highwaystardoritos

yeah I thought it was always west to east... or however the wind hits the panel

dolebludger

My understanding is that anything rubbed on the paint should be done back and forth, and never in a circle. And it is quite true that some folks get carried away with ROB polishing, and do it when all their car needs is a claybar treatment. Claybar generally removes the top layer(s) of the wax, along with particulate polutants and dirt imbedded in the wax. If I use a "hard surface" wax that is highly synthetic in content, I find that many "scratches and swirils" I THINK are in the clearcoat are only in the wax itself, and come out with claybar. If I use a "soft surface" wax like one containing only carnauba and softeners, I often find that what I feared was weathered clearcoat is nothing but dirty wax. Claybar is your friend.

Ubetit

Shhhh. Don't tell my Rotaries, Cyclo or PC that. They may develop a complex.

dolebludger

Ubetit:

I was referring to rubbing the cars' surface BY HAND when I said "do it back and forth and not in a circle." Your PC and Cylclo are random orbital buffers, and are very safe for us all to use with out the fear of ADDING swirils that can result from circular rubbbing by hand. If you are successful in using a rotary and haven't messed up anything, you are clearly a professional or have had some training in the use of rotaries. That's good, because rotaries produce beautiful finishes in the right hands. In the wrong hands, the inexperienced can mess up big time. My only advice on rotaries is to get some instruction before using one on your "baby."

This also relates to the subject of claybar. Personally, I have a Griot's Garage ROB that works well for me. A pad is offered for it (which I think would fit a PC too) that holds claybar as well as lubricant in its foam. It is used at a meduim orbital speed. It causes no damage, and does a good job. Many times, that's all my car's finish needs before waxing.

wanabe

something seems missing from this thread...

clay and polishing are (these days) for different purposes-

clay to remove embedded particles in the paint

polish to restore luster to paint, or to remove swirls/ light scratches

clay will not remove swirls and polish sorta removes embedded stuff, but clay is better at it-

o.k.- got that off my back, now we can continue with the thread!!

dolebludger

Wanabe:

I disagree to an extent. Scratches and swirils can be present only in the wax finish, and not in the clearcoat. IF this is the case, claybar is the most conservative remedy. I have found that many times it is the apppropriate one. BUT if the scratches and swirils ARE in the clearcoat, claybar is worthless in solving the problem. On that, we agree.

Now, assuming that we have tried claybar and find that we do have problems in the clearcoat, I would recommend the mildest possible polish, and a "back and forth" rubbbing action if the polishing is to be done by hand.

blurnj13

that must be some sort of super wax

I've heard of wax filling in scratches but never one that protects against them...

If trying to fix scratches/swirls by hand, I highly recommend meguiars scratch-x with a polishing-pal... even using that, your hand will get tired =p

dolebludger

If you are talking to me, I never wrote that any wax would protect against scratches, though ANY wax will do so to a very small degree. I said that some very small scratches and swirils that may appear to be in the clearcoat may actually only be in the wax.

Also, IMO Meguiar's scratch-X is a bit too harsh an abrasive for polishing an entire car. Rather, its intended use is spot removal or reduction of more serious scratches.

blurnj13

Scratch-x is a bit harsh if your using a machine to polish, but for hand polishing it works great. I still wouldn't recommend polishing a car by hand, but if I had no choice... I would use scratch-x. I'm also talking actual swirl removal by hand and not just cleaning the surface. For that I would just use AIO or any other AIO-type product by hand.

dolebludger:
"I never wrote that any wax would protect against scratches, though ANY wax will do so to a very small degree. I said that some very small scratches and swirils that may appear to be in the clearcoat may actually only be in the wax. "

Umm... so does wax prevent very small scratches and swirils in the clearcoat or not? =p Your statement sort of contradicts itself. If scratches and swirls are in the wax and not in the clearcoat... it's preventing it from reaching the clearcoat yes?