About to start paint correction - need some help

I polished the hood today and I have to say that about 85% or so of the the swirls and scratches appear to be removed. There are some there but I think that is OK for now. There are some slight spots - maybe water spots? - that can be visible only at certain angles in the bright sun. But there is quite a bit of improvement.

I put a black marker on the backing plate as has been recommended by some and I think it helped quite a bit. I put extra pressure on the machine. In fact, I used a weight scale to judge my pressure and it seemed to help. In some cases, I was putting too much pressure and the orbital (?) stopped spinning. With the marker on the BP, I could adjust my pressure and back off. I used a combination of white, orange and green pads because I was kind of low on pads. This is not the best way but next time I hope to have more pads on hand.

So after polishing, I put some wax on it! LOL, I was pretty excited about this.

On one side of the hood I put Collinite 845 and the other FK1000P. It's too early to describe them but the FK1000P appears to be shinier while the 845 seems to have a deeper look to it. Buffing off the waxes wasn't that bad. Instead of dragging the towel, I rotated my hand and then kind of worked at it. There was some drag but wasn't too bad. I do have to say that I got some FK1000P on the windshield jetstream and it's pretty much dried on there. LOL, I used too much product! Sorry Accumulator! haha

I'll see which I like better and use that on the car.

Question: How does one clean the small yellow foam wax applicator pads? Or does one need to clean them at all?

Thank you guys so much for all your help. I really appreciate that!
 
Which did you end up using, the HD Polish or the Ultimate Compound ? I am glad that you found some success. Just hang in there. Your technique and process should continue to improve over time as you get more experience with your DA. You don't always have to necessarily have 100% correction especially if you are chasing deep defects that would remove too much clear coat. Another option is to apply a glaze such as Poor Boys Black Hole which will hide some of the remaining swirls. If you do decide to go this route, make sure to lock in the Glaze by topping it with a good wax or sealant.
 
Hi bswombaugh, I used HD Polish only this time. I figured if I improved my technique, the results should be better. I think I'm going to live with the results for the time being. I hope to do a better job on the rest of the car and then later on down the road, I figure I can touch up a spot here or there. I do appreciate the product suggestion. It seems like a well liked product. Thank you for the encouragement!
 
I'm continuing to polish the car one section at a time. It's pollen season and I'm doing this outside so the car doesn't remain clean for too long.

I'm generally happy with the way the car is looking. I'm going to be using a white or orange pad with plenty of pressure for the correction part. After that, I'll be using a black for the final touch. Do I need to apply 15+ lbs. of pressure on the black pad too?

Also, is there anything you guys would recommend for producing that glass like finish? Maybe I'm scrutinizing the car more but when I did the paint correction on the trunk today, I noticed more than normal orange peel up close. Or maybe it's just me.

Thanks for any responses.
 
If you decide that you need to use the black pad you can lighten up on your pressure a little. With the black pad you would just be trying to refine the finish and not actually remove defects. Just use light pressure -a little added pressure besides the weight of the machine.

Orange Peel Removal can be tricky and dangerous to remove to if you are not experienced at it. Normally on a daily driver most people leave it alone so as not to compromise too much of the clear coat while removing the orange peel. Some people do however at least remove part of it by either wetsanding the paint or using something like the Car Pro Denim Pads. You really have to be careful with this procedure and I wouldn't even start to consider it without a Paint Thickness Gage to monitor how much clear was being removed.
 
Nav45- I strongly encourage you to *NOT* even think about reducing/removing the orangepeel. My S8 has terrible orangepeel; I'm pretty good at this stuff; that car isn't parked outside or otherwise used like a normal vehicle...and I still *NEVER* give the topic of orangepeel any thought. I'll never reduce/remove it in this lifetime unless it's on some repainted vehicle where I know for a fact that there's enough extra clear for it to be safe. And even then I doubt I'd do it.

