Orbital Scratch Removal Not Working...

[2014CamaroZL1]

Conclusion...
The root cause of the problem was the need for a more aggressive pad.
I used a yellow pad and made numerous passes and finally got some results.
I find it so surprising that the most aggressive pad and polish were needed to remove slight scratches that you could not feel.
Whew !


So...
I attempted several times to remove fine scratches using my Porter Cable and appropriate cutting pads and polishes.
Cars include my ZL1 and friends' GTI and C-Class.
I used the 2 Wolfgang products on my car and Menzerna 400 on the German cars.
Absolutely ZERO progress made in all instances.
PC turned up to 5 -6 and I am not leaning on it.
I tried different amounts of polish for different lengths of time and nothing.
I thought that maybe the PC was out of adjustment, but there appear to be no adjustments to make.
WTF am I doing wrong ??

[JTruck]

Originally Posted by 2014CamaroZL1

So...
I attempted several times to remove fine scratches using my Porter Cable and appropriate cutting pads and polishes.
Cars include my ZL1 and friends' GTI and C-Class.
I used the 2 Wolfgang products on my car and Menzerna 400 on the German cars.
Absolutely ZERO progress made in all instances.
PC turned up to 5 -6 and I am not leaning on it.
I tried different amounts of polish for different lengths of time and nothing.
I thought that maybe the PC was out of adjustment, but there appear to be no adjustments to make.
WTF am I doing wrong ??

What wolfgang products? Using microfiber or foam and what colors? And the M400 should cut through most of it, are you using proper techniques? Cross-hatch patterns, slow movements, etc. Some pressure does need to be applied when polishing (enough to work the polish but not so much that the pad seizes), you don't just let the polisher "glide" on the paint. The 5 setting is where you need to be so you are good there.

[2014CamaroZL1]

Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover 3.0 and Wolfgang Finishing Glaze 3.0.
CCS orange (light cutting) foam pad.
I worked slowly and tried a variety of techniques, but no results.
I don't even know how it is possible that it was so ineffective.
When you rub abrasive on paint, something has to happen...

[JTruck]

Originally Posted by 2014CamaroZL1

Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover 3.0 and Wolfgang Finishing Glaze 3.0.
CCS orange (light cutting) foam pad.
I worked slowly and tried a variety of techniques, but no results.
I don't even know how it is possible that it was so ineffective.
When you rub abrasive on paint, something has to happen...

Still using the orange pad for the finishing glaze?

[2014CamaroZL1]

Black pad for finishing glaze.

The GTI did have some scuff marks that came off pretty easily with the 400.
But no affect on the light scratches.

I don't remember how well I shook the Wolfgangs,
But the 400 is essentially impossible to mix by shaking by hand because it is so thick.

In the past, I was able to remove moderate scratches from my Subaru with the 400.
But the Japanese paint is much softer.
Apparently I do not know how to work with harder paint.

[CamaroDreams07]

Define your technique and working time. Be very specific. Otherwise we can't help you.

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

[2014CamaroZL1]

This afternoon I used the GTI hood to test various scenarios.
The pattern was generally back & forth, up & down.
Application pressure from zero to moderate.
Polish amount (Menzerna FG400) from little to lotta.
Working time from 1 to 5 minutes for a given 1 ft² application.
The PC appears to be working properly, but wonder if perhaps it is not.
Though based on inspection, I cannot see how it would not be working correctly if the motor is running.

[charlietuna]

What pad? Is the pad rotating did you mark the backing plate? Have you primed the pad with polish (Kevin Brown Method) or did you spritz with detail spray? Did you clean the pad after a couple of sections?

[13lstuner]

Originally Posted by charlietuna

What pad? Is the pad rotating did you mark the backing plate? Have you primed the pad with polish (Kevin Brown Method) or did you spritz with detail spray? Did you clean the pad after a couple of sections?

+1 with the limited knowledge that we have I would say the pad isn't spinning(although seems unlikely with being on 5-6 with little pressure), your pad might be clogged(happens quickly with foam pad especially if you aren't atleast cleaning with a microfiber after every pass), or maybe you simply aren't putting enough pressure? That seems unlikely though, because if you have your pad spinning on top of your paint with an abrasive in between it, there is no possible way you aren't doing something.

How heavy are the swirls you are correcting? You are doing cross hatch patterns?

