Hey everyone. I got a Portercable orbital polisher for xmas and seeing as it is 65 degrees here today I am going to wash and wax my car.

Now my questions:

The polisher came with a foam pad. I will use this to apply the wax yes?

I also got a hook and loop disc for easier interchanging of the different pads. For this I have a lambs wool polishing pad. will this be safe for buffing out that wax? I don't want to damage my paint at all. It is my first time using this, but since my hood is damaged and will eventually be replaced or repainted I figure I can start there are not really worry if I mess anything up.

So to recap: Foam pad to apply? and lambs wool to buff it out?

TIA

 

You use the lambs wool for buffing and you should have one foam pad for glazing and one for waxing, if you really actually want to wax your car. Which IMO is a waste of time unless you go to a show because that wax comes right off whenever you wash your car again. Its good to make swirl marks temporaily go away though, but its recomended to apply it by hand anyways.

Hum, also very important when it comes to a buffer, faster is NOT better, specially when using coarse cut polish. you will get swirl marks or worse you cold burn right thru the clear coat.

 

Well my understanding of an orbital polisher was that it is designed so that you will never burn through your clear coat...

 

You must remember that with any polisher, the fact that you are using polishing compound which is slightly abrasive will eventually burn thru your clear coat if you polish your car too often. Everytime you polish your car you remove a little bit of clear coat, so it can take 5-10 years maybe less, if you polish your car agressively to burn thru your clear coat somewhere. The most prone are edges if you arent careful. Thats why most people wax their car for a show and cut polish once a year. It all depends how much clear GM put on their car, and lets face it, GM is good at Cheaping out.

 

lucky its -3 here, its too cold, and snowing