ok well i just "detail" my GFs car (honda accord) 04 i used the duragloss and it really didnt take all the swirls..it did minimize them though and gave me a bit of shine..then follow up with Four Star Ultimate Paint Protection. now question is..

what other polisher should i buy since duragloss didnt really work well.
and what other wax would give me a VERY VERY deep wet look and more importantly SHINE.
if you guys can please help. thanks

Got a few questions for you...

What was your exact process? wash - clay - polish - sealant/wax???

Did you do everything by hand?

Which duragloss product did you use? I have used #105 (by hand) and I liked it. Followed it up with Four Star UPP too and I liked the results.

yes i wash - clay - polish - wax and used the portel cable

and use duragloss SMR 671. is that my issue?

I think the issue is your hands inability to exfoliate the surface. By that I mean your hands (By no fault of your own) just cant provide enough attrition to break down polishes which in turn, churn up the dead paint and round out the swirls edges.
Theres nothing like using a PC on the surface for enhancement.

he said he used a PC...

Missed that on post 3. What pads?

I'm guessing he needs to have used lake country orange pad for cutting!!!?!?

See, I've been paying attention.

well i got the pads from exceldetail.com i got an orange white and red. oh by the way, to put a the wax on..do i need to do it on the speed of 5? or lower the speed? and i dont think i need to use the orange pad since the duragloss SMR 671 took most of them out.. that is why i wanted to know if anyone can tell me a different type of polish that will help me?

Yaze, Im a little stumped. Your first post said "used the duragloss and it really didnt take all the swirls........ duragloss didnt really work well."
Then you wrote this..............
" i dont think i need to use the orange pad since the duragloss SMR 671 took most of them out".........
This is DG 671, with an Orange pad, followed with a white pad:
I think I followed up with either UPP or 105.......
671 is a stellar polish for light swirls, and color enhancement. You might want to give 671 another shot w/orange and the follow up with white (depending on paint color) Massage the paint on about speed 4 over a 2x2 area, and just take your time. Minimum 3 passes. 671 breaks down rather quickly as indicated by light dusting.
Sealing should be done on a comfortable setting. No need to put it on on speed 6, but no need to apply it at 2 either. Just find something comfortable, overlap your passes 50%. I do it at about 4-5 or so. A rather quick clip but thats how I like to do it!

sorry if i confuse you guys..i did use the DG 671 with a white pad because originally i used the Orange pad with optimum hyper compound so. here is a better view

orange pad = optimum hyper compound
white pad = Duragloss 671

and this is what i got left with....and sorry for the bad quality pictures is from my phone

How much pressure where you using over the head of the machine??
How much product did you apply to the pad?
How many passes did you use?? How many left-right and up-down?

I'm sorry your first attempt didn't take out all the swirls how you wanted, using the PC takes a little practice..I was/still am far from perfect using it..

i just use a little more then my hand weight over the head of the PC
and i just put a thin fine line around the 5.5" pad
an about 10 left to right and about 8 up and down

and what the pictures are showing is nothing compare to how bad the swirls was before, so im happy it took some of it but sad it didnt took all of it out

put a bit more pressure on the PC when you do it and move the speed to 5 or 6. You need to work the compound in really well so it breaks down properly. On an area the size you are doing, you might work the product 2 minutes or so a section. That should correct what you show in your pictures. If it doesn't repeat the process.

yea im going to try it again...but should i try it with DG 671? or a different brand/polish? and what pad?

are you doing this in a garage or outside?

i did this indoors but the next time is goin to be outside but under the shade

Youve got a light polish, and an intensive polish. Maybe something in between is in order? Something comparable to Compound II. And some additional pressure appears in order as well.......
Great attitude also for not being an initial happy camper also. We can get you through it.......

thanks exceldetail and everyone that took the time to read and listen to me, but say you guys are in my shoes..which polish should i buy?..because i am ready to buy..just throw me a name and a color pad and ill place the order...because i wouldnt know what polish would be consider a in between polish. and with the wax i already have the 4 star UPP which is a good product..anything else i can put ontop of that to give it a real show room shine?

I have had very good success with Optimum compound w/orange pad and optimum polish with white pad followed with Meguiars synthetic sealant 2.0. If you use 2.0, let the sealant sit on the car for about a half hour to an hour.

What you'll find is that everyone has a different recipe they use, but what most of us here agree on is that it's the process and technique that matters most: wash, clay, compound, polish then wax.

BTW, you should wipe down your car with a 50/50 mix of water and isopropyl acohol after you are done polishing and before you wax, this removes all of the polish residue left behind and sets up the paint nicely for the wax.

thanks rlerman ill def do that and see how that works out ill so here is what im goin to buy.

optimum polish = white pad hope that would fix those left swirls i have.
and the isopropyl to mix with water..thanks again

and you said to let the 2.0 sit for 30 min..meaning dont wipe down after puttin it on the car? you confuse me on that one, if you can please explain

Excellent answer, although my opinion differes slightly on the IPA wipedown. And why has everyone gone crazy with this notion?
Polishes contain valuable paint nutrients, also known as lubricants. These oils are what provide depth and rejuvenation, and for the most part, totally compatible with todays (most) sealants. These sealants we use also contain enriching oils. Would we wipe down the surface with IPA after applying sealants? Hell no!!
Its part of the process folks!
If your really concerened with excessive oils after polishing, park it in the sun for 10-15 minutes and thin the oils out and wipedown. But for cryin out loud, let the oils live!!
(I need to do a write up on this as well)

Of course there are exceptions to the rule, such as using older solvent based polishes with water based sealants, but for the most part with V.O.C. specifications, polishing petroleum distillates are running down a very narrow path folks!

Yes, apply the sealant as the instructions state on the bottle. Basically, use a red or black pad and apply it as you would any wax. Leave the wax on the car for 30/60 min, then wipe off, comes off easy.

Patrick: You may be correct, but I've had some success with the IPA. That said, Ill skip the IPA next time and see how it goes.

When you say luck, what actually are you accomplishing any different? Is it a function of LSP longevity your acquiring? Im not being sarcastic, im just trying to discover something Im possibly missing. I never professed to know everything!

I just find the IPA cleans all residue from the car and gives a good base for the wax. No scientifc proof it actually works, but the meguiars synthetic literally lasted 6 months over this past fall/winter...water was still beading off most of the car toward the end and all i used over the winter was ONRWS. It's also a DD carr.

Perhaps the same result would have happened without the IPA step???

I'm an IPA fan too .. just to clean the surface prior to a sealant .. or I use an AIO ..

I did a hood/roof comparrison on one of my customers BMW SUV and found no difference in performance or looks after 5 months. Hood got the IPA 50/50 wipe.

If that's the case, then it supports that it is probably not necessary then, right?

No... supports that 50/50 works as well as an AIO ... And when I'm talking sealants I'm not talking OTC pretend stuff.

Sealants like a clean surface to bond to and most of the good ones don't have the cleaning ability.

Would certainly make for some good testing over a 1-3 month period eh?

I misunderstood that you did a 50/50 on the roof and nothing on the hood.