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I had to have the front and driver side of my car completely repainted. I got it back from the body shop with hologram and a **** load of swirls. I waited too long, and now I don't think they'll fix it. I have a '15 Tuxedo Black. Has anyone worked these out? What compound/chemical have you used?
 

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I had to have the front and driver side of my car completely repainted. I got it back from the body shop with hologram and a **** load of swirls. I waited too long, and now I don't think they'll fix it. I have a '15 Tuxedo Black. Has anyone worked these out? What compound/chemical have you used?
That sounds familiar. Same thing happened to me..only they replaced my drivers front fender and scratched it...so I complained and got a free re-detail starting with a polish and got my car back to discover that the entire car (not just the one part) is now swirled bad. Now I can't prove they did it since it's the whole car and they claim "well the entire car after 2 years of being washed could easily look like that." When I specifically have been monitoring the swirling and know which parts of my car had slight swirling from the prior owner. The only BAD part of the car was the black pillars on my doors.
 

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If it's just a bunch of swirls and nothing too deep then you should be able to polish them out. Get a DA from harbor freight with a 20% off coupon and 2 black polishing pads from HF as well. Should run about $50. Go get some polishing compound. I use Meguiars M205. Go watch AmmoNYC on youtube about how to polish paint. All set! Should take a few hours but you'll be all set. Don't let those idiots touch your paint ever again.
 

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I bought this kit by Chemical Guys yesterday (should have it tomorrow): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018M31X48/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Do you think this polish will do the trick or will I need something heavier?

I also purchased this but am afraid I won't be able to get any bonnets other than the microfiber/wool/terry. Should I return this and get a more expensive, 6 inch where I can use the foam? This is what I'm most concerned about : https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0092K1F2Q/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 

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I bought this kit by Chemical Guys yesterday (should have it tomorrow): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018M31X48/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Do you think this polish will do the trick or will I need something heavier?

I also purchased this but am afraid I won't be able to get any bonnets other than the microfiber/wool/terry. Should I return this and get a more expensive, 6 inch where I can use the foam? This is what I'm most concerned about : https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0092K1F2Q/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
That buffer you linked will do absolutely nothing for you. It could even burn through the clear coat if you're not careful.
 

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That buffer you linked will do absolutely nothing for you. It could even burn through the clear coat if you're not careful.
That's why I asked and was worried about it. Can you throw some recommendations of cheaper ones? I'm trying to fix my car, not make it worse.

Edit: when I say cheaper, I know it's going to be more than that $30 pos I just dont want to spend $100 on one.
 

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That's why I asked and was worried about it. Can you throw some recommendations of cheaper ones? I'm trying to fix my car, not make it worse.

Edit: when I say cheaper, I know it's going to be more than that $30 pos I just dont want to spend $100 on one.
The absolute cheapest but best for the money Dual Action (DA) buffer you can get is the Harbor Freight one. DA Buffer. Here are the polishing pads. I would get 2. That with the 20% coupon they have pretty regularly and the polish i mentioned earlier you should come well under $100
 

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Discussion Starter · #8 ·
The absolute cheapest but best for the money Dual Action (DA) buffer you can get is the Harbor Freight one. DA Buffer. Here are the polishing pads. I would get 2. That with the 20% coupon they have pretty regularly and the polish i mentioned earlier you should come well under $100
Perfect! Thanks for linking that up.
 

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Let's start at the top.
Yes swirls are fixable, you can do it by hand but it will be hard. I would get a DA polisher.
So what da would I get? If you are going to do just your car this once, then spread wax once or twice a year then get the harbor freight. Personally I would look for a used porter cable. If new and not the hf unit you can't go wrong with the Griots Garage 6" Griots Garage 6 Inch Random Orbital Polisher FREE BONUS!. The nice thing with the GG machine is the lifetime warranty. It is more powerful than the hf and pc machine yet safe and realisticly worry free. A dirty pad can ruin the paint, but you shouldn't burn the paint. I use this machine for my business, in fact,I just bought their 3" machine last weekend on Autogeeks 25% off sale. Skip the 6" backing plate and 6.5" pads and get a 5" backing plate and 5.5" pads, either boss
Griots Garage 5.5 inch BOSS Foam and Microfiber Pads Or lake country thin pro pads Lake Country ThinPro Foam Pad System 5.5 Inch. I have not heard good things about the pads at hf. They may last once or twice, but will come apart from the Velcro backing.
So, what pads would I get? If lake country 2-3 orange, 2-3 white, 1 black. The black will be for your last step, the orange for more severe defects, the white for less. If the boss pads, 2 micro fiber, 2-3 orange, and one black. One of each color won't be enough. There are some cars I use 7 or 8 pads just removing defects.
Next the products you linked. Unless I missed it, I don't see a polish. What you linked is a sealant and a wax. Many people like both of those products, I have never had fantastic luck with Chemical Guys, but have heard good things about jet seal. You need a polish, I looked and didn't see a polish in their line, but Meguiars Ultimate Polish is really good and easy to use. If you want to keep the jet seal use it, wait 15 minutes, and apply another coat. Then apply the Petes. Here you will need another finishing pad on top of what I recommended above, like a red one.
No that buffer you posted isn't going to do anything but make the swirls worse. It doesn't have he power for defect removal, and may have enough power to spread wax, but I wouldn't use it.

