Just some basic questions from a Newb.

[BadBenz94]

Re: Just some basic questions from a Newb.

I don't have alot of experience with paint correction. But that 1st pic, is it 2 spots I'm seeing? Maybe we can get murr or guz to chime in on their opinions. Or even mr stoops himself as those guys are far more experienced and knowledgable than I am. Cuz my thought would b to try the the damf system if the other pads and compound didnt work

Ok Jar, maybe I'll PM them to take a look. Thanks!!

Good work, BadBenz! I've yet to see any hazing issue with the Soft Buff DA pads. In fact, the UC/Burgundy combo is not aggressive enough for my hard paint, and requires a lot of passes and higher speeds. If your paint is softer, just keep the speed down to 4 or medium. Also, check after each pass that you've removed only what you need to remove. Compounding is the most demoralizing and hard work of detailing, but the rest is your payoff for slogging through it

Thank you Topgear, I may try the Burgundy on those spots just to see if any improvement occurs. I'll keep you guys posted.


Chris

[BadBenz94]

Re: Just some basic questions from a Newb.

Im back! I PM'd Stoops but have not heard back yet, IM sure he is swamped with questions. I tried the burgundy pad and it seemed to improve a little bit, I think Im going to look for a 3" pad as I can then focus on one spot more easily.

Chris

[The Guz]

Re: Just some basic questions from a Newb.

I missed your previous post before the photos. You were saying you were using speed 4 on the PC. With a PC I am usually on spped 5 using M105 or UC. Especially on harder paint. You may want to try bump up the speed to see if you can get some of the deeper defects. When polishing with M205 or UP I use speed 5 on my cars and some family member cars which have medium to hard paint. Some of those deeper scratches could be RIDS (random isolated deeper scratches). These you have to live with. Some good info on them here http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...hind-term.html


Now onto those two spots. They look pretty deep and you may have to live with them. Let us know what Mr Stoops says. But I would try a smaller pad for sure. A 4" lake country orange cutting pad with the proper backing plate. You could also try the burgundy pad from the DAPS system which are 4" pads and of course the proper backing plate. Another option would be to try the 3" microfiber cutting disk with a 3" backing plate. Go over those spots with a few passes and see if you are able to get them to look better. If they are still there then it's pretty deep and wetsanding would be the way to get them out.

[C8N]

Re: Just some basic questions from a Newb.

For those bird bomb etching... if you can feel them, they are too deep.
Even in this case, use the baggie test to increase your sensitivity. If you feel them, you will have to live with it.
If you cannot, I would take another shot at it.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Just some basic questions from a Newb.

Sorry about being a bit late to the party here guys, but thanks to all for getting Chris up to speed.

Chris, that's a beautiful car in a great color. A friend of mine has an XJ-R in a lighter green that I just love (but I've always been a Jag fan, so..........)


Now, regarding the two spots shown in that overhead shot - don't go too crazy on them without use of a paint thickness gauge. Even with a DA, and especially with 3" pads, you can indeed get aggressive enough to remove more paint than you should. And you won't know you've done it until it's too late. Sometimes you just have to accept that some things just can't be fixed, especially on a 13 year old car that is not just a garage queen.

Without seeing the paint in person we can only guess at the following, but based on all the similar situations we've seen in our Saturday Classes when dealing with cars that have been well cared for over the years, but not truly pampered like a garage queen would be, the DAMF System may be perfect for you. Here's why. Over time, even if you're washing and waxing regularly, the paint can age to a point where it loses some of it's clarity. While foam pads can do wonders to remove swirls and other below surface defects (as you've discovered) there is just something about the way the microfiber cuts that gives it the ability to restore clarity. Now, if the paint is one of those crazy soft systems that hazes like crazy even with a foam polishing pad and Ultimate Compound, then microfiber probably isn't the best choice. But on harder paints it's fantastic. And many paint systems tend to "harden" a bit as they age. The clarity discussed here can best be described as bringing reflections into focus; look at a reflection of a tree in the hood of two different cars, one with excellent clarity and one with poor clarity. In the hood with poor clarity you can definitely tell that you're looking at the reflection of a tree, but in the reflection on the hood with excellent clarity you can count the individual leaves on the tree. We've done so many side by side test spots in our classes where foam cleaned up the finish beautifully, but microfiber just made it pop. On older paints the difference is even more noticeable.

