Red GMC Pick up

[cgc2]

This Saturdays vehicle.
This truck had major swirls and scratches all over the vehicle, which was a real
bummer and labor intensive, for me to try and correct using a PC.
Its all I have, but I will be purchasing a rotary this week and practicing in the hopes
of getting better results hopefully in less time.
I did not remove all of the swirls. And Lord knows I tried.
The process was:
Wash and clay vehicle
After drying, used Opt.Polish/orange pad on the hood. Did not like the results, so hit again with Opt. Polish/orange pad. Slight improvment, but for the amount of time spent I was hoping for more. Moved up to CG Lazer Buff/orange pad, then Opt.Polish/green pad.
Definitly removed some swirls, but others I just could not "remove".
Continued with this process on the entire vehicle, wiped down w/ CG synth.QD, then topped with Smartwax.
http://www.detailcity.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=7544&stc=1
http://www.detailcity.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=7545&stc=1
http://www.detailcity.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=7549&stc=1
http://www.detailcity.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=7547&stc=1
http://www.detailcity.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=7548&stc=1

[Highwaybound]

looks like a good job in removing swirls.

[deaconlew]

Swirls, what swirls?

[05SilverTRD]

Looks great to me.

[mgm2003]

It looks like it turned out great to me. Nice job!


In my experience Optimum polish via the PC doesn`t have quite enough bite and takes too long. It works very well on the rotary and cyclo. Optimum compound is similiar to the polish, but is a little more aggressive and works VERY well with a burgundy meg`s pad @ 5.5 and it gives you a near flawless finish. It`s not a heavy compound like Diamond Cut, SSR3, etc....

[tubafeak]

Nice job, very wet. Optimum is more of a rotary polish, as stated above. It really works great at 1500 rpms on a makita with an LC orange tufted pad and passes with heavy, moderate, light, and almost no pressure. I don`t think it would work too well on a PC. From your pics it looks like you got just about everything you wanted to get out. Some defects will never go away, I`ve got some scratches on my hood that were there after 6 passes with the Mak and 2.5 on a cutting pad. If you make the rest of the car blindingly beautiful then people won`t be able to see the remaining defects very well. Good of you to step up to the rotary, the difference will amaze you, it`s a bigger difference IMO than the step from hand to PC.

[cgc2]

Tubafreak and MGM....thx for your comments.
I look forward to "stepping" up to the Rotary.

Which pads (Tuba, I see you recommend Megs) would you suggest ?
Im thinking a 6in backing plate w/ 7 inch pads.

Or should I go smaller on the backing plate/pad ?

Thx in advance.

[tubafeak]

I like the LC tufted foam pads for rotary work. They don`t load up and they still give a nice even finish. You can get orange and blue from SMP and totl has the yellow and whites. They`re great pads. I`ve used the LC 6.5 pads that I use on my PC and the results weren`t as great as I would have hoped. I would say that 7.5 is as small as I would go on a rotary, a good one won`t bog down with a larger pad and the outside edge (the part that does most of the cutting work) is moving faster on the larger pad. I`ve heard good things about the edge system, if you were really investing in a comprehensive rotary outfit you might want to look into that, double sided is useful, and always centered solves a lot of rotary headaches that you`ll run into.

[cgc2]

Ok, I really appreciate the feedback Tubafeak. I will look into the Edge system as this is not the first time I have heard positive comments with it, especially when used with a rotary.