Having the most difficult time removing swirls in 1966 Cobra replica paint

[wgilles]

Hey There,

I'm currently working on a red 1966 Shelby Cobra replica. It has lots of swirls and fine scratches on the paint. At first it didn't look too bad, so I went at with XMT #3 and an LC orange CCS pad on my PC 7424XP.

NO success, swirls were still there. So I tried out XMT #4, also on a LC Orange CCS pad. This worked slightly better and removed the fine scratches, but barely did anything did the swirls. I went over the same area about 3 times and CANNOT get these swirls out.

I've made sure I'm using the correct technique, going in slow overlapping section passes. I've tried 8 to 12 section passes with no success.

What am I missing here?! Is it possible the dang clear coat is so hard it just won't let me work?

Any thoughts?

 

[mwoolfso]

Assuming you are following general guidelines on speed settings, try a yellow pad with XMT #3 (or 4), and see what you end up with. If it still doesn't do the deed you probably need a more aggressive swirl remover. If that doesn't do it then I'd consider moving to a flat pad and/or a rotary.

 

[wgilles]

Ok, problem solved. I was talking with my Dad about it and he brought me some "Presta Chroma 1500" he had laying around in the garage. We put it on with the Orange pad and it worked like a dream.

It's used for removing 1500 grit sanding marks, but it put a nice finish on the paint as well. I would assume it's similar to Megs #105??

 

[Kaban]

Ok, problem solved. I was talking with my Dad about it and he brought me some "Presta Chroma 1500" he had laying around in the garage. We put it on with the Orange pad and it worked like a dream.

It's used for removing 1500 grit sanding marks, but it put a nice finish on the paint as well. I would assume it's similar to Megs #105??

Definitely sounds like a nice compound.

Sometimes a clear is pretty hard so mild polishes or "swirl removers" won't do much even if used with a medium cutting pad on a rotary.

Congrats on figuring it out.

 

[OhTwoGT]

Sounded like you figured it out but you just needed a little more aggressive compounds. Thats why doing test spots is a must so that you're not working your butt off and not getting results.

 

[5.4 Shelby]

IME, XMT#4 is pretty agressive. Almost like sandpaper in a bottle.

 

[bigdriver4u]

I'd like to know what type of paint is on the vehicle? Original base or a newer with clear coat?

 

[wgilles]

IME, XMT#4 is pretty agressive. Almost like sandpaper in a bottle.

Exactly, which is why I'm surprised it didn't work!!

I'd like to know what type of paint is on the vehicle? Original base or a newer with clear coat?

It is original paint. Keep in mind it is a replica, so the paint was put on when the car was bought in 2008 I believe. I couldn't tell you exactly what type/brand/etc the paint or clear coat is. The stuff I found worked so I'm just going to keep working with it on this car rops:

 

[wgilles]

I picked up some Megs 105 and was able to get the swirls out, but without the gloss effect the Presta gave. The Megs is a little cheaper and easier to get so I think I'll stick with that.