Pearl white and swirls - pics attached

[chowfun]

The hood of my pearl white 350Z has an array of swirl marks. I`ve read the DIY sections, and I am still inconclusive; as where to start and what products to purchase. Since then, my nights were circumscribe here on Autopia - beating my brain with new jargons; AIO, DA, SR12, 7424 #14, #22, Z12s, Z12w, etc.



Any advice would be greatly appreciated.



Things I have



Mequiar`s GC Wash

Clay Magic Detailing Kit

Meguiars #16 Professional Carnauba Paste Wax





Things I plan to get:



Porter 7424

__?___ polishing pad

__?___ paint polish

__?___ finishingpad

__?___

__?___





Pics of swirls on my 2004 Pearl white 350z.



http://photos.wasabies.com/sw1.jpg



http://photos.wasabies.com/sw2.jpg

[Juztang]

I would get the pc with at least an orange light cutting pad,white polishing pad, and gray finishing pad. As far as polish,Optimum is my favorite. Optimum works great with no dusting. I would go with at least the Polish and possibly the Compound. You can then top that with a sealant or a wax or both. My favorite sealant is PB EX-P and my go to wax is Natty`s or ClearKote carnuba. Hope this helps!

[imported_Suprchargd]

I would get the pc with at least an orange light cutting pad,white polishing pad, and gray finishing pad. As far as polish,Optimum is my favorite. Optimum works great with no dusting. I would go with at least the Polish and possibly the Compound. You can then top that with a sealant or a wax or both. My favorite sealant is PB EX-P and my go to wax is Natty`s or ClearKote carnuba. Hope this helps!



I`m planning on trying out Optimum`s line soon, what do you think about ordering OP and OHC and just mixing the two to get a mid-level product to fit in between? I was thinking I`m gonna do that but I`m not sure if the results of mixing them would be positive, or if they chemically will mix at all.

[Juztang]

Actually the ONC and OP mixture work great. That way you don`t have to spend the money on the OC. I`ve been using this mixture a lot lately. The new OHC formula is awesome. It works so much better than the old formula. Has a lot more cut.

[Shftup]

Menzerna Final Polish, and final polish II are very good. Over that i have used Menzerna FMJ (full molecular jacket), topped with Optium Car Wax.



I have the same paint, diamond pearl white - Lexus though. But I live where the winter means lots of snow(some salt), and temps of -40C, and its a daily drive.....

[chowfun]

I would get the pc with at least an orange light cutting pad,white polishing pad, and gray finishing pad. As far as polish,Optimum is my favorite. Optimum works great with no dusting. I would go with at least the Polish and possibly the Compound. You can then top that with a sealant or a wax or both. My favorite sealant is PB EX-P and my go to wax is Natty`s or ClearKote carnuba. Hope this helps!



Thanks for the prompt reply and PM Justang.



So this is what I need to resolve my paint swirl woes:





Porter 7424

+ orange light cutting pad

+ white polishing pad

+ gray finishing pad

Sealant = PB EX-P

Polish = Optimum

and I can possibly use my Meg. #16 as the final wax?







Also, are these the proper steps to go about?





Wash car with Meg. GC wash

Clay bar

Wash again (?)

Use PC + orange cutting pad as an applicator for Optimum polish

Use PC + white polishing pad to buff off Optimum polish

Use PC + gray finishing pad as an applicator for PB EX-P sealant

Use PC + white polishing pad to buff off PB EX-P

? What would I use to apply the final Wax?






Menzerna Final Polish, and final polish II are very good. Over that i have used Menzerna FMJ (full molecular jacket), topped with Optium Car Wax.



I have the same paint, diamond pearl white - Lexus though. But I live where the winter means lots of snow(some salt), and temps of -40C, and its a daily drive.....

Thanks for the note, Lexus pearl white is one of the best looking colors around. Where can I find Menzerna products?

[imported_Brock]

That`s pretty much the items I ordered(besides wax) to get scratches out of my new car. I got the OP, orange/blue/green/black pads, and a bunch of buffing/drying mf towels. I already have UPP and S100 for sealer and wax.

I`m hoping I won`t need anything more drastic than OP to polish out my scratches, they`re pretty light. It sounds like you can make OP a little more aggressive just by the pad you use.

good luck with the polishing, I really like PPW(i have a silver Z), it looks great when it`s all clean and polished.

Supposedly, if you work OP in really well with a final pad it`s supposed to leave a good surface for LSP.



p.s. #16 should be a good final wax(I use #26 sometimes, solid version). Just make sure you don`t want to layer multiple coats of the sealant first. Once you put the #16 on you can`t put most products over top.

[chowfun]

That`s pretty much the items I ordered(besides wax) to get scratches out of my new car. I got the OP, orange/blue/green/black pads, and a bunch of buffing/drying mf towels. I already have UPP and S100 for sealer and wax.

I`m hoping I won`t need anything more drastic than OP to polish out my scratches, they`re pretty light. It sounds like you can make OP a little more aggressive just by the pad you use.

good luck with the polishing, I really like PPW(i have a silver Z), it looks great when it`s all clean and polished.

Supposedly, if you work OP in really well with a final pad it`s supposed to leave a good surface for LSP.



p.s. #16 should be a good final wax(I use #26 sometimes, solid version). Just make sure you don`t want to layer multiple coats of the sealant first. Once you put the #16 on you can`t put most products over top.



