The polish goes directly on the foam. For wax application you would use a smaller cell foam pad to apply it. It really doesn't do much. Off the top of my head the only waxes that would benefit are the run of the mill cleaner waxes, NXT, FX synwax, etc. Anything without polishing ability isn't going to be improved by machine application. NXT only benefits because it seems that the oils that fill in the swirls are worked into them more....anywhoo...

You can use it for removal, but it's really not necessary and doesn't provide any better results. This you would use a bonnet for. I wouldn't use a rotary to remove polish anyway.

You would use a microfiber bonnet from pakshak.com or another retailer. You can use 100% cotton terry, but they don't last long and they usually have some polyester content, which is kind of harsh on paint.

 

I know the polish goes on the foam, duh:chuckles:

I was planning on waxing by hand cause im using S100 which is about as easy as it gets when it comes to application and removal. But I am gonna us the rotary to apply the Vanilla Moose, im thinking that as you stated above, the material will get worked into the swirls more providing a better end result.

So im thinking that 1000-1500 rpm is about where im gonna set it when I do this, sound about right? Is the key to getting good results keeping the pad flat on the surface? With my RO I was able to tilt the pad and didn't have to worry about it, seems like I have to worry about it now. This can become an issue cause my door panels are concave. But at least my hood and trunk will look nice!!!

 

Vanilla Moose. :love: I remember when it smelled like vanilla, but that's another story...

You may not need fine cut with a rotary. You may find that using a less agressive polish with it is more than adequate. I really can't say not having seen the car, but note that fine cut is meant to be used by rotary, so the results will be quite different by rotary. My advice is to do one panel, or half a panel, go get yourself a drink, come back, and look at it. Maybe pull it out of the garage, and look at it from all angles to see that you're doing what you want to before you do the entire car. If you have flourescent lighting in the garage, get something with a light bulb that will focus it more. Flourscent lighting doesn't show much of swirl marks, it's very hard to detail under unless you have a light you can use to check your work every so often.

I keep a flashlight with me when I detail. Yeah, I have issues...

 

You can tilt it a little. And by very little I mean VERY LITTLE. Not half of the pad in the air. That speed range is good. Keep it at 1000. You'll notice the speeds aren't marked in RPMs (yeah, I know, intelligent of them...), so you have to do a little math to figure out what increments the speed is. I forget, and really I didn't pay attention to that, I just knew what speeds I was comfortable with after using a DeWalt last summer. You can increase your speed a little as you get more comfortable, but I would always start out at 1000 and then work my way up, not start out at 1500 all the way. It's just that much safer that way.

I assume you know not to mix products on pads. Wash the pads after you are done though. I let a pad go for a few weeks and the polish degraded the foam a little. It didn't look like it had, I just noticed the "cutting" of the pad wasn't doing a whole lot.

You may want to use a polishing or finishing pad with VM. You may want to use a polishing pad and not a cutting pad with the fine cut. It would be a good idea to get an intermediate polish eventually so that when you want to do this again, you can see if you can get good results without going very agressive (more than likely). Fine cut should become the last resort product after you are done with this. With proper washing and everything it should never get that bad again.

I use #83 DACP on my paint (or equivalent in agressiveness) once a year now. My paint never gets bad enough as to where I need it more than that. I polish it out with a lighter polish since it does start to lose its "look" but otherwise, I don't go any more agressive than I need to more often than I need to.

