ok i am going out of my mind and you seem to be my only hope ( sounds like a weird star wars movie..."help me obi won canobie, youre my only hope" Anyhoo, herman, my 03 pure silver mini cooper, has been clayed, polished and then waxed. it doesnt have that deep wet look still. i know its pure silver and the colour wont look the way a darker colour would but i have seen others that look a lot better. Also even after doing all that, even using a swirl remover, i still have some fine scratches in the surface that can be seen at the right angle. Lastly, what to do about little spots where some wax or polish or something has otton onto the black trim? And lastly, aside from a specific brand name what size and speed etc should i get for a polisher ( mine is about to die )

ANY HELP PLEASE

 

use the force andrew, use the force!

 

lol...that wasnt the sort of help i was looking for...lol

 

Oh, sorry.
For the trim you should look into getting Black WOW. DP sells it and it is without argument (OK some) the best trim product on the market. Removes wax and restores the black.
As for a polisher - yes. Get a Porter Cable 7334 DA RO. DP sells these as well and you can get all your pads there too. I got a case for it which is nice for storage.
Now, what kind of wax & polish were you using?

 

i have always used the meguires mirror class pro series products on all my car ( started with my show mustang a few years ago ) Never had any problems so far but like i said, for once i see better paint polishes out there and i am very very particular about it. i dont want to have to go spend a few hundred on new prima products but i am guessing that i will have too eh?

 

"Have to " sounds so negative. Make that a "Want to" and it makes it so much better.
I can testify under oath that the Prima line is by far the best looking line I have used. From Swirl, to Amigo and Epic the system really works well. Add to it Hydro, Slick and Nero and what they have is a great line of car care products.
I've used Zaino, Optimum, Megs & P21S and I really like the depth and gloss that Epic gives my MINI. Of course mine is Chili Red and different colors look different with different products, but I'm content.

 

the porter cable that everyone is talking about...is it the 6" sander but with polishing bonnets? i have it listed as the 7336sp on their website

 

"220, 221 whatever it takes"
Yeah your right 7336 is what I've got.

 

ok thanks so much for the help / advice. i have some time off comming up soon so i will be sure to let ya know what happens once i try it. its just hard to buy more cleaning stuff when i want to buy more custom stuff!!

 

I think of it as mods that everyone can see.

 

Sounds like you have experience with both products, and machines. The Prima products are very impressive,and easy to work with. Investing in the product line will be a move I think you will enjoy

Mark

 

I only wish I could be as cool as obie won!

My apologies for the delay... I've been out of town.

At any rate, a couple of comments/feedback:

- You're right... your pure silver simply can't look quite as wet as other colors. Still though, it has flakes that can be brought out and it's likely that it can be wetter than it looks now (although my disclaimer is, of course, that I'm relying on what you're telling me since I can't see it myself).

- To get the paint to a point at which it is even able to appear wet, the fine scratches have to be removed... including the super fine scratches. Although some products and polishers can help with some of the scratches, there are honestly only a few brands of products and polishers that are physically equipped to get to the fine level of perfection that it seems you're looking for.

Factors like concentration levels (overall as well as the individual concentrations of raw chemical ingredients), raw ingredient quality (especially the abrasives used in the product), and the weight/balance/torque/motion/etc of a polisher can dramatically affect your outcomes.

In the abrasive products realm, brands like Prima, 3M (at least some of their abrasives anyway), and Menzerna will get you further than the other brands can.

In the polishers realm, brands like Porter Cable, Flex, Cyclo, and Dewalt simply have more torque, along with the most effective and safe mechanism (not to mention longterm reliability, etc). You need to have enough torque to effectively manipulate the abrasives.


So, to really get to those fine remaining scratches and achieve the level of perfection you want, you will need to switch to a better system (chemical and machine). Unfortunately, there just isn't an easier answer.

You've already seen some feedback on Prima and the Porter Cable... there are good reasons why these are popular, including effectiveness and bang for your buck.

Regarding the Porter Cable model numbers, you can go with either the 7424 or the 7336 (or 7336SP). They are basically the same machine. We sell the 7336SP here. The PC brand will get you everything you need at a better price than any of the other high quality brands I mentioned above.


It's likely that for your project and level of perfection you will need:
Prima Swirl
Prima Amigo (will help add depth)
Prima Epic (will add wetness)
PC polisher
5" backing plate
orange light cutting pad
white polishing pad
black finishing pad*
... plus about 10 hours of your time.

*Note that we sell a bundled kit of the polisher plus plate and pads for less than they are ala carte.

I hope that helps!

-Heather

 

thanx for the reply !!! unfortunatly i am in canada so i am guessing that duty to ship over the brdr would be just as pricey as some parts i have gotten from usa

 

Coopersports is in Canada and I believe they carry all the Prima products:
http://www.coopersport.com/usa/Car-Care-p-1-c-267.html

 

they have all the prima stuff, its the polisher and plate and pads i cant find

 

Perhaps the PCDARO 7336sp is just too technologically advanced for us to sell to even our closest allies?

 

that could be the case.... a little espionage maybe

 

Hey watch the Canuck jokes, eh. andrewholmes, just find any Porter Cable seller, Revy, or Home Depot type of place, and if they don't stock the model, they can order you one. Or just find your local Porter Cable service depot, they can order things too.

Mind you, with the Loonie being high now, and the fact that tools sell cheaper down here, the duty may not be an issue.

Mark

 

hehehe ... you said Loonie ... hehehe

 

thxs and i definitely have to save up to buy the whole package.. .

 

Yeah, and it's worth about $1.04 U.S. Or is that the U.S. dollar is worth .96 cents, I always get that mixed up But the Twoonie is worth twice as much either way


Mark

 

I too have a Pure Silver and have gotten mine to shine and have depth it took some work (I'll find out what card has the mini picts on it) I use and stand by my Porter Cable 7424, Lake County pads ( I used green and steped it down) Menzerna (http://www.properautocare.com/menzerna.html) thats where I get my junk. I love the po106ff with the FMJ it seems to be the best polish for the buck and the FMJ is just sweet. read up on the stuff also might want to join this fourm www.autopia.org some great guy and gals on there always willing to help.

 

Hey fellow Canuck. I know we get a little screwed up here with exchange and shipping/duty on these products. I got my PC at Canadian Tire. I ordered my Prima stuff through coopersport.ca. I got my pads from eshine.ca. It may be cheaper to get it all at once from the US but I had to collect over time .

 

this is my Pure Silver with some FMJ on it