New to detailing, tried to get out some scratches.. now need advice

[cameojoe]

Hello all! I am new to the world of automotive detailing but I finally got fed up with my '03 honda civic looking soo worn an tired. Decided my first step to paint restoration would be getting all these scratches out. I washed my vehicle, clay-barred the whole thing (wow, didn't know my car could be so smooth!) and then begin the process of targeting scratches. My first source: the roof (the worst of spot anywhere on he vehicle). I have attached some before and after pictures of my work. As you can see, the before image contains some really major scratches. The after, my roof looks like glass! Those are clouds reflecting on the roof, not oxidation or anything... Anyways, I got to this point just by hand using the following method: wet sand (2000 grit), meguiars diamond-cut compound (microfiber applicator followed by nanofiber towel wipe down) followed by some cleaner wax (plan to add some wax/sealant compound after I get everything looking the way I want).

So, initially, I thought i had done a flawless job, however, the next day upon I found some major issues with the work. Now, instead of the original scratches i once had, my roof is full of very tiny white pits/scratches. These did not exist prior to me working on the paint. I did some work on the trunk and the same thing happened! Got rid of all the light visible scratches, only to be left with a number of tiny (some actually fairly large) white scratches/pits.

Can anybody give me some advice? Did i apply the diamond-cut incorrectly? Do I need to follow up with a less abrasive polishing compound? Would this have resulted if I used a d.a. polisher?

Any and all advice/guidance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks alot.

-Hendrik


Before & After pics with detail pics of white specks:

Click here to see the pictures

[Murr1525]

Re: New to detailing, tried to get out some scratches.. now need advice

Can you get any more zoomed in on the spots?

[davey g-force]

Re: New to detailing, tried to get out some scratches.. now need advice

Hmm.. hard to say but I reckon you'll need to follow up with someting less aggressive - maybe SwirlX or UP.

Can you feel the small pits with your fingernail? If so, probably not much you can do about those.

[cameojoe]

Re: New to detailing, tried to get out some scratches.. now need advice

Can you get any more zoomed in on the spots?

Unfortunately, my only camera is my phone. That's as close as I can get to the scratches with that. The 3rd pic from the bottom is a pretty good representation of what the roof looks like under good light looking directly down on the roof of the vehicle. I actually got some pics of the trunk, which looks worse (larger white scratches/pits) I will upload sometime this afternoon.

[cameojoe]

Re: New to detailing, tried to get out some scratches.. now need advice

Hmm.. hard to say but I reckon you'll need to follow up with someting less aggressive - maybe SwirlX or UP.

Can you feel the small pits with your fingernail? If so, probably not much you can do about those.

99% of these new little scratches/pits cannot be felt via the fingernail, they are smooth. Just trying to figure out why they showed up, whether this is normal, or i did something incorrectly. I know I should had applied the diamond cut with a wool pad instead of microfiber applicator, but could that have really caused this issue?

I'm leaning toward buying a couple more Meguiars polishes with less n less abrasiveness. Probably the DA cleaner polish and the swirl free polish. But that's easily 40$ right there, soooo, Ima be pretty frustrated if they don't help remove these unsightly marks.

Any thoughts or ideas on the subject would be greatly appreciated. As I said, I'm brand new to the detailing world, if I am doing something incorrectly I would like to know. Thanks everyone.

[C8N]

Re: New to detailing, tried to get out some scratches.. now need advice

My guess is that those were probably deeper part of the scratches that were there and you just did not wet sand enough to get them out.... or even parts missed during wet sanding.
The oils from the polish can potentially act as fillers in some cases and IPA wipe down should be done to inspect the work.

Even in your after pics, I can still see the scratches especially in the last pic. They are not as visible as before but they are still there.

At this point, I would just leave them alone as wet sanding is a very aggressive method and since factory cc is fairly thin, I would recommend against going any further unless you can measure the amount of cc left.

[cameojoe]

Re: New to detailing, tried to get out some scratches.. now need advice

My guess is that those were probably deeper part of the scratches that were there and you just did not wet sand enough to get them out.... or even parts missed during wet sanding.
The oils from the polish can potentially act as fillers in some cases and IPA wipe down should be done to inspect the work.

Even in your after pics, I can still see the scratches especially in the last pic. They are not as visible as before but they are still there.

At this point, I would just leave them alone as wet sanding is a very aggressive method and since factory cc is fairly thin, I would recommend against going any further unless you can measure the amount of cc left.

Yeah, there's no doubt upon close inspection you can still see a number of faint scratches. But compared to before, I think it looks like night and day. If I spray the roof down with water, the defects do disappear. I think your right, I've probably pushed the clear coat far enough. However, does the application of the synthetic sealant #21 not help with that issue?

