3M SMR and a black car

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peiqinglong

New member
See I am having the worst hazing problems in the world. I am thinking about using either 3M SMR or Scratch X to remove as much of the swirl problems as I can. Is there anything wrong with apply a coat of SMR or Scratch X to the ENTIRE car using the PC? Should I only do one or maybe two coats? Click on the link to see how bad my hazing and swirls are. Any help is appreciated and have a wonderful day!



Be fore warned these pics are rather large...



http://itsupport.sjsu.edu/~rbui/Cars/Richard_CL/CL Hazing 01.jpg

http://itsupport.sjsu.edu/~rbui/Cars/Richard_CL/CL Hazing 02.jpg

http://itsupport.sjsu.edu/~rbui/Cars/Richard_CL/CL Hazing 03.jpg

http://itsupport.sjsu.edu/~rbui/Cars/Richard_CL/CL Hazing 04.jpg

http://itsupport.sjsu.edu/~rbui/Cars/Richard_CL/CL Hazing 05.jpg



This hazing doesn't just exist in certain areas, but everywhere. Please help!!!!



Richard
 
Richard- Wow, those pictures make me cringe. How did it get that beat up so quickly? Automatic car washes, or drywashing? Oh well there are a bunch of products that will cover those up. 3M SMR works very well. Scratch X is pretty abrasive and shouldnt be used all over the car. However, I have done it on a black Mercedes and then followed with a good polish and a few coats of Meguiars GC. Also, Meguiars #9 is a little more accesible. You can pick some up at Auto Zone, along w/the Scratch X. All 3 can be applied with your PC with good results. You should buff by hand though. I suggest you get all of them, they arent over 10 bucks each and you should try each one and see which works best for you.
 
The 3M SMR with a Porter Cable did wonders for my very dark metallic green finish (nearly black.)



The Scratch-X was of little usefullness in my mind, but I didn't try it with the Porter Cable.



I do prefer some of Meguiar's other products, however.
 
Boy, those are horrible.



It's gonna take some work to remove those. SMR won't do it alone. I'd start with FI2 at a minimum and work it good, one small section at a time. If that works OK then go to the SMR. You'll need two pads for this work.



Be patient with them. It's gonna take some time to get those out.



Good luck.
 
Dude - I feel for you. Those look bad. A PC and the right stuff should help. Maybe SMR, maybe something more aggressive.



I have a PC, SMR, FI-II, Fine Cut rubbing Compound. I see you are in San Jose. I am 35 minutes north. What are you doing tomorrow afternoon (after 1:45PM) or fri afternoon after 3:30? I could SHOW you how this stuff works - can't do the whole car but we can come up with a recipe that works and you'll then be able to do the rest yourself.



Email me.....
 
1st if car guy will teach you, i would take him up on the offer, but as an owner of the same color- night hawk black pearl (mines an accord though) i honestly believe that this color is the eaiset to swirl and one of the hardest blacks to maintain. i say this b/c my 2 preveoius cars were black and i had less knowledge and they never hazed as bad as my accord.

but i have a question how in the world did a 03 cl get so bad so fast? any way good luck this is one of my favortie cars (6sp) i would have gotten one last summer but al the problems with the auto tranny scared me off (i was a moderator on acura-cl.com)
 
I am simply going to ask what has already been asked.



What washing, waxing techniques are you currently using? It is of little use to get your paint back up to standards just to continue to put these swirls back in if you do not change your process.



I am asking because I also have a black car and if I am doing anything remotely similar, I want to change NOW!



keep us informed.



KL
 
It looks like somebody took a rotary to the car. I kind of doubt you could induce that marring with poor washing techniques or even a PC. Wow, carguy, what a gentleman :) . Willing to lend assistance at any cost. That's what makes this place great.:up
 
Those have to be buffer marks. Do yourself a favor and take carguy up on his offer to help you out. I'm sure with his tutelage you'll have that car fixed up in no-time.
 
Can a PC remove buffer marks from a rotary, if that's what they are? I seem to remember someone saying a while back that only a rotary can remove rotary buffer marks. Is this true?
 
Chuckmotor said:
Can a PC remove buffer marks from a rotary, if that's what they are? I seem to remember someone saying a while back that only a rotary can remove rotary buffer marks. Is this true?
Click to expand...
Yes, you can remove rotary buffer marks with a PC . . .



Before:

truck01.jpg




After:

truck02.jpg


truck03.jpg




The buffer marks were installed by the dealership; we removed them using a PC, a yellow "cutting" pad, and 3M Finesse-It II. The finished pictures are after sealing with Z1/Z5 (just one coat, this was from pre-ZFX days).



