cameraman123

whats the most recommended polish to remove ribbons and light swirls out of a 2000 s500. I finally gave up on the 20 year old polisher today after it left ribbons all the hell over my car . Going to upgrade to PC 7242 with good pads vs this crap wool pad. Any suggestions?

Greg@DI

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by ribbons but I assume you are reffering to holograms caused by too much heat while buffing. You can remove them, swirls, oxidation and other surface imperfections with a quality buffer and polishing combination. I would suggest looking at your DI Packages section and the Porter Cable 7424 Starter Kit. It gives you the PC 7424, 9x pads of your choice, backing plate, counterweight, 3x Snappy Clean (pad cleaning formula).

You may also want to consider looking at the Flex XC 3401 VRG. It has significantly more power than the PC 7424 and is also very safe and easy to use. It is more expensive but if you want perfection from the detail it's a better choice than the PC 7424. We offer a similar Flex Starter Kit as well if you are interested.

With the buffer I would recommend using the orange pad with a medium polish like the Menzerna PO83. Follow that up with a white pad and a light polish like the Menzerna PO106FA. This combination should make the clear coat look significantly better. After that you can enhance the shine and protect the paint with sealant and or wax of your choice. I apply sealants and liquid waxes with the blue fine finishing pad.

All of these products are available at www.detailedimage.com. We offer 10% off to forum members with the coupon code 10offMBW. However we are currently running a promotion for 15% off and FREE S/H with orders over $75. However both these discount codes exclude buffers, vacuums, kits and specials.

Greg @ Detailed Image

cameraman123

yes they were holograms... so I passed over it BY HAND today with Turtle Wax F21 polish because i cant stand driving around with my car looking like that. Plan on buying the PC 7424.

But how many times can the clear coat be polished before its gone? Its been polished twice now, once by orbital and once by hand and an extra pass by hand on the hood and roof....

cameraman123

The polish the first time was MEGS Ultimate compound, the paint also feels kind of rough in some places. not like ROUGH just not glass smooth, still smoother than the first time i clayed it. how bad is my clear coat hurt from the holograms?

TOGWT

Paint Removed by Polishing
Using a medium abrasive polish and a rotary polisher will remove approximately 0. 1 Mil (3µ Microns) from the paint surface (typically 4 passes at 1500-1800 RPM) but there are many variables such as polish/compound and speed / pressure used that may affect the paint removed) There comes a point when you must judge wither removing a scratch will compromise the clear coat and if so you’ll have to ‘live’ with the imperfection. If you have reservations about the amount of paint surface removed or the amount of paint coating remaining the use of a paint thickness gauge (PTG) is arbitrary

The clear coat provides protection from environmental damage (industrial fallout, bird excrement, road dirt and debris and airborne bug debris) and provides the colour coat with gloss, but is easily scratched; once it is compromised repairs involve re-painting, as the base colour has no brilliance, shine or depth without it, start with the least abrasive product to accomplish desired results, and only if necessary move up to the next grade of abrasive

These numbers are offered as a guide only, as there are too many variables to provide any more than an approximation.

Removing more that 0.5 Mil (12.5µ Microns) of clear coat will cause premature paint film failure as a point of reference a sheet of copy paper is 3.5Mil (89µ Microns) removing more that 0.3 Mil (7. 5µ Microns) of clear coat will cause premature paint film failure a surface scratch that will `catch' your fingernail is approximately 0.04 Mil (1.0 µ Microns) deep will usually require wet sanding and refinishing.

An extract from one of a series of in-depth detailing articles © TOGWT ™ Ltd Copyright 2002-2008, all rights reserved.

cameraman123

dont think its got down that far, i didnt rub it in hard but it was probably the combo of my old roatry and a slightly wrong angle of attack. the megs compound I used said clear coat safe but what does that actually mean. ok so probably took off .1 or .2 mil...

Greg@DI

When you use the rotary buffer and an aggressive polish like the megs one you listed you can remove about 1% - 2% of the clear coat. With the PC 7424 you really won't be able to budge the overall thickness of the clear coat. It really just smooths out the micro-imperfections. With the PC 7424 you can polish as much as you want with little to no effect on the clear coat thickness. With a rotary buffer it varies a lot depending on your technique/process and the clear coat thickness of your vehicle. Let me know if I can help you any further.

Greg @ Detailed Image

cameraman123

Alright so I take it I havent killed the clearcoat then. Ordering my stuff today, any suggestions before I place the order on items such as wax/sealant?

cameraman123

Alright just bought:
-PC 7424
-PO83
-PO106FA
-White and Orange pads
-Misc Microfiber towels/wash mitt/big drying towel
-grit guard


Ill post pics when I do her. Thanks for all the help!

Greg@DI

Thank you very much for your order. I think you got a great list of products that should really help you with your detail work. If you have any questions please let me know.

Greg @ Detailed Image

cameraman123

alright stuff should be here monday. stupid UPS shipping. haha so were all good even though my 2000 doesnt have a ceramic clear? Should I go from PO83 then 106FA or try 106FA first?

Greg@DI

You can try the PO106FA first and see how that goes. However from experience I think it's pretty safe to say you'll be fine going right to the PO83 followed by PO106FA on a vehicle from 2000. Let me know if you have any other questions.

Greg @ Detailed Image

cameraman123

sounds good i was just worried about it being too abrasive for the paint but doesnt seem thats the case?

cameraman123

Just tried out the menzerna polishes and man do they make a difference. This pic is before and after with two passes of PO83 and one pass of PO106FA. I do think I need to hover a little longer because some of the scratches are still there.

Greg@DI

Wow huge improvement on your first try, great job! Try applying a little more pressure to the back of the buffer, work slowly in a logical pattern and turn the buffer to speed 6 to maximize your results. Good luck with the rest and keep us posted!

Greg @ Detailed Image

cameraman123

Alright lets see. Yesterday I spent all day polishing with 2 if not 3 passes of PO83 in most places and one pass PO106FA. Heres the result:

After a pass of PO83





Mirror Anyone?



Half and Half, see the holograms?



One of my favorite shots

Red Marko

Now, if you have only tried Flex XC 3401 VRG instead of PC....
Flex is simply....revolutionary.
I have one and I love it.

cameraman123

the pc left me a near perfect finish so im not complaining. but yes I hear the flex is easier and quicker to use. also about $150 more.

Red Marko

BTW,
beautiful job (and the car)

cameraman123

thanks for the compliments

Greg@DI

I'm really happy to see your continued success with the products and new buffer! The pictures look fantastic!

Greg @ Detailed Image

cameraman123

Thanks so much you guys! Just did some on the LS430 and made that look good too... SIP works wonders on headlights!