I understand this gets expensive fast. My other recommendation is find a pro, pay them $150-200 for an exterior detail. Let them get the car perfect, then you just maintain it. You seal it twice a year even by hand. Get a spray wax or QD, after the car is washed but still wet spray one panel at a time and dry it with a quality mf towel, you should be good.
 

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M205 recommend above is a good product, but not the easiest to use. It is the pro version of he ultimate line, but the ultimate is more user friendly and has a better work time. For your first time using a machine I would not start with M205, that is your second bottle.
 

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Some very helpful info here. I recently bought about $350 worth of Chemical Guys detailing stuff because all of the car guys at work (Scat pack, M3, Camaro) were using it and they looked really good. Every few months I get a bug to detail the hell out of my car. I bought all their compounds and polishes in the V series. so far the V36 & V38 combo works the bestir my swirls. I tried VSS and it wasn't getting it done. I bought their Torq X DA and I think its fantastic. after the V stuff used Jet seal and then butter wet wax. Holy smokes looks amazing
 

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I use Adam's for just about everything I do automotive. All of their polishing stuff is color coordinated. My ST had tons of swirls when I bought it new. I used Adam's correcting and finishing polish with the orange and white pads. I got my Porter cable for $99 of Amazon.
 

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Discussion Starter · #13 · (Edited)
I'm going to revisit this. Back when I started this thread, I actually returned that orbital because you guys said it sucked. I have since done quite a bit further research. I did, however, use the JetSeal and Pete's 53. The car looked alot better, but as you know it didn't remove any swirls (I wasn't expecting it to) and did it all by hand which sucked and took about 6 hours for the wax and jet seal.

Fast forward to now. I got the HF DA polisher.
I'm looking to fix the swirls and reapply some wax. I'm confident on the actual process, but not the polish or wax and the corresponding pads. Can someone offer some good Polish and wax that i can use with this new DA? The Pete's 53 worked wonders, but it's a hard caranuba wax. I figured a more liquidy wax would apply better. I'd like to know which pads i should buy (Amazon preferably) and which polish and which wax to purchase. Still don't get the color/brand of pads and why there are so many. Help please!

Edit: Per Coopers recommendation and some research, i think i'll start with the McGuires Ultimate Polish. Now just need to nail down which pads (and how many), and a decent wax. I'll use jetseal again since I'll be claybarring the car before i do anything else.
Polish: http://a.co/9VbGAHa
 

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For pads I would get lake country thin flat pads. The other thing I would do is get a 5" backing plate and 5.5" pads. That machine will work so much better with the smaller pads.
I would get one black finishing pad
2-3 orange for cutting
2-3 white for polishing.
That should set you up just fine, actually have a great set up there.

Google a clean on the fly or mike philips clean on the fly for the pads and clean after every panel. I would also swap between pads on every panel so you don't over heat them.
The finishing pad doesn't need to be cleaned as it has no cut and is run so slow it doesn't produce heat.
 

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For polish, try this.

It's about as close to a one-size-fits-all polish you can get. Remember, this is a polish. It offers zero paint protection. Wash the vehicle after polishing, dry it, then apply a wax or sealant to preserve your hard work.
Why would you washmhe car after polishing? Some would do a IPA wipedown, but it's not necessary. Next the linked produce is am all in one like hd speed, it does offer protection. It may help some to top I, but not really worth the extra trouble.
 

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Why would you washmhe car after polishing? Some would do a IPA wipedown, but it's not necessary. Next the linked produce is am all in one like hd speed, it does offer protection. It may help some to top I, but not really worth the extra trouble.
Experience tells me sealants last longer when applied to a completely clean surface. The polishing process leaves residue behind.

I am not a believer in IPA wipe down. Even in a 50/50 IPA/Water mix, IPA is a very aggressive surfactant and it does leave residue. The best method (again, in my experience) to remove polish residue is a neutral-pH wash.

You say it's not worth the trouble. My results speak otherwise. But thanks for your input!
 
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