Heavy or mild polish??? (Pics)

I bought this for a daily driver maybe 2 months ago. Havent had time to detail it til yesterday. Once I got it washed and clayed and out in the sun to examine it she was worse than I thought, up close.


This is how it looks like from a far and washed. Not too bad. About avg for 4 year paint, (considering the avg person who doesnt know a thing about caring for vehicles).....



Then put it under some light and a close up at angles and........blam. What a disaster!!!




I immediately thought I didnt have aggressive enough polish to work these scratches out. But I had already had everything prepped so I thought I would see how well it works.
Products used:
Porter Cable 7424
Orange LC foam pad
XMT #2 Fine Swirl Remover(This was the most aggressive polish I had)

After 3 passes on this door this is the best I could do....




.....I gave up after this knowing that I wasnt going to be satisfied. You can still see quite a bit of light swirls and scratches in the paint.

So after I cleaned up I went around looking at some local auto parts/paint stores to find a more aggressive polish. All they carry is light swirl removers to finishing polishes.

Now in XMT product line they have 3 steps for their polishes. I look at it like 2 cutting polishes and 1 finishing polish. Yet they call their XMT #1 Ultra Fine a cutting polish. To me thats like a finishing polish and very light swirl remover in one. So by me using XMT #2 I consider it a light polish not a medium. So if thats all a medium polish will remove then I need a heavy polish. Or I could be wrong about XMT products.

For the experts in here, what do I need to remove these scratches, swirls, and imperfections? Do I need a medium or heavy polish? Yellow or orange pad? And what kind of products other than XMT? Id like to try some different brands. Ive never tried Poorboys, Zaino, Optimum, Sonus, Klasse or any others. Im interested in seeing how these work.

Sorry its long, but Id appreciate anything youd recommend.

Optimum Compound, Followed by Optimum Polish.

Orange pad with each (PC Speed 6 and be patient) then drop to OP/White or another finishing polish that you may already have.

3M compounds would work well too and be readily accessible at a local Auto/body supply. I don't have the numbers in front of me, so that doesn't help you much. The Perfect IT II and III series should help.

XMT's are a little weaker than SSR's and finish down a little better.

SSR 2.5 might cut it out with an orange pad, but OC/OP would be better to me.

Good luck. Let us see pics when finished.

mblgjr said:

Optimum Compound, Followed by Optimum Polish.

Orange pad with each (PC Speed 6 and be patient) then drop to OP/White or another finishing polish that you may already have.

3M compounds would work well too and be readily accessible at a local Auto/body supply. I don't have the numbers in front of me, so that doesn't help you much. The Perfect IT II and III series should help.

XMT's are a little weaker than SSR's and finish down a little better.

SSR 2.5 might cut it out with an orange pad, but OC/OP would be better to me.

Good luck. Let us see pics when finished.

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Appreciate it. So Im assuming that the Optimum Compound is a heavy polish right? I can skip from a heavy polish to a finishing polish without going through each stages? Im only asking because I dont know how aggressive that Optimum is. Some aggressive compounds remove the deep imperfections but leave real fine swirls and scratches that a finishing polish wont remove. If I order this I need to know if I I need an inbetween so I can order it also.

If not heres my routine:

-PC 7424 cranked all the way up moderate/harder pressure, slow movement (for step1)
-Optimum Compound w/LC orange pad
-Optimum Polish w/LC orange pad<----- (Is this step necessary?)
-Optimum Polish w/LC white pad
-XMT Glaze w/LC gray pad
-Meguiars Carnauba Wax w/LC blue pad

Wow....This is gonna take me at least 2 days!

If this doesnt make it look like it was painted yesterday, say your prayers, cause a Hitman is comin to your door.;-)

Thanks man.

PC speed 6 in all cases. Modest pressure, keep the pad rotating.

1" per second movement rate

All pad references I use are LC.

Only thing I would change from what you listed is to use the XMT glaze with a White pad. It will provide a better 'finish cut' instead of acting like a surface glaze.

OC/OP both finish REALLY well on black. Just remember to have patience for the added working time, as they are biased to being used with a rotary, but happen to work well via PC.

I know you're concerned about the compound leaving marks that a polish won't take out (which *most* finishing polishes won't) However, OP WILL take them out and finish down wonderfully. OP/white pad finishes down great for me (and lots of others).

It will be worth it in the end though!

That would be an excellent opportunity to use a high speed rotary buffer I would use Meguiar's Diamond Cut Cleaner M-85 with a red cutting pad W-7006, followed by M-83 Dual Action Polish and W-8006 pad finally finish up with M-80 speed glaze and PC with 8006 pad. Bottom Line for such severe defects in my opinion I think's it's a futile attempt to remove these defects with a PC where it's clearly evident a high speed rotary buffer is needed...BTW just my opinion from my experience and what I see...