Tort
 
Well I guess I'm wrong but I'm glad I am, seeing as how I have no direct drive but I do have a PC. Great looking truck, by the way!
 
thevolvoguy said:
Richard- Wow, those pictures make me cringe. How did it get that beat up so quickly? Automatic car washes, or drywashing? Oh well there are a bunch of products that will cover those up. 3M SMR works very well. Scratch X is pretty abrasive and shouldnt be used all over the car. However, I have done it on a black Mercedes and then followed with a good polish and a few coats of Meguiars GC. Also, Meguiars #9 is a little more accesible. You can pick some up at Auto Zone, along w/the Scratch X. All 3 can be applied with your PC with good results. You should buff by hand though. I suggest you get all of them, they arent over 10 bucks each and you should try each one and see which works best for you.
Click to expand...



Thank you for your response! I see you don't recommned using the Scratch X on the entire car, but then you mentioned you used it on a Mercedes...how did that work out? I will definitely look into that and see if that will help!
 
bretfraz said:
Boy, those are horrible.



It's gonna take some work to remove those. SMR won't do it alone. I'd start with FI2 at a minimum and work it good, one small section at a time. If that works OK then go to the SMR. You'll need two pads for this work.



Be patient with them. It's gonna take some time to get those out.



Good luck.
Click to expand...



Sorry a newbie here...but what is the FI2? Is it a polisher or something?
 
nyrep1 said:
1st if car guy will teach you, i would take him up on the offer, but as an owner of the same color- night hawk black pearl (mines an accord though) i honestly believe that this color is the eaiset to swirl and one of the hardest blacks to maintain. i say this b/c my 2 preveoius cars were black and i had less knowledge and they never hazed as bad as my accord.

but i have a question how in the world did a 03 cl get so bad so fast? any way good luck this is one of my favortie cars (6sp) i would have gotten one last summer but al the problems with the auto tranny scared me off (i was a moderator on acura-cl.com)
Click to expand...



I acutally now so regret not getting the 6spd...unfortunately I only have the automatic. It's such a shame you didn't end up getting the CL...your knowledge could have definitely be beneficial to the CL board!
 
peiqinglong and I have connected and he is on his way to my house. We start @ 6PM PST. In my arsenal are:



3M SMR for Dark finish

meguiars #9 SMR 2.0

3m finesse-it II finishing compound

3m Perfect-It II fine cut rubbing compound



Plus various and sundry other goodies. We'll see what we can do. I won't have time to do his whole car, but we'll discover what works. If it is so bad I don't think I can do anything I will recommend he get a pro rotary buff-out, of course. We'll keep you posted.



Oh - and I suspect there will be another Souveran fan momentarily (we won't have time to put any other sort of wax on anyway!)
 
Gatorfan said:
It looks like somebody took a rotary to the car. I kind of doubt you could induce that marring with poor washing techniques or even a PC. Wow, carguy, what a gentleman :) . Willing to lend assistance at any cost. That's what makes this place great.:up
Click to expand...



Hehe... actually it is very possible, I saw a neighbor's new. black corolla, 3 months old... swirls are just as bad as this one... just makes me cringe...
 
Well, we got him all squared away last night. The car was pretty bad, although those original pictures were taken in good light. I only did one door - when we parked it outside in the post-sunset light it was hard to see the flaws in the other surfaces without gettiug real close. But it was definitely badly hazed and swirled. I went after half the door with fine cut rubbing compound and half with FI-II first. I found them to be more similar than I would have expected. I worked both for a long, long time (until the compounds all but disappeared) and they both made a good dent in the scratches, as well as leaving a pretty decent finish. The FCRC probably worked a little faster, and next time I would start with it. (I was simply being conservative.)



I made a second pass with FI-II over the whole door - the part I had FI-II'd earlier definitely needed it. Again, worked it HARD. Then, Meguiars #9 2.0 - now it REALLY started to look good. For educational purposes I also did a section we had not used the other compounds on with the #9. It effectively hid the hazing with its filling/mild polishing action - but upon close inspection (eyes 1 foot from the surface, look right next to the reflection of the floodlight, focus on the door not the light) you could still easily see plenty of scratches were in the paint. The same scrutiny on the section that got the full treatment showed that the scratches were gone.



Then for the heck of it I put on some #7 (Meguiar's glaze) - I don't think this added any real benefit. Finally I slapped a coat of Souveran on and we rolled it back out into the light. The dark blue metallic paint looked beautiful with a nice depth and deep look. I sent him home with enough FI-II to do the rest of the car, and a shopping list of other goodies - but since he already owns a PC, he's got the most important part.



Richard (peiqinglong) brought some friends along and one took several pictures (sorry guys I don't remember your names) so hopefully he'll post them here. I only took a few pics, and none that do justice to the "before and after". The CL in this shot does not show the door we worked.



turbo_and_cl.jpg
 
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