2ndof2

Ok, I know that sounds kind of ridiculous but I seriously need good advice here so I don't majorly F-up my paint. I've looked at various sites etc but I figure you guys can prob give me the best advice and maybe answer some questions.

The subject:
The car is a black 96 993 coupe ( that one right over there in my avitar <=== ) The paint is fairly good other than some swirl marks, stone chips in the usual areas, and two or three spots that look like bird turd may have damaged the clear coat. I had the front bumper cover resprayed and covered with whatever clear guard stuff Premier uses so I won't be touching that. The hood was also resprayed about a year or so ago as was the rear bumper cover but no clear guard on those.

The products I purchased for the job are:
3M Perfect It 38070 clay bar
3M Perfect It 3000 Swirl Mark Remover 06064
3M Perfect It 3000 Ultrafina SE 06068
3M Perfect It Foam Polishing Pad 05725
3m Perfect It Ultrafina Foam Polishing Pad 05751

The polishing pads obviously are matched up with the different polishes and I even got the wall poster just in case I forget which order the polishes are to be used!

I purchased a rotary polisher on the cheap that has adjustable RPM but its not the kind that has that oscillating spin pattern. Seems pretty heavy duty with nice handle set-up. Its a Chinese special by a company called Advanced Tool Design but the shop I went to is a wholesale auto supply place and they said they haven't had any problems with them for weekend warriors like me so far.

My questions are as follows (in no particular order):
1. What should I use for finishing up? I have some REJEX. Will that stuff do? How should I apply it? What should I use to remove the wax/protectant?
2. Other than washing the car with regular dish soap and my power washer what should I do to prep the paint? I'm considering using painter's tape over areas like rain gutters etc. to avoid possibly burning through the paint with the polisher on sharp edges etc. Any suggestions there?
3. Any tips on using the power buffer? Do's and Dont's?
4. What areas of the car should I be focusing on and which ones should I not even try to run the power buffer over?

Thats all I can think of for now but open to any other suggestions. Thanks in advance for any wisdom you guys can share!

gmblack3

As someone who has been using a rotary for over 2 yrs, I am going to suggest that as a beginner you don't use the rotary on your porsche. There is a chance that you could burn the paint. You need to get some panels from a junkyard to practice with or on a beater. Also the 8" pads are going to be a PITA to work with for you on the 993s curvy body panels. I wish that 3M would offer those pads in a 6" here in the US, they do in the UK.

I would suggest starting out with a PC from Phil at DD.

An orange pad to remove swirls with.

A white pad for final polishing.

Polishes:

The 3M swirl remover SMR is average at best. but the 3M ultra fina is an excellent finishing polish.

I would highly recommend some Menzerna IP instead of the 3M SMR.

Personally I would return the rotary, pads and 3m SMR.

The rejex should be applied and removed by hand. As with any sealant or wax, it should be applied very thin and removed with a quality MF.

You should still tape over all rubber trim as the menzerna and 3M polish could stain the trim.

MoeMistry

I would agree with gmblack3.

1. Return the rotary. If this is your first time, you run a high risk of burning the paint. Get a Porter Cable.
2. You can finish up with Rejex if you have it and want a high-gloss and shiny finish. Apply by hand using a microfiber applicator and remove with a microfiber towel.
3. Leave the dish soap out. It will also remove the natural oils in the paint. Washing and claying is adequate prep. Spend lots of time taping all rubber around windows, plastic parts, bumperettes if rubber, etc. It will make cleanup easy and you won't discolor any rubber and plastic surfaces.
4. Again, do yourself a favor, and don't use the rotary. It takes the professional years of experience to produce great results, I would stick with the PC and Menzerna Super Intensive polish and 106FF combo with the Lake Country Orange and White pads.
5. If you want to use a rotary, get a panel from a body shop first and practice. The buffer you have is an OK one. You can get a much better Makita for a little more $$.

Marine Blue

X3

If you're paint needs serious repair I would consider bringing it to a professional for the initial polishing. Otherwise an orbital and good products will be a much safer and easier to use.

If you intend to use the rotary the best suggestion is to learn from someone with experience, otherwise your car may end up needing a paint job. The major problem with a rotary is that if you're too careful you won't do any work on the paint and if you push to hard or stay too long in one place you'll burn through the paint.

Good luck and post a few before/after shots once you've

IcemanG17

If your new to polishing then DON'T use the rotary....or get a test hood-fender (something) with a similar paint setup to what you intend to polish....and practice on that....to the point of burning it, so you know how far you can go...

I also vote for a PC of some type.....I recently bought a Makita Rotary.......but am going to buy a PC to go along with it for lighter polishing...

Being in Santa Barbara....there has to be a good pro detailer in your area that can fix the car up right.....I'm sure Moe would make the drive for the right price??? :>)

2ndof2

Well looks like I'll be returning the rotary in favor of an orbital. Had a feeling I may be over my head with a rotary. Thanks for the advice guys. Will post bef/aftr photos when I do the job. Have a great weekend!

MoeMistry

I hope we didn't discourage you from detailing; just looking out for you You can acheive VERY good results if you have the right pad and polish combo with a PC.

Marine Blue

I think you're going in the right direction with this. You will be very happy with how easy a PC is to use. Just be sure to be careful around trim, a PC still moves fast enough that it can cause minor damage to plastic and rubber parts

redduck996

I'm looking for a good but fairly inexpensive polish, wax, and swirl remover. I've tried zaino in the past and it's great but too much trouble for me with the zfx accelerator and the mixing... I bought some cheapy meguiar's 3 step wax at autozone and not liking it at all. What can I get for 100 bucks over the counter? Dont want to have to special order my waxes.

detailersdomain

redduck996, are you using a machine or doing this by hand?

Marine Blue

Go to your local Harley Dealer and buy S100 Polish and Wax. For swirl removal go to a local body shop that sells Meguiars professional line and buy Dual Action Cleaner Polish, this is best used with a PC. This combo is perfect for mildly swirled/spiderwebbed paint. Anything more and you'll need something stronger. Meguiars pads are also nice.