Like the title says just wondering if I would be able to buff out swirl marks using a foam pad on a drill. Can't afford a nice random orbital at the moment, but I do have a couple 3m pads lying around that came in one of those DIY scratch removal kits that you can pick up at autozone. One is a purple cutting pad and the other is a smooth finishing pad. As far as rubbing compound goes I have some zaino Zpc left over. I've tried removing the swirls by hand but not having much luck there. So what do you guys say? Can it be done or should I leave it alone till I can afford a RO so I don't do any permanent damage?

 

certainly doable, but be careful to keep it moving in a circular motion so you dont burn the paint. good lighting and keep a good eye on it, take the buffing pad away every 30 seconds or so to check the paint finish.

 

I do a lot of detailing, mostly bikes, I understand what your trying to do here but would stay away from using a drill.. Even if u turn the tourque down on the drill you could still. Ause damage to your clear coat. I would wait until you can buy a buffer, the coast on the buffer is going to be cheaper than a paint job if something were to go wrong.

 

Thanks for the replies guys.

I know I should just wait till I do get that buffer but I might try to buff out a section on my rear fender under the seat and see how that turns out. I've always planned on replacing or doing some body work and respraying the fender eventually. So F it I got nothing to lose!!

 

I agree with waiting till you get an orbital buffer or at least a DA--but if you are set to try, make sure you go in small figure 8's-never allow the pad to come even close to a stop. Also, I use alot of various products but the best for lite to moderate swirls in my experience is Mequires 105. Not a Meguillers fan but this product works well. Clay the area first and always use clean microfibre towels. Follow with a good polish and wax.

 

I would not put a mechanical device on it.
What caused the swirls in the first place...probably something mechanical.
You see this sometimes when a car has been buffed with an orbital polisher...at certian angles when the light hits it. To me they made a mess with the buffer.
I use a 3m product white filling glaze. It has a very small amount of abrasives in it, but with a little bit of elbow grease it will remove swirls, scatches and bring out the shine on the clear coats.
Go to a NAPA store and tell them what you got...they sell it by the quart and it will last you years. If you know somebody that owns a paint/body shop...go by and talk to them. I bet they would pour up you a 1/2 cup full and you would have a bunch left. It does not take much...couple of drops on a soft rag and rub till the compound disappears. Repeat till you get the results you want. Go slow...Step back and check your work.

This is not something you want to use on your bike regularly...

 

Had a ton of free time on my hands the last couple of days and was kind of curious to see what kind of results I could get so I just went for it

I tried a small section under my seat to test things out and I was very impressed with how many blemishes I was able to remove in one pass. So much so that I decided to go ahead and try to remove a few pesky scratches on my tank.

I did small sections at a time and ultimately went over each section two times, once with the cutting pad and once with the finishing, using the same compound for each step because I'm a cheap *** and thats all I had on hand. Unfortunately I feel the cutting pad lost its bite rather soon into the whole process.

Anyways here's a few crappy cell phone pics, have no idea where my digital camera is.

Before

 

After




Not totally satisfied with the results but definately made some progress without doing any permanent damage. Not too bad for my first attempt at a detail. Looking forward to see what I can do once I get a real polisher to work with.

 

Looks good. i need to do mine

 

Here's a better pic, outside in direct sunlight