Help! I am Frustrated!

[TrekInCR]

Hello guys!

I've been using Meguiar's products for about 4-5 years. The shampoos and waxes always have worked like a charm, however I feel frustrated when using other products such as ScracthX, Rubbing Compound, Bug & Tar Remover.

A couple of weeks ago I bought Rubbing Compound to try and remove light swirls from the black paint of my car (VW Jetta). I used a soft foam applicator pad and plenty of passion but after a couple of passes the paint still looked the same!!!

The same thing happened to me a while back with ScratchX... what it is that I am doing wrong? For some reason I cannot get the results I am looking for...

Any help is appreciated!

PS. Sorry for my not-so-good English

[sspudnick]

Re: Help! I am Frustrated!

I dont know much about hand polishing since I use DA's and rotaries. However, how many passes are you doing on each spot ? The few times I have polished by hand, I used MF applicator pads, and they worked like a charm.

What are you using to wipe the polish off?

How soft/hard is the paint?

You could be inducing swirls RIGHT after you've removed them depending on how you're wiping off the polish.

Try more passes, and a brand new MF cloth to wipe the polish off and see how it turns out.

Let us know bud!

[TrekInCR]

Re: Help! I am Frustrated!

Thanks,

I am using a Supreme Shine MF Towel to wipe off the polish. The towel is not new, actually it has been with me for a couple of years.

I am doing 2 passes on each spot, from what I can tell the clear coat is VERY hard since removing any scratch is extremely difficult.

[smack]

Re: Help! I am Frustrated!

If you are using a rubbing compound to remove light swirls like you mentioned, that is way to aggressive just for light swirling. Sounds like you are adding more than removing. Try using some Swirlx first by hand. That should take care of your light swirls.

[TrekInCR]

Re: Help! I am Frustrated!

well, I have some light swirls and some others not so light... In the past I tried with ScratchX with no results that's why this time I got the rubbing compound.

[Blazebro]

Re: Help! I am Frustrated!

I think your problem is that it's VW paint. It's renowned for being very hard. Even with a rotary I'd be looking to use a polishing pad a medium cut polish to get rid of light scratches/marring.

If you manage to get anywhere by hand your doing very well.

[TrekInCR]

Re: Help! I am Frustrated!

I think your problem is that it's VW paint. It's renowned for being very hard. Even with a rotary I'd be looking to use a polishing pad a medium cut polish to get rid of light scratches/marring.

If you manage to get anywhere by hand your doing very well.

Oh no! I don't want to use a rotary because I will probably trash the paint!

[Blazebro]

Re: Help! I am Frustrated!

^ I don't get where this belief that a rotary will somehow kick the arse out of paint, I really don't. I went straight to a rotary, didn't even do a scrap panel, went straight to my own cars panels.

The results I got were nothing less than 110% positive.

[Blazebro]

Re: Help! I am Frustrated!

The other option is to use something which is very filler heavy, like Poorboys Black Hole. Again I've heard nothing but positive reviews from people using this.

[TrekInCR]

Re: Help! I am Frustrated!

^ I don't get where this belief that a rotary will somehow kick the arse out of paint, I really don't. I went straight to a rotary, didn't even do a scrap panel, went straight to my own cars panels.

The results I got were nothing less than 110% positive.

Well if you go to any car paint shop here in CR, they will tell you that only ultra-skilled, highly trained people can use a buffer/DA/rotary

[Blazebro]

Re: Help! I am Frustrated!

Well if you go to any car paint shop here in CR, they will tell you that only ultra-skilled, highly trained people can use a buffer/DA/rotary

That's because they're filling your head with bs just to get your business, and make them seem polishing gods. As long as you respect it, it's no more dangerous as a feather duster.

As a side note, most paint shops I've seen who use them, jump straight to cutting compounds and wool pads. The trick and skill is not being able to use the most aggressive, but to use the least aggressive method to get the job done.

As said previously, if it's not an option, go filler heavy.

[Shawn T.]

Re: Help! I am Frustrated!

