honeycomb scratches from PC DA?

[eddie jr]

Can a DA leave honeycomb-like (hexagon or octagon) scratches? I am just doing a test spot on single-stage acrylic enamel with the PC DA on speed 5 with white LC pad and M80 and i see these honeycomb-like scratches. I am not sure if they were there before or just showed up because the paint was quite dull and you couldn't really see any swirls. I used a nice clean pad, i already claybar-ed and then buffed the M80 off with a microfiber cloth.

Any thoughts? I don't want to go over the whole car if it is going to do that....

thanks

[Murr1525]

any chance of a pic?

[CHzo6]

They sure will if you pick up a piece of dirt or something on the pad while polishing. The orbit of the D/A is pretty close to the honeycomb shape you describe.

[Michael Stoops]

It is fairly common, especially on more delicate paint systems, that a DA can leave a bit of haze. The probability of this hazing goes up as the aggressiveness of the liquid and/or pad go up, too. As an example, our DA Microfiber System is very aggressive and often not a good choice on very delicate paints due to the level of hazing it can produce. But in cases of severe defects you sometimes need a high level of aggression to remove them, and that means you're going to create some haze in the initial correction step. In those cases, you then need to follow up with a less aggressive liquid and/or less aggressive pad. The concept is very similar to removing wet sanding marks with a rotary buffer, strong compound and a wool pad: you don't expect a flawless finish with that step, but you will remove the sanding marks. In the process of removing the sanding marks, you're most likely going to create at least some level of holograms, which are then removed with a finishing polish.

In your case, it's not sanding marks but rather just scratches, swirls and other below surface defects. And you're not creating rotary swirls, but rather a DA haze. And even though M80 isn't terribly aggressive, and the LC white pad is only moderately aggressive, how the paint surface responds is the big factor here. You might want to try following up with a less aggressive pad, a slower speed, less pressure, and either M80 or even M82 or M205 in order to remove the haze.

[eddie jr]

any chance of a pic?

Well, i highly doubt a pic will pick it up sufficiently, but i will give it a shot. I may have to wait to be able to pull it out in the sun.

Mike, you mention a less agressive pad.......my understanding is that a finishing pad (i believe i have LC black) has no cut. Does that mean that using one with an M80 etc won't do anything, or it still will due to the abrasives but to a smaller degree?

I think i also have a green pad but can't remember what side of the white it is on.

So with the LC pads with the open divot areas (unlike Meguiars flat pads), that wouldn't contribute to this would it?

thanks for the replies!

[Michael Stoops]

Mike, you mention a less agressive pad.......my understanding is that a finishing pad (i believe i have LC black) has no cut. Does that mean that using one with an M80 etc won't do anything, or it still will due to the abrasives but to a smaller degree?

Well, "no cut" isn't always totally accurate as this depends on tool speed, pressure, etc. But there will always be some cut when using a product with a bit of abrasive in it, like M80 or M205. But you will reduce cut, and more importantly you'll reduce how aggressively the pad material interacts with the paint, and that's what helps reduce or eliminate the micromarring / hazing.

I think i also have a green pad but can't remember what side of the white it is on.

That sort of depends on which line of LC pads you're using. If they're the pads you describe below, it only gets more confusing because LC has two green pads in that line, one on either side of the white pad in terms of aggressiveness!

So with the LC pads with the open divot areas (unlike Meguiars flat pads), that wouldn't contribute to this would it?

No, the contoured face of the pad should not be the cause of any marring whatsoever.