Here's a video clip for your enjoyment on how I removed the swirls from the soft plastic A/C pillars of the MINI. A-Pillars for the R50/R52/R53 and A/C Pillars for the R56 and onward. More videos on the way!

If you've got the bandwidth, choose HD for the best clarity.

I shot this at my new shop:

1121 N. Hawk Circle
Anaheim, California 92807

Prima Swirl and the Porter Cable 7424 RO polisher is featured here. The polisher is the OctaneGuy Modded PC.

Enjoy!

 

Last time I did mine, Richard, I used one of the small pads (orange) with Amigo and they came out like black glass. The small pad fits the pillar almost perfectly.

No Swirl, just the Amigo.

 

Great video. I can never get he swirls off my pillars! In fact this past weekend I used Prima Swirl, PC Speed 5 and an Orange Pad (but I actually put the swirl on the pad instead of the pillar).

Maybe I needed to go over it a couple more times. I did however seem to get them off the roof.

 

Yep, the small pads are nice, but for those that don't have the smaller pads,the standard pads work fine with an adjustment on technique. As for whether you need a white or orange pad, it depends.

Swirl is more aggressive than Amigo, so choosing a softer pad with a more aggressive chemical might work better or not depending on the situation. Amigo also has filling properties so it makes any dark finish look amazing. Using Amigo with an orange pad might be deceiving as you're using an aggressive pad and filling in any resulting micromarring through Amigo's filling properties.

After the white pad and Swirl, I'd still do a white pad and Amigo to finish it off. Results may vary of course.

Putting the polish on the pad doesn't allow you to focus the chemical where it needs to be most..on the pillar. On some pillars, the soft plastic is further marred with an orange pad, so you end up dulling it instead of polishing it. Using Amigo like CRPWJB might give better results, or using a white pad instead might also do it.

 

Thanks! I will try to clean it up next weekend and see where that leaves me.

 

So my wife got me the Craftsman 10-in buffer/polisher for a gift.

How can I maximize its use it to create a great shine on my 02 Pure Silver MCS?

 

Well this tool isn't going to do any polishing of the paint. At best, it will enable you to apply wax to your paint more easily. So any "shine" enhancement will come from your wax application, however achieving the best look from your paint involves "polishing" and this tool isn't suited for polishing paint.

You will need to clay the paint to remove any surface impurities, then polish, then protect with a wax or sealent.

Richard

 

Nice vid OG!
I have to agree with CRPCDAJB - small pads are the way to go. I'm to the point now that my time is split between the small pads and the 6" pads when I do a MINI.

 

The only downside to small pads is that you have to change the backing plate with the wrench. Not a huge deal, and for me, I've got around 6 PC's that I can choose from, that I can outfit with smaller/larger backing plates, to make it less inconvenient!

Small pads cut faster and allow you to get into more areas..definitely the way to go...but as I said before..for those that don't have the smaller pads and backing plate.. you CAN polish a MINI without them.

Richard

 

What do you use to polish the paint? I assume there is a number of variables there. Is swirl technically a polish?

 

Prima Swirl is a polish with diminishing abrasives. The paint defect known as a swirl, is not a polish.

You polish paint with a polishing compound. They come in different forms. Those that are hand applied are designed to break down quickly but they don't work very effectively.

Those that are machine applied are designed to have higher lubricity so that the longer you work them in, the finer they polish without getting sticky. Machine polishing can come in the form of using a random orbital polisher or direct drive rotary buffing.

I've got an entire article on this over at MotoringAlliance.com

Check out these articles
http://www.motoringalliance.com/libr...e-you-leap-31/

http://www.motoringalliance.com/libr...em-for-you-32/

Richard

 

Honestly, now that I've done it a few times, I can change the pad + plate almost as fast as I can change the velcro pad... slip on wrench, spin off the plate/pad, spin on the new plate/pad. Yeah, would be even easier if the PC had a "shaft lock" button so you could just push it and spin plates on and off... but, as Richard says, it's really no big deal. I'm loving my small plate/pads too.

 

Richard, in the video, are you using a 5" or a 6" backing plate. And do you recommend one over the other?

 

Richard, can you talk a little about the differences between the Prima line (specifically swirl and amigo) vs Meguires M83 (or is it M80?) which I have used a good bit after learning how on from your video.

Thanks,
Kenny

 

I use the Prima/Lake Country 5" backing plate. When using 6" or 6.5" pads (Standard Prima pads), your backing plate should not be the same size as you can really damage your paint by accident if the edge of the plate comes into contact with your paint.

Pretty simple. Meguiar's M80 was a good polish in it's time. It utilized one level of aggressiveness in polishing pads, the W8006 yellow pad which is similar in density to the Prima White pad.

If M80 wasn't aggressive enough, you used M83 which was about twice as aggressive. If that didn't work well, you were out of luck as far as using the PC.

I.e., you had 2 different levels of polishes and one pad to adjust your polishing capability.

With Prima, you have Prima Swirl, similar to M80, but a White, Orange, or Yellow pad. 1 chemical with 3 levels of aggressiveness of pads. By using 1 chemical you don't have to change techniques as you change aggressiveness. For example, M80 is a good polish, but M83 becomes gummy after a few minutes that makes removal unpleasant.

Prima Amigo is similar to #7 Show Car Glaze and M82 combined but even better. As a polymer glaze, it enhances the finish without the oils that #7 utilizes so application is easy...it wipes off like a sealant...very slick and easy. It fills in imperfections and is essential on all dark colors before going to wax. With a white pad, it can remove micromarring and holograms, but not much else. It won't remove swirls, but it will conceal them.

Richard

 

Time it! (I'm just curious )


Great video, Richard!

-Heather

 

Me too

Mark