| I do about 99% of my waxing by machine, usually with the Cyclo which is a pretty aggressive way to do it compared to the PC. Works great.
As long as a) the panels and pad are clean, b) you use a pad with no cut, and c) you use a non-abrasive wax, then you won't get swirls or any other marring. What you will get is a thin, evenly distributed application that's worked into the pores of the paint.
Just make sure you a) apply wax evenly on the pad so there aren't any dry areas, b) then scrape as much wax as you can back *off* the pad (you don't need much on there), and c) only reapply to the pad was as truly needed (not as often as most people think), always scrape off any excess.
With the PC I use speed 4-4.5. I don't like super-soft finishing pads for this, but rather soft polishing pads (note that most fine polishing pads don't have any cut of their own, and certainly won't cause micromarring when lubricated with wax). The one "finishing" pad I *do* like for wax-by-PC is the red one from Griot's.
With the Cyclo, I use the white Cyclo "finishing pads", note that I put that in quotes because they're pretty aggressive for finishing pads, much more like light polishing ones.
When you're finished, evaluate your quantity-of-wax-used by how much is still in the pad. If there's an appreciable amount of wax in the pad then you used way too much. There's really no way for me to overstate how little wax (or other LSP) you really need.
Buffing the wax *off* by machine, with MF bonnets, works great too. |