Light scratches and swirls in my black Miat after compounding and polishing

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cday119

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I have a 2010 black hardtop Miata. I've had it for a few months. It came from the dealer with heavy swirl marks and a few scratches. Here's what I've done so far, all using a DA polisher:

  • Meguiar's Ultimate Compound on a 6 in. Cutting Pad from harbor freight
  • Meguiars Polish on a 6 in polishing pad from harbor freight
  • Klasse All-In-One polish on a 6 in polishing pad
  • Meguiars Wax on a 6 in detailing pad from harbor frieght

It greatly improved my car but there are still some swirl marks. I feel like I should move to a more abrasive compound. What do you think of using the 3m extra cut rubbing compound on the 6 in cutting pad? Or is that too much abrasiveness?

Any other advice for working on black cars. This is the first time I've used a DA polisher. Thanks!
 
Rather than going with rubbing compound, you might try a little bit tougher compound like Menzerna 400, Blackfire SRC Compound, Prima Cut, or maybe Poorboys 2.5.

I like Meg's UC and it's a good product, but as a safe consumer-grade product, it might not have the cut of other products on the market.

A quick search here will give you tons of threads regarding black cars. I own one too, and it's a labor of love for sure.
 
You might want to think about stepping up to a rotary polisher instead of a d.a.
 
I'd also suggest a smaller backing plate with smaller pads. When I changed to a 5" plate, results were much better, and easier.

As for pads, I use LC Hydro-Tech.
 
cday119 said:
I have a 2010 black hardtop Miata. I've had it for a few months. It came from the dealer with heavy swirl marks and a few scratches. Here's what I've done so far, all using a DA polisher:

  • Meguiar's Ultimate Compound on a 6 in. Cutting Pad from harbor freight
  • Meguiars Polish on a 6 in polishing pad from harbor freight
  • Klasse All-In-One polish on a 6 in polishing pad
  • Meguiars Wax on a 6 in detailing pad from harbor frieght

It greatly improved my car but there are still some swirl marks. I feel like I should move to a more abrasive compound. What do you think of using the 3m extra cut rubbing compound on the 6 in cutting pad? Or is that too much abrasiveness?

Any other advice for working on black cars. This is the first time I've used a DA polisher. Thanks!
Click to expand...

I'm assuming these steps came after iron X, claying??

Agree with better pads. I wouldn't think the HF would be bad enough to swirl, but you never know. More aggressive compound if needed Menzerna F400 or Meg's M 101.
 
DaveT435 said:
I'm assuming these steps came after iron X, claying??

Agree with better pads. I wouldn't think the HF would be bad enough to swirl, but you never know. More aggressive compound if needed Menzerna F400 or Meg's M 101.
Click to expand...

No iron x! I forgot that. I think I'll grab a bottle of that and some tar x, maybe some Menzerna FG400 and some new pads. Then give it another try.
 
Agree on the new pads, but first get a quality 5" backing plate so you can use quality 5.5" pads. Assuming you have the HF DA it is more powerful than a PC, but still benifits from the smaller BP and smaller pads. Every backing plate and pad from HF I've seen have been of poor quality.
 
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