Hey man,
Got your PM. First thing i'd say is, are you sure you still have swirls...or are you actually being left with really bad marring from your compound?
Stay with me on this...the reason i ask is because i recently had another forum member call me who was having trouble with ceramic clear on a Benz, and i went through everything with him...he had even sanded and pulled out the sanding marks...so i asked if he had done a test spot..he said yes...but got nothing to matter what he tried...i was stumped.
Well 2 days later i spoke to him...and it wasnt swirls that was left, it was sever marring, after he POLISHED the area...it glossed up and was nice and clear....so check for that first.
Secondly - this ties into the 1st part...work a test area...dont hop all over the car...you gotta dial that process in and it might take a damn long time, but try to figure it out. I saw you were cranking on speed 5...i usually dont have to go over speed 3.5-4. And since a lot of the 21's power is from MOMENTUM, a larger pad may actually help you get BETTER cut...its kinda like swinging a ball and chain around...sure a smaller ball will swing around faster...but a bigger ball will pack more power because its swing around so much more mass...the difference between a 5.5" pad and a 6" or 6.5" pad might not seem like much, but it really is quite significant.
The slower speed will keep the compound from drying up too quickly and thus caking up and not working at its full potential. Often times a mist or 2 of water can really help extend the buffing cycle.
Third, are you keeping your pad clean? 101 is some very aggressive compound, its what i used on the S5 we just did...and it worked very well, but i had to clean my pad CONSTANTLY. If you dont, residue and clear will build up and you can marr the whole hell out of the finish, so much so that it'll look like its still swirled, but in fact you're actually just inducing them yourself.
Also, do you have an LED light or just a brinkmann type light or what? Working with white can be a PITA, sometimes TOO Much light will actually flood out the paint and you cant see a damn thing..hold that light back quite a ways and then closer...find the sweet spot that lets you really see what defects are there.
Lastly, be sure you PRIME your pad via Kevin Brown Method. Not sure if you are or not but, it can really increase your cut (if the actual problem here is the fact you're not getting enough cut).
It's funny because i was JUST finishing my write up on the S5 we did when i got your PM, here is the link to it, maybe you'll find something in it that will help?
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...int-correction-cquartz-finest.html#post958054
If you have any other questions just let me know, i'd be more than happy to try to assist.
rops:
. Only ones ive found so far that have been consistently lint free (as long as i dont wash em' with other linty towels) are my Korean 460 gsm towels...i sell them to customers as well and they love em.