Power buffer
 

Hey guys! I'm thinking about getting a cheap power buffer to shine up my car and my wife's root beer SUV. I have an AW 98 coupe, which doesn't show very much, but I see swirls all over the top of my car.

My town has a car show in a few months and I would like to get it nice and pretty before snob criticize my daily driver.

What buffer and pads would you guys recommend on the cheap side (less than $100), also what compound would work the best to smooth out the clear coat and remove or fill in small swirls?

Check out topoftheline.com

Lots of info and products. I used the smooth cut polish (after clay bar first), followed by The Terminator polymer sealant, and finally the red velvet carnauba wax. (my car is torch red). Great results.

Then check out usaautosupply.com and get the classic shine detail spray(the pink stuff) for between wash touch up. It's the best detail spray (with wax) I've used.

I don't have any recommendations for under $100, but for $125, I got a Porter Cable 7424XP and three pads (swirl remover, polish, final wax) for $15 each, all from Coastal Tools. I Got Wolfgang's (pricey) Swirl Remover and Polish both for $30 delivered on Amazon, and Meguiar's Gold Class Carnuba Plus for $12. Amongst all of that, there are ways to cut corners to save some dough. However, I spent FOUR hours last Friday afternoon on my C5 using all that stuff, plus Meguiar's detailing spray, and am just blown away by the results.

Considering that you want to use a power buffer on vehicles that you've spent good $$ on, I'd get a decent buffer IMO. Porter Cable and Makita make good ones. You're going to have these tools for many years, might as well have a quality tool. The difference between a cheap one and a good one is not as much as you think.

Hard to get a complete kit of a buffer and all the products for polishing at $100 budget.

I have the porter cable and use the Adams products with great results. One thing for sure, make sure your buffer is a random orbital. With a RO polisher and Adams non abrasive products it's impossible to screw up your paint.

Good luck and happy detailing. :thumbs:

Yup. Had mind done profesionaly and still had swirls..get a 8" orbital.use good wax i used turtle wax black box.ie i have a black z. I was shocked 99% of swirls were gone. I did it all by myself. Smooth as glass.upload pics latr

Find a way to scrape up the cash for a Flex 3401. Porter Cable RO's are a waste of a day on the Vette's super hard clearcoat. If you have to get a PC, make sure you get the smallest pads possible (I used 4 inch pads) to get the best results. It may take a little longer to polish the car, but well worth it because they're more aggressive than bigger pads. 100 bucks in the detailing world isn't a lot to work with. Check craigslist and fleabay to see if you can snatch up a used polisher when someone upgrades. An example:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Porter-Cable...ht_1284wt_1270

I'd recommend the Adam's kit with the PC. I wouldn't use cheap stuff because you may make your finish worse than it is now.

Flex polisher for the win.

:lurk:

Thanks for the information guys. I wasn't really sure how much a polisher would cost, so flexing on the $100 won't be that hard.

I know the difference between cheap and good quality is sometimes a fine line (hence why I drive a corvette vs. honda). I just waxed the roof of my car this afternoon and it helped a little bit with swirl marks, but I figured that if I wanted to do it several more times and take most of my weekend, I could keep doing it by hand or just spend the money and get a buffer and some compound and do it in one sitting.

Meguiars Scratch X, Meguiar's Gold Class Carnuba Plus, and Meguiar's detailing spray--I do mine all by hand and have an old Sears buffer laying in the garage that I don't use on the vette. It only has one speed--fine for the wife's car, but won't take a chance with the vette

I just picked up the PC kit from Adams. Griot's Garage also has a similar line of products. I would recommend a random orbit unit rather than a rotary buffer. The r/o will not generate the heat that a rotary one will and will be safer for your paint. Work your way up from the least aggressive swirl remover necessary, to a polish, and then apply a sealer for the longest lasting results. If there are any fine swirl marks remaining, you can mask them with a hand applied glaze.

Autogeek got some good stuff and they are a supporting Vendor on here.

This is what I use to remove swirl marks and scratches from mine...http://www.harborfreight.com/7-inch-...der-92623.html and then I use a Meguiars random orbital for most things that dont have any abrasives.
I would not use a sander/polisher if you dont know what you are using because you can destroy a car if you dont do it right.

Then I am 99.99999999999999% sure you are not removing swirls.

.......Black.......
 

While we're on the subject, can some talk about removing swirls off a Black car. What products, techniques to be used.

Black is the hardest to fix.

Thanks!

How to videos from the Adam's website. Good info.

http://www.adamspolishes.com/t-videos.aspx

it can be done by hand without a buffer. it takes way longer, but you also run far less risk of removing too much clear coat.