Sorry I forgot to answer the question. I used Simonize Cordless Car Polisher and now I hate it.
Ah.... herein lies the reason for your disappointment in the results you achieved. The Simonize Cordless Car Polisher is a GREAT idea, problem is it doesn't have the power to go up against the swirls in a modern basecoat/clearcoat paint system.
The paint is too hard for this type of tool to abrade it effectively. I have an article on a similar tool that you plug-in and it's too underpowered also. Pretty much all these types of tool are good for is spreading out a layer of wax to paint that is already in excellent condition.
There's HUGE difference between spreading out a layer of wax and physically removing swirls out of the paint.
The Traditional Orbital Buffer aka The Wax Spreader
Take heart, you can do the job by hand. In fact you're hand has more power to remove swirls than any traditional style orbital buffer it's just going to require some perspiration on your part.
The trick to removing swirls out of an entire car by hand is to tackle like you would eat an elephant. You can't eat an elephant in one bite. But bite by bite you can eat an elephant.
Translation: To remove the swirls out of an entire car by hand you want to only work a small section at a time and then when you move onto a new section you want to overlap a little into the previous section.
When removing swirls by hand the size you want to tackle is small, about the size of a 16" square microfiber towel laid out flat. You can go bigger than this is the swirls are shallow and coming out easily or if the paint is soft and the swirls are coming out easily, but if the swirls are deep and the paint is hard then you would need to adjust the size you work downward.
Imagine tackling the trunk lid of this 1959 Cadillac working only a section as large as the microfiber towel you see laid out flat on the paint.
How to correctly fold and use a Microfiber Towel
You can do it... but it will take some time and what I call,
Putting a little passion behind the pad
The reason why you can only tackle a small section at at time is because as you rub the paint with pressure you will get tired and your effectiveness will fall off with time, as in seconds to a few minutes depending upon how good a shape you are. By tackling a small area you can usually maintain equal downward pressure and uniform hand movements for the small section and thus get good results.
Then take breather and start the new section, this little breather will allow your muscles to regroup and get ready for the next section.
Here's your job... read these articles, not the one where I removed the sanding marks by hand I did that using a Medium Cut Polish, I could have done it faster and more effectively using a true compound. (I like to challenge myself)
Here you go... these are all in my
article list by the way under the section,
Polishing Paint by Hand
Man versus Machine <--- This one
How to use a hand applied abrasive polish or paint cleaner by hand <--- This one
Removing Scratches By Hand <--- This one
Foam Applicator Pads at Autogeek.net
Priming your pad when working by hand
How To Remove Paint Transfer
How to clay, clean and wax paint by hand with Pinnacle Paintwork Cleansing Lotion and Pinnacle Signature Series II Carnauba Paste Wax
1-Step versus 3-Step Process by Hand
I live in a place where I have to use a cordless wax/polisher. I don't see a lot of cordless polisher on the market, can anybody suggest a good one (If there is anything in the autogeek store?)
I already returned the polisher twice in 1 week. First time the battery included does not charge and the second time when I push the polisher down it stopped... Its really frustrating...I am going to ask for a refund tomorrow.
Don't waste your time on a cordless polisher or any type of traditional polisher like you see in the above picture. The minimum machine needed to effectively remove the swirls out of a clearcoat finish is the Porter Cable DA Polisher or one of the variants of this tool.
Mike~ I'm a big fan of yours. Those videos are really helpful!
Ah shucks.... I'm just lucky to have such a swell job...
