what pads and polish for swirl free with PC DA?

[g725s]

Ok, it has been about 3yrs since I waxed my Ford E150 Van. But I've only washed it with a soft sponge and plenty of water, so the swirling is not too bad. It is dark metallic forest green in color and definitely has a clear coat. I feel it is a good paint job.



I have never machined polished it however. It is parked outside and has been for 6yr now. I clay bared it and used Meguires cleaner wax by hand for starters.



I have tried with my PC some 3M Perfect-it 3000 Swirl Mark Remover (we had at work) using a yellow 6.5" polishing pad from Meguires on just a few places that I felt needed a polish of this degree.



I would not want or need to use the 3M Swirl Mark remover everywhere though, I feel I have just one more spot to do with it and that should be enough. The 3M Swirl Mark remover worked good but I was only able to do very small areas, it seemed to break down and dry out quick.

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What I would really like to do though is polish the paint so that there would be no swirl marks at all. I would also like to have a smaller pad, like a 4" one, for this operation as well.



I've only got 1 unused Meguires 6.5" yellow polishing pad left. I had a finishing pad but regretfully tested it with some Meguires Gold Class clear coat wax on a panel. That is when I realized I wanted to use the PC DA polisher to try and get rid of all the swirl marks.



I tried Pep Boys and Kragens locally for something like Meguires #82 swirl free polish but did not find it. Neither place had pads or backing plates for the PC either.



Could I use my remaining 6.5" Meguires yellow pad to get a swirl free finish? Again I'd feel I could also need a smaller 4" or so pad for some areas, but I'd also need to get a Velcro backing plate for that. And what polish should I get for a PC DA polisher for what I want to acheive? Would the #82 Meguires with my remaining yellow 6.5" pad do the trick if I could find the #82 locally?

 

[GoudyL]

What I would really like to do though is polish the paint so that there would be no swirl marks at all. I would also like to have a smaller pad, like a 4" one, for this operation as well.

Can't be done, you'll always find a new swirl to worry about. :woot

I've only got 1 unused Meguires 6.5" yellow polishing pad left. I had a finishing pad but regretfully tested it with some Meguires Gold Class clear coat wax on a panel. That is when I realized I wanted to use the PC DA polisher to try and get rid of all the swirl marks.

Wash it off, and it will be just fine.

Would the #82 Meguires with my remaining yellow 6.5" pad do the trick if I could find the #82 locally?

All you need is a fine cut compound. Depending on where you are, you'll be able to get Meg's UC and SwirlX (which is what you really want) or Turtle Wax Premium Grade rubbing and polishing compounds. You can then use KIT scratch out as a finishing polish since it is very fine and mild.



Where I'm at Meg's UC/SwirlX run about $10/15.2oz, vs $7/18oz for the turtle wax, and $5.5/14oz for Scratch Out Liquid. I'd keep some QD/clay lube spray handing to keep the compounds moist while you are working them.

 

[scary bill]

The yellow megs pads are good for polishing. Was the 3m smr working? If so, then why not just use it.



I have M82, it can be slightly trick to use and really doesn't have much cut. M80 would be a better choice.



Smaller pads will allow a PC to do more, but the safety margin gets smaller. Do some reading in this sub forum for more on 4" pads.

 

[g725s]

Was the 3m smr working? If so, then why not just use it.

Smaller pads will allow a PC to do more, but the safety margin gets smaller. Do some reading in this sub forum for more on 4" pads.

Yes, the 3M Perfect-it 3000 Swirl Mark Remover was working in areas like where the doors are grabbed and around the door latch. But you could still see light swirls. And looking into the info on that line it seemed that 3M Ultrafina was a step to be used after the SMR.



I did search for info on the smaller pads. It gets confusing on which ones to get. I see the Lake Country has 5.5" but that does not seem like a big decrease from the 6.5" Meguires. Who had the 4" pads you are talking about?

 

[a.k.a. Patrick]

5.5, IME are better suited for polishing cars. 4" are great for pillars and bumpers, glass cleaning/polishing, and water spot removals. I wouldnt get into the habit of polishing entire jobs with one, not to say it couldnt be done. Just that you may go through (expend) additional pads using smaller pads on larger surfaces. They tend to heat up quickly if not allowed a little "breathing time".

 

[g725s]

The Lake Country site is confusing. I did not think they had 4" pads for the PC. But I followed a link in a banner her at autopia.org to a site called autogeek.net and they described the product line of LC pads much better. And now I see that they do have 4" pads for the PC.