Hi Brock, ahh another Z buddy on here! The Z is such a beautiful car when kept clean. A silver Z is gorgeous as well - congrats too on your purchase :)



If you don`t mind, can you review my procedure? I`m not sure if I`ll be proceeding correctly. All I know is to apply the OP with the orange pad, but what would I use to buff off? Gray pad would be used for the sealant? What do I use to apply #16 with? Sorry for all the questions - first time doing this.





Wash car with Meg. GC wash

Clay bar

Wash again (?)

Use PC + orange cutting pad as an applicator for Optimum polish

Use PC + white polishing pad to buff off Optimum polish

Use PC + gray finishing pad as an applicator for PB EX-P sealant

Use PC + white polishing pad to buff off PB EX-P

Use PC to apply #16

Use PC + white polishing pad to buff #16

[imported_Brock]

This will be my first time with the PC so I can`t give you expert advise on that. From what I`ve read it`s a good idea to start with the least abrasive item first which would be your OP w/ white polishing pad. If that doesn`t take the swirls out after a couple applications then step up to the orange.

I`ve always used cotton towels to buff but I just ordered some microfiber buffing towels.

Personally, I`d still apply the wax by hand. It`s not that much more work to wipe it on there. Buff off with a nice MF towel.

I don`t know if you want to use a polishing pad to buff off anything either. You`re basically rubbing residue around. You can get MF bonnets for the PC that are supposed to be good for buffing.

[chowfun]

This will be my first time with the PC so I can`t give you expert advise on that. From what I`ve read it`s a good idea to start with the least abrasive item first which would be your OP w/ white polishing pad. If that doesn`t take the swirls out after a couple applications then step up to the orange.

I`ve always used cotton towels to buff but I just ordered some microfiber buffing towels.

Personally, I`d still apply the wax by hand. It`s not that much more work to wipe it on there. Buff off with a nice MF towel.

I don`t know if you want to use a polishing pad to buff off anything either. You`re basically rubbing residue around. You can get MF bonnets for the PC that are supposed to be good for buffing.





So I would use MF bonnets to buff off the Polish, Sealant and Wax? The reason I`m asking is because Meg. #16 is a real PITA to take off.

[firegate]

So I would use MF bonnets to buff off the Polish, Sealant and Wax? The reason I`m asking is because Meg. #16 is a real PITA to take off.



As Brock stated, pads themselves really shouldn`t be used for product removal. Removal with polishing bonnets is also usually a lot more trouble than its worth since the bonnets load up so fast, not to mention that it takes a while. Removing by hand with a few quality microfiber towels is a much better option, especially for removing polish residue.



As far as #16 being difficult to remove, this is a result of it being applied way too thick. 16 needs to be applied in a very thin, even coat. The best advice I`ve heard for applying it by hand with a foam pad is to actually move the pad along the wax cake to gather wax, and then scrape the pad against the inner lip of the can to remove the excess - there will still be more than enough wax on the pad to do a panel. IF you plan to apply #16 via the PC and a finishing pad, just remember that a little goes a long way.

[chowfun]

As Brock stated, pads themselves really shouldn`t be used for product removal. Removal with polishing bonnets is also usually a lot more trouble than its worth since the bonnets load up so fast, not to mention that it takes a while. Removing by hand with a few quality microfiber towels is a much better option, especially for removing polish residue.



As far as #16 being difficult to remove, this is a result of it being applied way too thick. 16 needs to be applied in a very thin, even coat. The best advice I`ve heard for applying it by hand with a foam pad is to actually move the pad along the wax cake to gather wax, and then scrape the pad against the inner lip of the can to remove the excess - there will still be more than enough wax on the pad to do a panel. IF you plan to apply #16 via the PC and a finishing pad, just remember that a little goes a long way.



Thanks for clearing this up.



So, will this be the proper steps:





Wash car with Meg. GC wash

Clay bar

Use PC + orange cutting pad as an applicator for Optimum polish

Buff off with microfiber

Use PC + gray finishing pad as an applicator for PB EX-P sealant

Buff off with microfiber

Use PC to apply Meg. #16

Buff off with microfiber





Where can I find some quality microfibers?



TIA.

[imported_Brock]

autopia-carcare has some great MF towels. I just ordered a bunch of the Sonus and they work great. I`ve never had an easier time buffing or drying. I`ve used MF towels before but now I can tell that quality makes a difference..



Does your car actually need claying? once you wash it you can run your hand over the paint and if you feel bumpiness you`ll want to clay. I`d say it`s about 50/50 when it comes to my cars. Some I`ve had to clay a couple times and some I`ve never had to.



The steps sound good but it wouldn`t hurt to start out with OP on a light polishing pad(blue?) before stepping to OP with Orange.

If you`re using the orange pad you might also need to do a second step of OP with a finer pad to finish it out nicely.

I think you`ll want to experiment though and see what gives you the best results. When I`m trying something out I usually pick a section on the car and see how it works before doing the whole car. OR if I have lots of time I practice on my wife`s car first....haha

[chowfun]

OR if I have lots of time I practice on my wife`s car first....haha



oh man..... that made me laugh out loud... :chuckle:

[imported_Brock]

The best part is, she offers her car up!

she must have lots of faith in me even while I`m learning..

I know it`s just because she hates washing her car though....