Removing defects by hand to an entire car is a daunting task. It requires moving a small amount of paint which is very difficult when the paint is very hard.

You need to work small sections with plenty of pressure. But, do not use your fingertips. Use the length of your fingers on the applicator instead of just the tips to ensure an even working surface.

I have allso found that using an vertical-horizontal pattern when hand polishing makes it easier to remove defects. It allows me to use more pressure and more even pressure than moving in circles.

Work small sections absolutely no bigger than 12 inches by 12 inches. It may require 2-3 applications of the product in order to recieve a finish that you are happy with.

If the paint refusses to cooperate then you may want to invest in a Dual Action Polisher. If your budget won't allow it then switch to terry cloth applicators for removing the initial swirls. Then, follow up with a less aggressive product and a foam applicator pad to remove the hazing from the terry applicator.

Check out the Working by Hand section of the forum for more tips and techniques.

Hope this helps! Good luck!

[sspudnick]

Re: Help! I am Frustrated!

^ I don't get where this belief that a rotary will somehow kick the arse out of paint, I really don't. I went straight to a rotary, didn't even do a scrap panel, went straight to my own cars panels.

The results I got were nothing less than 110% positive.

This may be true for you. However, I personally dont think that's advice you should be giving others.

What happens when they DO trash their paint based off of your advice?

There IS a reason the pro's recommend working your way up....Just because it wasnt hard for you to learn, doesnt ring true for all.

Alot of it has to do with technique as well. One may master the rotary within seconds...however, basic technique and knowledge of how to use products is achieved through practice.

With that said.....it is your car after all, you're free to do what you would like to.....I personally dont believe the risk is worth it, and I couldnt live with myself if my advice led to someone spending $500 to paint a new panel.

[Blazebro]

Re: Help! I am Frustrated!

This may be true for you. However, I personally dont think that's advice you should be giving others.

What happens when they DO trash their paint based off of your advice?

There IS a reason the pro's recommend working your way up....Just because it wasnt hard for you to learn, doesnt ring true for all.

Alot of it has to do with technique as well. One may master the rotary within seconds...however, basic technique and knowledge of how to use products is achieved through practice.

With that said.....it is your car after all, you're free to do what you would like to.....I personally dont believe the risk is worth it, and I couldnt live with myself if my advice led to someone spending $500 to paint a new panel.

Are you being serious?

Using a rotary polisher isn't rocket science, as long as your carefull it's no more dangerous than washing a car.

The Op has a VW, the op wants to remove the scratches from the VW Paint. Vw paint is renowned for being very hard. By far the easiest method of doing this is reaching for a polisher.

If someone wanted to go down the rotary route, fairplay to them I'd say. Give it a go and you won't look back. My advice if you choose to do this is to read up on the technique and take advice as how to approach it best. It's not the devil some are obviously making it out to be.

The other bit of advice (which seems to have been completely ignored) is to use a filler heavy product, like Poorboys Black Hole. This will mask the scratches.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Help! I am Frustrated!

We always recommend that someone new to rotary use ease into it, rather than just jumping into an aggressive process on a vehicle they care about.

While it's true that burning through the paint in the middle of a panel is a very rare occurrence, it's still easy to end up with a lot of holograms and swirls if a new user gets overly aggressive with technique. Unfortunately, a lot of people are of the mindset that using the most aggressive products will get the job done faster, and rarely is that the case - especially in untrained hands.

No, it's not rocket science, but we've seen countless people do more harm than good on their first outing with a rotary. It's usually nothing that can't be corrected, and fairly easily, for someone who knows what they're doing. But skill levels vary dramatically in any endeavor - whether detailing, wood working, skiing, motorsports, football (American or Euro!) - so we don't like to just assume someone is going to take to the process like a duck to water. We'd rather err on the side of caution than just hand them a rotary, pat 'em on the back and wish them luck. We never want to steer anyone away from learning how to use the rotary, but we do want them to have a healthy respect for what is a pretty powerful tool.