Imperfections Help

[futekisenshi]

Re: Imperfections Help

Thanks for all the reply's everyone, I really appreciate it! Ok, so I went ahead and did a test section and thought I'd post some pictures and then have some questions before I go ahead and do the whole car. The car was washed previously, and then I did a test section on the left half of the top of the trunk, all work being done by hand. I clayed the section, used swirlx, then scratchx 2.0, then ultimate compound, and then I used nxt 2.0 wax. I wanted to do it all, just to see the finished product. I did all of the work in my garage, and used microfiber applicators and microfiber towels to wipe the products off. I used moderate pressure with each product rubbing in all the products about 2-4 minutes. I continued to up the cleaner strength because I could still see swirls, although they did get better.

After using the ultimate compound, I could still see some swirl marks. The pictures kind of show them, but it definitely looks a lot better than before. You can see the imperfections indoors better, so most pictures are from inside the garage.









^ Down the middle is a little bit of product. On the top right you'll see a bad smudge, that was on the left as well (bike rack), there are still some marks, but they look like tiny dents now(not a paint problem anymore it seems). I've washed it multiple times, even scrubbing hard where the marks were, I thought the smudges were going to be permanent. UC finally removed it, I was super impressed with this!!!







^ Best looking picture to see the swirl marks. There's more than you can see, just don't show up in pictures that much. All the little dots around the lights are sparkles, the paint has a faint sparkle to it that you can only notice if you look in close to, I love the paint.




^ Left side is complete, right side isn't. You can see better detail in the clouds reflection on the completed side.




^ Close up of only the completed side. Reflection is almost as good as a mirror now.


Ok, now the questions. Do you guys think I still have swirl marks from using a microfiber pad? Or do I need to use yet another stronger product? Or am I just too much of a perfectionist and everybody has a little bit of swirl marks?

Any tips on that lots of tiny dents part to make that even better looking?

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Imperfections Help

Once again, we have to agree with every point made by Murr1525. Nicely done!

[Murr1525]

Re: Imperfections Help

When removing scratches and imperfections, say you use scratch x 2.0 for a spot, do you need to do the whole car with the product?

If your whole car was swirled up or dirty, then cleaning one spot could stand out.

But if the defect was in one spot, and the rest of the car was good, then doing one spot would be fine.

What if there is a spot that you need to use ultimate compound? Do you do the whole car? Or use the lightest product possible for certain sections?

Same basic story.

The nice thing with the UC is that you can apply it gently to make it milder, or apply it with more passion/effort to make it stronger. So you could use one product, remove the defect with some passion, then mildly clean the rest of the car.

For example, one section I need to use ultimate compound to get my desired results, but other sections come out perfect with scratch x 2.0. Should I do the whole care with ultimate compound? Or is it ok to mix and match product on the car depending on severity of the imperfections?

You can certainly mix and match, or do as noted above.

Also, note that UC and ScratchX 2.0 are pretty similar. UC is cheaper, so I'd just go with that....

[yfwong]

Re: Imperfections Help

Always start trying with ScratchX, if it works, continue. If it isn't, use UC.
UC is more abrasive but ScratchX is more expensive, small bottle compare to UC.
Learn how to use the applicator pad correctly, spread your finger so that the force applied is even.

[Detailing by M]

Re: Imperfections Help

your waaaay over thinking this.

Keep
It
Simple

Polish out the "spots" and forget about the rest.
If it doesn't need it then don't do it.
All detailing products work together.

[Show 'N' Shine Car Detailing]

Re: Imperfections Help

Scratch X is good for spots as you metioned. You don't need to do the whole car. IF you have swirls all over, it might be best to use the Ultimate Compound over the whole car, if scratch X isn't enough to remove the defects.

So again if Scratch X won't remove the swirls/defects move up to UC to remove them. You can use UC is spots as well and don't have to do the whole car.

And yes you can mix and match. Some spots/sections will do just what you've done, work with Scratch X fine, but other sections need the more aggressive UC to achieve your results.

Always try the least aggressive first.

Forgot to ask are you doing these spots/sections by hand or machine, ie; DA Polisher, Flex, etc??

[futekisenshi]

I'm new here and just started to detail my car(haven't done it yet, but want to get answers before I start and screw something up). I haven't been able to find my answer to this question in the forums, so I thought I'd ask.

When removing scratches and imperfections, say you use scratch x 2.0 for a spot, do you need to do the whole car with the product?

What if there is a spot that you need to use ultimate compound? Do you do the whole car? Or use the lightest product possible for certain sections?

For example, one section I need to use ultimate compound to get my desired results, but other sections come out perfect with scratch x 2.0. Should I do the whole care with ultimate compound? Or is it ok to mix and match product on the car depending on severity of the imperfections?

Thanks in advance for your help!