For final polishing with a black pad, I tend to reduce pressure a *LOT*. Like bswombaugh, by that time I have all the correction done and I'm merely burnishing. FWIW, I hardly ever bother doing that; most of the time the final correction-level polishing step leaves things perfectly good enough for the vehicle in question. In the last decade I've maybe burnished two vehicles- my S8 and a pal's showcar. And that showcar's burnished perfection lasted maybe one showing, so while it was good for me ego it was basically a waste of time and clearcoat.

Wax applicator pads can usually be cleaned with an All Purpose Cleaner, or wit Dawn Power Dissolver, or a MF-detergent. IME it's not critical to get every last bit of either 845 or FK1000P out of the pad. Note that if you can squeeze product out of the pad when you clean it, that's a sign that you used too much ;)
 
bswombaugh, I was using a lot of pressure on all the pads - LOL, I was trying to compensate for the lack of pressure during my previous polishing session where I saw little improvement. Thanks for your advice on the orange peel removal. I will definitely use lighter pressure on the black pads.

Accumulator, I will keep my orange peel then! ;) I understand where your coming from - no need to polish more than needed. I am going to apply that to my car care methods too along with a relatively (and hopefully) safe washing technique. I definitely used too much wax because wax kept on coming out while I was rinsing it, haha. I'm under the belief that "More wax is better" :P Please set me straight. Thanks.

I'm getting slightly concerned about over polishing though because I don't want to remove too much more clearcoat. The trunk area that I polished did not come out as clear and glossy as I would have liked (or maybe I'm just being over-critical). I believe many of the light swirls and scratches were removed, though the clarity is slightly less than I want. I'm thinking of using an orange pad and re-do the section. I'm thinking of applying firm pressure during the initial passes but applying less during the final passes. Good idea?

Also, I'm thinking of simply using an orange pad over the rest of the car and completing the process tomorrow. I just want a little bit of extra gloss and clarity. I would appreciate any tips.
 
Nav45- WHICH orange pad are you thinking about for the trunk? Griot's is mild or at least they used to be (changed 'em recently and I haven't tried the new version), while other orange pads are more harsh.

More is *NOT* better with LSP. Too much can even interfere with how it flashes off/"dries"/etc. and leads to issues like streaking/smearing on some surfaces (plus, residual product can cause "white stains"). Harder to get a uniform application IMO, and it can sometimes compromise the final appearance. There's just no upside to using more than you need to. Think of the LSP bonding at the molecular level; it's not like applying paint ;)

After I finish buffing off the LSP, my MF appears unused, no "white powder" on it to speak of.

OK, you do need to use enough for a uniform application, but if you work methodically/carefully that's still not much. A typical tin of wax lasts me many *many* years. A tin of FK1000P oughta last a non-Pro over a decade easily.
 
Accumulator said:
Nav45- WHICH orange pad are you thinking about for the trunk? Griot's is mild or at least they used to be (changed 'em recently and I haven't tried the new version), while other orange pads are more harsh.

More is *NOT* better with LSP. Too much can even interfere with how it flashes off/"dries"/etc. and leads to issues like streaking/smearing on some surfaces (plus, residual product can cause "white stains"). Harder to get a uniform application IMO, and it can sometimes compromise the final appearance. There's just no upside to using more than you need to. Think of the LSP bonding at the molecular level; it's not like applying paint ;)

After I finish buffing off the LSP, my MF appears unused, no "white powder" on it to speak of.

OK, you do need to use enough for a uniform application, but if you work methodically/carefully that's still not much. A typical tin of wax lasts me many *many* years. A tin of FK1000P oughta last a non-Pro over a decade easily.
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I've been using the Buff N Shine pads, mainly the orange ones - they seem to be very nice. Appreciate the tips. You are quite right: thin definitely helps removing the product and probably is just better as well since you use less product.

Btw, I used a wheel cleaner for the first time and there are some stuck on black spots on the wheels that just won't come off. A lot of the brake dust and dirt came off but even after agitation with a brush, these large specks seem to be stuck on. They are very hard.

Thank you.
 
I believe I'm about 90% done/happy with the car so I will not do any more paint work for a little while. It took me plenty of passes using orange pads to remove the majority of swirls/scratches. I think having a lot of pads on hand helps a lot. There is quite a bit of improvement.


