DIY Buffing/Scratch Removal

Thinking of heading down to Harbor Freight to pick up a random orbital buffer and some Meguiers cutter and polish to try and get rid of some of the scratches I have on my truck.
Anyone have any experience/advise on the matter?
Thanks!

 

I always encourage people to tackle detailing tasks themselves, provided they are ready for the commitment. Which Harbor Freight polisher are you planning on getting? As far s I know, they have two models....both are short-throw (8mm) DAs....one is free spinning (Bauer), the other is forced rotation (Hercules). The advantage to the Hercules is that it will not stall on curved panels. Both have a 6 inch backing plate. Your local Autozone will have some decent Griots pads......I'd recommend picking up some Griots orange (light cutting) pads for your correction, teamed with Meguiars Ultimate Polish, or M110. Autozone will have the chemicals as well. You can pick up a bottle of Meguiars Ultimate Compound, but that would only be for worse scatches/swirls.

Prior to paint correction......your vehicle should be washed and decontaminated. Autozone will have Griots Clay bars, and their Speed Shine (not Ceramic Speed Shine) can be used as a clay lube. Chemical decontamination should also be done before polishing, and I'm not sure what is available local to you for that process.

It's quite the rabbit hole you are about to go down.

 

Gosh, I had no idea! I was ready to just get the Bauer DA, use the provided pads, and get to work after a trip to the car wash.

 

It can be done that way.....it just will not be as effective and may not give you the results you may be looking for. Here's a plan that will give you some improvement and may still make you happy.....go and get the Bauer DA....it will serve you well. Wash and, at the very least, clay your truck. I'm not sure if your local Harbor Freight has the Bauer pads....but if they do, get the fine foam and the finishing pads. Pick up some Meguiars finishing polish (M210)...use with the fine foam pads.....get several of each pad...I'd recommend at least four of the fine foam pads and two finishing pads. My favorite sealant is Jescar Ulta Lock Plus (mail order).....but you can use any one you choose. Harbor freight will probably carry the Meguiars Hybrid Ceramic Liquid Wax...use the finishing pads for that. I think that will bridge the gap between your original approach and one that gets a lot more involved

 

HF used to sale rotary machines also, I don't know if they still do. If you accidently buy a rotary, you have to be very careful. Rotary machines will burn through your paint very easily if you don't know what you are doing. Dual Action machines are pretty safe, you would have to polish in one place with a lot of weight on it to hurt your paint. Get a dual action, read a little on Autopia or one of the other detailing sites on using one and go to town. They will polish out a lot of defects and when you use them on your wax or sealants, it is like a thousand hands polishing at once. Good luck.