The great thing is your DA works great with the DAMF system and will give it a major jump in cutting power without forcing you to learn a whole new tool. We highly recommend it.

As for not responding to your PM, my apologies. Between planning for a multi day NXT Technical Institute training program and a few other new responsibilities, I've been just a wee bit busy!! But the community here at MOL is just fantastic, and it's great to see so many of these guys stepping in to make sure a new user is on the right track!!

[Jarhead0754]

And so king stoops had spoken. If ur still unsure of what way to go. If u have some extra free time and want to take a little short vacation, u can always drive out to Cali for a sat class at meguiars or on Thursdays they have open garage night where they'll look at ur car and give u and show u on how to tackle the problem area. So drive ur jag to Cali for a few days and make a mini vacation out of it. U get 2 things out of a nice trip.
But u prob get now how I said this forum is great and how all the people are beyond helpful.

[BadBenz94]

Re: Just some basic questions from a Newb.

For those bird bomb etching... if you can feel them, they are too deep.
Even in this case, use the baggie test to increase your sensitivity. If you feel them, you will have to live with it.
If you cannot, I would take another shot at it.

Sounds like a plan!

Sorry about being a bit late to the party here guys, but thanks to all for getting Chris up to speed.

Chris, that's a beautiful car in a great color. A friend of mine has an XJ-R in a lighter green that I just love (but I've always been a Jag fan, so..........)


Now, regarding the two spots shown in that overhead shot - don't go too crazy on them without use of a paint thickness gauge. Even with a DA, and especially with 3" pads, you can indeed get aggressive enough to remove more paint than you should. And you won't know you've done it until it's too late. Sometimes you just have to accept that some things just can't be fixed, especially on a 13 year old car that is not just a garage queen.

Without seeing the paint in person we can only guess at the following, but based on all the similar situations we've seen in our Saturday Classes when dealing with cars that have been well cared for over the years, but not truly pampered like a garage queen would be, the DAMF System may be perfect for you. Here's why. Over time, even if you're washing and waxing regularly, the paint can age to a point where it loses some of it's clarity. While foam pads can do wonders to remove swirls and other below surface defects (as you've discovered) there is just something about the way the microfiber cuts that gives it the ability to restore clarity. Now, if the paint is one of those crazy soft systems that hazes like crazy even with a foam polishing pad and Ultimate Compound, then microfiber probably isn't the best choice. But on harder paints it's fantastic. And many paint systems tend to "harden" a bit as they age. The clarity discussed here can best be described as bringing reflections into focus; look at a reflection of a tree in the hood of two different cars, one with excellent clarity and one with poor clarity. In the hood with poor clarity you can definitely tell that you're looking at the reflection of a tree, but in the reflection on the hood with excellent clarity you can count the individual leaves on the tree. We've done so many side by side test spots in our classes where foam cleaned up the finish beautifully, but microfiber just made it pop. On older paints the difference is even more noticeable.

The great thing is your DA works great with the DAMF system and will give it a major jump in cutting power without forcing you to learn a whole new tool. We highly recommend it.

As for not responding to your PM, my apologies. Between planning for a multi day NXT Technical Institute training program and a few other new responsibilities, I've been just a wee bit busy!! But the community here at MOL is just fantastic, and it's great to see so many of these guys stepping in to make sure a new user is on the right track!!

Thank you for the compliments and guide! It is a fantastic community and thank you again for your input and recommendations.I will be purchasing the DAMF system shortly I know Im not the only one asking you questions so it's understandable.

And so king stoops had spoken. If ur still unsure of what way to go. If u have some extra free time and want to take a little short vacation, u can always drive out to Cali for a sat class at meguiars or on Thursdays they have open garage night where they'll look at ur car and give u and show u on how to tackle the problem area. So drive ur jag to Cali for a few days and make a mini vacation out of it. U get 2 things out of a nice trip.
But u prob get now how I said this forum is great and how all the people are beyond helpful.

I grew up in Cali, it would be awesome, but I have to come to grips with the age of my car and somethings just cant be corrected, just enjoyed the way it is.

Best Regards,
Chris