Need help after the cut and buff

[old soul]

Hi guys. First post. Just finished a new paint restoration on a black '71 Nova. Looked great under the florescent lights and out in the sun. Had a halogen light on and used it to look at the paint up close and, WOW, look at all those fine scratches! Turns out I was putting all those fine scratches in the paint during the final wash and hand polish. I use a microfiber to wash with, blow dry, and a new microfiber to polish and a new microfiber to remove the polish with. My customer would never see these scratches but I know they are there and they drive me crazy. I want to step up my finished product which I think requires taking the final detail a few steps farther. I have a couple decades experience with wet sanding and buffing out new paint but exactly ZERO experience with an orbital polisher. I need some serious recommendations, tips, and techniques.
Just from spending time on this site I'm thinking maybe a Porter-Cable 7424-XP but am totally lost on what pads, bonnets, towels, and polishes to use. For the time being I need recommendations on what to use after the cut and buff on fresh paint, especially black. Please suggest the products and descriptions available through this site and also advise if these products contain silicone as that is not acceptable in a body restoration shop environment (fish eyes in paint). Are there any acceptable silicone-free substitutes?
Thanks for your help.

 

[Flash Gordon]

Best tip I can give you is to make sure your applicator pad is clean. I clean mine after each car, or grab a new one

 

[RFulmer]

If the paint is soft the scratches start the minute your done with polishing. It seems the more perfect I get the paint the quicker the scratches come back. Luckily for me, my eyes aren't as good as they used to be so I can't see them as well as I used to.

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Just from spending time on this site I'm thinking maybe a Porter-Cable 7424-XP but am totally lost on what pads, bonnets, towels, and polishes to use.

For the time being I need recommendations on what to use after the cut and buff on fresh paint, especially black. Please suggest the products and descriptions available through this site and also advise if these products contain silicone as that is not acceptable in a body restoration shop environment (fish eyes in paint). Are there any acceptable silicone-free substitutes?
Thanks for your help.

If you want a true show car finish, you can use everything we used last Friday on the 1939 Lincoln Zephyr except the wax. The polishes are silicone free.

1939 Lincoln Zephyr - Swirls Removed - Modeled by Nicole



Here are the pictures I took showing the true condition of the paint.....

Picture = 1939LincolnZephyr015.jpg

These next three shots are all cropped out from the above picture...

1939LincolnZephyr015a.jpg

1939LincolnZephyr015b.jpg

1939LincolnZephyr015c.jpg

I walked around the Zephyr and captured these swirl shots...

The Major Correction Step
(Page 102 and 103 of my how-to book)

After proving the Pinnacle Advanced Swirl Remover with a polishing pad on a DA Polisher was a combination that worked on this paint system Tommy and I went to work removing the swirls.

I let Frank try out the Porter Cable DA Polisher and he liked the small size and lightweight but opted to let me and Tommy tackle the machine polishing steps.

Tommy has the detailing bug bad.... ever since he brought his 1970 1/2 Camaro to our studio and learned how to machine polish the paint on his own car he's become a DETAILING MACHINE as well as a good friend I can trust to "touch" expensive special interest vehicles with costly paint jobs like this Zephyr.

The Polishing or Minor Correction Step
(Pages 103 to 105 in my how-to book)

After wiping off any polish residues we moved onto the polishing step to really maximize the gloss, clarity and shine of the clear coat. For this we switched over to Lake Country Black Flat Foam Finishing Pads and continued using DA Polisher....

Here's Tommy using the Meguiar's G110v2 to safely polish the paint to a super high gloss!

Beauty shots...

Pinnacle Clay Lubricant

Pinnacle Ultra Poly Clay

Pinnacle Advanced Swirl Remover

Pinnacle Advanced Finishing Polish

Porter Cable 7424XP Dual Action Polisher

Meguiars Dual Action Polisher G110v2

Griot's Garage 6 inch Random Orbital Polisher

Lake Country 5" Backing Plate

Lake Country 5.5" Flat Foam Pads

Chinchilla Microfiber Buffing Cloth, 16 x 16 inches

Cobra Microfiber Gloves

Brinkmann Swirl Finder Light

The Art of Detailing How-To Book - Paperback




Mike Phillips' Principles of Machine Polishing

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

You want black?

Here you can see holograms or what are called rotary buffer swirls...

The entire finish looks like this...

After pictures...

Primary products, pads and tools used...

Pinnacle Advanced Swirl Remover

Pinnacle Advanced Finishing Polish

Porter Cable 7424XP Dual Action Polisher

Meguiars Dual Action Polisher G110v2

Griot's Garage 6 inch Random Orbital Polisher

Lake Country 5" Backing Plate

Lake Country 5.5" Flat Foam Pads


We also used the Flex 3401 and Rotary Buffers for some of the deeper defects...

 

[old soul]

WOW! Thanks for the replies, fellas. Mike, I am going to get a list together based on what you have shown me and will be getting an order in soon. Thanks a bunch!

 

[shoeless89]

MOST polishes are body shop safe. I have the PC7424XP and love it! But you can't go wrong with the Griots either. I think deciding pads is a lot about personal preference but the Hydrotech pads work really well. Also since you have no experience with an orbital you could pick up Mikes book and it'll teach you all the basics! :dblthumb2:

 

[opie_7afe]

mike has offered some great advice. so im assuming by cut and buff you used a wool pad and a rotary which will leave swirl marks, so i would just get a random orbital machine, a 6 pack of lake country 5.5" flat pads(hydrotechs seem to not last as long) get orange,white,black and get some meguiars m105/m205 or some pinnacle total swirl remover/advanced finishing polish or optimum compound II and polish II, say you use m105 i would go over it with the m105/orange then go back over it with the m205/white, however the m205/white might do it if your still getting micro marring switch to the black pad with m205, im betting what i listed will work great and look great. and as usual take some pics to show us all and post them in the show and shine section, always remember after you cut and buff you will need to polish it more, id say 99% of body shops just cut and buff and use a glaze to fill in the compounding swirls/haze and that is why it will look great untill you wash it a few times. good luck cant wait to see how she looks!

 

[old soul]

Thanks shoeless and opie . Will follow up on your recommendations.
I use the 3M Perfect-It system (rotary) right now which begins with wool and finishes with a foam pad and Ultrafine polish. Works real well for me but I want to take it beyond that, which is why I am on here. The results I have seen on here are amazing. Thanks, guys.