Since this is your first post to our forum...
Welcome to Autogeek Online! :welcome:
I really need advice on what to purchase. I've loaded up a shopping cart with all sorts of products for washing and waxing (Optimum stuff), but I figured while I was at it I might go ahead and grab a Porter Cable 7424XP.
The XP 7424 is a great way to get into machine polishing.
I met a guy at SEMA that just bought his wife a black Challenger RT with very minimal swirls and she's more or less scared to work on the car because she doesn't want to put any more swirls into it and this all comes down to how you "touch" the paint. I'm confident she'll be at my next class.
I don't have any serious swirl marks (yet) on the vehicle, so I was wondering what polishers/pads I should invest in to keep the car looking clean. I know I don't need any heavy duty stuff to cut down on swirl marks or to remove oxidation.
Small diameter pads like the 5.5" Lake Country Flat Pads are very easy to use and get stellar results from, after you get use to your new polisher and these pads you can start experimenting with other pad combinations if you like.
I'm writing a
new article on DA Pads, should have it up tomorrow.
Basically, what can I do to keep the car looking polished and clean and to preempt nasty swirls?
Thanks for any advice you can give
I posted this earlier today to
this thread but it fits here too...
Mike Phillips said:
Maintaining any finish really comes down to how the paint is touched...
- Use the highest quality products you can obtain
- Anything that touches the paint has to be gentle to the finish and high quality
- Use good technique
I know many people reading the above will think that's all common sense, but I recently had the owner of a 1954 Corvette here at our Studio and after watching him "start" to wipe the Souverän off his Corvette I STOPPED him, and then shared with him "good technique" for wiping wax off highly polished paint.
Video: A Show Car Wax for a Show Car Finish at Show Car Garage
Then the next day I wrote this article,
How to correctly fold and use a Microfiber Towel
The point being, you need to keep in mind that modern clear coat paints will tend to be harder than traditional single stage paints and the trend that I hear about from friends in the car manufacturing industry, specifically the coatings industries, is that paints will be getting harder, not softer. That's not in concrete for all car manufactures but definitely a trend.
Now here's the skinny....
Even though modern clear coat paints are harder, they still scratch easily, this is called, Scratch-Sensitive.
Most people don't understand how a paint can be hard but still scratch easily but that's the facts and keep in mind, "we", that is Autogeek... we don't make the paints... so direct any frustration you or anyone reading this thread might have at the car manufactures.
So just always be careful in how you "touch" your car's finish... use wash mitts, sponges, brushes etc. that are gentle to paint, use a car wash soap that offers excellent lubricating characteristics, make sure your applicator pads and microfiber towels are clean and soft.
In my videos on applying Carnauba Wax and Synthetic Paint Sealants, I share a simple tip about periodically turning your applicator pad over and inspecting for any dirt or abrasive particles that you might pick up accidentally.
If you look... you can see them and pick them off or switch to a new applicator pad.
If you don't look... and you pick up just one tiny abrasive particle, you could be inflicting swirls and scratches into your car's entire paint job.
Simple tip... huge dividends...
rops:
