Applying polish

[Klaatu]

I know that it`s best to apply polish in a straight line (ie. back and forth). But, should I apply polish parallel to the scratch, or, perpendicular? It may seem like a trivial question, but, I`d like to know. It seems like I get better results if I go perpendicular to the scratch.



Also, if polishing by hand, what`s the best applicator?



Thanks for any input...

[Accumulator]

I usually end up going in all directions. The idea of going in straight lines is to make any marring less visible. I`d rather just eliminate/not induce the marring and not worry about it. Consider that the popular PC polisher is random orbital goes in all directions and nobody complains that it doesn`t go in straight lines ;)



But yeah, I sorta prefer a perpendicular or perhaps crosshatch approach. And I worry that going parallel to the scratch will sorta increase the "trough" effect, resulting in a valley in the paint.



I do my by hand polishing with a MF, but others prefer terry for aggressive work and/or foam.

[White95Max]

Yeah you should get better results if you apply polish perpendicular to a scratch. But it really shouldn`t matter which way you apply the polish. People say that circular motions cause swirl marks, but in reality, if the product is abrasive enough to cause any marring (or micromarring), it`s going to cause it regardless of the motion of application.



I use MF applicators or terry applicators when polishing by hand. It`s much more effective to use an orbital polisher like the Porter Cable 7424 though. For tighter areas, it`s sometimes easier to use a smaller backing plate and some 4" pads, compared to the large 6.5"+ pads.