JeT

I bought a 10" orbital buffer the other day and decided to have a go at polishing a friends old Audi. It worked really well but I wasn't exactly sure if I was using the right bonnets. I want to get it right before trying to tackle my own dark clearcoat.

Anyway, I used a terry cloth bonnet with meguiars Deep Crystal system polish, then used #9 swirl remover with another terry cloth bonnet. Next applied wax by hand and then buffed with a lambs wool bonnet. Is the lambs wool bonnet the best to use for buffing a clearcoat?

It looked pretty good but it was hard to tell coz the car is white. There were still quite a few swirls but from what Al and Justin have been saying I would probably need to get an random orbital buffer/sander for those.

Anyway, please advise if I am doing anything wrong as I don't want to stuff up my clearcoat. In particular I want to know whether using a lambs wool bonnet is safe on a clearcoat on dark metallic paint.

I think I'll go read those sticky posts again...

AndrewEclipse

Hey Jet,

Im sponsored by Meguiars, so I know the procedure very well. Swirls are a real pain to get out. I found that the Number 7 Meguiars Showcar Glaze works wonders on them. You apply it by hand after a good wash and then seal it with a wax. Try it out. The Swirl Remover is a little harsh, so id stick with the glaze, which I use on my showcar on a weekly-biweekly basis with absolutely no problems, the more coats, the better.

JeT

Andrew,

I don't know much about the glaze but wouldn't it just hide the swirls as opposed to removing them? I know you didn't say "remove" but just not sure what the glaze does.

Any info would be much appreciated. Thanks.

JustinTRW

You are correct, #7 is nothing more than cosmetic. It does not completely hide swirls and will be gone after one week. Glazes do not remove any swirls.

Typically, using a straight wool bonnet is for cutting the surface of the paint, something you don't want to do as your final step. I don't think you did any harm. However, I would buff out the wax either by hand, or with a terry bonnet. You do not want to use a wool bonnet dry. Typically you only want to use wool for heavy polishing.

Usually the 10" orbitals I see do not generate enough heat to really remove those swirls. If you use a wool or terry bonnet and really work in the #9 for a while, I think you will still see an improvement. In order to remove very minor swirls on my black car, it took a PC with yellow cutting pad and #9 worked in.

Andrew man! Cool thing about being sponsored by Meguiars. They should tell you what their products do first!

AndrewEclipse

The glaze, yes, is just a cosmetic cover-up. But it lasts a good two weeks. ESPECIALLY, if you wax it right after, you can have a longer "no swirl" look. Most people wash their car every 2 weeks so applying this glaze after a good wash is really easy. It takes me about 15 minutes for the whole car.

Swirl removers work well, but are a little harsh. They take longer to apply and buff out and the swirls return anyways......

I have found that the Glaze is the easiest way to get it done and applying a swirl remover every 6-8 months is a good idea. But for most of us, the practicality of the Glaze is the best way to go.

JeT

Phew! Thanks Justin, I was going to buff my car with the wool bonnet because that's what the guy at the auto shop said it was used for (moron!). I probably have one of the toughest paint colors to keep swirls off so I could imagine really swirling up the coat using the wrong technique. So I use the cotton bonnet to buff off the wax..got it! I don't think I would even be game to try and polish with the lambs wool now!

JustinTRW

Just make sure the terry bonnet is of good quality otherwise buffing by hand would be safer. Good luck.