First posting on AGO for advice.
I began machine polishing with a PorterCable 7424XP this summer on my 2010 Mazda 3 and my girlfriends 2012 Hyundai Elantra. I've always taken care of our cars and find it extremely easy to maintain the paint on these newer finishes with a white or black pad and a combination of light polishes and waxes. About 2 weeks ago I purchased a 2001 Corvette with Magnetic Red tint coat. The paint looks to be in good condition, but sunlight quickly reveals short random light scratches. I've attached a picture and you can see around the light source parts of these scratches. Due to the constant rain up here in PA I have not been able to take any outdoor shots.
I decided to use the hood as a test spot because of the ease of which I can work and the majority of the defects are in this location. After a wash and clay of the hood, I started with XMT 360 to clean and remove light swirls with a black pad. No change. I stepped up to XMT #1 with a white pad and still no change. My third test spot consisted of XMT #3 with an orange pad. I managed to remove the larger swirls and scratches, but the smaller random swirls remain. They are really hard to notice, even with light(must look at sharp angles), but they stick out in the sun.
I'm hoping to get some advice on what products and combinations I should try next. This car is pleasure driven and garage kept only. I would like to restore this to show quality and put a high quality wax on to protect it(I'm thinking Griot's liquid wax). I plan on purchasing Optimum's No Rinse Wash & Shine soon and would like to add any products I need to remove the swirls to this order.
Thanks in advance for any help!
I began machine polishing with a PorterCable 7424XP this summer on my 2010 Mazda 3 and my girlfriends 2012 Hyundai Elantra. I've always taken care of our cars and find it extremely easy to maintain the paint on these newer finishes with a white or black pad and a combination of light polishes and waxes. About 2 weeks ago I purchased a 2001 Corvette with Magnetic Red tint coat. The paint looks to be in good condition, but sunlight quickly reveals short random light scratches. I've attached a picture and you can see around the light source parts of these scratches. Due to the constant rain up here in PA I have not been able to take any outdoor shots.
I decided to use the hood as a test spot because of the ease of which I can work and the majority of the defects are in this location. After a wash and clay of the hood, I started with XMT 360 to clean and remove light swirls with a black pad. No change. I stepped up to XMT #1 with a white pad and still no change. My third test spot consisted of XMT #3 with an orange pad. I managed to remove the larger swirls and scratches, but the smaller random swirls remain. They are really hard to notice, even with light(must look at sharp angles), but they stick out in the sun.
I'm hoping to get some advice on what products and combinations I should try next. This car is pleasure driven and garage kept only. I would like to restore this to show quality and put a high quality wax on to protect it(I'm thinking Griot's liquid wax). I plan on purchasing Optimum's No Rinse Wash & Shine soon and would like to add any products I need to remove the swirls to this order.
Thanks in advance for any help!