experts)...… what this does is slows the product dry time...allowing you to work the product longer and reducing the chance at paint damage by reducing heat at the same time. In the summer time (or when temps hit 80+ degrees F) I will also mist the body panels..... you will also find you will get not only more effective results but use less product.
 
#5 ·
I have to go with Beechkid on this one. Use a foam bonnet. IMHO a wool bonnet is likely to damage the paint and leave swirl marks, especially if you're not familiar with using a machine to apply polish. Definitely stay off the edges. I ran my own body shop long enough to see the evolution from acrylic lacquer to today's urethane finishes. If I do anything by machine, I use 3M Finesse it and a foam pad. I usually finish everything by hand just because I like to. I use Meguiare's carnauba wax. I had a 67 GTX in high school and used some stuff called "Like Glass" because my girlfriend's father worked at GM and was fanatic about his cars. I think they still make it but it may not be appropriate for today's finishes. As Beechkid suggested water is good and heat is bad. You may want to use a clay bar first, to remove any contaminates on the paint surface just to be safe.
 
#7 ·
without seeing them, most likely you wax will have enough polish in it to eliminate them...partially by the polishing action and secondly by filling them with wax.... the 3m product is excellent and I think I would give that a try 1st. Also denatured alcohol (which is oilless and available at any hardware store, etc.) is great for wiping down the car prior to polishing, etc....chances are the swirl marks are actually in the previous wax job.....


IMHO, I am a minimalist when it comes to daily drivers (ie keep as much paint on the car as possible)...from the standpoint of doing just the minimum to protect and make the paint look good.... ie start with just a good wax/polish product...if it works - great....try it by hand on what ever spot areas you think need more work...if that fails, ok, time for straight polish and swirl mark remover.
 
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