To Mike

[chip douglas]

Sorry to use another post to message you, but I'm in a real rush (about to leave), and I'd like to know if it is quite normal given I'm working on a SS paint, that I get color on the pad ? The paint marrs even so easily, and at first I didn't get any red color on the pad, but now I do, and I fear the worst

I started with #83 + polishing pad, but had to step down as it was introducing lots of marring. Now I'm usng #82 + finisning pad, with a rotary that is, and it helps, but still some swilrs appear to not want to go away.......anyway the main point of this post is the color of the car that I get on the pad... !

Many thanks Mike

Marc

[6318]

Color on pad from SS is normal

--always remember...use the LEAST aggressive product first

[chip douglas]

6318,

thank you. Currently, I'm using #82 + finishing pad, but prior to it, I did many passes with DACP....I'm afraid I'm skating on thin ice

[Mike Phillips]

Hi Chip,

Just for fun, what are you working on?

As far as color residue coming off, it is quite normal and can be a cause for concern, but it sounds like your being very careful and unless the paint is incredibly thin, you should be OK.

Mike

[chip douglas]

Hey Mike,

I'm working on my girlfriend's car which is a red single stage repaint, and going outside and looking at it in the sun, I noticed something : a shady patch on the paint, just where the paint picks up the most color....oh god...looks like I'm toast

I've tried everything and swirls just don't want to come out of that finish, that is ridiculous up to this point.....but looks like I got a worse to worry about, namely that cloudy patch, I feel so bad now, you have no idea.....I mean after all the work I've put on it......(sighs)

Later

Marc

[chip douglas]

I meant the *pad* not the *paint* at beginning of my reply.

[Mike Phillips]

Well let's hope for the best...

Luckily she's your girlfriend and not a customer. If you have gone through the top layer of color, then you probably didn't have much film-build to start with and just about any product would have given you the same result in the same situation.

Just so you know, the paint on my blazer is horrible. It is a single stage paint from Maaco and it has thin spots all over it. It also has scratches throughout the finish that will never come back because they throughout the film thickness because of improper prep work by the body shop.

I wish I were there to look at for you to see just exactly what's going on.

Chin up... you intentions were honorable...

Mike

[chip douglas]

Thanks Mike, appreciate your kind thoughts.

I just came back in, and wiping the hood of the car, I noticed using Meg's ultimate MF (which is very soft ), that that alone introduce LOTS of micro marring...............geez is this paint WAY too soft ?? I wiped a very tiny area lenghtwise, and then widthwise and whatever the direction it introduced lots and I mean lots of micro marring.......I guess there's no way to rotary will ever be of help with that paint, what do you think ? I'm totally lost here. Come to think of it, I'm not suggesting it's Meg's fault at all, I love their products, but that paint might be ever so soft, so much so that I can't take micro marring out of it ?

Best regards

Marc

[Mike Phillips]

Hi Marc,

Have you applied a coating of wax yet?

If not, apply two thin coats, you need to lay down a barrier-film on top of the surface. This will make the finish more slippery when you're wiping it.

If this paint is so soft that wiping with a microfiber induces micro-marring, then it will be impossible to touch the surface without scratching it or marring it, (Meguiar's microfibers are pretty soft!). Adding wax should help a lot.

What do you have for car wax?

Mike

[chip douglas]

Hi again Mike, and again thanks for your help, I'm really appreciating it.

I have #26,#20,#NXT tech wax, so I'm in business

I haven't applied any wax yet, as I wanted to hit the correction of the surface first. I clayed the whole car btw. The guy who painted it told me it was urethane paint, that is there's no clear, but rather it's integrated in the paint.

I've used #83 first with a finishing pad, which did improve the surface a lot, bringing out the red of the paint. Then I noticed swirls were still there, I did many passes with #83 with the finishing pad which didn't appear to improve the condition of the paint, then I kept using #83 but with a polishing pad this time. I found it didn't do much. Then I even tried a medium cut (a leftover from 3M), and Meg's polishing pad. It as a result created lots of swirls and holograms . I then truly understood that paint was real soft. I then stepped down again to #82 + finishing pad, which cleared the holograms and the most apparent swirls. But the finest ones WON'T budge. I tell you Mike, it's like I'm nuts over it, as I *really* wanted to get rid of all of them using the rotary buffer. For #82 I'm using low speeds (1200-1400), I prime the pad each and every time. I even remove it while still damp. Then using either a 50/50 water/alcohol mix, or Meg's 34, I wipe it off to remove any filling oils, to see if the swirls are still there, and then dang, still see them . I also have Meg's 81 hand polish, which I wanted to use after #82 as suggested by 2hotford.

As I said, I washed the car this morning, thouroughly rinsed it, and about 20 minutes ago ran an Meg's MF (the white one, with the black edging) applying normal pressure, as I wanted to buff off a tiny detail in the paint, then stroking up and down realized it left a lot of micro scratches, I then repeated it in the opposite direction to see if my eyes didn't deceive me, you should have seen the marring It was awful, I mean awful. Maybe #81 will do the trick ? Is it me who's all thumbs, or this is the kind of things that happens, that one cannot take *all swirls* with a rotary alone ?.

Prior to this car I did my dad's Thunderbird, and that was the complete opposite--that is I had to use a cutting pad with #83 to get rid of swirling....the clear on that OEM paint appeared to be so hard.

But on my girlfriend's ride, the repaint is urethane as I mentioned above, and further, it has LOTS of orange peel, so much so that It distorts the reflection

I really wanted to use the rotary on her car to make it look as perfect as can be, is there any way I can, or It's a lost battle ?

Many thanks Mike

Marc

[chip douglas]

I detail I forgot to mention : Im doing it outside, can it really make it impossible for me to get a swirl free finish detailling outside ?

Marc

[chip douglas]

Humm when I meant swirls, I thought they were cobwebs, but I was wrong. Now I know what I'm having problems with are cobwebs, but still I find it hard to remove them *all* with a rotary.

Cheers

Marc