Cut & Polish before sealing?

[calais06]

Hey all,

I'm going to give it a go at getting my car to look a bit better tomorrow afternoon.

I have bought:
proper pH neutral car shampoo
microfiber washing mitt
microfiber chamois
bunch of random microfiber cloths
Soft rim brush
Dodo Juice grey clay bar and magic lube
Duragloss all wheel cleaner
Duragloss Paint protection pack - Fast Clean and Shine (including Mint Microfibre Cloth General Purpose, a Mint Premium Microfibre Cloth and 2 x Foam Applicator Pads, 601 Polish Bonding Agent, 105 Total Performance Polish, Duragloss Fast Clean & Shine)

Now the only thing I am unsure about is the paint has slight swirling from being sponge washed in the past (previous owner).
I have Kitten Cut and Polish #2 and was wanting to know if this would be suitable to remove slight swirling before sealing the paint? I have a generic RO polisher, would this do to remove the slight swirling? I'm not after a full detailed finish.. Because i'm not a detailer and wouldn't be able to get that result anyway, just trying to get it looking better than it is at the moment.

Thanks

 

[TinSnips]

PM sent to avoid publicly bashing Kitten.

 

[Captain stupid]

I think you will find using cut and polish will add more swirls . Meguiars swirl remover should do the trick !

 

[Bill44]

In a similar situation, using the same gear as you, I also used Duragloss 652 pre-cleaner No2 after the clay bar. This removed any swirl marks and a few light scratches, and left a baby bum smooth surface for the rest of the process.

Give 2 coats of the 105 with 12 hours between coats. Use Fast Clean and Shine after every wash. It may look like it does not need it but believe me it does add that extra shine and protection.

10 months since I did mine and it still gleams after each wash.

 

[M500]

I now only use GTechnique products on my cars, a bit more expensive than most of the others but well worth it.

 

[RiCeY]

Everyone comments on how stupidly shiny my car is.

Every time I wash it i use the mothers wool mitt then dry with mothers weave chamois then go over the whole car with mothers quick detailer and microfibre towels, one section of towel for each panel then flip to buff.

Every 6 months I do the following.

Polish car with meguires scratch X remover
Polish car with mothers polish
Seal with mothers wax

You will be sore afterwards.

 

[TraidMarc]

Everyone comments on how stupidly shiny my car is.

Every time I wash it i use the mothers wool mitt then dry with mothers weave chamois then go over the whole car with mothers quick detailer and microfibre towels, one section of towel for each panel then flip to buff.

Every 6 months I do the following.

Polish car with meguires scratch X remover
Polish car with mothers polish
Seal with mothers wax

You will be sore afterwards.

I thought they had a clear coat over the paint? Cut & polish will totally stuff your paint.

 

[Luke V8]

I thought they had a clear coat over the paint? Cut & polish will totally stuff your paint.

*Sigh ...*

No it won't. Comments like that mislead people.

Tinny ... Would you like to do the honors or shall I

 

[DAKSTER]

I thought they had a clear coat over the paint? Cut & polish will totally stuff your paint.

Huh? lol sorry thats a fail... bad technique will stuff your paint, not cut and polish.

 

[TinSnips]

I thought they had a clear coat over the paint? Kitten Cut & polish will totally stuff your paint.

fixed


Clear is essentially non-pigmented paint (of varying composites and hardness, depending on the paint manufacturer), so it's perfectly safe to use abrasive compounds and polishes on - when done correctly. Products like Scratch X, SRP, and a lot of other over the counter swirl 'removers' actually contain more fillers than anything else - so won't actually remove swirls, but fill them instead (scratch X and SRP, among others, do actually contain ultra fine abrasives, though nothing that will significantly remove anything - they ultimately rely on their filling ability). Some do a very good job, some don't - none are permanent solutions. They certainly have their place - but the only way to remove swirls, scratches, spiderwebs and the like is through effective machine polishing with abrasive products and pads, appropriate for the task at hand.

If you're just looking to hide the odd swirl and get the paint nice and shiny, then a filler product is great, easy to use by hand and basically fool proof - just don't expect them to last forever - they will wash out.