Are They Safe?

[Josh6286]

Hey, I bought my first car (A Jaguar X-type) a few months ago and it is absolutely beautiful with the exception of moderate swirl marks. It is deep red, so they are very easy to spot. Tomorrow, I plan on buying one of those cheap ($30) orbital buffers to try to remove the swirls.. Am I fairly safe using this buffer, or is there a chance of creating holograms/more swirl marks? And I assume that a foam cutting pad would be best for the job?

Thanks,

Josh

Also, you may be aware of the very defined hood and curves of the X-type. Could this create problems?

[Murr1525]

Re: Are They Safe?

It will be safe. But it may almost be "too safe", that is not strong enough to remove the defects.

But SwirlX or Ultimate Polish would certanly be safe to use.

[greg0303]

Re: Are They Safe?

In most cases orbital buffers come with backing plates permanently attached to them and only buffing bonnets can be put over them. If you try to remove moderate swirls an orbital buffer won't be strong enough. You'll get better results working by hand on small sections.

Therefore orbital buffers are called wax spreaders. They're only good for wax application and polishing jobs but not defect removal.

If defects are really moderate you need a dual action (random orbital) polisher, like Meguiar's G110v2, Porter Cable 7424 XP or Griot's Garage 6".

[D307P]

Re: Are They Safe?

I agree. Working by hand would probably give better results than an orbital buffer. My wife got me an orbital buffer years ago and I used it once and not since. I bought a Meguiars G110v2 and love it.

[Tuck91]

Re: Are They Safe?

Did you buy this car new?