Taking Care of Your Paint
- Removing Paint Flaws and Waxing Your Car
- You can remove paint flaws by hand or with a dual action polisher. The tech tip will really be about dual action polishers and the pad you use with them to remove flaws in the paint and to wax the paint.
- Always read the directions and wear protective gloves and eyeglasses! I use a Porter Cable dual action polisher that I have had for about ten years. It has six speeds and a 5-inch backing plate. The backing plate has Velcro on it and that is how the pads stay on the polisher. I don’t use wool or microfiber pads.
- It would be very hard to burn your paint with a DA Polisher. But if you are going to burn the paint it is going to be with a wool or a microfiber pad.
- I use Lake Country foam pads and they are color coded. Red-Wax: Black-Sealer; White-Polish; Orange-Light cutting; Yellow-Cutting.
- If you are using a polish or compound, you need to prime the pad. After you put the pad on the polisher take the product that you are going to use and rub it into the pad, so that the pad is completely covered. Now put four dime size drops on the pad.
- Put the power cord over your shoulder so it doesn’t drag on your paint. Do not turn the polisher on when it is not on the paint! Start the polisher at a slow speed to spread the product. Now stop the polisher and set the speed for what the product directions call for in the guide. Put the polisher back on the paint and turn the polisher on. Turn the polisher off before you lift the polisher off the paint. You do not need to prime the pads for sealer or wax.
- Before you put paint sealer, wax, or a graphene coating on your paint you need to use a surface prep to remove any polish, compound, or clay luber that may be on your paint. You can mix the surface prep with 40% rubbing alcohol and distilled water.
- Do not let the product dry on the pads. Put the pad under running hot water and use Dawn dishwashing soap to wash the pads. Put the pads on a towel with the Velcro up to let the pads dry.
- Speed suggestions:
- Mother’s Wax – low speed
- Jet Seal – low speed
- Meguiar’s Polish – 4-5 speed
- Meguiar’s Compound – 4-5 speed
- Adam’s Glaze – by hand only