ira5893

I recently bought a Turtle wax orbital polisher 9'-10'
First i washed the car, then applied meguiars clean wax onto the car then buffed it out with micropad.
After i took the car out in the pm i still saw slight swirls on my car
Any suggestions or tips on how to help me get that fresh clear coat look on my car
my car is a pearl white is300

kennyD

If you're looking to get rid of the swirls, I'm not sure the Megs Cleaner Wax will do that. Depending on the level of damage you have on your clear coat, which will determine the approach you'll need to take. Generally if you're going to do any paint correction, you'll have to prep that paint by cleaning it very well first.

1. Wash (there's definitely a right and wrong way to wash).
2. Decontamination by CLAYING and removing embedded material with some sort of chemical. (this is probably the most important step in the process imo)
3. Correction (swirl, scratches, removal)

Now, the chemical that you mentioned the "cleaner wax" is not going to help you get the results you want. It'll clean the paint yes, but you'll want a compound or some sort of abrasive to remove those scratches and swirls. I've been using Meguiar's M205 and M105 with great results. Mind you, I'm a novice myself. Here is a chart that'll help you.

http://www.auto-geek.net/charts/wax-...art-master.htm

You're going to need a better buffer than the one mentioned. I've used that in the past, and if its the same kind I'm thinking of, they just don't have enough power and isn't designed for proper paint correction.

There is a guy on this forum who is a pro detailer (zcmgovern). I'm sure he will chime in very soon. He's given great tips on how to take care of my Lexus, definitely someone you could ask about proper paint correction.

zmcgovern4

iTrader: (2)

1) Did you decontaminate the paint before attempting to polish? This is a crucial step in the process.

2) A cleaner wax is not designed to remove much of the surface defects. It primarily cleans embedded contaminates and might remove some very minor defects, but you need a true polishing product like Meguiar's Ultimate Compound (more aggressive) and Ultimate Polish (finishing polish) to remove swirls and scratches

3) (and most important) The machine you are using is NOT the proper tool for what it sounds like you are hoping to achieve. The turtle wax 10"orbital machine is a glorified wax spreader... nothing else. It is not powerful enough to do much real work in terms of polishing and correction. The large pad is counterproductive when it comes to defect removal. You want a machine with a 5.5" pad.

Here are some of the products I recommend for decontamination, polishing, and protection.

Decontamination
- Iron X Iron/Fallout Cleanser
- Fine Grade Clay Bar
- NanoSkin Glide Clay Lubricant (dilute in separate bottle)
- Two Waffle Weave Drying Towels to dry clay lube


Machine Polishing
- Porter Cable 7424XP Kit (includes machine, backing plate, 8 Pads and Pad cleaner - a great deal! I would ask for 2 Orange Pads, 2 White Pads, 2 Black Pads, and 2 Blue Pads)
- Meguiar's Ultimate Compound for removing heavier defects/scratches
- Meguiar's M205 Finishing Polish to produce an unbelievable shine
- 10 or more quality microfiber towels for removing polish residue (I typically use 30+ towels per full detail)

Protection
Sealant: Menzerna Power Lock
Wax: Menzerna Color Lock


Please let me know if you've got any more questions.

-Zach

ira5893

Thanks for the great suggestions. about the polisher that i bought would i able to use rubbing compound on it and maybe if i work through it long enough. Luckily might kick the swirls away.
Also would there be another option for a polisher because I don't have extra $ to buy a $200 polisher atm.

zmcgovern4

iTrader: (2)

The porter cable is the cheapest "name brand" polisher available. There is another Dual Action polisher from Harbor Freight that some people use with good results... I have no experience with it though.

The main reason your machine will not work well is the size of the pads. The incredibly large pads combined with a small motor simply do not allow for enough pressure to be applied to properly correct the paint.



Allow me to elaborate from a basic engineering point of view...

Pressure = Force / Area

For simplicity sake, let's compare the area of a 5" pad to a 10" pad.

Since we know that the Area of a cirlce = pi (π) * r², we can calculate the surface area of both the pad and fingertips. Therefore the area of a 5" pad = π*2.5in² = 19.6 in² and the area of a 10" pad = π*5in² = 78.5 in²

Now... for simplicity sake, let's assume that you are exerting the same amount of force on the polisher for both the 5" pads and the 10" pad - I will use 15 lbs of force for these calculations.

Calculating the pressure based on our known force and areas, we see that the pressure exerted on the painted surface by the 5" pad is approximately 0.76 lb/in² (psi) compared to the calculated 0.19 lb/in² (psi) for the 10" pads, therefore you are getting about 4 times the pressure when polishing by with a 5" pad vs. a 10" pad (again, assuming you are exerting an identical amount of force in each instance).

This is why 3" pads are great for spot treating deeper scratches compared to 5.5" pads... the smaller area exerts much more pressure onto the surface without the addition of any extra force from you.

-Zach