Swirl free!!!!!

[rkf76]

I recently bought a 2001 Ford Taurus SE that was swirled to hell and then some, and it's black. About 3 weeks ago I seen an ad in the paper from Harbor Freight, they were selling a rotary polisher for $30. I snatched it up and used it with a Meguiars W7000 cutting pad and Meguiars Fine Cut #2 to get rid of those horrendous swirls. This was my first time using a rotary and I was impressed at how quickly it removed the swirls with relatively little to no side effects. One thing I did notice was that I got a decent amount of buffer swirls, and I burnt the paint on the rear bumper(nickle sized spot), it took the paint down to the primer!!! I was shocked at how quick it happened, but that was the only tradgedy.



To get rid of the buffer swirls I cracked open my PC 7424, which I just bought 2 weeks ago with a variety of pads, from Top of the Line. I used a 6.5" Lake Country VC white polishing pad and FC #2 with the PC set to #1 to get rid of those buffer swirls. The PC made easy work of it. This was my first time using a PC as well. After all the swirls were removed I put on a 6.5" Lake Country VC black finishing pad and applied some Vanilla Moose with the PC set to 4. This brought out the shine and depth in the paint, it looked very wet and glossy.



After applying the VM, I then waxed the car by hand using S100 and removed it with a microfiber towel. I am very impressed with the work both of these machines did, I made some mistakes along the way but I guess that'll happen when you're using these for the first time. Now it's time to start building up my products, try some new stuff.



Here are a couple pics of the finished product.

 

[ZaneO]

Brave soul for using a rotary without practicing, but I guess you did pay the price.



Car looks very nice.

 

[rkf76]

Brave soul for using a rotary without practicing, but I guess you did pay the price.



Car looks very nice.

ahaha, I was pretty confident in my skills but quickly humbled by the rotary. It's definitely a disaster waiting to happen in the wrong hands, yet a blessing in the right hands. Considering my lack of experience with it, I think I did alright. I'll definitely pay more attention next time I'm working on a plastic bumper



This was my first time applying VM with a machine and it sure beat working it by hand. Not that it's hard to do by hand, but the results were much better via PC and finishing pad. If only it would stop raining up here

 

[JHowell1976]

Brave soul for using a rotary without practicing, but I guess you did pay the price.



Car looks very nice.

Well you have to learn somewhere and a lot of folks don't have a selection of old fenders or cars just laying around to practice on. When I got mine I took it out and went right to work on my miata. No problems. BTW I don't think I have ever seen a Taurus look that good.

 

[J.J.]

Definitely looks good. I commend you for your courage with such a new car. I don't like FORDS but I do like black. Good job



Now, lets see the burnt spot!



JJ

 

[seracis]

Even though those cars suck to tint, and that alone makes me cringe at the thought of a Taurus, that black looks mighty fine!

 

[rkf76]

Thanks guys for the kind words. I ain't even gonna lie, I was a little nervous using the rotary for the first time after hearing so many horror stories, but for the most part, the stories sounded more like a lack of common sense versus lack of skills. I consider myself to have plenty of both so I figured "what the hell?!"



I have a lil pride in my car now, I think it looks damn good. If only I had a set of 18" black powdercoated rims, that would seal the deal.



I've been on the hunt for Mother's Top Coat, can find the crap anywhere, grrrrr!!!!!!!

 

[PerfectFinish1]

Good work! I'm going to be trying my skills on a 2000 Blazer... I only really messed with the rotary for a few minutes before so this should be interesting.

 

[rkf76]

Good work! I'm going to be trying my skills on a 2000 Blazer... I only really messed with the rotary for a few minutes before so this should be interesting.

So long as you take your time, pay close attention and use a little common sense, you'll be alright. Good luck!

 

[Glossmaster]

great job!!

 

[Mark77]

Can a rotary mess things up even if you use it on a very slow speed, low pressure and don't keep it in one place for more than just a second?

