so i decided to go out and buy a buffer to try to get the scratches and swirls off my paint. i used medium cut rubbing compound and buffed it in. it looked fine after i cleaned it off but after it rained and dried it appears to be dust over the places i buffed. what do i need to do to get that off? thanks in advance, hopefully im not screwed. ill try to get pics soon.

 

Hey what's up, usually after you buff you should rewash the car to get the dust off. A couple of things you can also do is mix Isopropyl Alcohol 50/50 with water, spray and wipe down or for something more intensive try Hi Temp Prep Wash which you can pretty much spray on leave for sixty seconds then wash off. The Prep Wash will dissolve the dust even in those hard to reach spots. Hopefully that helps, and your probably gonna have to rewax cause all that stuff will strip the wax.

 

What buffer did you use.. brand of compound... what pad were you using?

 

not sure of the brand of buffer, i borrowed it from a friend. its a 6in orbital buffer, i used the applicator pad first and then the cloth kind of pad to "buff" it off. it was turtle wax medium cut scratch remover. hopefully i didnt do any damage to the paint, im crossing my fingers. it just seems like dust is on there because i can rub my finger through the area and it goes away. i took the car through a auto car wash and the dust is still there. thanks for the responses

 

Lets hope you didn't cause damage either ..

Was the applicator pad clean or used? The TW stuff is not a good choise.

What you have left there is still polish .. When you polish a car its different than waxing .. you polish to remove the imperfections then you use a cloth to remove the polish residue. What you have done is just more polising by using the buffer and a bonnet.

You need to remove the polish residue. If you have little or no knowledge of the proceedures do some reading at http://autopia.org/forum/index.php?

When you go to remove the polish residue don't use an old tee shirt .. use MicroFiber towels.

After you get the residue removed what are you planning on using for a wax?

Once the residue is removed look at your paint in the sun to see what damage you have created prior to waxing.

What color is your car?

 

BTW did you buy or borrow the buffer? You contradicted yourself in your posts.

 

you probably caused some haze with the med cut compound, i would use a mild polish or swirl remover to polish the haze out....

 

Good intentions, its just your product selection and methodology was a little "express" for us here at the Wash and Wax.......
We would have preferred you use a light polish to start with, then gauged your results and impending work. You could have then decided if a compound, or a little extra time with a polish was needed.
The buffer, unless its a PC or UDM, is probably a Waxmaster, or Craftsmen "orbital".....They are good for removing oils left over from waxes, and thats really about it. They do not provide adequate power for swirl removal, or abrasive breakdown.
Chances are you have marred the paint (if looking in the sun, you may see ghosts or halograms) but your still within a correction zone.
Having dust remnants is a sure sign the product was not properly broken down, and what your seeing is the abrasives, minus the lubricating oils. Your next step should be with a fine polish, medium style polishing pad, (white or orange).........A PC or UDM would fit the bill here. You can attempt cleaning it all up by hand, just be prepared with Ibuprofen when all is said and done........

 

if you really really really like your car, and you really really really want it to look its best, your going to want to get yourself the udm....go to excels website and check it out....trust me you need the machine....

 

thanks for all the replys, i polished the crap out of my car and got all the "dust" off. the car looks 10times so thank god for that. i appreciate all the info everyone has given me, i guess i just need to practice more to learn the process.

 

Glad to hear that it worked out for you.