Restoring a Mach 1 to its full potential

[M.N.mach1]

Re: Restoring a Mach 1 to its full potential

I should ask is running those pads under hot water to clean them not good enough?

[The Guz]

Re: Restoring a Mach 1 to its full potential

I do clean off my yellow pad before switching to something else. Can a person use too much polish when doong that. My garage is currently at 45 degrees which might have something to do with it but i havent had problems with anything else. I will try will the first two steps you suggested and see how that turns out

You definitely want to switch pads when using a new product. Pads get saturated with paint residue and spent product.

ok so here is the hazing i was able to get a pic of. now i did a few things i went faster strokes with light pressure with the yellow pad, didnt work, so i did the same with the black pad, didnt work, then i went to do both by hand and still no luck. could a person start over and go back to U.C. and then try again or what else could i do . i cant notice until the lights on it and im sure when its in the sun its going to look hideous.

You could either be dealing with soft paint or the possibility of the pad just being overloaded with residue.

This is what I would do. With a brand new pad do a test spot with UP on the yellow polishing pad. I know you are using the DAPS so your area should not be that large that you are working.

If the marring is still there, then I would say go with UC on the maroon cutting pad. If this works and finishes out with no hazing, you can finish it off with UP on the black pad or yellow pad.

[M.N.mach1]

Re: Restoring a Mach 1 to its full potential



ok so here is the hazing i was able to get a pic of. now i did a few things i went faster strokes with light pressure with the yellow pad, didnt work, so i did the same with the black pad, didnt work, then i went to do both by hand and still no luck. could a person start over and go back to U.C. and then try again or what else could i do . i cant notice until the lights on it and im sure when its in the sun its going to look hideous.

[M.N.mach1]

Re: Restoring a Mach 1 to its full potential

I do clean off my yellow pad before switching to something else. Can a person use too much polish when doong that. My garage is currently at 45 degrees which might have something to do with it but i havent had problems with anything else. I will try will the first two steps you suggested and see how that turns out

[Lydia]

Re: Restoring a Mach 1 to its full potential

Limited time so pardon the brief answer.

That's great - I'm glad the #7 worked on the SS!

It sounds like you may be dealing with a pretty soft clear coat. You may also be putting a bit heavy pressure on the DAPS. Here's a couple suggestions:

1. Do another application of UP, but this time put pretty light pressure on the DAPS and move a little more quickly than you did with UC (if you've already tried that, move onto the next thing).
2. Try using UP with the black pad.

Another thing, how many pads do you have? Are you reusing a pad that you used with UC? You'll want a clean, fresh pad to use with UP.

I actually ran into some hazing or marring recently when buffing a Lexan Gold Wing Windshield (easy to scratch and hard to finish out). I was working with 3" pads on a DA, so the majority of the pads I was working with were unfortunately not Meguiar's. I tried #205 (pretty similar to UP), with the yellow pad from the DAPS system. That was still leaving hazing. After another recent experience working on some very soft black paint, I actually went to a stiffer pad (which I think had more cut than the yellow pad. I was mainly aiming for the stiffness). I can't explain why it worked, but it did, and it worked very well. I used a stiffer pad and light pressure, relatively quick arm speed, and it finished out very well and removed the hazing. All that to say, although it's counterintuitive and I don't know if it will work, if you have the maroon pad you could possibly give UP a try with that. Like I mentioned, the pad I was using was not a Meguiar's pad. I know the maroon pad has a decent amount of cut so it may not work. I would tend to think this would be more of a last resort, but it may be worth a try. The biggest thing is to use light pressure, IME just slightly more than what's needed to safely keep the pad on the paint.

This is what comes to mind now. I've got to get going on another job but will post if I think of something else.

[M.N.mach1]

Re: Restoring a Mach 1 to its full potential

I didnt catch it till after i applied the polish i tried a small spot by hand to see if i could get rid of it that didnt seem to work

[Lydia]

Re: Restoring a Mach 1 to its full potential

Did the haze seem to get worse after applying the UP? Or was it already there and just didn't improve?

[M.N.mach1]

Re: Restoring a Mach 1 to its full potential

And this was after U.P. i noticed it. And its noticable on all the parts with a clear coat. Used yellow pad with daps. I used that #7 on the single stage with out doing U.P. and thats really worked well! Good call lydia. Im alnost hesitant to evem touch anything else with U.P. unless im just doing it wrong.

[M.N.mach1]

Re: Restoring a Mach 1 to its full potential

On the hood which is black. I notice a pretty good haze ahen i shine a light on it any tips?

[Lydia]

Re: Restoring a Mach 1 to its full potential

I don't know what kind of light you use, but generally with the light I use I expect to be able to clearly see the edges of the bulb and often the reflector itself, reflecting in the paint (on black or dark paint, at least).

Correction: I just realized I said the edges of the bulb. I meant the edges of the light or light fixture.

[Lydia]

Re: Restoring a Mach 1 to its full potential

No worries! I completely understand as that's how I tend to be as well.

UP has polishing oils as well as very mild abrasives. As such, it will remove any minor "hazing" that may have been instilled by the UC. This helps refine the finish even better and will make crisper reflections. It will add some polishing oils as well.

#7 is a "pure polish", in that it has no abrasives - it only has polishing oils (well, and whatever else the chemist may have added to make it usable).