 

[rkf76]

Can a rotary mess things up even if you use it on a very slow speed, low pressure and don't keep it in one place for more than just a second?

Yes, if you are using too abrasive of a pad and the wrong material.



blktac05- thank you sir!

 

[fivepointoh]

hey rkf, do you know of any good places to buy detailing supplies around here, i.e. pads for the PC and polish/glaze/etc?



I heard ya about the rain... I almost washed my car this morning, good thing I didn't bother.

 

[rkf76]

hey rkf, do you know of any good places to buy detailing supplies around here, i.e. pads for the PC and polish/glaze/etc?



I heard ya about the rain... I almost washed my car this morning, good thing I didn't bother.

Not sure where you are, but here in Portland I found Lake Country pads at Thrify Auto Parts on SE 122nd between Burnside and Division. The only other supplies I've looked for a gotten locally are Mother's FX SynWax and Mother's Reflections Top Coat, both from Baxter's. They didn't have them in stock so they special ordered them for me at 4pm monday, I picked them up at 9am tuesday, and didn't have to prepay! How's that for service?:up :up

 

[Mark77]

Ok i forgot to mention that. But your car looks really nice and the look of it makes me want to get one too. If I use the lowest speed, use a soft buffing pad(Meguiars 8006 or 9006), Meguiars 80 and move the rotary around slowly, will that do the job?

 

[rkf76]

Ok i forgot to mention that. But your car looks really nice and the look of it makes me want to get one too. If I use the lowest speed, use a soft buffing pad(Meguiars 8006 or 9006), Meguiars 80 and move the rotary around slowly, will that do the job?

ahaha, thanks man. So far the car has been good to me, hopefully it stays that way. I used to be in the import scene so getting this was quite a change, but a welcomed one.



This was my first experience with a PC and a rotary so I really can't give you advice on what pads or product to use as I have limited experience. I've only used two polishes in my life, Meguiars(part of thier 3 step system) and Vanilla Moose. Well, I guess Meguiars Fine Cut #2 is a polish, so it's 3. In any case, I think you will find loads of helpful info here on the board, do a search and see if you find what you're looking for. Good luck!

 

[Anthony O.]

Gee, sometimes I feel like the Simon Cowell of the detailing world



I think it looks good also but it's also in the shade and on an overcast day at that. A true test for swirls would be on a bright sunny day. I am not knocking the attempt and it may in fact be swirl free, but shaded pictures is not going to reveal anything but the gloss of the paint.



For example, I was polishing a black car some days back and the owner comes out and says, "How looks great!" My reply was, "Thanks, but I have only washed it! It still needs to be polished" In the shade it looked great but in the sun it was a train wreck



Please don't take any offense as this is not meant to offend you, sorry if it does.



Anthony

 

[klnyc]

^^^ I agree with A.O :werd:

 

[Magellan498]

I think it looks good also but it's also in the shade and on an overcast day at that. A true test for swirls would be on a bright sunny day. I am not knocking the attempt and it may in fact be swirl free, but shaded pictures is not going to reveal anything but the gloss of the paint.

Exactly, the sun is the true test.

 

[rkf76]

Gee, sometimes I feel like the Simon Cowell of the detailing world



I think it looks good also but it's also in the shade and on an overcast day at that. A true test for swirls would be on a bright sunny day. I am not knocking the attempt and it may in fact be swirl free, but shaded pictures is not going to reveal anything but the gloss of the paint.



For example, I was polishing a black car some days back and the owner comes out and says, "How looks great!" My reply was, "Thanks, but I have only washed it! It still needs to be polished" In the shade it looked great but in the sun it was a train wreck



Please don't take any offense as this is not meant to offend you, sorry if it does.



Anthony

No offense taken seeing as how I can't control the weather I might be able to fool you guys, if that were my goal, but I can't fool my eyes so when I say swirl free it means no swirls!