Help: Rubbing Compound on New car

[mani1]

Guys my neighbor spray painted the gate/fence of his house and the white spray paint was all over my black Honda civic (only 6 months old). I immediately went to some local paint shops who advised I use rubbing compound. Not wanting to subject my brand new car to the extremely abrasive rubbing compound I tried out polish and then polishing compound (on a small panel) but it did not help in removing the white spray paint particles.

I had then no choice except to go for the rubbing compound route. Took it so a professional who spent 2 hours on the car. 80% of the spray paint particles have been removed and the remaining are only visible if I look very very carefully. To be on the safe side, I also got the car waxed 2 times immediately after the rubbing compound. Once using carnauba wax and secondly synthetic wax.

The strange thing however, which I noticed was the the swirl marks and small scratches were still there on the car. I am not at all concerned due to this but I am actually happy because, as far as my knowledge goes, this means that the rubbing compound did not cut a significant layer of clear coat and that my paint finish is still okay. My question is that is my assumption correct?

Secondly, I was advised that I should get the car treated again with rubbing compound again after a month for perfection. Is this advisable? Also when should I next wax my car? I am planning within 2 days. Reason being I am very paranoid about my car and want to keep my new black car shining as a brand new out of showroom car.

[Murr1525]

Re: Help: Rubbing Compound on New car

You may do better using clay to remove the paint, or what is left of it.

The swirl marks could be left behind, or the detailer could have just caused new ones.

I would want to use clay as soon as possible, then just a mild cleaner and wax would be fine.

[Shawn T.]

Re: Help: Rubbing Compound on New car

Just because there are swirls does not mean that a significant amount of paint was not removed. If your professional used a very aggressive compund on a wool pad at high rpms then it is possible that he removed a significant amount of clear coat. The only way to check this is with a paint thickness gauge.

I would suggest buying some Swirlx or Ultimate Compound and removing the swirls by hand due to the lack of knowledge of the amount of paint left on the surface.

I would go back to the guy and ask him exactly what he did to remove the overspray because aggressive clay shoud have bene enough to completely remove it. I don't see how an aggressive rubbing compound would have been necessary.

[mani1]

Re: Help: Rubbing Compound on New car

I was present during the whole procedure. The procedure was done by hand and it wasn't aggressive. The guy used soft cotton cloth and applied moderate force and sprinkled water on panels occasionaly. Yes clay bar could have been used but it never came to my mind
Also for whats its worth, my car used to get waxed each week during the 6 months of ownership with synthetic wax and carnuaba wax

I would want to use clay as soon as possible, then just a mild cleaner and wax would be fine.

why is that?

I watched very carefully and the detailer for sure did not cause new scratches. I know each and every scratch and swirl mark on my car and they are all old

[Murr1525]

Re: Help: Rubbing Compound on New car

Well, depending on how old the fence paint already is, it gets harder to remove the more it dries on.

[stanclub]

Re: Help: Rubbing Compound on New car

I am not a real pro, so I am just sharing my knowledge I have learned from the pro's here. Perhaps, the pros can give you better answer than I do, and I will love to here that, too. But here is what I think ...........

If you have over sprayed paint on your car, you may try to remove it by using 90% alcohol, acetone, paint thinner, or even paint remover. The fully cured clear coat is much stabler than paint, and usually can handle strong solvent such as acetone or paint remover. However, it is always recommended to test out first, on painted area such as under hood or trunk, before actually used. After using strong solvent to remove overspray paint on clear coat, I would give the car a good bath to remove any possible residual solvent, then wax the car if no detailing needed.

If you see the swirl marks, that doesn't mean that your clear coat is not cut, because the compound processed to remove overspray paint puts it back on. However, if the scratch you are seeing if confirmed to be the old one you have had, then that could be a way to tell.

I don't really understand why you need to wait a month to compound your car again, maybe the pros here can tell us why. My understanding is that you can compound your car now if you have other scratches to remove. And after that, you will want to polish the clear coat to remove any swirl marks or holograms, to mirror finish the clear coat. Then, wax your car with synthetic wax. If you want a second coat of wax, such as carnauba wax for better shine, be sure to let your synthetic cure for 12 hours ( wipe of after 30 mins dry, and wait 12 hours before applying 2nd coat ).

