Mike Phillips
Active member
- Dec 5, 2022
- 51,004
- 7
Tommy's Camaro WINS AGAIN!!!!!!!!
Tommy's 1970 1/2 Camaro Split Front Bumper Wins again!
Read about the products, pads and tools we used to create an award winning finish on Tommy's car here...
1970 1/2 Camaro - Show Car Finish by Pinnacle - Modeled by Amy
Here's a few excerpts from the above write-up for this Camaro...
Okay... so when the Camaro arrived I took this picture and most people just by looking at the picture or even the car from a few feet away would die to have a custom paint job this nice....
But the Brinkmann Swirl Finder Light reveals the true condition of the paint and that is a surface filled with,
Tracers Tracers - RIDS - Pigtails - Cobweb Swirls - Rotary Buffer Swirls - Holograms - Water Spots - Bird Drooping Etchings - Micro-Marring
Check it out...
Pig Tails
If you look closely you can see a scratch that looks like the letter e in cursive writing running horizontally across the paint, this is called a Pig Tail and it generally comes from an abrasive particle that gets trapped between the paint and a sanding disc when machine sanding. The entire finish had Pig Tails plus Tracers randomly dispersed...
Micro-marring also called Tick Marks or DA Haze
The millions of tiny, small scratches highlighted by the Brinkmann Swirl Finder Light are caused by improperly worked abrasives when using a DA Polisher like the Porter Cable 7424XP, Meguiar's G110v2, Griot's Garage 6" ROP or Shurhold DA Polisher. These types of scratches are through out the entire car but you can really only see them on the black stripes not the metallic green paint. The point is that even though your eyes can't see them on the lighter colors they still cloud and dull the finish and keep you from seeing the beautiful color and/or metallic finish under the clear. These have to go!
RIDS - Random, Isolated Deeper Scratches
These types of scratches come from normal wear and tear and don't have any pattern to them thus the use of the word random in the description.
More information on RIDS here...
RIDS - The Definition of RIDS and the story behind the term...
Swirls and Scratches
What I see here is a combination of RIDS, swirls, DA Haze and Arc Scratches probably caused by wiping but they are also caused by improper use of a rotary buffer.
We tested out a number of pads and machine and ended up using a combination of rotary buffers, Flex 3401 and DA Polishers together with Hydro-Tech pads, Pinnacle polishes and to remove some of the deeper Pig Tails we used M105 with a wool pad on a rotary buffer.
Here's Adam testing out Pinnacle Advanced Swirl Remover with a Tangerine Hydro-Tech Polishing pad on a Porter Cable 7424XP, this combination of pad, product and tool easily removed all the swirls, scratches, micro-marring etc but wasn't aggressive enough to remove the deeper Pig Tails.
Here's Adam doing some surgical rotary buffer work using the Flex PE 14 with some brand new prototype 3" foam buffing pads.
Prototype 3" Foam Buffing Pads
When using small diameter foam pads on a rotary buffer you have to be VERY careful as the foam will collapse inward not outward and this can expose the edges of the backing plate to the paint if you're not like Adam and that's focusing on the task at hand...
I'm using the 3" pads on the A-Pillars, the small diameter really helps for thin panels...
Rotary Buffer for removing serious paint defects
Todd breaks out a wool pad with a Makita Rotary Buffer to remove some of the Pig Tails on the roof. Just to note, this car is actually a great candidate for dampsanding to level the paint and in the process remove all the deeper Pig Tails, Tracers and Orange Peel in the paint but that's another project and another day...
Focusing on the task at hand especially when using a rotary buffer for isolated defects as you have to be careful you don't get the paint too hot...
:dblthumb2:
Tommy's 1970 1/2 Camaro Split Front Bumper Wins again!
- Best of Show!
- $500.00
- Top 20 Car Award

Read about the products, pads and tools we used to create an award winning finish on Tommy's car here...
1970 1/2 Camaro - Show Car Finish by Pinnacle - Modeled by Amy
Here's a few excerpts from the above write-up for this Camaro...
Okay... so when the Camaro arrived I took this picture and most people just by looking at the picture or even the car from a few feet away would die to have a custom paint job this nice....

But the Brinkmann Swirl Finder Light reveals the true condition of the paint and that is a surface filled with,
- Swirls
- Scratches
- Pig Tails
- RIDS
- Tracers
- Micro-marring also called DA Haze
Tracers Tracers - RIDS - Pigtails - Cobweb Swirls - Rotary Buffer Swirls - Holograms - Water Spots - Bird Drooping Etchings - Micro-Marring
Check it out...
Pig Tails
If you look closely you can see a scratch that looks like the letter e in cursive writing running horizontally across the paint, this is called a Pig Tail and it generally comes from an abrasive particle that gets trapped between the paint and a sanding disc when machine sanding. The entire finish had Pig Tails plus Tracers randomly dispersed...

Micro-marring also called Tick Marks or DA Haze
The millions of tiny, small scratches highlighted by the Brinkmann Swirl Finder Light are caused by improperly worked abrasives when using a DA Polisher like the Porter Cable 7424XP, Meguiar's G110v2, Griot's Garage 6" ROP or Shurhold DA Polisher. These types of scratches are through out the entire car but you can really only see them on the black stripes not the metallic green paint. The point is that even though your eyes can't see them on the lighter colors they still cloud and dull the finish and keep you from seeing the beautiful color and/or metallic finish under the clear. These have to go!

RIDS - Random, Isolated Deeper Scratches
These types of scratches come from normal wear and tear and don't have any pattern to them thus the use of the word random in the description.

More information on RIDS here...
RIDS - The Definition of RIDS and the story behind the term...
Swirls and Scratches
What I see here is a combination of RIDS, swirls, DA Haze and Arc Scratches probably caused by wiping but they are also caused by improper use of a rotary buffer.

We tested out a number of pads and machine and ended up using a combination of rotary buffers, Flex 3401 and DA Polishers together with Hydro-Tech pads, Pinnacle polishes and to remove some of the deeper Pig Tails we used M105 with a wool pad on a rotary buffer.
Here's Adam testing out Pinnacle Advanced Swirl Remover with a Tangerine Hydro-Tech Polishing pad on a Porter Cable 7424XP, this combination of pad, product and tool easily removed all the swirls, scratches, micro-marring etc but wasn't aggressive enough to remove the deeper Pig Tails.


Here's Adam doing some surgical rotary buffer work using the Flex PE 14 with some brand new prototype 3" foam buffing pads.

Prototype 3" Foam Buffing Pads
When using small diameter foam pads on a rotary buffer you have to be VERY careful as the foam will collapse inward not outward and this can expose the edges of the backing plate to the paint if you're not like Adam and that's focusing on the task at hand...

I'm using the 3" pads on the A-Pillars, the small diameter really helps for thin panels...

Rotary Buffer for removing serious paint defects
Todd breaks out a wool pad with a Makita Rotary Buffer to remove some of the Pig Tails on the roof. Just to note, this car is actually a great candidate for dampsanding to level the paint and in the process remove all the deeper Pig Tails, Tracers and Orange Peel in the paint but that's another project and another day...

Focusing on the task at hand especially when using a rotary buffer for isolated defects as you have to be careful you don't get the paint too hot...






:dblthumb2: