noob needs help

vegas911gts

vegas911gts

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After saving up for years I finally was able to buy my dream car. A porsche 911 carrera gts. The paint is fine for the most part. But the rear fenders on both sides have swirl marks and a few deep scratches. But not deep enough to catch my fingernail.

Instead of paying a pro to fix this I went out and bought a flex 3401 and got some lc pads (orange and white) as well as CG v36 and v38. I tried buffing it out but nothing came out. I think I was too scared to put a little pressure on it and I only did it for maybe 30 seconds and moved too quickly.

I watched endless vids but when I did it on my own all of that went out the window. I will attempt to fix the swirl marks and scratches this weekend. One friend that lives out of state says to get adams polishes and he does detailing as a side job on weekends.

Should I order adams polishes or some other polish? Or is cg v36 and v38 enough.

Oh yeah the car is white. You really can't tell that theres scratches unless you look at it from an angle and in certain lighting but of course its bugging me because I know its there. Whoever the first owner was probably took it to a crappy car wash or the dealer ran it through the drive through car wash. Everything is ok but the wide rear fender which sticks out quite a bit.
 
Just work with what you have. You need to work the product and pad against the paint to remove swirls. Don't be afraid, just be careful. Do what you see Mike Phillips do in his videos, and apply a little pressure. Prime the pad and go to work on a test section, trying the least aggressive combo you have first.(V38 & white pad) If that doesn't do it then step up to your more aggressive pad and product (V36 & orange pad) then finish off with your least aggressive. (V38 & white pad)

If there are any sharp painted edges or hard bends on the panels, place a piece of painter's tape over them. The 3401 isn't going to burn your paint, it's a pretty easy machine to use and pretty safe too. I understand that cutting your teeth (Compounding) on your dream car Porsche can be a little nerve racking, so perhaps you can find a beater car to practice on first to get the hang of how everything works with the 3401 and your product/pad selection.

Your product selection seems (from the description) to be a pretty fine non-diminishing abrasive so no real special technique should be required as the micro abrasives won't need to be broken down.

Just do a few section passes (4 or 5) with a slow arm speed and medium pressure (a few pounds) with the machine speed set at least on the #5 speed setting. After your passes are done, stop and wipe the area clean with a water dampened microfiber towel and inspect your work. Pretty straight forward procedure.
 
Find a old hood or something at a scrapyard with a lot of scratches an swirls and practice on that when u get it down pack move onto the porsche you don't wana make a big mistake and ruin that paint good luck. Practice makes perfect
 
Congratulations on the new Porsche!

Detailing your own car can be both fun and satisfying. Understanding how to correctly approach a defect is important and this includes tool, pad, and product selection.

Everyone starts off as a beginner but with some reading, questions, and trial, error, and practice you'll be amazed how much you'll be able to do. After reading and understanding some of the basics, the more hands on, the quicker you'll build your knowledge and gain experience.

Take your time and do not become overwhelmed. Just because there are a thousand products doesn't mean you have to use them all.

This link will take you to some fabulous articles written by Mike Phillips.

Articles by Mike Phillips

Basic steps in order are:

  • Wash
  • Clay
  • Paint Correction & Polish
  • Seal
  • Wax
Mike Phillips wrote a great article on How to Detail Your New Car so I've posed it here for convenience.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...-detail-your-brand-new-car-mike-phillips.html

Here's more great information by Mike Phillips that will help you learn the correct way moving forward...

 
I still have the car I drove for 9 years while I saved up and ate at home many nights instead of going out to eat. A late 90s toyota corolla. I'll have to see if theres swirls and scratches. For sure theres rock chips. But toyota super white is single stage I believe. I might have to find a body part from the junkyard to test out or find a friend willing to let me test it on their car.
 
Your Toyota most likely is single stage. That paint is pretty hard though so it will be fine for practicing on to get a feel for your new polisher, pads and products.

The only thing is your pads will get white paint pigment in them. When I work on single stage paints I keep a bucket with some All Purpose Cleaner (APC) and water mixed in it. After working a panel for a while, I'll remove the pad from the polisher and toss it in the bucket for a good hour long soak before cleaning the pad up and putting it somewhere clean to dry.
 
Pretty sure I would start by practicing on a 90's Toyota instead of my dream car. It will be much easier to practice on the flat panels of the toyota as, i.e. roof, hood, trunk lid. Do a 50/50 test on the trink lid and you will see right away if you are getting results. One of the big things for me to learn with the 3401 was how to control it compared to a rotary or traditional DA(7424). Just start off no between 4.5 and 5 setting with a well primed pad with a few drops of working product and don't work it dry. You really need to learn how long the products you have need to be worked before tackling the Porsche. Starting off with more pressure(10-15lbs.) and very slow arm speed (moving about the distance equal to the pad size in 1-2 seconds) will give you cutting results much quicker. Then lighten up to do 3-4 refining passes. For working on light colors it is usually best to work in a dim-dark environment with one source of bright light like a halogen or flood light at the proper angle that shows the defects.
Just take your time and don't work over you head right away on something you are really concerned about.
Happy detailing:)
 
After washing and claying, I used cg v36 with the orange pad again but used more pressure and moved much slower and let the machine and product work. The RIDS were no longer there. There were still some swirls here and there on areas that I wasn't concentrating on as much as the area with the RIDS, but I was ok with that as they are really hard to see on white paint. I then finished with a white ccs pad and cg v38. It looked great now. I followed it up with black light and 5050 wax. I'll get the remaining swirls and tiny scratches the next time. I'm just glad that I got rid of the RIDS.

I'll probably order the smaller plate and orange and white 5.5" pads soon. My car has lots of curves and I think using smaller pads would be easier to work with. The 6.5 inch pads are probably better for applying sealant and wax on my car.
 
vegas911gts said:
After washing and claying, I used cg v36 with the orange pad again but used more pressure and moved much slower and let the machine and product work. The RIDS were no longer there. There were still some swirls here and there on areas that I wasn't concentrating on as much as the area with the RIDS, but I was ok with that as they are really hard to see on white paint. I then finished with a white ccs pad and cg v38. It looked great now. I followed it up with black light and 5050 wax. I'll get the remaining swirls and tiny scratches the next time. I'm just glad that I got rid of the RIDS.

I'll probably order the smaller plate and orange and white 5.5" pads soon. My car has lots of curves and I think using smaller pads would be easier to work with. The 6.5 inch pads are probably better for applying sealant and wax on my car.
Click to expand...

glad to hear everything worked out for the most part.

Imo, the biggest size I go is 5.5 and on those curves, I use 4 inch pads.

I would suggest that :xyxthumbs:
 
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