Swirl free!!!!!

rkf76 · 04-03-05, 06:52

I recently bought a 2001 Ford Taurus SE that was swirled to hell and then some, and it's black. About 3 weeks ago I seen an ad in the paper from Harbor Freight, they were selling a rotary polisher for $30. I snatched it up and used it with a Meguiars W7000 cutting pad and Meguiars Fine Cut #2 to get rid of those horrendous swirls. This was my first time using a rotary and I was impressed at how quickly it removed the swirls with relatively little to no side effects. One thing I did notice was that I got a decent amount of buffer swirls, and I burnt the paint on the rear bumper(nickle sized spot), it took the paint down to the primer!!! I was shocked at how quick it happened, but that was the only tradgedy.

To get rid of the buffer swirls I cracked open my PC 7424, which I just bought 2 weeks ago with a variety of pads, from Top of the Line. I used a 6.5" Lake Country VC white polishing pad and FC #2 with the PC set to #1 to get rid of those buffer swirls. The PC made easy work of it. This was my first time using a PC as well. After all the swirls were removed I put on a 6.5" Lake Country VC black finishing pad and applied some Vanilla Moose with the PC set to 4. This brought out the shine and depth in the paint, it looked very wet and glossy.

After applying the VM, I then waxed the car by hand using S100 and removed it with a microfiber towel. I am very impressed with the work both of these machines did, I made some mistakes along the way but I guess that'll happen when you're using these for the first time. Now it's time to start building up my products, try some new stuff.

Here are a couple pics of the finished product.

ZaneO · 04-03-05, 07:54

Brave soul for using a rotary without practicing, but I guess you did pay the price.

Car looks very nice.

rkf76 · 04-03-05, 08:05

Quote:

Originally posted by ZaneO
Brave soul for using a rotary without practicing, but I guess you did pay the price.

Car looks very nice.

ahaha, I was pretty confident in my skills but quickly humbled by the rotary. It's definitely a disaster waiting to happen in the wrong hands, yet a blessing in the right hands. Considering my lack of experience with it, I think I did alright. I'll definitely pay more attention next time I'm working on a plastic bumper

This was my first time applying VM with a machine and it sure beat working it by hand. Not that it's hard to do by hand, but the results were much better via PC and finishing pad. If only it would stop raining up here

JHowell1976 · 04-04-05, 12:28

Quote:

Originally posted by ZaneO
Brave soul for using a rotary without practicing, but I guess you did pay the price.

Car looks very nice.

Well you have to learn somewhere and a lot of folks don't have a selection of old fenders or cars just laying around to practice on. When I got mine I took it out and went right to work on my miata. No problems. BTW I don't think I have ever seen a Taurus look that good.

J.J. · 04-04-05, 10:13

Definitely looks good. I commend you for your courage with such a new car. I don't like FORDS but I do like black. Good job

Now, lets see the burnt spot!

JJ

seracis · 04-04-05, 08:42

Even though those cars suck to tint, and that alone makes me cringe at the thought of a Taurus, that black looks mighty fine!

rkf76 · 04-04-05, 10:00

Thanks guys for the kind words. I ain't even gonna lie, I was a little nervous using the rotary for the first time after hearing so many horror stories, but for the most part, the stories sounded more like a lack of common sense versus lack of skills. I consider myself to have plenty of both so I figured "what the hell?!"

I have a lil pride in my car now, I think it looks damn good. If only I had a set of 18" black powdercoated rims, that would seal the deal.

I've been on the hunt for Mother's Top Coat, can find the crap anywhere, grrrrr!!!!!!!

PerfectFinish1 · 04-06-05, 01:49

Good work! I'm going to be trying my skills on a 2000 Blazer... I only really messed with the rotary for a few minutes before so this should be interesting.

rkf76 · 04-06-05, 07:56

Quote:

Originally posted by PerfectFinish1
Good work! I'm going to be trying my skills on a 2000 Blazer... I only really messed with the rotary for a few minutes before so this should be interesting.

So long as you take your time, pay close attention and use a little common sense, you'll be alright. Good luck!

BlkTac05 · 04-07-05, 07:27

great job!!

Mark77 · 04-07-05, 09:08

Can a rotary mess things up even if you use it on a very slow speed, low pressure and don't keep it in one place for more than just a second?

rkf76 · 04-07-05, 10:04

Quote:

Originally posted by Mark77
Can a rotary mess things up even if you use it on a very slow speed, low pressure and don't keep it in one place for more than just a second?

Yes, if you are using too abrasive of a pad and the wrong material.

blktac05- thank you sir!