really fine scratches

[topshelf]

I got my truck out of paint about 2 months ago, maybe a little longer. i used ppg dbc dark blue pearl. and have around four coats of clear. I washed the truck and noticed when the sun hits it you can see alot of fine scratches, but they arent deep or anything.. almost like a hologram or something. i went i got some m205 and i have a makita variable speed buffer. my question is, is the 205 enough? and what pad should i use and what speeds? thanks

[Michael Stoops]

Re: really fine scratches

Welcome to MOL!

Is it safe to assume your variable speed Makita is a 9227 rotary buffer? If so, as long as you're comfortable using a rotary, it can do an excellent job of removing these fine scratches. If these are holograms or other buffing marks left by the the compounding process then M205 on a foam finishing pad like our W9207 should clear them up pretty easily. If you keep the buffer below 1200 rpm, keep the pad very flat to the paint and keep moving the buffer slowly you should take care of this pretty quickly. And with M205, a foam finishing pad and slow speed the risk of doing any damage to the paint is virtually nil. You'd have to do something really nutty, like add a bunch of pressure and keep the pad in one place for a bit to cause any problems, so just avoid that and you shouldn't have any trouble. The real key here is to keep the pad good and flat against the paint, so don't angle it or you run the risk of creating your own light swirl marks.

[topshelf]

Re: really fine scratches

Thank you. Love the site. So much info on here. I do have the 9227 buffer. Just no pad. I'm going to pick one up now. And as for the scratches. They aren't from a buffer. Never had one on it. It was from washing it and drying it I believe. But thank u do much. I will post results

[Andy M.]

Re: really fine scratches

Which Makita do you have? As Mike stated the Makita 9227 is a rotary. It's is variable speed from 600 to 3000 rpm but it is not a dual action polisher. Are you comfortable with the rotary? Can you post some pics of your project? As Mike said keep it moving as to not do any damage.

[topshelf]

Re: really fine scratches

It's the 9227 I'm pretty sure. I'm borrowing it from work. I've never used one on a car before but I have plexi glass. I feel pretty comfortable using it. As long as I keep steady pressure and keep it flat. And how much compound needs to be on the pad? I'm on my phone. I'll past post pics when I get home

[Michael Stoops]

Re: really fine scratches

If you're used to polishing plexi with a rotary then you know how quickly you can burn things. If you're going to use a rotary with a foam finishing pad and M205, as we said earlier, the odds of burning anything are extremely remote. It's not like you're going to be using a foam cutting pad at very high speeds, which is very aggressive and can quickly burn through on an edge, a high spot, or when working on plastic substrates like bumper covers, mirrors, spoilers, etc that do not dissipate heat like steel does. As for "steady pressure", you really shouldn't be using much more than the weight of the tool here. You want to basically lightly massage these fine scratches and towel marks out, so go easy and let the pad/liquid combo do the work. It may take a bit longer, the rewards in the long run will be well worth the patience. M205 on a finishing pad with a rotary buffer can do pretty amazing things for the paint.

As for the amount of polish (M205 isn't a compound, just for the record) to use for each section, an 8" to 10" bead for each section pass should do the trick. M205 will stay wet for a long time, although it will do it's light cutting pretty quickly, and will wipe off with ease as you finish each section.

[topshelf]

Re: really fine scratches

thank you so much, this has been really helpful.. and has for the pad, my local advance auto has the w9000, not the w9207. is there a big difference? and as for a backing pad, i noticed the w9000 is just a hook and loop backing, correct? and what would i wipe it off with? just use a micro fiber towel? sorry for all the questions. i just wanna be sure.. and im sure its time to put a wax on it or some sort of protection.. what would be best to use?

[topshelf]

Re: really fine scratches

And here are some pics. no pics of the scratches tho

[davey g-force]

Re: really fine scratches

That's a great looking truck!

Yes, just wipe off with a microfiber towel. As for wax, I would use either NXT 2.0 or Ultimate Wax. The UW should look real nice on that beautiful color you have there..

[Michael Stoops]

Re: really fine scratches

The W9000 pad will work just as well as the W9207, no worries. And as Davey points out, just use a microfiber towel to wipe off the residue before it dries.

Great looking truck, by the way!

[topshelf]

Re: really fine scratches

Alright. Sounds good. I'll give it a try this weekend and I'll be sure to post results. The truck is getting there. Still have some more things I wanna do to it. Lol.

[Nuscence813]

just use a microfiber towel to wipe off the residue before it dries.

I bought a bag of mf towels from pb and they looked like they were pretty cheap. ($3.00). But I believe they caused holograms since it wasn't really deep pile mf. They are really fine and were probably introduces when removing UC. Those should easily buffed out right? Should I use UC again and then UP or just use UP?

[Michael Stoops]

Re: really fine scratches

Well, towels won't cause holograms as such, but if these did a poor job of removing the compound residue you can sometimes get a smeary, streaky kind of effect that can look like a hologram, but it's not caused by a series of scratches in the paint. If that's what you have, then some UP properly applied and wiped off should cure it. But if you do have some scratching caused by the towels you may need a light once over with UC to remove them. Remember, you can adjust the overall cut of any product by using it either aggressively, lightly, or anywhere in between.