• Got the Contributing Memberships stuff finally worked out and made up a thread as a sort of "How-To" to help people figure out how to participate. So if you need help figuring it out, here's the thread you need to take a look at -> http://www.corvetteflorida.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3581 Thank you, everyone! Rich Z.

Polisher

Z

Z064ever

New member
Have a bunch of swirl and spots on black finish. Has anyone bought or used a Porter Cable orbital polisher? Any opinions?
 
I would suggest talking with one of our sponsor "Flash". You'll see his banner on the left side. He demonstrated and talked about this very topic at the UCP this past Saturday. He appears to be very knowledgeable and would be glad to walk you through the process. I hope this helps.
 
yeah, contact him,he knows his stuff, he is local, and a corvette owner too



The more stuff I use of his, the more I become EXTRA loyal,
 
Yeah, I spent quite a bit of time talking to Joe, and wound up buying a variable speed polisher he sells along with various pads and polishing compound. Joe also briefly touched on wet sanding, which may be something I will want to give a try one of these days to try to remove the orange peel look of the paint.

I already have a Porter-Cable oribital polisher, which does an OK job, but it just doesn't have the cutting power to deal with scratches and the other rough stuff. You CAN get swirl marks and scratches out using the PC and polishing compounds, but it will take longer and require more effort. But I would recommend going that route instead of jumping right into a rotating polisher as the PC is better to learn from as it keeps you from making mistakes that can damage the paint.

Maybe Joe will make up a video on DVD (or even post the videos here) for us one of these days showing us all the proper techniques for dealing with these problems and the correct way of using a polisher/buffer.......

Sure wish there was an easy way to deal with rock chips, however.... Got a new one on the way home today....... :mad: But that is another story....
 
Thank you

Thanks everyone for your replies and opinions. Only trouble is that the Porter Cable is made overseas. It is amazing in their history they brag about how company was American, and even had a company town. Very deceptive.
 
Z064ever said:
Thanks everyone for your replies and opinions. Only trouble is that the Porter Cable is made overseas. It is amazing in their history they brag about how company was American, and even had a company town. Very deceptive.
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Ahhhhhh thanks for letting us know that!
 
The Porter Cable orbital polisher 7424 will get the swirls out and it's a good polisher to start with if you do not have rotary experience. It does not have the power of a rotary but there is little chance to burn the paint like you can with a rotary. I would suggest the Menzerna or Optimum line of polishes. I would also get different pads and a different backing plate for it.
 
Z064ever said:
Thanks everyone for your replies and opinions. Only trouble is that the Porter Cable is made overseas. It is amazing in their history they brag about how company was American, and even had a company town. Very deceptive.
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Hmm, I just looked at my PC and the box plainly says "Made in USA". However I don't see anything either way on the polisher itself.... :shrug01:
 
Porter Cabel

Well, I emailed them, cause I don't buy made out of country anymore, includes China, Mexico, India, and etc.. They wrote back to me it was made oiut of country. That is all I can say. Thanks
 
Z064ever said:
Well, I emailed them, cause I don't buy made out of country anymore, includes China, Mexico, India, and etc.. They wrote back to me it was made oiut of country. That is all I can say. Thanks
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It's sad to say but there's not to many things you can buy that are completely made in the US. Even the things that are assembled are full of parts made somewhere else.
 
Gary S said:
It's sad to say but there's not to many things you can buy that are completely made in the US. Even the things that are assembled are full of parts made somewhere else.
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Yeah, that's just plain scary how true that is. Even with the food we eat. Did you know that all of our vitamin C now comes from China? The last USA producer shut down a couple of years ago.
 
Made in America

Thank you. I will buy some or your product. Do you recommend any specific products for a black 2002 Z06. Car is garaged, has some scratches. Thank you.
 
Me too

Like some of the others I have swirl marks, fine scratches as well as the "orange peal" look going on here and there. I'm in dire need of :help: with resolving these issues, as I get disgusted with the look of my Vette every time I was it:willy_nilly:.
Which buffer would be the best for my issues?:bigear:
Which finishers, waxes, pads etc would I use (from the Flashman)?:bigear:
Would they be applied the same way as in the video that Rob (BTW, Thanks Rob) supplied? :bigear:
I need answers ASAP, because the kids are looking for gift ideas for Daddy:D.