If I remember right, you don't want the synthetic wax to be on as 2nd coat, because the polymer in it needs to bond on the surface for better staying, and it takes 12 hours to have it fully cured and well bonded on paint, so it can provide long protection as it's designed for.

[mani1]

Re: Help: Rubbing Compound on New car

Thanks all for your replies. From what I have understood, what I need to do now is

1. Get the car washed using car shampoo tomorrow. Then get it waxed using Synthetic wax.

2. Let the wax cure for 12-24 hours. Then get car washed again (without car shampoo) and apply carnauba wax.

Am I correct?

I do not want to polish the car or remove swirl marks. My primary concern is the paint quality and clear coat. I want my car to last years (hence I want to protect clear coat) therefore polishing or compounding again to remove swirl marks is not my priority at all

[akimel]

Re: Help: Rubbing Compound on New car

Mani, I do not know how things work in Pakistan. Is your neighbor insured? He is certainly responsible for reimbursing you for the expenses in restoring your car.

You might want to find out what kind of paint he used and then contact the paint manufacturer and ask if they have any recommendations on removing the overspray.

As already suggested, detailing clay is usually the first tool used in attempting to remove overspray. If the mild clay doesn't work, then move up to a more aggressive clay. Clay would certainly be gentler on your car than rubbing compound in attempting to remove the remaining overspray. But if the clay doesn't work, then you probably have no choice but to take your car back to the professional and have him finish the job. But be sure to use a professional who knows what he is doing!

Rubbing compound will leave marring and swirls, though, as all the professional detailers on this forum will attest. This marring can be removed by using a milder polish (e.g., SwirlX or M205). But I wouldn't worry about this step until all of the overspray has been removed according to your satisfaction.

[mani1]

Re: Help: Rubbing Compound on New car

Well no concept of insurance here in Pakistan and my neighbor wont be paying me. Max I can expect is an apology.

I already had the the car compounded using rubbing compound by a professional. Good thing is that here in Pakistan, everything is cheap so everything cost me just around $12 including tips. 3-4 people worked on my car. Also applied 2 layers of wax.

Its night time here in Pakistan and I just came back from the detailing shop a couple of hours back, In the morning I will be more able to comment on whether the over spray has been completely removed or not. However my analysis at the shop is that 80% of it has been removed

Ps. Pics of my car before the incident

http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42303

[stanclub]

Re: Help: Rubbing Compound on New car

Thanks all for your replies. From what I have understood, what I need to do now is

1. Get the car washed using car shampoo tomorrow. Then get it waxed using Synthetic wax.

2. Let the wax cure for 12-24 hours. Then get car washed again (without car shampoo) and apply carnauba wax.

Am I correct?

I do not want to polish the car or remove swirl marks. My primary concern is the paint quality and clear coat. I want my car to last years (hence I want to protect clear coat) therefore polishing or compounding again to remove swirl marks is not my priority at all

If you are happy with how your car look now, then that will be fine. However, after 12 hours of cure time of synthetic wax, you do not want to wash it again, but clean the dust off with quick detailer or similar paint cleaner. Then you can apply your carnauba wax, and wipe off after it drys.

I will believe that compounding by hand and soft cloth should not remove much of clearcoat, and using swirl-x to hand polish your swirl marks out will not hurt the clearcoat .... at least not that much to the point that affect the protecting ability of clear coat. I will say the most protection that you should have concern with is your wax! Use good wax such like M21 or NXT 2.0, and wax your car often so you can maintain a good layer of wax on your car at all time.

[woody.01]

Re: Help: Rubbing Compound on New car

Hi, I would agree with Stanclub, try to dissolve the overspray rather than attacking the cars protective coat, I once had some overspray land on a red Mitsubishi and because i got at it very quickly, (luckily I noticed it), I managed to remove it with nothing more than WD40, and a lot of effort, maybe i was lucky and the paint had mostly dried by the time it got to my car. Yes it was a mess after, needing loads of washing and waxing.
Good luck, your car looked amazing before, hope you get it sorted !!!