Polishing removes scratches, but also adds some...?

S

southforksooner

New member
I am new to the polishing arena and bought a 7" rotary polisher from Harbor Freight last week. On my 07 Dodge Ram my dogs have, on occasion, stuck their paws out and onto my paint - therefore putting some surface scratches on the paint.



I cleaned the area really well, then put some Turtle Wax polishing compound on my polisher. I put very little pressure on the area and tried to let the machine do the work. Maybe 1 minute later I got all the compound off the truck and voila, the scratch was gone. But in certain sunlight I can see tiny swirl marks all over the area I just polished. I put a coat of wax on right after I noticed this, but that didnt help.



What can I do to stop these swirl marks?



I am using what I think is a cotton pad. The other pad that it came with seems too gritty to use.



Thanks for any help.
 
Simple, "don't use that product", it is old school, old technology,not intended for the PPG clearcoat on your Dodge.

At this point, you need a foam polishing pad and a fine polish, set the dial at slow speed and slowing, carefully, "polish" the area.

DO NOT GET the SURFACE HOT to the TOUCH!

Then, you wipe off with an equal mix of rubbing alcohol and water, dry and look.

If needed, repeat the polishing process, etc.

When it is showing what you want to see, then you put on your wax.

PS, throw the TW compound in the trash or give it to your worst enemy.

Grumpy
 
Ron Ketcham said:
Simple, "don't use that product", it is old school, old technology,not intended for the PPG clearcoat on your Dodge.

At this point, you need a foam polishing pad and a fine polish, set the dial at slow speed and slowing, carefully, "polish" the area.

DO NOT GET the SURFACE HOT to the TOUCH!

Then, you wipe off with an equal mix of rubbing alcohol and water, dry and look.

If needed, repeat the polishing process, etc.

When it is showing what you want to see, then you put on your wax.

PS, throw the TW compound in the trash or give it to your worst enemy.

Grumpy
Click to expand...



Wow, alright. Thanks for the advice. On my polisher it has a foam backing pad that the cotton cover goes over. Do I just use the foam pad with no cover and get some better polish? How do I know that the polish I am getting is 'fine polish'? Does it say it on the product?
 
The cotton pad is not a good idea, they put that in the package for some parts of the world where they use it to apply a paste wax and remove it, main function.

Go to any auto parts store and car care section, Mother's, Mequiar's, 3M, are there.

If in doubt ask who is the one at the store who knows most about your issue.

He may have a favorite, but will direct you to what product to use.

Oh, and get some micro-fiber towels while you are there if you don't have any.

There are many here on the forum who have their "favorites" and will say one is better than the other, etc.



Any of the known, OTC products mentioned will do what you need to do.

The main sponsor of this forum has some good polishes as well, so you may wish to contact them and see what they have to offer.

The foam pad set up they show on the Home page is a great selection of pads for you to start with if you plan on learning more about buffing and doing other work on your or relatives vehicles.

No real reason at this point to go spending money on-line to buy some boutique products.

Grumpy
 
I may have made a mistake regarding your polish unit.

The model I have, in addition to my Dewalt and Milwaukee, is the 7" Variable Speed Sander/Polisher, part #92623, it came with a white foam pad and cotton bonnet.

Good little unit, really like it for small jobs and well worth the money.

The rotary they sell, will use the 3D's pads, and they will give you a selection of pads for "cutting", for "polishing".

Sorry about the confusion, but my Chief's are once again missing in action as some street thugs got in the locker room and suited up for the game.

Grumpy
 
Ron Ketcham said:
I may have made a mistake regarding your polish unit.

The model I have, in addition to my Dewalt and Milwaukee, is the 7" Variable Speed Sander/Polisher, part #92623, it came with a white foam pad and cotton bonnet.

Good little unit, really like it for small jobs and well worth the money.

The rotary they sell, will use the 3D's pads, and they will give you a selection of pads for "cutting", for "polishing".

Sorry about the confusion, but my Chief's are once again missing in action as some street thugs got in the locker room and suited up for the game.

Grumpy
Click to expand...



Thats the same polisher I have from HarborFreight. So I have been using that cotton bonnet. Is that alright? Next time I am in town I will see what AutoZone has as far as polishes.



Is it right to just try and polish those surface scratches out? Or do I need to wetsand first?



Thanks for all your help.



I see what you are talking about with the Chiefs, they are getting trashed the last couple weeks - I didnt see last week's result coming though.
 
Don't know how to answer that since I can't see or feel the imperfections.

If the scratches catch your finger nail, they are too deep to do other than just "smooth" them out or you could damage the clearcoat.

Wait until you can get some good pads and polish before doing more.

I would not use the cotton bonnet for other than using by hand to clean dirty parts out of the parts cleaner.

Grumpy

(Chief's haven't won a game since last Dec-grrrrrr!)
 
I would agree that the turtle wax is not what you should be using. Also I bought a harbor Freight polisher and have gotten much use out of it. The only accessory that is any good that came with it is the softer pad might as well chuck the others or if you plan on doing some sanding keep the sanding disc. The advice given by Ron is very good and I just wanted to give a little more help. If you can google local pant shops that might be close to you they usually carry pads and more professional products that will work much better than most over the counter products. But I have also seen some of the Meguiars mirror glaze line 105 and 205 at advance auto parts here in Colorado. They also had the finishing pad, yellow polishing pad, and burgundy cutting pad. If you can find those products I would recommend Meguiars 205 on the yellow cutting pad. If you cannot find that I would give Meguiars ultimate compound a shot, which can be found pretty much anywhere. Also search on here or youtube some info on rotary polishing to help give you a better idea.
 
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