Do you think the application of some DA cleaner polish -> speed glaze -> swirl free polish would help remove these blemishes?

Thanks for the advice

[C8N]

Re: New to detailing, tried to get out some scratches.. now need advice

I absolutely agree with you that it looks better.
From the looks of it, I am assuming when you wet sanded, you did not completely level the paint but smoothed out the edge of the scratches which will make a huge difference in the way light reflects.

I think M21 will help but my guess would be that an application of M07 would be a better bet as far as hiding those defects. But do note, it will only be a temporary fix only as the scratches will re-appear when the M07 wears off.

Like I mentioned, I would recommend a paint measurement before removing any more cc.

[cameojoe]

Re: New to detailing, tried to get out some scratches.. now need advice

I absolutely agree with you that it looks better.
From the looks of it, I am assuming when you wet sanded, you did not completely level the paint but smoothed out the edge of the scratches which will make a huge difference in the way light reflects.

I think M21 will help but my guess would be that an application of M07 would be a better bet as far as hiding those defects. But do note, it will only be a temporary fix only as the scratches will re-appear when the M07 wears off.

Like I mentioned, I would recommend a paint measurement before removing any more cc.

How do i go about measuring CC thickness without spending $500 on a digital meter?

[Selectchoice]

Re: New to detailing, tried to get out some scratches.. now need advice

Hello all! I am new to the world of automotive detailing
Anyways, I got to this point just by hand using the following method: wet sand (2000 grit), meguiars diamond-cut compound (microfiber applicator followed by nanofiber towel wipe down) followed by some cleaner wax (plan to add some wax/sealant compound after I get everything looking the way I want).
light visible scratches, only to be left with a number of tiny (some actually fairly large) white scratches/pits.

Would this have resulted if I used a d.a. polisher?

Firstly let me say that wet sanding is an advanced technique at the best of times.

You have wet sanded your paint then followed with a product designed for rotary buffer application with a wool buffing pad (Diamond Cut Compound), then followed up with a mild cleaner wax.

My guess is the problem you're now seeing is because the Diamond Cut Compound has dried fully into the remaining 2000 grit scratch marks that your hand application of Diamond Cut Compound didn't fully remove. The dried product will show as white in colour.

The Diamond Cut Compound, hand applied via microfiber applicator, can cause hazing and other marks which may appear as time passes and the product dries out on the areas you worked on.

Do you have any other products on hand? I'd suggest Ultimate Compound applied with a DA Polisher as being the minimum that would be required here. Alternatively perhaps a local detailer could take a look and give you some advice once looking it over personally?

[cameojoe]

Re: New to detailing, tried to get out some scratches.. now need advice

Firstly let me say that wet sanding is an advanced technique at the best of times.

You have wet sanded your paint then followed with a product designed for rotary buffer application with a wool buffing pad (Diamond Cut Compound), then followed up with a mild cleaner wax.

My guess is the problem you're now seeing is because the Diamond Cut Compound has dried fully into the remaining 2000 grit scratch marks that your hand application of Diamond Cut Compound didn't fully remove. The dried product will show as white in colour.

The Diamond Cut Compound, hand applied via microfiber applicator, can cause hazing and other marks which may appear as time passes and the product dries out on the areas you worked on.

Do you have any other products on hand? I'd suggest Ultimate Compound applied with a DA Polisher as being the minimum that would be required here. Alternatively perhaps a local detailer could take a look and give you some advice once looking it over personally?

Thank you for your informative post. I am willing to purchase whatever additional compounds, waxes and even hardware that may be needed to fix and aid in my fixing of my vehicles aesthetics. As I mentioned, the da cleaner polish->speed glaze->swirl free finish were all additional products i was thinking about. Though if I'm looking in the wrong direction, by all means tell me. You suggested just a little ultimate compound instead? I was wanting to purchase a Dewalt DWO849X, but I guess that would be considered a rotary buffer? Which I hear can be dangerous to work with for newbies and I should stick with a DA polisher instead? However, watching Megui tutorial videos, they recommend the DA polisher wont effectively remove wet sanding marks.

[davey g-force]

Re: New to detailing, tried to get out some scratches.. now need advice

It is possible to remove wet sanding marks with a DA.

I agree with Selectchoice. UC or M105 via a DA would be a good choice.

You would actually have an even better chance of removing the marks with a MF cutting pad on a DA, but (given you've already wet sanded) I'd be a bit concerned with how much clear coat you have remaining with that process.