Acid rain etching 99 mustang cobra

[Mike Bones]

I needed some practice using my G110 today, so I headed over to my cousins gas station to work on his green Cobra. His car has some significant acid rain spots all over the hood, roof, trunk and rear spoiler. So I figured i'd bring out the big guns contrary to the teachings of MOL and went straight to UC.

Well, I was really disappointed at the results. Not in UC, not at all. UC is a great product. I was disappointed in the fact the spots remained after nearly two hours of hard work. Don't get me wrong, the shine was great and was even further complimented by UP. Those damn etching spots just didn't want to come out. I just took solace in the fact that wetsanding was probably the only road, and not a road I'm willing to take. My cousin was happy though.

So my question is do you think my technique played a big part? Or is this just something that was way our of my league as a DA rookie? I polished a 2x2 area at a time, slow arm speed, moderate then hard pressure. UC on speed 5 with a soft buff 2.0 yellow pad.

[rst08tierney]

Re: Acid rain etching 99 mustang cobra

how was the car prepped?

[Mike Bones]

Re: Acid rain etching 99 mustang cobra

Clay bar with quick detailer for lube. Any thoughts?

[Carolina08]

Re: Acid rain etching 99 mustang cobra

Sounds like you did everything you needed to. Maybe the Ultimate Compound was not strong enough, and you need to bump it up to the M105/M205? See what the others think.

[Jimmy Buffit]

Re: Acid rain etching 99 mustang cobra

The acid rain is likely still on the paint. Each time the surface gets wet, the acidic component is 'reactivated' and likely continues to etch the clear even deeper The first step would be to chemically neutralize the surface and return the paint to a neutral pH (~7.1 pH).

Ten you can attempt to level the surface to the depth of the defects.
Wool pad and and 105 to start. Maybe wetsanding...

As a newbie, you're thinking is correct. Probably a task for a pro.

Good Luck.

[Mike Bones]

Re: Acid rain etching 99 mustang cobra

Thanks guys for the replies. I do this as my "golf" not my 9-5, so going no further than 105/205 is all I'm willing to do. Like I said, he was happy which what counts. It's just something I felt I could do more with if I had more time/product.

[rst08tierney]

Re: Acid rain etching 99 mustang cobra

wet sanding factory clear can be disastrous. I think you stopped at the right point. You might want to try another pass with 105 and a 5in pad ( I would try an orange Lake Country Pad) when you have some more time.

[k3ith]

Re: Acid rain etching 99 mustang cobra

What percentage of correction would you say you achieved with the UC? If say, 70%, give 105 a shot, perhaps with a more agressive pad. Also be sure to work the product in long enough because it's at the perfect time of product thickness/thinness where UC and 105 work best. You'll know the time I am referring to when you see and feel it, if you haven't already. Finally, when working this hard your going to be wearing down pads quickly and reducing their cut ability. You may need a couple to get through it.

If your correction after UC was say, 40%, you may need a more serious path to correction than 105.

[Mike Bones]

Re: Acid rain etching 99 mustang cobra

That's a great explanation, Keith, thanks for the reply. I'd say it was on the 40% side. I really think I bit off more than i could chew. I guess being a noob, I've never really "felt" the right way to correct paint yet. I've practiced on my wife's Civic, which I thought came out ok... Then the sun came out lol. I'm not gonna quit anytime soon. I'm gonna continue to try to improve my technique before I go to a smaller backing plate, pads, and 105.