Amazing what a little buffing can do

[asinor]

Just curious on why you would use the swirl remover last. The whole idea ofcorrecting paint is to remove the swirls first and then protect your work with a high quality sealant or wax.

Thats just how we have always done it. You are correct though.

I need to follow my own advice and read up on it, then pass the info along.

 

[77bronco_ed]

That will not be the way I am going to approach my red trucks paint. (IMO you end up removing all the work you did in the previous steps.... swirl remover is a tad less abrasive than the medium cut?:? But I am not a professional.

I will use
medium cut (fine wool buffing pad/ not a meguires pad)
Swirl remover with meguires fine foam pad
Glaze with meguires fine foam pad
Wax (by hand)

As far as the green truck, if anyone has similar heavily oxidized paint I would start with a heavier cut opposed to medium cut. I did not plan to rub out the green truck... The passenger side is in worse condition it really took a bit of work with the medium cut to get a shine. I think it could be much faster starting with a more agressive cut when getting into heavily oxidized paint.

I am comforable in using the wheel. I will show steps with hood on the red truck.

 

[77bronco_ed]

Prior to buff/polish there is wet sanding that will occur.

 

[allenfahey]

Buffing is what I hire helpers for Whenever you buff a vehicle you want to start with the least aggressive step. Sometimes just polish can accomplish what you want. Sometimes you have to start with 800 wet sand paper. If you have to use wet sand paper, add a bit of car soap to the water to help lubricate it. If I have to start with 800, I then use 1000, then 1500. If it's a dark color you need to finish with 2000 and if you have Trizact disk 3000.
I've used most buffing systems and like the Evercoat system. It's water a water based system that doesn't hide the scratches like a petroleum system does. 3M PerfectIt is my second choice but is petroleum based.
Things you need...
Buffer, white pad, black pad, blue pads, buffing system, very stiff nylon brush for cleaning the pads, a few micro fiber towels.
Start with a white foam pad with compound. After you are done compounding you wipe it down with a wet rag and start with the swirl remover on a black pad. Wipe down again with a wet rag and use the polish on a blue pad. Finish with a micro fiber rag with the polish by hand and clean it off with a separate micro fiber cloth. Spray with the detail spray and you are done.
U-Tube has lots of how to videos. Remember to always run the pad off the edge, not onto the edge. You will burn the edge if you don't. Also don't sand in the crevices like the body line on a Bronco. The pad can't get in there and you will have a good chance of burning the paint. Work a small area at a time and take your time. It will take a very long time to buff a whole vehicle. Have fun.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

I am a noob to machine polishing , but I spend a bunch of time at http://www.autogeek.net/ (forum) reading up ... great resource , great store section also.

I use a Griots 6" DA .. works great ....

I also have the 3" DA ... so-so for polishing , works great for ultra thin wax coats and makes waxing VERY easy.

I stayed away from micro-fibers for no good reason , until I tried them. Now I have a shit ton of them laundered , folded , and kept in clear plastic storage bins. It's the only way to go , dusting , drying , wax removal , window cleaning (NO LINT !) , etc , they best EVERYTHING I have ever used before. Bought them at Costco ...

For polishing , I like the Meguires 205 with an orange pad for water spots and swirls. Using the above tools and materials , it takes having a shiny car to whole new level. It is not "heavy" enough to buff the oxidation out of the Bronco , I'll probably need a much heavier cutting compound and pads. ( yes , i tried , it does work , but it bogs down the pads FAST , use the right tools for the job)
The Meguires 105 (heavier cut) dries out too fast while buffing (my experience). From what I have read , Mezerna has some of the best compounds to use , so maybe I'll order some one of these days.

For wax , I am currently using Collonite. The #845 has a much better look than anything I have used in the past from the typical box stores , it is supposed to last a long time , but I wasn't impressed with that aspect of it.
I just bought a can of the #915 , haven't had a chance to use it yet , supposed to look even better and last longer than the 845.

Just last week , I ventured into the next level of auto finish care , coatings.
After much prep work , I applied opti-coat 2.0 to my 2001 Sentra.
HOLY SMOKES , it looks like it was dipped in glass now !

Just a warning , it is not the same warm , deep glow that a carnuba wax has , but rather a very reflective and hard looking aspect to it. It also does NOT feel slick like a waxed surface , slightly more grabby like cleaned glass. Either way , dust and other stuff does not stick to it nearly at all , a lot of it blows away just by driving it , but the stuff that does "stick" wipes/washes off with ease.
It's really incredible.

I can't wait to get the rims coated so that I can just spray away the brake dust from now on !


Sorry for being so long winded , as you can see , I'm pretty pumped about what can be done to a cars paint without loads of sweat now-a-days.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

FWIW , my next DA will be the Flex XC3401. It is a hybrid between a straight rotary and DA polishers/buffers.