SOOOO…. You want to get rid of those swirls and light scratches on your car eh?

Well let’s talk about something that will ultimately be the best decision of your life, a DA Polisher!

DA (dual action) Polishers like the Porter Cable 7424 and the FLEX 3401VRG provide exceptional results with minimal risks to your paint all in a reduced amount of time, making them ideal for enthusiasts who want their weekends back. The ultimate goal here is to remove those unsightly swirls and “spider web” marks from your clear coat. The DA polisher helps with the learning curve of some of the more powerful Rotary polishers by reducing what is called burning through.

How?…let me explain…

What is a Dual Action Polisher?

This is a wonderful question! A DA polisher has a pad that spins on a spindle, and this spindle spins along an eccentric shaft (think of a jiggling pad going around in circles). This dual action minimizes heat since it never spins in the same pattern for any length of time, and that heat dissipation is what saves the clear coat from burning and marring. A rotary polisher simply spins which increases heat and under the hands of a beginner can burn thru the clear coat and mess up the underlying paint…..the wrong way we are wanting to go here….

Although DA polishers are a great tool, they can’t do everything. Deep scratches and sanding marks will be minimized but will not go away since the clear coat around these has to be leveled out much further than a DA is capable of; this is where the rotary polishers come into play. As you can imagine, rotaries are not for the beginner and should only be used under experienced hands.

Now let’s get into what we need to make this work!

Accessories:

You will need a backing plate to use with your polisher to hold the pad as you polish. I normally recommend a 5/6 inch backing plate for general purposes, smaller for those tight areas.

You will also need an assortment of pads (as one pad just won’t “cut” it). Here you’re going to want a pad that is about 1-1.5inchs bigger than your backing plate. YOU NEVER WANT THE BACKING PLATE TO HIT THE CAR…..bad

Types of pads:

Cutting pad: this is a rough pad, it aids in the gradual removal of the clear coat surrounding the swirl you are trying to remove. The higher the “cut” the more it takes off…this you have to be careful of!

Light Cutting pad: this is a basic all purpose pad which will remove light swirls and can also be used for pre wax cleaners, fine polishes, and cleaner waxes.

Polishing Pad: this is for the polishing step (as you guessed) which is for those pre wax cleaners, polishes and cleaner waxes that don’t have any abrasives.

Finishing Pad: used to buff or apply glazes/sealants

Final Polishing Pad: A very soft pad great for applying wax, glaze and any final buffing

Now that we've gotten that out of the way…. How do I polish out swirls and scratches? You’ve learned a lot thus far…now let’s take this knowledge and apply it what we are trying to do…make your car look better!

Compounding:

• Use the cutting/light cutting pad when applying a compound/swirl remover solution. Choose a light cutting pad and fine swirl to start for those light to moderate imperfections and a heavier cut pad and swirl remover for those nastier swirls/scratches. But, always use the lesser first
• Prime your pad with a quick mist of quick detailer. Then apply the compound in three nickel sized spots around the outer edge of the pad. Place the pad on the paintwork and spread in a 2’ x 2’ area.
• Turn the polisher to 2/3 and spread your compound thin and evenly to start the compounding process. Then up the speed to 4/5 to activate the compound and start removing those swirls
• Move in an alternating pattern (figure 8, up down left right, side to side) to “hit” the swirl/scratch to knock down the edge to even out the clear coat.
• When the compound begins to dry, turn the machine off and lift the pad from the paint and buff the residue off with a soft micro-fiber towel to see your results. If you have a halogen light look at the reflection of the light, if it no longer shows the swirls you’re in good shape. If the light looks distorted still with all the swirls reapply compound and repeat steps 2-4 until you reach the desired level of smooth.
• It isn’t necessary to compound your entire car. Compound is for those trouble spots and sections with lots of swirls. Compounding slllooowly removes clear coat and should not be done all the time!

Polishing:

• Use a polishing pad with a finishing polish or pre wax cleaner. This takes the paint that you just compounded (along with the rest of the car) and restores the shine to the dull paint
• Spritz your pad with water/quick detailer and apply polish in 3 nickel sized spots around your pad. Spread with machine off then turn on to lowest setting to evenly spread polish
• Turn the machine on to about 4-5 and polish just like you did the compound in the alternating pattern in the 2’ x 2’ pattern
• When polish begins to dry turn off the machine and lift to wipe the area clean with a micro-fiber towel to admire your nice clean sheen of freshness.

Finishing:

• Use the finishing pad to apply your favorite wax or sealant.
• Apply product to pad and work in the same side to side on a low 2/3 setting on the polisher. Depending on the product you can either apply to the entire car or section by section. This step alone takes no time at all and beats out hand polishing for the normal DIY guy.
• Buffing, you can either do this by hand to remove the wax or use a micro-fiber bonnet over a lamb’s wool leveling pad.

If you practice you will start to see the wonderful benefit of using a DA polisher and the awesomeness that this hobby/pastime/lifestyle can achieve