Newbie with a PC...what did I do wrong?

[BlackWS602]

I got a PC now and I went over my whole black car with it with a white polishing pad and 3M 39009. Now my car is is worse off than when I started. There are swirls now all over the car.



I had the PC set on 3.5-4 and was moving pretty slowly back and forth and up and down.



What am I missing here?

[White95Max]

How did you wash the car before your started polishing? Was your pad clean?

[JasonD]

In addition to the above questions, which white pad are you referring to? Is this the pad that came with the PC?



What kind of towels did you use to buff the excess off with?



Last, you might not have used a high enough speed to allow the polish to do its job. I do all of my polishing efforts on speed 5 and work the product until it starts to dry or *dust* and then remove the excess. If you don`t allow the polish`s abrasives to break down, you will actually create swirls because you aren`t finishing the job.

[BlackWS602]

Originally posted by White95Max

How did you wash the car before your started polishing? Was your pad clean?



I washed the car twice with somax i believe it`s called (some type of german car wash soap)



then I blew it dry.



Pad was brand new and never used.

[BlackWS602]

Originally posted by JDookie

In addition to the above questions, which white pad are you referring to? Is this the pad that came with the PC?



What kind of towels did you use to buff the excess off with?



Last, you might not have used a high enough speed to allow the polish to do its job. I do all of my polishing efforts on speed 5 and work the product until it starts to dry or *dust* and then remove the excess. If you don`t allow the polish`s abrasives to break down, you will actually create swirls because you aren`t finishing the job.



Well I bought the PC in a kit from one of Autopias sponsors. It came with an orange pad, white pad, and gray pad.



I also used the microfiber towels included in the kit which were brand new.



I also never let the polish dry. Maybe this is where my problem is.

[BlackWS602]

Another thing, the car looks bad *** in the garage, but I pulled it into the sun yesterday and it`s real swirly looking. Like it`s obviously been hit with a buffer

[JasonD]

Originally posted by BlackWS602

Well I bought the PC in a kit from one of Autopias sponsors. It came with an orange pad, white pad, and gray pad.



I also used the microfiber towels included in the kit which were brand new.



I also never let the polish dry. Maybe this is where my problem is.



Good, you are working with quality materials. I am definitely thinking that you didn`t use a high enough speed to allow the polish to break down correctly and do its job. You may also want to think about switching to another polish. I have a brand new bottle of 39009 sitting on the shelf because I never plan on using it. That particular polish says Swirl Mark Remover but (from what I`ve been told) it`s more of a glaze than a polish and just fills the swirls in. If you really want your black car to look good, I suggest switching to 3M PI III RC and 3M PI III MG. This will provide much better results and you can probably find them at the same exact place you bought your 39009. Use the RC with your orange pad and the machine polish with the polishing pad.

[BlackWS602]

You wouldn`t happen to know if you can pick that up at Wal-Mart or any big name auto parts stores? I found the 39009 at a little local machine shop type place.

[JasonD]

I haven`t seen it my local Walmarts but I have seen them at PepBoys, Autozone, NAPA, and almost every single body shop supply store.

[JasonD]

You`re looking for 39012(MG) and 05933 (RC)



Both can be seen here: 3M Site (http://products3.3m.com/catalog/us/en001/auto_marine_aero/automotive_aftermarket/node_GS98DLQLRZge/root_GST1T4S9TCgv/vroot_GSLPLPKL4Xge/theme_us_aad_3_0/command_AbcPageHandler/output_html)

[BlackWS602]

Thanks alot man. Our Autozone doesn`t have it so I`ll just stop by Napa in the morning.

[BlackWS602]

I just taped off a before and after square on my hood and retried a section with the 39009. I ran it at 5 and then bump it up to 6 till there was really nothing but a very faint haze/film. All swirls are gone in that square.



I hit it with a shop light and it was flawless, and everyone with a black car knows that a shop light reveals everything fly fart on your paint.



Thank you Jason for correcting my flawed method.



Happy Detailing.

[JasonD]

You`re very welcome. I`m just glad you were able to figure it out so easily.



I would still look into those other two products for a more flawless finish. I know that 39009 does have some fillers in it, so the swirls will *eventually* come back whereas if you polish your car with PI III MG prior to the SMR, you will actually have longer lasting results and probably a better looking finish than even now.



Good job though figuring that out.

[JasonD]

One more thing I forgot. Watch your pad when running at speed 6. I find that speed 6 causes the pad to get caked up fairly quickly, and you don`t want that because it will cause hazing. I usually take my good old time on speed 5 and never have problems.

[BlackWS602]

Yea I still plan on going on buying those two other 3M products.



I guess for your first time PC/buffer user speed is a scary thing. I see a better looking car from here on out. I can`t wait for my Pinnacle to show up tomorrow :)