New here and need help

[95LightningKid]

Hey, i just joined today after deciding to finally detail my truck the right way instead of just washing and waxing it once in a while. Its a 95 F150 Lightning and its black with clearcoat. After reading a little bit on here i bought Ultimate compound yesterday to try to get the swirls out but it doesnt seem to have done much. I tried it on one fender, three coats total both by hand and with a porter cable random orbital polisher. Any advice on what i might be doing wrong or what i should use instead? From what i read on here it seems that the UC should be able to take out these swirls.

Here are a few pictures...I know it also needs to be clayed first, (i just bought that today) and i know there are a few scratches and chips that cant be polished out. Any other suggestions for the entire process would be appreciated too, i'm very new to all this. Thanks

pics of other parts of the truck just to see what i'm dealing with...



the fender that i tried...

[k3ith]

Re: New here and need help

I am sure you will get the help you need here. To get us started... What type and level of cut does the pad have that you use on the PC? What speed are you using and how long are you working the product? Have you applied a polish over the section where you used the UC to see the overall results?

[SVT Lightning]

Re: New here and need help

What speed did you use on the PC and how much pressure did you apply? If you are just applying the UC in "coats"....that won't remove the swirls.

[95LightningKid]

Re: New here and need help

The PC was on 5 and probably 15 to 20 pounds of pressure (just enough so the pad was still spinning veerry slowly). The pad is a 3M DA glazing/polishing pad (i called meguiars before trying it and they said the pad would be okay to use). I put it on a section about 5" by 10" with a clean terrycloth rag, rubbed it in for a minute or two, then rubbed it off with a clean rag. Then i tried the same section again just smearing it on with the rag and using the PC to work it in slowly until it was almost completely gone, probably about a minute. The pictures are of a larger section because i kept trying it on different areas and over the same area again so i would say the front part of that fender probably had the UC applied three times, some areas more, some less (if any of that made sense). I didnt apply a polish yet because i didnt think that the polish would take out the swirls if the UC didnt. I have a tub of G18110 clear coat safe polishing compound, should i use that over the UC or should i wait till the swirls are out?

[Bill Davidson]

Re: New here and need help

Something doesn't add up. You should be able to reduce if not totally eliminate those swirls with UC and a polishing pad. I'm unfamiliar with the 3M polishing pad, but is shouldn't be an issue.

If you plan on ordering products to further attempt correction I suggest:
-W68DA backing plate
-3 W8207 polishing pads
-1 W7207 cutting pad
-1 32 oz. M105

You may want to consider picking up some:
M205 32 oz.
and a W9207 finishing pad

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: New here and need help

Why didn't you apply the uc to the pad? Why not work it in with the machine?

I would clay a section first. Apply the uc to a clean pad, then work it in a small section. Slow arm speed. then see if there is any improvement.

[95LightningKid]

Re: New here and need help

I am going to go out right now and clay a small section then try the UC and PC again. I didnt exactly work the UC in with the rag, i just quickly smeared it on the area then worked it in with the pad. How much UC should actually be used on a small section, say a square foot?

@ bill davidson - If the UC should take out these swirls then i would like to try to stay away from ordering more products for now...i'm sure i will in the future. Like you said, something doesnt add up because from what little i know it seems like this should be working better than it is.

[THE BIG BUFFER]

Re: New here and need help

I am going to go out right now and clay a small section then try the UC and PC again. I didnt exactly work the UC in with the rag, i just quickly smeared it on the area then worked it in with the pad. How much UC should actually be used on a small section, say a square foot?

@ bill davidson - If the UC should take out these swirls then i would like to try to stay away from ordering more products for now...i'm sure i will in the future. Like you said, something doesnt add up because from what little i know it seems like this should be working better than it is.

