New to detailing

[5CCG]

i recently started detailing and really enjoy doing it. I bought a 6in griots random orbital with a couple pads, polish, wax. Used it for the first time last weekend and what i though would be a quick couple hours turned into about eight.
I have a newish car so the paint really wasn't that bad to start with. I had previously used ICE wax but i wanted more. pretty happy with the results that i got (being the first time im sure they will get better) but i did notice that i had some small scratches that i hadn't noticed before. From reading some of the posts here my guess is that the towel i used (Micro Fiber auto zone special) might have caused then, but im not sure. Anyone have a better idea? also i wanted to try a polish/wax bonnet for removing the excess. Will this cause scratches?

[Bunky]

Welcome to DC!

There may be several answers. One simple one is when you start removing the shallow sratches in the paint you are often left with few but now more obvious deeper scratches that were hidden by the overall marring. Once you start noticing swirls, you will look for them even more.

If you think you have actually added them it can be from several reasons: not breaking down the polish, improper polish removal, poor qualify mf towels, etc.

What was your polish process? Polish used, technique? Did you check the paint after polishing? Did you clean the pads while polishing?

[black bart]

WELCOME TO DC

[5CCG]

i washed the car then used clay that came in the kit. when i polished i used griots machine polish3 and put a decent amount of polish (4 quarter sized spots) on the pad. i turned the machine on 1 then applied the polish over a 2X2 area. once the polish was covering most the area i turned the machine up just about as fast as it can go then worked the polish in going up and down then side to side. did about 4 passes then buffed it, basically just rubbing it until all the polish i could see was gone. i didn't clean the pad off during polishing. There was a lot of white specks everywhere that were rediculously hard to clean up before i waxed. what would be a better process?

[Bunky]

I have not used Griots polishes but when polishes dust it can cause problems. I looked and #3 is a mild polish so my guess is you over worked it and maybe dry buffed it. It should go clear but not be totally gone since you will lose your lubrication. The pad should still be a little damp feeling when done with each panel. Plus, if you polish while there is dust everywhere you can put more scratches into the paint

[Stephan]

Welcome to the group

[tuscarora dave]

Welcome to DC. You may have left the pad lift off of the paint for a second, allowing it to start to spin fast. It is a common first timer mistake and when it starts to spin fast it slings a fine mist of polish out from the pad, all over you and the rest of the car. Normal dusting is not usually hard to clean up. Just have fun doing it and keep asking lots of questions.