I would put XMT1 over that and see how it turns out...those are just micro abrasions...you took the scratches out...you need to work the polish more, then put a glaze over it and wax or seal it. Mine looked just like that....LOOK BELOW, NEXT POST....now look!!

XMT 1 will remove micro-marring. However, given his halogen lighting you can clearly see some of the deeper scratches are still there. Its not going to touch what I see and am addressing in the pics.

While I agree that the PC has its limitations and a rotary would be better, very similar results can be yielded with patience/right products; without the fear of hurting/burning the paint.

George Wax said:

Bottom Line for such severe defects in my opinion I think's it's a futile attempt to remove these defects with a PC where it's clearly evident a high speed rotary buffer is needed...BTW just my opinion from my experience and what I see...

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Oh I can do it my friend....And it will be done!;-)

I take this as a challenge....Especially with a word used like "futile".

You just motivated me to prove that with a more abrasive polish this paint will look 10 times better than what it looks in those last 2 pics already polished with XMT#2.

Stay active in the forums. Ill post before and after pics no later than next Wednesday.:beer:

George Wax said:

That would be an excellent opportunity to use a high speed rotary buffer I would use Meguiar's Diamond Cut Cleaner M-85 with a red cutting pad W-7006, followed by M-83 Dual Action Polish and W-8006 pad finally finish up with M-80 speed glaze and PC with 8006 pad. Bottom Line for such severe defects in my opinion I think's it's a futile attempt to remove these defects with a PC where it's clearly evident a high speed rotary buffer is needed...BTW just my opinion from my experience and what I see...

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I think a rotary would just be overkill. With optimum products, and the right pads a PC is perfect.

mblgjr said:

XMT 1 will remove micro-marring. However, given his halogen lighting you can clearly see some of the deeper scratches are still there. Its not going to touch what I see and am addressing in the pics.

While I agree that the PC has its limitations and a rotary would be better, very similar results can be yielded with patience/right products; without the fear of hurting/burning the paint.

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Beat me to it. Thanks. And the fact that my piss poor photography skills and cheap camera arent making the picture any more distinct.

my01ws6 said:

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Looks good outside, but what does it look like in a dark environment with 1000 watts of light at 12 inches away?

MarlboroMan said:

Looks good outside, but what does it look like in a dark environment with 1000 watts of light at 12 inches away?

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I didn't want to be the first to say it.

Not bashing your work WS6, but there's a difference between standing back 4-6 feet and putting the halogens on what appears to be a "good" surface.

I was looking up on these Optimum polishes and was wondering if their most aggressive compound (Hyper Compound) would be more suitable for removing these deep of scratches. As you can see 3 passes with XMT#2 (what they call their medium polish) still left alot of light marring. I really dont want to do 2 or 3 passes with Optimum Compound and be left with the same result. Optimum Compound is like a medium polish in their line of products, it appears.

MarlboroMan said:

Looks good outside, but what does it look like in a dark environment with 1000 watts of light at 12 inches away?

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Exactly, black looks good in a picture a few feet away. But, get it under artificial light & the story changes real quick... No offense, that WS6 looks good! ;-)

Kevin the Clean 1 said:

Exactly, black looks good in a picture a few feet away. But, get it under artificial light & the story changes real quick... No offense, that WS6 looks good! ;-)

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It does look real slick.


Now quit paying attention to his WS6 and focus on the thread starter. Damn hijackers:lol:jk

Reverse Hijack...

Hyper is best kept with a rotary useage. It really doesn't break down well enough or cut hard enough with a PC. Thats why I mentioned earlier to keep in mind that all the Optimum products are meant to be used with a rotary and will require longer than normal working times with a PC.

I've seen some mix OHC/OC 50/50 with success, but I've never tried it.

Judging by what you've got, OC can be pretty strong w/orange pad. Use a 5.5" version/smaller than 6" pad if you have one.

OC has been reformulated to work better via PC and be less "gloppy" if you will. They had a few issues before, but the new version is creamier/doesn't coagulate like the older formula.

Alright. I take your word for it. Optimum Compound then Optimum Polish Im going to order tomorrow.

Ill have pics up middle of next week. Thanks for all the help.:beer:

Don't have to take my word for it.

Check out the other site. LOTS more info and trial/error situations there. I think you'll find better answers and pics that support your situation.

mblgjr said:

Don't have to take my word for it.

Check out the other site. LOTS more info and trial/error situations there. I think you'll find better answers and pics that support your situation.

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Hmmmmmmm. Now you seem not so certain. :lol: Kiddin with ya. Im still reviewing here and there.