jtjohn1

Hi All

I have a Porter Cable DA with Wolfgang Swirl and Scratch remover using an Optima Microfiber 6.5" Cutting pad.

I start out at level 1.5 then move it up to level 6 after I have gotten the pad good and loaded.

It removes the swirrl marks REALLY well (VERY pleased with it) BUT

There are still some fine scratches that it doesn't seem to be removing (I have gone over the same spot ~5-6 times) This is under the really bright flourescent lights in my garage.

My questions are this

Do I need a more aggressive cutting pad for these type of scratches?? Maybe more aggressive compound?? Do I risk damaging the paint by going over the same spots so many times??

I am putting some pressure on the buffer (Pushing down fairly hard but not bogging the buffer at all)

The paint is ~11 years old and the car has been garage kept (And waxed and such) but it was my wifes DD for several years and needs the paint correction done on it.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

KenVette57

If it were me;
I'd make sure that you may need a little more pressure while cutting. Or, most likely you need either a more aggressive swirl remover or a more aggressive pad.

Any Pic's?

Good Luck

0Killrwheels@Autogeek

Consider moving to a more abrasive pad or a more abrasive polish first. You want to move step by step from least abrasive until you find the right combo.

Maligator

it sounds like you are getting micro marring from you corrective polish, which is normal. What you need to do is step down from the corrective polish to the next step; if you are making 5-6 passes and still seeing no results on a heavy corrective polish, its probably the micro marring you are seeing. For example, I use HD cut on a panel that has some scratches; this causes micro marring which looks like nasty scratches everywhere. So, I step it down a notch with Adams fine machine polish and then you have perfection......Dont know what your next step is product/pad wise, but id give it a pass to make sure you are not confusing micro marring with your heavy cutting polish not doing its job......clear as mud????

jtjohn1

I don't think it's micro marring (They aren't all over just a few scratches here and there that don't seem to be coming out) Would that be micromarring?? I haven't put the polishing pad/compound on it yet I was going to do that when I had the surface perfect.

That plus the nose is really bad (Defiantly need a more aggressive cutting pad for that) to see if I can get rid of some of the bug stains that the Mircrofiber didn't seem to touch.

I think I am going to order the lake couny Yellow and Orange cutting pads (I know the Microfiber one will get rid of swirrls really well) and see if those will do the job.

*Crosses fingers that another autogeek special comes along early this week for the 4th of July*

TJeske

I agree!

Total Swirl Remover is a "middle of the road" type compound. I really like it for 1 steps, because it cuts pretty nicely, but finishes very nicely in my experiences.

OP - What other compounds/pads do you have at your disposal? Has the car been repainted to your knowledge, or are you working on an OEM finish? If OEM, it'll have a very hard clear coat, and defects won't be the easiest to compound out with the Porter Cable. That being said, it can be done, you'll just need the proper pad/product combo.

Also, are you priming the pad?

jtjohn1

It's the OEM paint job (Except for the hood) The Hood came in damaged from the factory and they had to repaint it (Though it's the same age as the rest of the paint give or take a week)

I am priming the pad but I don't have any other pads at my disposal just yet (Will be ordering the orange and yellow pads from Autogeek later this afternoon) I Do have some 3m swirrle mark remover though (Fom several years ago)

I read some good things about the Optima Microfiber pads so I went ahead and got a couple of those. I am VERY pleased with the results EXCEPT for the scratches (It removed 98% of the defects)

I am just kind of **** and if I am going to spend the time doing this I want to get it as close to right as I can before I start layering on the wax (This is the first time in several years that I started over on it going Dawn/Clay/Dawn then start the paint correction proccess)

When it's all said and done it will be layered with Z5 or maybe I will try the new Black Fire/Ice stuff.