Ultimate Compound messed up my paint

[MyFirstES300]

Re: Ultimate Compound messed up my paint

I'm really glad I read this before I applied Scratchx 2.0 to my 04 4Runner. I would have made one mistake right away-I would have let it dry!

Two scratches, however, DO NOT pass the finger nail test, but I hope with a little effort I can at least make them less visible. I am not ready to work with a compound yet.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Ultimate Compound messed up my paint

I'll shoot him an e-mail on Monday... see if I can prod him into a follow-up...

[akimel]

Re: Ultimate Compound messed up my paint

I regret that Charles hasn't returned since Feb 8th to check on the contributions to this thread. He has missed out on some good advice and instruction. I hope he has been able to correct the damage to his car or perhaps found someone who could correct the damage.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Ultimate Compound messed up my paint

First post here but long time reader.

Since this was your first post, welcome to Meguiar's Online!

[Oni]

Re: Ultimate Compound messed up my paint

First post here but long time reader. Great advice everyone, its great to just read through posts like this and pick up tips/direction alot of people like myself really appreciate it.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Ultimate Compound messed up my paint

Oh my god! Looks frustating...

Actually, with a foam applicator pad and some time it's just as easy to fix this and restore a show car shine as it is to remove the swirls out of any car. It's not a fast process by hand but it can be done.

Each panel, panel = a door, or a hood, or a roof, etc, needs to be broken up into small sections, about a foot square and then each of these small sections needs to be rubbed-out meticulously, evenly and thoroughly in order to leave a uniform, clear finish. Then move onto the next section and repeat the process while overlapping a little into the previously worked section for UMR.

UMR = Uniform Material Removal.

By doing this you can restore a smooth, clear finish perfect for either final polishing or application of a wax or paint sealant.

If a person cannot invest 2-3 hours to do the cleaning step all at one time then a person could just work a panel at a time, that is clean, polish and wax just the hood in one detailing session and as time permits pick up where you left off and continue working around the car until the entire finish has been restored.

[irf@n]

Re: Ultimate Compound messed up my paint

Oh my god! Looks frustating...

[Scottwax]

Re: Ultimate Compound messed up my paint

Looks like fingertip marring to me. If your hand isn't completely flat across the pad or towel you are using to apply it and you instead use your fingertips to apply pressure, you get marring like in the picture.

Also, if you wipe it on like a wax and then let it sit until it dries and try to remove it you will also mess up your paint.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Ultimate Compound messed up my paint

Recall that paint cleaners, cleaner/polishes and pure polishes should not be allowed to dry on the surface, mostly because it can become difficult to remove. In some cases, very difficult.

This can lead to a scrubbing of the surface to try and remove the dried product, which again can result in marring of the finish.

Meant to add this to this thread,

Which products need to dry before removing?

[imacarnut]

Re: Ultimate Compound messed up my paint

it would be nice if someone that lives near the OP, could give this guy a hand if they have a D/A, etc...

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Ultimate Compound messed up my paint

Looking at the pictures, Charles, I can't help but wonder about a few things:

1. What sort of applicator did you use? A terry cloth applicator, worked aggressively against delicate paint (anyone remember the couple of Honda Fits we've dealt with recently???) will leave all sorts of marring behind. As Mike Phillips has pointed out, a foam applicator pad is the #1 choice.

2. It almost looks as though the UC was applied like a wax, allowed to dry, and then removed - sort of. Recall that paint cleaners, cleaner/polishes and pure polishes should not be allowed to dry on the surface, mostly because it can become difficult to remove. In some cases, very difficult. This can lead to a scrubbing of the surface to try and remove the dried product, which again can result in marring of the finish.

Does any of the above sound like the process you used?

[roushstage2]

Re: Ultimate Compound messed up my paint

The above quotations raise a question about how long one should work Ultimate Compound or any of the new super micro-abrasive polishes. My understanding is that the new polishes do not need to be broken down, like the diminishing abrasive polishes do. If one does not break down a diminishing abrasive polish, one risks hazing; but this is not the case with the new polishes, at least so I understand. Their cut remains uniform, thus allowing one to polish for a while, stop, wipe off, and inspect--and repeat if necessary. The non-diminishing nature of the super micro-abrasive technology thus allows for a "polish and inspect" technique that is not appropriate for the diminishing abrasive polishes. We do need to worry whether we have properly broken down SwirlX or Ultimate Compound. We can polish for a couple of passes and then evaluate our result. If the defects are removed, great; if not, we can repeat again. But hazing due to shorter work time should not be a problem for us.

Please correct me if I am wrong (as I no doubt am). Thanks!

Cheers,
Al

That's a pretty good summary... I'm confident this has bee discussed a number of times, it will just take some time for people to get used to working with these new products.

Yes, slip of the tongue, my apologies. Either way, the end result is dry buffing is bad when using any cleaner due to the abrasives in them, no matter which type.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Ultimate Compound messed up my paint

A good "Best Practice" for any product applied by hand or machine aggressively to remove defects is after working it aggressively spend a little time working the the surface with a few lighter passes to bring your results to a higher quality finish.

When cleaning and polishing paint, there are other factors that determine the end-results besides just the product, some of these other factors would include your pressure, your application material and how long you work the product...

I know first hand from interacting with literally thousands of people at our Saturday and Thursday classes that there's a lot of confusion as to how to specifically apply and wipe off different categories of products, that is specifically and exactly how to move your hand or move the tool when applying and working different products.

If you work the product correctly you get the results you're looking for and hoping for, if you don't then usually you get frustrated. We understand this and it's always our goal to help anyone having problems to understand what to do and how to do it correctly and hopefully see them through to success.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Ultimate Compound messed up my paint

Please correct me if I am wrong (as I no doubt am). Thanks!

Cheers,
Al

That's a pretty good summary... I'm confident this has been discussed a number of times, it will just take some time for people to get used to working with these new products.

[akimel]

Re: Ultimate Compound messed up my paint

Adding to the above post... keep in mind products like Ultimate Compound, SwirlX even cleaner waxes need to be 'worked' and this can take some time by hand. This is so the product can properly break down and give you the intended results.

Adding to the above post... keep in mind products like Ultimate Compound, SwirlX even cleaner waxes need to be 'worked' and this can take some time by hand. This is so the product can properly break down and give you the intended results.

Probably a short version: I'd say that's a possibility especially if the product hasn't been broken down all of the way. You don't want to go to a dry buff with any cleaning product really as it can cause marring because there isn't the lubrication anymore to keep it from doing that.

The above quotations raise a question about how long one should work Ultimate Compound or any of the new super micro-abrasive polishes. My understanding is that the new polishes do not need to be broken down, like the diminishing abrasive polishes do. If one does not break down a diminishing abrasive polish, one risks hazing; but this is not the case with the new polishes, at least so I understand. Their cut remains uniform, thus allowing one to polish for a while, stop, wipe off, and inspect--and repeat if necessary. The non-diminishing nature of the super micro-abrasive technology thus allows for a "polish and inspect" technique that is not appropriate for the diminishing abrasive polishes. We do need to worry whether we have properly broken down SwirlX or Ultimate Compound. We can polish for a couple of passes and then evaluate our result. If the defects are removed, great; if not, we can repeat again. But hazing due to shorter work time should not be a problem for us.

Please correct me if I am wrong (as I no doubt am). Thanks!

Cheers,
Al