I usally put a "x" shape of UC on my pad. I was wondering the same thing. Why did'nt you put the UC on the pad? No biggie. Try marking your pad also. Put a small line on the edge of the pad. It should turn about one rotation per second. The other thing I think may be causing you problems is using the wrong pad. A glazing/polishing pad maybe too "light" of a pad to remove the defects. Can you get a polishing pad? I think the 3M ones are blue in color.
I polish trucks(and cars) like yours everyday. I use a rotary though and then the PC to follow up. I have used just the DA for correction but I do find that sometimes it may take 2 or even 3 trys with the PC to get the results I'm looking for. Don't give up. It will come. Then it's

[Bill Davidson]

Re: New here and need help

i would like to try to stay away from ordering more products for now

For sure... I just wanted to give you a little list of everything you could possibly need, just in case.

[95LightningKid]

Re: New here and need help

Okay, i just came in from trying that fender again. I clayed a section, then applied the UC on the pad and worked it in for a minute or two until there was a nice even haze. It seemed to work better, but still lots of lines. Then i tried my harbor freight rotary polisher and some kind of wool pad (i think...it was all i had) and i used more UC than i have been using. It seemed to work much better. Going out now to try some more and follow that with the PC. I will post pictures tomorrow when its in the sun. Hopefully it still looks as nice as it does tonight with a 100w bulb on it. Thanks for the replies everyone. I'm sure i will have more questions as i get farther into this.

[akimel]

Re: New here and need help

Hey Lightning Kid. If none of the suggestions work for you, then you may well have very hard clearcoat and will need to move up to a more aggressive compound, namely, M105. You can get it in sampler size from Auto Detailing Solutions.

[THE BIG BUFFER]

Re: New here and need help

Okay, i just came in from trying that fender again. I clayed a section, then applied the UC on the pad and worked it in for a minute or two until there was a nice even haze. It seemed to work better, but still lots of lines. Then i tried my harbor freight rotary polisher and some kind of wool pad (i think...it was all i had) and i used more UC than i have been using. It seemed to work much better. Going out now to try some more and follow that with the PC. I will post pictures tomorrow when its in the sun. Hopefully it still looks as nice as it does tonight with a 100w bulb on it. Thanks for the replies everyone. I'm sure i will have more questions as i get farther into this.

Don't go too far with the rotary till you get a chance tomorrow to see your progress in the sun. You don't want to do more damage. Make sure that wool(?) pad is clean!! A 100 watt bulb is nothing compared to mother nature!
With the rotary you put the UC on the panel first ( small line about 4-6 in long works for me). You probably already know that but just in case....

[95LightningKid]

Re: New here and need help

Yeah i only did another small area with the rotary then the PC and i am going to wait until i see it in the sun to do more. I know how much of a difference the sun makes haha.

Question for when i'm done getting these swirls out...is the G18110 polishing compound what i should be using after the UC, or is there something else? That was all the local store had...

[THE BIG BUFFER]

Re: New here and need help

Question for when i'm done getting these swirls out...is the G18110 polishing compound what i should be using after the UC, or is there something else? That was all the local store had...

I'm not familier with G181110 at all. I use UC then M205 followed by NXT2.0 on most jobs I do needing UC.
Just a note on M105. I don't like M105 at all. I find it drys way too quickly and the dusting is awful. Plus it's hard to remove. I don't find it any better than UC as far as cutting goes. I go threw about 3 bottles a month of UC and love it. Plus it's alot less exspensive for me to buy here in Canada.

I have a couple of pics of pretty much the same truck. Just trying to find them. If I do I will post em.

[akimel]

Re: New here and need help

Kid, I do not have experience with a rotary myself, but you should know that Ultimate Compound is not formulated for use with a rotary polisher. Now I'm not sure what that means: I think it has to do with the heat generated by the rotary and its affect on UC's lubricating oils. I'm sure Mr Stoops will weigh in here to clarify and explain. I think his expertise is needed in this situation.

May I ask how much experience you have with a rotary. Clearly a rotary will be able to accomplish significantly greater paint correction than a PC. M105 has been formulated to work with both rotary and dual action polishers.