I am getting conflicting information about the use of power buffers. I have an adjustable Dewault power buffer. I have a 3M wool wheel to use with rubbing compound and a waffle foam pad to polish with glaze. I have just finished wet sanding the runs off a fresh base/clear ppg paint job. The car looks great except the dull areas from wet sanding.

An experienced painter said that if I use a buffing wheel with rubbing compound then I will get swirl marks that can never be removed. He said the polishing glaze will cover the swirl marks but will later wear off and then the whole car will have to be polished again and again etc... he said do it all by hand with a towel in one direction only.

The parts store guy said the wheel will work fine. So what is the verdict? Can a power buffer be used without causing permanent damage?

I've argued the opposite in this forum before: you need to use a rotary buffer to bring the shine back after wetsanding... ya can't do it by hand. Using a foam pad instead of a wool one should leave less swirlies. Wetsand fresh paint with 1500-2000, you can get a great shine with just a foam POLISHING pad and 3M Finesse-It, no swirlies and no compounding needed.

Chris

Of course you have to cut and buff a new coating with machine methods. If this was a 30 old year finish it might be a different story but any new base/clear is designed to be worked by machine methods. Chris is telling you correctly on this subject. Hand work just doesn't bring back the gloss like a machine buffed area.

So you are both saying that a power buffer used correctly will not leave permanent swirls that have to be covered with glaze every few weeks or months?

If this is true I am glad to hear this. So I should steer away from the wool pad and rubbing compound and go with the Finess it II with foam only.

Machines are the best course of action, they cut your work down, much faster. Lets say they do leave swirl marks, these are still just tiny "scratches" in the clear that can then be removed with whatever method you feel is the "right" way, by hand or whatever.

Well, it's hard to provide a formula that says you never have to use compound, or wool. But my experience is good with a more conservative approach. That's on day-old OMNI clear. I've used compound and a foam cutting pad on fully cured paint and had good results with that too. But the mistake potential is higher the more abrasive you go.

Chris

You know I think a lot of the crap you here about swirl marks comes from bad DA sander work and el cheapo buffers (12 volt) used by the many hobbyists. How many times have you heard about a guy with a black car, a can of wax, and him machine buffing the car in the hot sun? I actually drove by a guy down the street one day that was doing this! A prescription for disaster and swirl marks infinitum!