 

Vanilla Moose. :love: I remember when it smelled like vanilla, but that's another story...Funny you should say that cause when I got it, the first thing I did was smell it. I was like "damn, that don't smell like vanilla" h:

You may not need fine cut with a rotary. You may find that using a less agressive polish with it is more than adequate. I dunno, but shit, I paid $10 for the fine cut so im using it,hehehe. I'll do a small section with fine cut and a small section with VM and see the results and go from there. I really can't say not having seen the car, but note that fine cut is meant to be used by rotary, so the results will be quite different by rotary.Quite different as in better, right? My advice is to do one panel, or half a panel, go get yourself a drink, come back, and look at it. This is just to get a different perspective right? Good idea. Cause I'll tell ya, I washed my car today and it looked good. I came back outside to leave and dayum, the swirls were so heavy it looked like they were in 3D. Maybe pull it out of the garage, and look at it from all angles to see that you're doing what you want to before you do the entire car. If you have flourescent lighting in the garage, get something with a light bulb that will focus it more. Flourscent lighting doesn't show much of swirl marks, it's very hard to detail under unless you have a light you can use to check your work every so often.

I keep a flashlight with me when I detail. Yeah, I have issues...ahahaha, we have regular lighting in the garage, no flourescent.

You can tilt it a little. And by very little I mean VERY LITTLE. Not half of the pad in the air.So how do you keep the pad flat when the panels are concave? This worries me. That speed range is good. Keep it at 1000. You'll notice the speeds aren't marked in RPMs (yeah, I know, intelligent of them...), so you have to do a little math to figure out what increments the speed is. I forget, and really I didn't pay attention to that, I just knew what speeds I was comfortable with after using a DeWalt last summer. You can increase your speed a little as you get more comfortable, but I would always start out at 1000 and then work my way up, not start out at 1500 all the way. It's just that much safer that way. OK

I assume you know not to mix products on pads.Yeah, that's pretty common sense stuff. Wash the pads after you are done though.OK. How many uses do you normally get out of a foam pad? I let a pad go for a few weeks and the polish degraded the foam a little. It didn't look like it had, I just noticed the "cutting" of the pad wasn't doing a whole lot.

You may want to use a polishing or finishing pad with VM. You may want to use a polishing pad and not a cutting pad with the fine cut.I'm thinking a polishing pad for both, sound good? It would be a good idea to get an intermediate polish eventually so that when you want to do this again, you can see if you can get good results without going very agressive (more than likely).What would you recommend? Fine cut should become the last resort product after you are done with this. With proper washing and everything it should never get that bad again. It won't get this bad again,not while I have it. I was able to keep my Accord swirl free for a year after getting a new paint job, and it was a dark color too so I think I did alright.

I use #83 DACP on my paint (or equivalent in agressiveness) once a year now. My paint never gets bad enough as to where I need it more than that. I polish it out with a lighter polish since it does start to lose its "look" but otherwise, I don't go any more agressive than I need to more often than I need to.

 

i remember my dad watched his car with a mop, lol

 

The Vanilla fragrance was making the bottles go...funky.

I paid $13-14 each for Menzerna. I know people that pay $70 for Souveran. I've never used it but apparently the detail gods (anthony a, scottwax, dean, superior shine, etc) swear by it for their customers with uhm, really expensive cars (and depending on color, too). I've used the Pinnacle Signature series and it's quite nice in itself (I got it for $5.95, shipping only). But very comparable to S100. You seem like the user that would be happier with longer durability than the best shine possible for a week. If you see a can of the blue Meguiars #16, snatch it up. It's a goner. It's somewhat difficult to use if you let it haze (I wipe on wipe off), and didn't pass VOC laws, but it's my favoritest wax ever I digress...

Fine cut+ rotary will yield better results, of course. But bear in mind that these better results just don't come from the air surrounding the paint. The swirls are micro-scratches in all different directions, and under a centralized light source (i.e. the sun) appear to be circular. The polishes actually remove a layer of paint (clearcoat today, usually except for a few japanese car companies reds, blacks, and yellows). Now before you get all scared, the paint is already compromised. It's already scratched, it's already not as thick as it once was, and polishing out most of the swirls isn't going to make your paint last any less long than just leaving them there.

But this is the reason why I am saying to not go ahead and use it everytime you wash. This is why the rule of thumb is to work your way up in the agressive scale, as opposed to going to the store and picking the most agressive thing on the shelf and using it every week. That's not good for the paint.