[My 5th]

I had a similar problem. My car was in the body shop for two months repairing the entire passenger side from a sideswipe. I thought my car looked good when it came back from the shop, mostly because they polished the entire car. After two weeks the two gallons of glaze the shop used as a finish wore off it was swirl city underneath.

I clayed the car, used my PC, Meguiars "Swirl-X", an orange Lake County 6" foam pad, followed by Meguiars "Professional Show Car Glaze #7" applied with a Lake County white foam pad.

Looked better, but still had spider scratches and something just didn't look right about the paid (black). So this weekend I used DA microfiber pads, Meguiars DA Microfiber Correction Compound followed Meguiars DA Microfiber Finishing Wax applied with a white foam pad as before. Much better, but still not perfect.

I would recommend using the microfiber pads they seem to do a better job. The compounds I used the second time were probably a step above the OTC Meguiars stuff I used the first time. I wouldn't think your compounds are the problem, it's the pads. (IMHO)

[13lstuner]

Originally Posted by My 5th

I had a similar problem. My car was in the body shop for two months repairing the entire passenger side from a sideswipe. I thought my car looked good when it came back from the shop, mostly because they polished the entire car. After two weeks the two gallons of glaze the shop used as a finish wore off it was swirl city underneath.

I clayed the car, used my PC, Meguiars "Swirl-X", an orange Lake County 6" foam pad, followed by Meguiars "Professional Show Car Glaze #7" applied with a Lake County white foam pad.

Looked better, but still had spider scratches and something just didn't look right about the paid (black). So this weekend I used DA microfiber pads, Meguiars DA Microfiber Correction Compound followed Meguiars DA Microfiber Finishing Wax applied with a white foam pad as before. Much better, but still not perfect.

I would recommend using the microfiber pads they seem to do a better job. The compounds I used the second time were probably a step above the OTC Meguiars stuff I used the first time. I wouldn't think your compounds are the problem, it's the pads. (IMHO)

Definitely not the components. FG400 is one of the best compounds out there in my opinion.

Microfiber cutting pads do generally do an excellent job of cutting, but he should still get very noticeable results with the Orange LC pad. If it isn't perfect, it should still definitely be doing something.

[2014CamaroZL1]

Pad used was a CCS orange (light cutting) foam pad.
It was brand new and primed with polish.
It definitely did not clog during use, probably because it did not do anything.

My first thought was that the PC was somehow not working completely.
But the motor appears to be running as normal.

The pad is spinning, but not certain if it is spinning as fast as it is supposed to.
I am using at at 5 - 6 speed.

As I apply modest pressure, the pad rotation definitely slows.
There does not appear to be any way to adjust the mechanism.

Maybe I can borrow a friend's and see how it compares.

[charlietuna]

Originally Posted by 2014CamaroZL1

Pad used was a CCS orange (light cutting) foam pad.
It was brand new and primed with polish.
It definitely did not clog during use, probably because it did not do anything.

My first thought was that the PC was somehow not working completely.
But the motor appears to be running as normal.

The pad is spinning, but not certain if it is spinning as fast as it is supposed to.
I am using at at 5 - 6 speed.

As I apply modest pressure, the pad rotation definitely slows.
There does not appear to be any way to adjust the mechanism.

Maybe I can borrow a friend's and see how it compares.

I Would consider a more aggressive pad or a microfiber cutting pad for your initial passes.

Look at this video it has helped pros and weekend warriors like myself.

http://youtu.be/wsOFu-AzeUM

[DylanVK]

Definitely something off, most likely in technique if you're getting ZERO improvement. I could understand not seeing full correction, but to see no change at all points to an issue somewhere in your approach. Not uncommon though - its amazing how even the most subtle changes to process when correcting paint can make the biggest impact.

Originally Posted by 2014CamaroZL1

I am using at at 5 - 6 speed.

As I apply modest pressure, the pad rotation definitely slows.
There does not appear to be any way to adjust the mechanism.

There is no adjustment to be made to any mechanism when it comes to rotation. The rotation of the pad is essentially a byproduct of the orbital movement, enough downward pressure to slow the pads rotation is enough.

I find it easiest to diagnose things if I can see video of what you're doing. Shoot a quick cell phone camera video of you doing a complete pass and post it up for us. That will help a ton in getting to the bottom of the problem.