Oh nooo!!!

[Top Down]

I decided to do a full detail today since it's finally warm in New England.
NXT Wash
Smooth Surface clay
Wheel Brightener for wheels
APC for tires
GC Leather wipes
GC Trim detailer
RainX

I tested #83 and then #80 on my hood, but I can't seem to get all the swirls out. I've come to the conclusion my paint is really really hard
Anyway, I was halfway through the car with NXT Tech Wax with a finishing pad (9006) and PC when I get to my bumper that had scratches on it. I decided to give #83 a try at that spot, but when I removed the finishing pad, the velcro stayed onto the backing plate
No biggie I thought, I'll glue it on like I've seen so many people do here. However, when I tried removing it again, the velcro came off again.



You can see where the glue tore at the foam. My question is how I can prevent this in the future. This was the third time using the finishing pad, so here are my steps with them and let me know what I can correct.
I use the pad on speed 3 with a thin bead on the outer edge. I spread it with no pressure onto a section (about half a hood) and then I go over the section with about 5-10 lbs of pressure. After I'm done I run it on top of a MF to remove excess wax on the pad. I then store it on a table inside an open ziplock bag. I've never washed it but I do run it on another MF before I use it again. Is there a special way to remove it from the backing plate? Should I do the MF steps more often?
The weird thing is I thought my #8006 pads would be the first to go since I apply more pressure and it's used on speed 5. The only thing I can think of is I use more product with the finishing pad vs the polishing pad.
Thanks for the help!
I'm going to take pics of the car now and post them in a bit.

[Top Down]

So here are the pics.



I take back what I said about #83 and #80 not working on my paint.

Apparently it is swirl free! The weird thing is since I was working in the shade, I'd bend by head at an angle to find fine scratches. It look like I still saw them, but I guess I'm going crazy



My trunk where I had used #80 two weeks before. I only used #83 on the hood and since I didn't think I was getting anywhere, I stopped there. Looks like I have more work to do!



High Gloss Endurance on the tires.
Wheel Brightener for the wheels and NXT Metal Polish used two weeks ago. Does the polish cause water to bead?



GC Leather wipes and then 303 Aerospace Protectant



Does anyone use anything to clean the tire tread?



I've been using GC Trim detailer on that section with the arrow, but then I realized today I should probably treat it like paint since it is painted.
Hope you enjoy the pics!

PS My car isn't black, I wish it was though!

[JG_Detailing]

I don't know anyone that clean's the tire tread. But I do know that you don't use any tire shine on them. Just on the tire wall.

[RamAirV1]

There is no way you can keep the tire tread clean. If you put product on the treads you will have major tire sling all over the sides of your car!

Looks to me like you got just about all of the swirls out. It looks very good!

How do you clean your pads? Could that have caused the velcro backing to become loose. I have never seen that happen, but I have read about a few others that happened to.

RamAirV1

[Monk]

"PS My car isn't black, I wish it was though!"

No, you don't!

BTW--I love that paint--I love paint with tiny little speckles in it.

[Michael Stoops]

Your car looks great and I know you'll get those last swirls out. That two tone interior looks really nice, but don't you find 303 makes it a bit to slippery to sit on? I have a similar two tone interior in my PT Cruiser (same paint color as your car I think, Graphite Metallic) and I like it clean but not slippery.

As for cleaning the tire treads, I have the Stage 1 turbo upgrade in the PT so it's making around 250HP....I just nail the throttle and once the tires stop smoking they're pretty clean I suppose.

[Top Down]

How do you clean your pads? Could that have caused the velcro backing to become loose. I have never seen that happen, but I have read about a few others that happened to.

To clean the pads, I just run the pad on top of a MF on speed 4 to get excess product out. I haven't ever tried washing them yet.

That two tone interior looks really nice, but don't you find 303 makes it a bit to slippery to sit on?

Actually, I have had the opposite experience. When I use GC leather wipes, it makes the leather slippery and it makes them squeak. I use 303 for the UV protection since the sun hits the leather directly when the top is down.

"PS My car isn't black, I wish it was though!"
No, you don't!

I just love black cars. My old car was black. Funny story is, I thought this car was black. I test drove it around 5pm during this past winter, so it was already dark out. When I did the paperwork to buy the car, the salesman wrote "Black" on the document when it asked for the color. I didn't find out til the next day that the official color of the car is "Dark Slate," which is dark dark blue or grey depending on the lighting.
PS The pads at my PBE store are backordered
I guess I'm gonna wax by hand after I get the rest of the swirls out on Monday.

[Top Down]

On another thread, I asked about spots I had on my glass.



I was directed towards this thread.
Glass Polishing....Deep Cleaning
Well, after reading the whole thread, I got excited that my glass might finally be clear. Nothing is worse on a fully detailed car than glass that isn't clean.


So the products I use are #4 Heavy Cut and a new Ultra Plush Super Terry.


However, after working a 6in. by 6 in circular area, the spots are still there. I shook the bottle, used about a nickel size amount and rubbed as hard as I can. I did 4 applications to the same area. Any other idea what I might be able to do? I don't have a rotary and the thread above said a PC is too gentle. What I've tried in the past are IG, clay, and magic eraser. When I look at the glass, it doesn't look like the spots are on the surface but that might be an optical illusion. The glass is definitely smooth though. Thanks for the help!

[Monk]

They are not on the inside, right?

[Top Down]

No, I tried cleaning the inside too. I think it's overspray from 303 FabricGuard.

[Monk]

Originally posted by Top Down
I think it's overspray from 303 FabricGuard.

I can't imagine how we did not guess that!

[benhui86]

if its overspray then i'd try quik detailer and scratch X w/ a terry cloth....