Help with spots in paint

[1337Rolla]

So I am new to detailing...

I am trying to get a bunch of oxidation? water spots? something off my car. The entire car finish looks this way and I'm trying to figure out what I did wrong.


Not using meguiars products for the polish part but I'm hoping somebody could tell me whats up.


So here is a picture of what my paint looks like now. This is Toyota 040 Super White which I'm told is a single stage paint.



There is waterspots/oxidation/something everywhere.

I clayed the section then decided to polish it with my griots 6" orbital and machine polish 3. It seemed to make a small improvement but not enough. I ended up using polish 3 a total of 3 times on the same section. It still didn't remove everything, now the paint looks like this:



There is probably 20% of the spots left and some broken spotty areas. I'm guessing I should have used a more abrasive polish but at this point I'm more worried about going through the paint if I do that.

Has anybody seen this heavy spotting before and solved it? Any advice how I can save this would be great. Thanks.

btw I live in WA state. It rains very frequently 8 months out of the year.

[1337Rolla]

Re: Help with spots in paint

So, I tried using polish #2 (meguiars #83 equivalent) on the other side of my roof and one time did the same work as 3 times with the #3 (D151 Equivalent).

btw, this car has never been polished or sealed before. 2002 corolla, 110K

[davey g-force]

Re: Help with spots in paint

Glad it's working out for you.

You are allowed to tell us the names of the polishes you're using if you want.

So did your polish #2 correct the paint to your liking? If not, you may need to step it up to something a bit more aggressive again. Any particular reason why you're worried about going through the paint? Or are you just being cautious?

[Murr1525]

Re: Help with spots in paint

Yeah, looks like water spots, oxidation, some orange peel perhaps.

#3 is just a pure polish (oils), so that wont do much correction.

#83 would be getting better. You might try something like Ult. Compound for more cleaning ability... or maybe some #80 to follow up before wax.

[1337Rolla]

Re: Help with spots in paint

really I'm just being cautious since this is my first time. I found the thread about white single stage paint being super hard a few hours ago and that somewhat explains the trouble I'm having.

I am using griots machine polish 2 and 3.

I found a little chart on autogeek that describes the aggressiveness of different brands of stuff. The next step up on their chart appears to be meguiars #2 fine cut polish. The griots 2 (83 equiv) didn't do the job, still about 20% of the water etching remains. Griots #1 is a meg 105 equivalent. Would meguiars #2 be a good next step to try or is there another product I should look at?

Thanks

[Murr1525]

Re: Help with spots in paint

I would want the Ult. Compound and just a polishing pad.

[davey g-force]

Re: Help with spots in paint

Agreed. Try some UC.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Help with spots in paint

So, I tried using polish #2 (meguiars #83 equivalent) on the other side of my roof and one time did the same work as 3 times with the #3 (D151 Equivalent).

btw, this car has never been polished or sealed before. 2002 corolla, 110K

There are a few things going on here, not the least of which is the paint itself. If this really is single stage paint (if you're pads are turning white then it definitely is) then it's probably very hard since it's white single stage. White paint uses titanium dioxide as the pigment, so you're basically trying to polish defects out of the hardest pigment used in automotive paint. That means you will most likely require a fairly aggressive approach as the paint is very resistant to correction. This explains why the Polish #2 worked so much faster than the Polish #3, but still didn't get you where you want to be.

We're assuming you're using Griot's orange polishing pad here and not their red wax pad, and that you're running their tool at speed 5 to 5.5, and that you're using a fair bit of pressure down on the pad. Using slower speeds and light pressure will really slow down your progress and create a lot more work. The polishes you're using are of the diminishing abrasive variety, which is all fine and well, but a non diminishing micro abrasive like the SMAT in our Ultimate Compound will get you a faster result. You're working on what is likely very hard paint, with 10+ years of neglect. That's potentially a heck of a hill to climb, so don't be nervous about getting a bit more aggressive on it.

Yes, we are advocates of "use the least aggressive method to get the job done", and for a new user such as yourself that can seem to mean "start with the least aggressive approach you can find". With experience you'll get a better feel for when to start at a bit higher level of aggression and when to start with a really light touch. In this case, given the information you've provided and the progress you're making so far, you should be able to seriously step up your aggressiveness here without worrying about doing any damage. The tool you have offers plenty of power and torque, so that's a good thing. Just make sure the speed is high enough, you're using enough pressure, the pad is totally flat against the paint, and you're moving it very slowly across the paint. Keep your work area small, and clean the pads often.

Lastly, just to manage your expectations here: this is older, neglected paint that is potentially very hard. Don't expect it to end up looking like it just rolled off the assembly line, but do expect a massive improvement in gloss, brightness of color, clarity of reflection, etc. Some scratches and etch marks may be too deep to remove with a DA, foam pads and traditional liquids. Know and accept that going in and you'll be much happier with the end result.

[1337Rolla]

Re: Help with spots in paint

thanks for the advice! I am going to try again next weekend.