imput before i cut polish my car

[MacDaddy]

heres my plan after talking to a few professional detailers, let me know if you can think of anything better/cheaper/extra steps, etc.

I'm going to be using a grider-style buffer and 9" foam pads. I have everything ready to go except the IPA to wipe it down between steps. My paint job has a couple deep scratches, nothing serious but alot of very fine hazy scatches. I did the hood with the fine foam pad and scatch-x already and it seemed to reduce the amount of hazing (say 50%) but still not that great.

wash/dewax
claybar
IPA
3M perfect-it III rubbing compound w/medium foam pad
IPA
Meguiars scarch-x w/fine foam pad
IPA
Meguiars NXT tech wax

pretty simple, but i think it should be effective at removing the haze.

[Mike@Startup]

If you have no experience with a rotary, & foam pads, I would not touch it. You can do some serious damage before you even realize it.

Not really sure you can go from a foam pad, with compound, to meg scratch-x The wool pad will also put in a ton of marks.

Really you should get a less abrasive pad & get a lighter polish. Mexerna, 85rd, or 106 on a green pad, would work much better.

What ever you do, go slow, & only work a small area. Look over each area after you hit it. Don't go over 1200rpms.

[kippermoon]

have to agree with the above coments....you could do some serious dammage with a rotary buffer.
iv'e done my own car's with a porta cable orbital and for a beginer it's nearly imposible to do dammage.......as long as your using the right compounds.Menzerna RD3.02 followed by Menzerna 85RD to refine the finish works well on audi paint.

get yourself over to detailingworld.co.uk for some tips

[JDM EJ1 95]

meh just dont be stupid about it..

honestly unless you are a complete moron its really actually somewhat difficult to screw up your paint.

not saying its not easily possible.. but if your not a pro.. go at it like a beginner.. baby steps until you feel comfortable. do some research and practice on other cars before you hit yours.

if you go into it like a pro and your not a pro.. expect bad results.. as in anything


i was daring and the first car i rotaried was my S4.. and it came out with less results than i wanted cause i went into it pussy footed lol. but it was still a hell of a lot better than before.

[MacDaddy]

meh just dont be stupid about it..

honestly unless you are a complete moron its really actually somewhat difficult to screw up your paint.

not saying its not easily possible.. but if your not a pro.. go at it like a beginner.. baby steps until you feel comfortable. do some research and practice on other cars before you hit yours.

if you go into it like a pro and your not a pro.. expect bad results.. as in anything


i was daring and the first car i rotaried was my S4.. and it came out with less results than i wanted cause i went into it pussy footed lol. but it was still a hell of a lot better than before.

that is basically what the detailers i have talked to said to me.
I've already experimented on a couple vehicles with neglected paint jobs where it didn't matter if i screwed up (old mazda b2200 and a rusty 318IS)
no burn through or anything there and it turned out pretty good, but i wasn't using my foam pads, i used the crappy towel and wool pads that came with the rotary.

[MacDaddy]

If you have no experience with a rotary, & foam pads, I would not touch it. You can do some serious damage before you even realize it.

Not really sure you can go from a foam pad, with compound, to meg scratch-x The wool pad will also put in a ton of marks.

Really you should get a less abrasive pad & get a lighter polish. Mexerna, 85rd, or 106 on a green pad, would work much better.

What ever you do, go slow, & only work a small area. Look over each area after you hit it. Don't go over 1200rpms.

I'm not using any wool pads, and i actually made a mistake, its Meguiars swirl mark remover i'll be using

[MacDaddy]

i used my girlfriends white 91 escort as the guinea pig today, turned out pretty good, I washed the car then wen't straight to the rubbing compound without claybar.

I know claybar would be a good idea, but it would be hard to make this 20 year old oxidized paint any worse, trust me.

anyway, i think it went quite well with the exception of not being abel to find my "medium pad" so i had to use the soft one which made it hard to apply proper pressure, so at the end of all the polishing i ended up missing a few sports where it seems i didn't push on it hard enough (i certainly didn't miss a sport as i went side to side and up and down on all the panels)

after the polishing i sprayed it down with IPA, hosed it off, gave it a wash and applied some meguiars.