Buffer trails are marks left in the paintwork after a car has been poorly polished using a machine polisher or 'buffer'. They are highly visible in direct sunlight and can look very unsightly. Buffer trails are inflicted when either the machine polisher is moved too quickly over the surface of the paintwork, an abrasive polish is used and is not worked in and broken down sufficiently, or from a combination of the two. They are commonly found when a car has just come out from the body shop after repairs as it is usually quickly polished after being painted but most often not properly polished.
Although buffer trails can look unsightly especially on darker coloured paints they can be fairly easily removed using the correct products and processes. The trails occur because of incorrect finishing, so it is this process that needs to be re done correctly in order to restore the paintwork and remove the marks.
Ideally a dual action polisher should be used to remove buffer trails as they have much less likely hood of inflicting any more trails due the the action of the machine, plus it will almost certainly have been a rotary machine that will have inflicted the damage in the first place.
A soft polishing or finishing pad should be used on the head of the machine in conjunction with either a designated finishing polish or an all in one polish product. The product should be evenly spread, worked in at the appropriate speed, then finished to allow the polish to fully break down. You should work approximately a one square foot area at a time and move the machine across the surface at about one inch per second. The polish residue should then be thoroughly buffed off with a good quality micro fibre towel as if the buffing process is not done properly this too can leave marks.
The key to removing buffer trails and too prevent inflicting them in the first place is be properly work the area being polished. The abrasives in the polish have to be worked for a long enough period of time in order for them to effectively diminish and break down. Usually when a polish product begins to turn clear and is hardly visible on the surface any longer this is a good indicator that the polish has been sufficiently worked and is ready for buffing.
If you are not able to use a dual action machine polisher you can remove buffer trails by hand successfully though it may take a little longer and require more effort. A sponge applicator pad should be used to apply an all in one polish product or a designated finishing polish, the same sized area should be worked as when using a machine. The polish should then be worked in both circular and linear motions and again worked until it turns clear before it is buffed off. When polishing by hand you may need to repeat the process in order to fully remove the buffer trails.
