UC works Wax Reverts? Advice? (pics)

[All of 75]

Well, I made the plunge and bought a Griots Garage 6" ROP a few weeks ago to remove some of the defects in the finish of my Mercedes:





So I went for it with Ultimate Compound after washing and claying the entire car. I used the common technique for DA use and used speed 5 or so. And all was going swell until: while cleaning the Meguiar's yellow polishing pad the way commonly used: running the machine while running a rag over it to collect excess porduct, I heard a loud SNAP and when i turn it over the whole counterbalance assembly and pad fall into my hand, the result of a snapped drive bolt:



But seeing as I was 1/3 of the way through, I just couldn't stop there, so I persevered, thankful that the area around the bolt fit tight enough with its corresponding piece that the machine worked fairly well, albeit with less performance and much hesitation on behalf of the operator

But when I was done, it all seemed to disappear. To make sure it wasn't an optical illusion, I pulled the car out into the sun, and low and behold, 99% of the issues were gone!













So I thought WOW that really worked out well. So, I pulled it back in, and with my ROP out of comission, I put on some Gold Class Carnuba + by hand, took it off, and called it a night.

[All of 75]

Re: UC works Wax Reverts? Advice? (pics)

The next morning, to get a better look, I pull it out of the garage into the newborn sun. What do I find? The marks have returned! Just lighter than before the whole process began, and without the fading of certain areas:













So my question to you is, do I: go at it again with the UC, really work it in (with the GG6 that I recieved promptly after I explained what happened to the site I bought it from), and put on the same wax (the one that seemed to bring back the defects) as before on it? OR go at it again with the UC and use another wax? (if you choose this option, please state which wax (keep in mind this is 16 year old silver paint))

[All of 75]

Re: UC works Wax Reverts? Advice? (pics)

Another shot with just the UC on, I don't have pics, but I should add that the tailgate of the car was free from defects with the just the UC on as well.

[davey g-force]

Re: UC works Wax Reverts? Advice? (pics)

I doubt applying the wax made those defects come back.

They must have been there all along and you didn't notice them. It doesn't exactly look like direct sunlight in your first set of pics after day 1.

[davey g-force]

Re: UC works Wax Reverts? Advice? (pics)

How were you working in the UC?

Those defects look rather severe, so you need to really slow down your arm speed and shrink your work area. Concentrate on an area about the size of a MF towel at a time.

Do you have M105? If not, I would go again with the UC, using the method described above. Do a test spot first and check your results under direct sunlight or good lighting to see if you're achieving the required results.

Then go ahead and wax with your GCCP...

[weavers]

Re: UC works Wax Reverts? Advice? (pics)

contact griot directly about get a replacement. it took a about ten days for me to get a new one. i love there life time warenty. and they paid for shipping both ways, not a dime out of my pocket for a new machine.

to me those pictures looks like dried wax. maybe you applied it to thick and didn't buff it off well.

also use a finishing polish after UC. try ulimate polish or m205 and a finishing pad. it makes a big difference. i am glad you took the plunge on the DA. look at the results, well worth it!!

for silver cars i prefer a sealant over a carba wax. i like 3m performance finish, its a sealant. for carba wax i love collnite 845. both of these products are less than 15 dollars and outperform 100 dollar waxes, do some research about collnite.


edit, with your current wax if you dont like it retire it to wheels, door jams and engine bays. thats what i've done with nxt 2.0. use it up on wheels and rewax every 1-2 months.

[All of 75]

Re: UC works Wax Reverts? Advice? (pics)

contact griot directly about get a replacement. it took a about ten days for me to get a new one. i love there life time warenty. and they paid for shipping both ways, not a dime out of my pocket for a new machine.

to me those pictures looks like dried wax. maybe you applied it to thick and didn't buff it off well.

also use a finishing polish after UC. try ulimate polish or m205 and a finishing pad. it makes a big difference. i am glad you took the plunge on the DA. look at the results, well worth it!!

for silver cars i prefer a sealant over a carba wax. i like 3m performance finish, its a sealant. for carba wax i love collnite 845. both of these products are less than 15 dollars and outperform 100 dollar waxes, do some research about collnite.


edit, with your current wax if you dont like it retire it to wheels, door jams and engine bays. thats what i've done with nxt 2.0. use it up on wheels and rewax every 1-2 months.

All the wax was completely gone, I am 100% sure of that. And as I said, I already recieved a new one with little hassle from autogeek.com.

[All of 75]

Re: UC works Wax Reverts? Advice? (pics)

How were you working in the UC?

Those defects look rather severe, so you need to really slow down your arm speed and shrink your work area. Concentrate on an area about the size of a MF towel at a time.

Do you have M105? If not, I would go again with the UC, using the method described above. Do a test spot first and check your results under direct sunlight or good lighting to see if you're achieving the required results.

Then go ahead and wax with your GCCP...

I do not have M105. And I should add, the areas where the defects came back were mostly AFTER the machine broke. And originally, the defects would show up really clearly under flourescent light. They were gone after the UC but back after the wax. I just wonder if the supposid polish in the wax has something to do with it.

But thanks!

[rst08tierney]

Re: UC works Wax Reverts? Advice? (pics)

I would do another pass with 105 or UC like stated above. Make note of where the bad areas are and make several extra passes

[Selectchoice]

Re: UC works Wax Reverts? Advice? (pics)

What did you use to apply the wax with? A soft foam applicator or something else?

It is very unlikely to be the wax itself that is re-marking your paintwork, but an incorrect (ie too harsh) applicator surely will.

As for the fluro lighting, you may want something stronger. I use a combination of several light sources. In general, fluro lighting seems to only show the lighter marks, and a spot light or halogen lighting shows the deeper marks up.

[All of 75]

Re: UC works Wax Reverts? Advice? (pics)

What did you use to apply the wax with? A soft foam applicator or something else?

It is very unlikely to be the wax itself that is re-marking your paintwork, but an incorrect (ie too harsh) applicator surely will.

As for the fluro lighting, you may want something stronger. I use a combination of several light sources. In general, fluro lighting seems to only show the lighter marks, and a spot light or halogen lighting shows the deeper marks up.

I used a new meguiar's foam applicator by hand. I doubt it re-marked, because they are exactly the same as what they were before I started the whole process.

As for lights, I do have some extremely bright work lights that should get the job done.

Any other advice?

[Selectchoice]

Re: UC works Wax Reverts? Advice? (pics)

I'd recommend using Final Inspection spray or an IPA wipedown after the UC to ensure there isn't some residue (ie oils, residule product or the like) hiding the defects. Combined with the lights, that should do the trick.

[All of 75]

Re: UC works Wax Reverts? Advice? (pics)

Well, I begin tomorrow, so I'll try working in teh UC and see how it goes.

Thanks!

[Michael Stoops]

Re: UC works Wax Reverts? Advice? (pics)

In an earlier post when you first showed pictures of this car, we had a feeling this was going to be a difficult correction. Older Mercedes paint in that condition can be challenging for anyone - it tends to be really hard and those scratches surprisingly deep.

Make sure to use quite a bit of pressure on the pad when buffing, almost enough to stop the pad from rotating but not quite. This means you really need to keep the pad very flat against the paint or it will stop rotating pretty quickly. Move the tool very slowly over the paint - novice users have a tendency to start picking up speed and moving way too fast. Slow down. Keep your work area confined to no more than about 2' x 2', or even a bit smaller if you're still fighting these defects. Clean the pad regularly as well, just as mentioned you're doing.