Haze Swirls and Oxidation! HELP

[RhodyRanger]

Hello, I was directed here from Ranger Power Sports because I am having some trouble with the finish on my 97 red ranger. The hood has become dull and covvered with tiny light swirl marks. I've searched the site a bit and the purple jeep Mike worked on is pretty similar to my problem. I tried Scratch X but I did not get any results. I worked it in and saw a nice polished shine for about a day then the haze and swirls returned (maybe worse than before? I cannot tell). What steps should I take to bring the finish back. Thanks

[travisdecpn]

First off welcome to MOL. Now to your problem. How did you apply the scratchx, with a foam applicator pad, or terry cloth? Second, by hand results can be difficult to acheive, but you may want to look into a product called Colorx, it is a powerful paint cleaner and protectant. If you have never clayed your truck, you may want to give that I try first, then follow with Colorx. You can top that with NXT or Gold Class wax to add to the appearance.

Since you are doing your work by hand and having to remove oxidation, you may want to try using a terry cloth to apply the Colorx and remove with a good quality microfiber cloth like the Supreme Shine towel from Megs. When applying your wax, use a foam applicator pad and remove with another microfiber towel. Hope this helps, if you do a search for Colorx, Mike Phillips did a very nice writeup showing its proper use and the results it can achieve.

[Ranger72]

Hey man! I am over at RPS constantly! LOL have any pictures of the prolbem? what travisdecpn is deff good info.

[RhodyRanger]

application

Hey hows it goin fellow RPSer! Okay, I began applying with a clean soft cotton rag and realized I wasnt going to get any results before my hand fell off so I used a small and cheap hand buffer with a terry cover to help me out. I kept buffing it until it almost looked it like it was all gone and I had a brillant polish. I was pretty damn happy with myself and then the next day it must have dried and I was left with the same problem as before (possibly worse?). How do I know when to stop rubbing/buffing? What is too much to use/what is not enough? I've used Turtle Wax's version of colorX and loved it for about 2 days... until it wore away and my hood was left even worse than before.

So basically go back with colorX or scratchX and use the right applicators and that will do it? Oh yeah and clay, that too.

[travisdecpn]

With oxidation there it it not necessary to get too aggressive with your polishing step. A product like Meg's Colorx (nothing like the Turtle wax product mentioned) relies mainly on chemical cleaners to ahcieve the results. While you may need to use a terry towel to apply the product and remove the oxidation, there is not a big need to put all of your body weight behind your arm motion. Let the chemicals do the work, gently work it over the surface, allow to haze, then remove with a microfiber towel. It may take a couple applications to acheive the results desired, but they will be worth it.

[RhodyRanger]

Will do. But I'm not so sure this is oxidation, it's just hazy from all the damn fine scratches. They look white-ish and are much much more visible in the sun, where they look like circular cross hatched spider webs all over my hood. I cannot feel them with my fingernail either. That is the best description I've got.

[travisdecpn]

In the case of marring like you have mentioned, working by hand can be quite tedious. You may want to look into getting a G-100 or PC and a polish like #83 and #80 to remove the defects. Mike did a very nice write-up on the proper procedure for using scratch-x as well, so you may want to do a quite search and read through his post if you want to give scratch-x another try.

[rusty bumper]

I saw a car one time that looked like someone had tried to compound the hood (Clear-Coat paint) and instilled many scratches in it instead, to the point that the hood had a cloudy look to it......This was new paint BTW.

I managed to remove about 75% of the scratches with the G-100/Medallion Premium Paint Cleaner combo, and the hood really looked much better afterwards.

Maybe you are not quite able to work the product into the paint with proper uniformity by hand RhodyRanger. A DA polisher from Meguiars could be of a great help solving this problem.

[Ranger72]

RhodyRanger, if youhave a digital camera or a friedns does, try and take a pic of the damage in different angles and light. Then post them here. It will be easier to help you if we can see it.
-Mike

[Tim Lingor]

Hey,

I agree with Rusty Bumper; the swirls sound like they are creating a cloudy appearance to the paint. It may not be possible to remove them by hand, and may require a DA Polisher like the G100 or even a rotary buffer to remove the marring. Using ScratchX by hand with some real energy will help a lot but a machine still may be necessary. Can you please provide a photo of what are dealing with.

Here is a link showing how to use ScratchX properly:

How to remove a defect by hand with ScratchX


Tim

[Mike Phillips]

Sounds to me like the finish is pretty far gone...

Do the swirls look like the swirls in this white Ford truck written about in the below thread?

PC+83 not "cutting" it! (The Limits of what the dual action polisher can do)

If so, it could be that working by hand will require some effort on your part to do the entire truck, or you're going to have to either invest in a machine or have a professional detailer restore your finish.

Here's a pictures of Tim's, (aka forum member svt150tim), new-to-him Ford Lightning with a factory clear coat finish over white basecoat.




Here's what the finish looks like all over the the entire truck,

Horrendous Swirls


Here are the results after 10 minutes of compounding using #84 Compound Power Cleaner with a W-7006 foam cutting pad on about 1800 rpm.



We tried to remove the cobweb-effect using the G-100 with a W-8006 polishing pad and some #83 DACP but it had no visible effect. The clear coat finish on this truck is as hard as glass, the only way to remove the swirls in the finish is to machine compound with a rotary buffer.

The point is, there is only so much a dual action polisher like the Meguiar's G-100 can do, once you reach it's limit, and it's not removing the defect, then it's time to substitute a rotary buffer or if you don't own a rotary buffer, and/or the skills to operate one correctly then you will need to take your car to a professional who is trained and experienced with the proper use of the rotary buffer.

[RhodyRanger]

My trucks hood looks EXACTLY like that white one. The swirls and cobweb looking scratches are almost identical only the red paint accentuates each and every swirl. It is looking like bringing it to a profesional with a rotary buffer is my best option at this point.

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by RhodyRanger
My trucks hood looks EXACTLY like that white one. The swirls and cobweb looking scratches are almost identical only the red paint accentuates each and every swirl. It is looking like bringing it to a profesional with a rotary buffer is my best option at this point.

As you can tell by reading the thread I included, the only thing that was going to save the finish on the truck was the skilled touch by a professional using a rotary buffer.

There are some paint defects that hand-applied, and dual action polisher just cannot fix.

[RhodyRanger]

Thank you for your help. I am going to have to look into having this profesionally done but I would like to have it done by a professional who uses meguiar's products. Is there a directory of shops that feature meguiar's products?

[Mike Phillips]

The best I can do is to put you in touch with your Area Sales Manager which I will do right now. I'll send him the link to this thread and your e-mail.