2012 Black Mazda-need advice

[sloan66]

Well onto the next car! Y'all were very helpful on directing me with my old single stage, so now I need help with the wives car (the most important one!) She has a 2012 Mazda cx9, black. I have searched an it seems most say Mazda paint is soft and easy to correct. The car sit outside 24/7, has the typical swirls nothing real bad. I have a Porter Cable DA and want to try my hand a machine polishing. Need suggestions and tips on product, pads, etc. Thank you in advance.


I am up to speed on proper wash, and clay. I do have #7 left over from the GTO, not sure if that should be used.

 

[Desertnate]

I would not advise using the #7 as that is a fairly specific product based on what Mike Phillips has mentioned while documenting restoration work on classic cars.

What size backing plate do you have on the PC?

Since this is your first go at machine polishing I'd recommend keeping it simple with easy to use products.

My advice as a fellow family fleet maintainer:
- 5" Lake Country Backing plate (if you don't already have one)
- 5.5" Lake Country Flat Pads. Orange, White, and Black or Blue should work.
- Meguiars Ultimate Compound and Ultimate Polish
- Collinite 845 as the LSP

You may not need the orange pads or the compound, but it's always better to have them on hand in case the polish on a white pad doesn't correct as needed. I'd start with the polish on a white pad and see how well it works. For a Mazda in good shape, it may be all you need. My gray metallic 2010 Mazda3 is very easy to work on.

The polish and compound are very easy to work with, available everywhere, and inexpensive. The 845 is also easy to work with if you follow the advice many have provided here, looks amazing, is inexpensive, and I've found it to be very durable (6 months easy).

I've always taken the approach of using quality, inexpensive, easy to use products to learn technique with low risk. Once comfortable with doing the work I branch out and experiment with products.

 

[sloan66]

Awesome feedback, thank you. Yes I do have a 5" so I will follow your suggestions.

 

[ski2]

An alternate suggestion:


5.5" Buff & Shine flat pads Orange, White or Green and a red for LSP application.
The B&S pads are extremely durable and have a recessed Velcro which adds another margin of safety when polishing near protruding objects like mirrors etc
Rather than a compound and polish you could keep it simple for your first attempt at this by using HD Adapt. It's a mild compound that is pad dependent so you if you need further refinement after your aggressive step (but I doubt you'll need it) then you can switch to a softer pad with the same product for finishing.