If the panel is not flat then it's inevitable, you're going to not have a lot of the pad touching the paint. Just try to keep most of the pad on the paint without putting pressure on the pad (i mean, don't compress the poor thing, haha), take it at a lower RPM, and keep the pad moving. Be careful around the endges of panels--these are the thinnest part of paint on the car.

I would say my pads have gone through about....hm....25 or so uses? And still going? With the rotary it's easy to uhm, get a rip in the pad and then cause it to just be useless. This will probably happen your first time so dont' get too attatched to it.

Polishing pads=teh win. Especially for a new user.

As for an intermediate polish....
the Poorboys Paint Polish or Polish with Carnauba are good polishes. Specialtymotoring.com carries clearkote and poorboys too. And some other things, but you may have to call on some items. If you tell him that you're a new rotary user he may offer you his advice.

I also like Menzerna Final Polish II (FPII). I really like this polish, actually. They're pricey, they're from Germany, but they're damn good, especially by rotary.

Poorboys SSR2 is also a good one off the top of my head. SSR's are more for orbital use though, they break down very quickly in my experience. SSR2.5 is awesome by PC but we're not talking about that, haha...

That new Mother's stuff may be good, I don't know. I wish I had the extra money to try, but I really want to try their FX synwax. Mother's introduced a few new products this year that look to be very promising.

There's also going to be a new Optimum polish coming out that may be good. I don't know, Anthony on Autopia says it's good but then again him and Optimum are kind of buddy-buddy and I wouldn't expect him to say anything bad about an optimum product. Great detailer anyway...

Choices choices choices, eh? Just search something on autopia like "prewax polishes" or "light polishes." VM does have some polishing ability, a fair bit more cleaning ability (the process of removing contamination, not defects, chemically), and a bit of oils to fill in. I don't want you to buy anything based solely on my opinion, since I'm not the final word on what's good or bad. Product opinion varies, it's best to get the general opinion on a product before pulling out the credit card.

 

Hey bro, I seem to be having some issues here. When I apply the material and get going, the goal is to polish until the material is gone right? This is happening for the most part but I am getting areas of dried material that won't come out with the rotary. I have to remove them by hand using a microfiber towel and some quick detailer. Is this normal or am I doing something wrong?

 

With the fine cut? You don't have to polish until it's dry. That may cause some halogramming, depending on the pad...

That doesn't mean load up the pad. Some powdering isn't bad, it's actually good, but you should be able to tell when the polishes have broken down to their oils and any going any further is kind of pointless. It's a fine line type thing.

But hazing/residual film with Meguiars polishes is fairly normal. You can mix a 50:50 water to isopropyl alcohol in a spray bottle if you don't feel like wasting the QD for this. Are you spritzing a little water on the panel before polishing? This pay help.

 

With the fine cut? You don't have to polish until it's dry. That may cause some halogramming, depending on the pad...Whoops! I been trying to polish till the material is gone. So with the fine cut, im just supposed to polish until it's broken down? Then remove by hand?

That doesn't mean load up the pad. Some powdering isn't bad, it's actually good, but you should be able to tell when the polishes have broken down to their oils and any going any further is kind of pointless. It's a fine line type thing.Hmm, I'm gonna have to pay closer attention cause I was polishing until gone. And the holgramming you speak about, I got a little bit of it on the passenger side fender. But it's not bad at all, hardly even noticeable.

But hazing/residual film with Meguiars polishes is fairly normal. You can mix a 50:50 water to isopropyl alcohol in a spray bottle if you don't feel like wasting the QD for this. Are you spritzing a little water on the panel before polishing? This pay help.I wasn't spraying detailer on the panel. I would spray a lil bit on the pad, add the FC, polish until gone. Spray some QD on the panel to help in removing the areas of film the pad couldn't remove and either hitting it again with the rotary or using a microfiber towel to remove it.