Swirl Marks

[360CS]

Hi Guys my first post.



I run my own detailing company and am after some advice.



I am thinking about offering paintwork correction ie removing swirl marks, the tools I have at the moment are:

Makita 9227 CB Polisher

3 different pads ie one for 2 tone, one for all, and one for finish.

Zaino Z-PC

Also have some Farecla G3



I don`t have any idea on what I am doing so would love some advice ie do`s dont`s etc :nixweiss



I treated a car the other day and I noticed a mark in the front wing. He wanted to remove it, so I said I have a machine polisher, but I have not used it yet so did not want to take any blame if things went wrong. He said thats fine go ahead. I went ahead using the polisher with the pad for all paintwork types and the Zaino Z-PC, it pulled the mark out and was very happy, but when I was looking closer it had left a small darker patch in colour. Any ideas why. It was a red car. Was I using to much force or did I pull it back to far???? :nixweiss



Many Thanks for your time guys

[M-M]

I`m not asking this as a flame or with any disrespect, but is it normal for a "professional"

detailing company to not offer machine polishing? I realize Scottwax did it for a long time, but his knowledge and results speak for themselves. If at present you do not offer machine polishing do you typically do everything by hand, or are you using a PC and wanting to step up to a rotary?

I do not use a rotary polisher now, only a PC. I guess I am too afraid of messing up the paint on my car, let alone anyone elses.

I would expect the advise you would get from experienced rotary users is that you sould practice on a fender from a junkyard before ever trying the tool on a customer`s car.

[360CS]

Can you explain the difference between a pc and a rotary??



I am in the uk, detailing is a bit behind the usa side of things.

[TFin04]

Well it is a good thing you`re asking questions first, but wouldn`t most professional detail shops already have a handle on issues like this?



There is a lot of good info on here about any type of scratch or paint discoloration you want. I`m still new at this so I wont offer up any advice. If you search around a bit I`m sure you`ll find what you`re looking for.

[White95Max]

A PC (Porter Cable 7424/7336sp) is an orbital polisher.

A rotary is a polisher that spins in a constant circular motion, unlike the spinning+wobbling motion of the PC.



I think the darker spot where you polished could be the true color of the paint. The oxidation or haze from micromarring on the rest of the paint could be holding back the true vibrance of color that should be exposed.

[M-M]

A PC is an orbital polisher, it does not produce nearly as much friction and heat as a rotary. It is much harder to do any damage to your paint with a PC.



A rotary simple spins, you can generate more friction, and therefore more heat with this.

You can easily damage the paint, but along the same lines you can also repair more defects with a rotary.

What you listed that you own is a rotary. I would do a search here for tips on using a rotary, there is alot of information to be had.



How dark is the spot, is it just a darker shade of the rest of the car?

What kind of condition is the rest of the car in?

Have any pictures of the car and/or spot?

[the other pc]

Hi 360CS, and :welcome to Autopia.



I`ve gotten the impression from our comrades in the UK that good information on products and techniques is not easy to come by over there. You`ve found the right place here. Spend some time reading through the forums, detailing guide section and detailing guide e-book. I`m sure many of your questions will be answered.



I would also recommend Meguiar`s Online as another excellent site for detailers.



Please forgive us for being quite surprised and more than a little concerned about your using the rotary buffer in this situation. It`s a very powerful and effective tool but can also do considerable damage if not used correctly. It`s generally suggested that you get a great deal of practice with one before taking it to your car and especially before approaching a customer`s car with it.



I hope that White95Max is right about exposing the true color of the finish. It`s also possible that you tore through the clearcoat and exposed the basecoat.



Pictures would really help.





PC.

[Brazo]

Whereabouts are you in the UK mate? You could also try www.detailingworld.co.uk as well as megs uk and as said above megs online

[Anthony O.]

I mean no offense here, truly I don`t and I don`t know how else to state this....so here goes. I am shocked that you would call yourself a "professional" when you lack training in application of products, use of tools and also lack the proper tools and chemicals.



I suggest you get some proper training from an experienced professional. Look for some detailing schools in your area if possible. Now you say that the info there may be lacking and if that be true then at least you have asked for help. Most people just dive head first into it and end up ruining someones car.



Many on this forum will help you out, including myself, but I would only do car washes for now until you get more experience and knowledge under your belt. Again I mean no offense here and if you take it as such please forgive me, not my intention.



What`s your budget like? Who are you targeting as customers? How does the weather effect your business? Are you mobile or in a fixed location?



Hope I can be of some help.

Anthony

[aaron33]

And check the pad that you used if there is any red paint stains on it. If there are none, then all you did was remove the oxidation to reveal the true paint colour.

[White95Max]

Well he could have red stains on the pad and still have just removed oxidation. It would just mean he was dealing with an oxidized red single stage paint. It doesn`t necessarily mean anything went wrong.

[benpocock]

360CS,



If I were you (and this is what I did), I`d get up every morning and read every single new post on every single thread here at Autopia (being in the UK means that our US chums are busy posting away whilst we`re alsleep, so there`s always about 300 new posts when we get up). Gradually you`ll start to learn about what machine does what, when to use it, what products to use it with, how to use it and also what you can expect the machine to achieve. Off the back of all this reading you`ll start to ask yourself questions which you should then use the search facility to answer. Unlike most other forums, the one here at Autopia actually works (although I`d suggest just searching thread titles).



When you`ve done this, you`ll no doubt want to order a PC and some more product to try out (I got a PC from Autopia Car Care, some Meguiars #80 and #83 - if you don`t know what these are, you soon will). Then find yourself a friend with a car that`s a bit knackered (I used a friend`s work van) to practice on. Then, and only then, when you have more confidence in your ability and can honestly say "I know what I`m doing", can you think about going out to machine polish client`s cars.



Like I said, this is what I did, and I now have a raft of satisfied customers and have some fairly extensive plans as to where I want my company to go. One last bit of advice though - master the PC before you even think about picking up a rotary - they are totally different animals and as has been mentioned before, you can do more damage than good with the latter.



HTH,

Ben

[Ed Fisher]

Can you explain the difference between a pc and a rotary??



I am in the uk, detailing is a bit behind the usa side of things.

Are you serious or yanking tails here ? You are a pro detailer and asking this question ? :think: