Light swirls in new car paint. Should I purchase Adam's Basic PC Kit?

[CGMMNY]

Hello All,



I was told to post my inquiry on this forum to obtain professional detailing guidance so here it goes.....



When I first got my car 4 weeks ago I washed, clay bared and then waxed. This yielded a smooth and shiny finish that I was happy with.



Yesterday while dropping my car off to get the audio system installed I noticed some very light swirls that were only visible in direct sunlight from certain angles. Me being OCD, I decided that I have to do something about this. So before I take a leap of faith and purchase Adams basic PC kit, I have several questions:



1) Would purchasing this kit be overkill for light swirls? If so, what are my other purchasing options to cure this condition?



2) Being that I've already clay bared and waxed my car (did not polish), will I have to clay it again before polishing the swirls out and sealing it?



3) How long do the materials for Adam's kit last? I have several other cars I'd probably detail.



4) Lastly, not being familiar with polishing, what are my chances of damaging my paint?



Thanks in advance for your responses!

 

[Accumulator]

Hello All,



I was told to post my inquiry on this forum to obtain professional detailing guidance so here it goes.....

Welcome to Autopia! I'll try to offer some advice.

When I first got my car 4 weeks ago I washed, clay bared and then waxed. This yielded a smooth and shiny finish that I was happy with.



Yesterday while dropping my car off to get the audio system installed I noticed some very light swirls that were only visible in direct sunlight from certain angles. Me being OCD, I decided that I have to do something about this.

Let me stop right here and trot out some Autopian Heresy (heresy because this site is all about attaining perfection)....How much does the marring *really* bother you? Fixing this stuff can take some time (but OK, with today's products it's not all that bad) but more importantly you only have so much (and it's *not* much) clear to work with over the life of the vehicle.



Until you can avoid marring it up again, I'd think twice about taking off much clearcoat. And most people cause most of the marring when they wash. Washing without marring the paint is incredibly difficult and the how-to is beyond the scope of this thread.



OK, all that said, back to your actual Qs:

So before I take a leap of faith and purchase Adams basic PC kit, I have several questions:



1) Would purchasing this kit be overkill for light swirls? If so, what are my other purchasing options to cure this condition?

NO, not overkill at all and IMO you should probably get something better than the PC. My standard recommendation is the Griot's Garage 6" Random Orbital. A bit more expensive but a whole lot better in most every way.



I'll let somebody else chime in with pad/product recommendations, but I'd look into Meguiar's new MF-based system, the offerings from Optimum, and some newly-tweaked stuff called UNO.

2)Being that I've already clay bared and waxed my car (did not polish), will I have to clay it again before polishing the swirls out and sealing it?

No, the claying is to remove above-surface contamination and you already did that. The polish will cut right through the wax like it's not even there.

3) How long do the materials for Adam's kit last? I have several other cars I'd probably detail.

Noting that most people use *way* too much product, pads usually last a long time and a quart of polish will do a lot of Suburban-size vehicles; a pint of polish will do fewer Suburbans, but will still last a while even if you knock it over and spill it

4) Lastly, not being familiar with polishing, what are my chances of damaging my paint?

Minimal, especially if you understand what you're doing and keep thinking while doing it. Note that some products for this are a *LOT* more user-friendly than others, and which products (including polishes and pads) you need depend on what paint you're working with and what you're trying to do to it.



Once you get your stuff, pick a representative test-area and work on (only) that until you see how it goes. Get that one area OK in all kinds of lighting (a whole subject in itself) before moving on and doing the rest of the car. The idea is that you don't want to do the whole thing incorrectly should something go haywire; do a small area, ask Qs if something goes wrong, and *then* do the whole car.

 

[CGMMNY]

Accumulator,



Thanks for your insight. I think that I will move forward with the Groits Garage polisher being that I found it on sale on Tool Tech for $99 bucks.



In terms of polishing products, do you have any recommendations? I planned on using Meguiars Ultimate Polish. I know that the quality of these polishes can vary, so I just want to make sure if I do decide to go with the Meguiars that I'm making the right decision.

 

[Accumulator]

... I think that I will move forward with the Groits Garage polisher being that I found it on sale on Tool Tech for $99 bucks.

That's money well-spent :xyxthumbs

In terms of polishing products, do you have any recommendations? I planned on using Meguiars Ultimate Polish. I know that the quality of these polishes can vary, so I just want to make sure if I do decide to go with the Meguiars that I'm making the right decision.

The Meguiar's stuff is good. Whether it'll be potent enough for complete correction I can't say, but it oughta at least make things a whole lot better and should be a good way to get started with the whole machine polishing thing. For a product like that, the polishing pads that Griot's sells might be a good choice.



Get some good MicroFiber towels to buff off the polish residue and study up a bit before you try the Ultimate Polish; there are probably some how-to tips that'll make things go smoother than just trial-and-error.



You can always up the aggressiveness later if you think it's necessary.

 

[CGMMNY]

Accumulator, last question. I have a clear bra on the front bumper and half of the hood. Is it safe for me to polish the clear bra?



Thanks

 

[Accumulator]

Accumulator, last question. I have a clear bra on the front bumper and half of the hood. Is it safe for me to polish the clear bra?



Thanks

Opinions vary. I've had Paint Protection Film ("PPF", "clear bra" material) yellow after very mild polishing...seemed to weaken the UV resistance. But I've also polished different PPF on othe vehicles with no problems. So I really don't feel qualified to give a definitive answer.



If you can't pull up enough info for a decision via the dreaded search, you might start a new thread and see what people think; some folks here have a lot more experience with this than I do.