BTW..Great Thread and Questions ZO64ever:thumbsup:

:thankyou2:

~Ray
 
I spoke to Joe about these very same issues at the UCP show and from what I can recall, for orange peel, you pretty much have to wet sand the finish then go through the polisher steps to remove it. Bear in mind that there are various grades of polisher bonnets as well as polishing medium to use. Going from only as coarse as necessary to the finest grades in steps will be necessary to get the results you want. Just be careful with a rotary polisher because you CAN damage the paint if you get over ambitious with it's use and application. Taking off the clear coat down to the base paint will probably really ruin your day for you.

If you don't already have one, you may want to consider getting a random orbital and trying that out first. It will likely get out most of the minor scratches and swirls for you with a whole lot risk of damage.
 
For orange peel you do need to wet sand like Rich said. It seems all new cars these days have some orange peel. I find it hard to get myself to wet sand a new car.

I use a Metabo Rotary to polish most of my cars. There on some spots on my cars I use I Porter Cable 7424 (radom orbital polisher) just for cauton. There is a new random orbital polisher by Flex that just came on the market and suppose to be very good. I have used a Flex Wet Stone Polisher for years (not on cars) and I can testify that they are very well built machines. If you have never used a rotary before I think it best to start out with a random orbital polisher. Like Rich said you can burn you paint with a rotary if you are not cautious.

Both a rotary and a random orbital polisher will get swirls out of your paint with a good polish and a cutting pad. Different pads and polishes have more cutting power then others and you need to choose the right one based on how bad the swirls are on your paint. It's best to a test spot on your paint to seev how aggressive you need to be with your cutting pad and polish combination. Start with the least aggressive and move to something more aggressive if it's required for the job. After you experience polishing your car to get a feel of what's required for the job. A rotary will do the job faster but it does take more skill and experience.

The menzerna and optimum lines of polishes are my 2 favorites.

The are some good detailing forum that offer a lot of good information and people who are willing to answer any questions you might have.
 
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Flash man said:
You do not need to wet sand the clearcoat to remove orange peel from the clear? Where do you learn your experience with clearcoat finishes? For severe orange peel you must wet sand the surface with different grades of wet sand paper. If you use an aggressive compound you can knock down some of the orange peel, but not all. The new cars that are coming off the assembly lines have alot of orange peel in the clear. Yes, if you want a smooth glass finish, you must wet sand the clear. This should be left up to a professional, but you could learn it yourself. The paint robots can not do a perfectly smooth job when the clear is applied on the surface. Most people are so excited about a brand new car that they do not notice the orange peel in the clear. There is alot of clear applied to all new vehicles.

The products that we carry will remove wet sand scratches down to 600 grit and finer. We carry professional commercial grade products.Wet sanding is alot of back breaking work, but the results are very rewarding. Ray I will send you a pm on the process and the products you need. Thanks.

Joe - Flash
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I'm not really sure what you are trying to say. Good luck if your trying to remove orange peel without withing sanding. You might be able to remove light orange peel using compound. There are lots of good polishes on the market that will remove wet sanding scratches. I've been detailing cars for a long time and never heard of Flash Auto Detailing products. I would perfer to stick with great well known professional products from Menzerna and Optimum then trust my finish to some unknow brand.
 
Flash man said:
Hi,

I am calling you on a post that you stated that you do not have to wet sand a clearcoat to remove orange peel. You seem to contradict what you are saying. Im not trying to sell you my products and if you are happy what you are using, then stick with it. But to tell you the truth, I have detailed cars for many years, and been involved with auto restoration products for a long time and never heard of those chemicals. As far as wet sanding scratches go, you need a compound to remove the wet sanding scratches, and a polish to remove the swirl marks and restore depth and gloss. I would love to see a polish that will totally remove 1500 and coarser wet sand scratches. You know, there are detailers that can detail a car, and there are detailers that know how to wet sand and buff a car. Take care.


Joe Flash
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I'm not sure where you are coming from. I said you need to wet sand to remove orange peel. I never said you could not remove wet sand makes with a coumpound. Before you start calling someone out on something you should read what they actually said. There are lots of polishes that will remove wet sanding scratches down to 2,000 grit. Above 2,000 grit I would use a compound. If I wanted to have my car wet sanded the last place I would take one of my cars to is a dealer. They don't even know how to wash a car right. I had to polish my 08 Z06 when I brougt it home from the detailer due to their worthless detailing. Menzerna is one of the top polishes and compounds in the world out of Germany. Optimum Polymer Technologies is one of the top polishes in the US. Go on any well known detailing forum and you will see a lot of threads by profressionel detailers on these products. You won't see a word about Flash Auto Detailing Products.
 
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