That being said, they're effectively serving two different purposes. One (UP) is removing minor hazing. The other (#7) is strictly adding polishing oils. If I understand correctly, UP is pretty rich in polishing oils, but it obviously isn't as rich as #7. As far as whether or not UP has enough polishing oils to sufficiently rejuvenate single-stage paint, I would tend to guess so but I don't know that for sure. Hopefully someone else who knows for sure will chime in. Otherwise, my suggestion would be:

Check the reflection of the light in different ares of your paint. Judging by the pictures you posted, I would tend to say that you CAN get a more refined finish. I don't know what kind of light you use, but generally with the light I use I expect to be able to clearly see the edges of the bulb and often the reflector itself, reflecting in the paint (on black or dark paint, at least). While it looks like the swirls have been removed on the black paint, judging by the pictures (which is not always completely accurate IME), it looks like the reflection may be able to get clearer. I think you should do a test spot of UP. Work it in pretty well (maybe once up and down, once left and right, then one more time up and down, with 50% overlapping passes and slow arm speed like usual), then wipe the residue off and look at it again. Check the reflection of the light in the test spot area and in an area that you only did UC. If it looks better with UP, great! Do that on the rest of the panel/car.

Likewise, my advice with #7 would be to do a test spot. I tend to think #7 will make less of a difference on the clear coat portion. But you could still give it a try. On the SS portion, it sounds like you haven't yet refined the paint quite to where you want it. This is where a test spot comes in again, but in this case I would be sure to do a test spot with all of the steps you are considering using to see where that takes the finish. So I would recommend trying a few different things. Since you've already done the top with UC, do one test spot with:

1 more application of UC
1 application of UP
1 application of #7
You could even apply a coat of UW at this point and see where it takes you.

Do a second test spot with:

1 application of UP
Apply a coat of #7 on top of this and see whether that makes a difference.

For the fun of it, you could also do a test spot with an application of #7. Keep in mind that if a test spot of #7 improves it but still doesn't quite bring it to where you want it to be and you end up using UP afterwards, UP (or UC, or anything with any amount of "cutting" power) will remove the #7. Again, the one exception to this is paint that is oxidized to the point that the polishing oils from #7 actually soak into the paint and replenish some of the oils that have dried out over time. I don't think your paint has reached that point, but I also don't know for sure. If your paint has reached the point where it could use the additional oils soaking into the paint, and you have a sheltered place to keep the vehicle, you could try applying a coat of #7 in a test spot and leaving it overnight, then removing it the next morning and see if that helps any. I don't think this method is recommended by Meguiar's, but it is a well-known way to restore oils. But this is to some extent where my enjoyment at trying things comes in. YMMV.

Compare these test spots to the baseline, which in this case is the part that you've only done with UC.

You're correct - there are a lot of combinations! And no two paint systems and set of eyeballs are exactly the same, so while we can recommend things, it will ultimately come down to what you like the look of best on your individual paint system. On the other hand, I think the more understanding you have of the products you're using and what they achieve, the better prepared you'll be to address what you're seeing.

On another side note, I understand that sometimes it's easy for people (me, in this case) to recommend trying more products. I'm telling you what I would try, but I also keep #7 on hand and work on multiple vehicles so am able to justify buying more products better. So if you're not wanting to buy more products at this time, I completely understand. I would still move forward with the test spots, just without #7. This will give you a good idea of where you're at.

[M.N.mach1]

Re: Restoring a Mach 1 to its full potential

There so many combinations

[M.N.mach1]

Re: Restoring a Mach 1 to its full potential

Thanks for the advice i appreciate it. I was gonna ask that. I was wondering u
If the up had enough oils in it for the paint but would you think it qould be a waste of time to just go over the whole care with up then hit up the stuff with that #7 by hamd that has the single stage then go to uw. And for the top try uc again with the daps then #7 by hand and see how that looms or would you just go uc then up then #7. If that doesnt seem to get it possiby do it again but with maroon pad with the uc. Sorry if im making you repeat i jist like to reiterate myself so i know im understanding what your saying.

[Lydia]

Re: Restoring a Mach 1 to its full potential

The maroon pad may be helpful for the top if it is a matter of the oxidation being worse. Otherwise, I wouldn't say it being single-stage alone would require a more aggressive pad per se. But yes, if it is more oxidized, the maroon pad would be helpful. I wasn't sure whether you were able to get those locally or not. Since you'll probably want it for the black if you go ahead and get it you could give it a try on the top also.

Since this is a single-stage paint job you might consider buying a bottle of #7 show car glaze and see if that improves things any (particularly on the top). Depending on the condition of the paint it may restore gloss even more. Paint tends to dry out as it ages. It's even more apparent on single-stage paint. #7's polishing oils can really help bring some gloss and depth back to single-stage paint. It's also usually available locally. I've seen it at AutoZone, NAPA, and Advance Auto Parts (it's not in the same section as the other detailing supplies in the store I went to most recently - it was in the section with the repaint supplies). It might be worth giving it a try.

I'm not sure if you know the history of the paint jobs on your car or not, but I remember detailing a Porsche a while back that had 3 different types of paint. One was a base coat/clear coat, and the other two were single-stage. So it's possible your car has a similar situation. Or it could be just more oxidized on the top as a result of being exposed more to the sun (because of being a horizontal panel).

Edited to add: #7 is a pure polish and as such is generally applied by rubbing into the paint then wiping off the residue. It does not have any abrasives in it, so there's no reason to buff it for an extended period of time like with UC or UP. You also wouldn't want to allow it to dry like a wax. Just apply it and rub it in to ensure even application (kind of like if you were using lotion on your hands), then wipe off the residue.

I say "generally" because sometimes, on severely dried-out or oxidized paint, it is applied thickly and left on overnight (in a protected area where it won't be gathering dust or dirt) to allow the oils to soak into the paint. I don't think this would be necessary with your car since it's already in pretty good condition. That would be for paint that is in particularly bad shape.

[M.N.mach1]

Re: Restoring a Mach 1 to its full potential

I will add that is is single stage on the top there i was almost wondering if i need that maroon pad for the top. But ill go over again with uc and up