Along the way, I have discovered I like researching and potentially getting some new products, lol. This might be a hobby even :P. I have a lot more to learn though.


I want to thank everyone for all their help, both here and in private messages. I've been asking quite a few questions and I'm very grateful to have such helpful people to assist me. I will be updating this thread along the way.


Thank you!
 
Accumulator said:
Nav45- Glad it's going well.

Wonder what those spots on the wheels are..
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Hey Accumulator, most of them are simply stuck on the wheel barrels. I'm thinking of trying a tar/iron removing product like Trix.

I just washed my car and in the sunlight, on some sections, I saw more swirls and fine lines than I thought there would be. LOL, my orange pads are still drying or I would be probably polishing right now.

Either I didn't press hard enough or didn't do enough passes on certain sections (maybe both). On some sections, the vast majority of swirls and fine lines are gone though. It seems like a lengthy process but no big deal.

I also did a test by putting my hand inside a plastic bag and lightly rubbing it against the paint. I felt some bumps on some horizontal surfaces so I might clay again.

Thank you so much, Accum!
 
Nav45- As always, You're Welcome.

Yes indeed, it certainly *can* be a long and drawn-out process no matter what ya see on the internet ;) Don't go driving yourself nuts over it, I bet it looks really good in real-life terms, like "best in the parking lot"-good.

I *am* confident that you can get the wheels a lot better, I've brought back some that were really, *really* bad; as long at it's not to the point of pitted aluminum/totally compromised finsh you should be able to make more progress.. Yeah, try a solvent and let it dwell for a good long time.
 
I'm going to be doing one more slight paint correction to the car in the next few days. I noticed very, very small fine lines that I would like to remove. I also clayed again last week and I think doing some polishing afterwards might be good? Of course, I don't want to over-polish either. I'm trying to find a good balance. I think I will use less aggressive pads this time (green and white) so as to do as little damage to the clearcoat as I can. Hopefully these can remove most of the fine lines. If not, then that's fine too. There has been quite an improvement so it's great.

Accum, I'm going to try again with the wheels. There are some dark spots, grime and stuck on black dots that need to be removed. It's from years of baking on I guess. I'll try some products and see how they go.

Afterwards, I'm thinking an APC will be good for cleaning wheels and tires.
 
Nav45- Sounds like you're going about the correction with the right mindset.

Let your solvent *DWELL* for a good long time on the wheels, like saturate a cloth and find a way to hold that against the stuff. Try scraping (sensibly ;) ) with something like an old credit card (if you don't have plastic razor blades, which I find very handy).

Maybe I'm just wasting my $, but I usually use a Rubber Cleaner on my tires and 99% of the time I use a sorta-strong (regular) shampoo mix on the wheels/wells/etc. Only time I use Wheel Cleaner (which I do generally prefer over APCs, and it's often less alkaline too which can be important) is on beater-wheels that I don't care about enough to LSP. And when I say "LSP" I don't necessarily mean some big involved Autopian-level job either.

I'm just a little careful/leery/?paranoid? about using APCs for myriad tasks the way so many people do.
 
Hey Accum,

I tried Tar X today. I sprayed it on and let it dwell and then used a wheel brush to clean up. There was quite an improvement though I think I may need to do this a few more times because those hard black spots still remain (though less now). For now, the wheels are better. Good suggestions on the wheel cleaning. Appreciate it.

I also did some polishing today and have gotten better results as well. There are still swirls and fine lines remaining though. These are proving to be quite stubborn. The swirls are not always present when I'm correcting but can be seen later so that's an issue. I'm thinking of just keeping on using the HD Polish and orange pad combo. Not sure if I want to go more aggressive. I do have a compound but I'm not very comfortable using it.

Question: Stick with the current HD Polish with orange pad method or go with Meguiar's Compound for Mazda paint?
 
Nav45- Glad the wheels are getting better, that shows that the approach if effective even if not all that efficient. Sometimes it just takes a whole lotta doing the same stuff over and over.

Similarly, isn't it something how tough the paint correction ends up being?!? Sounds like what you're doing is very, very gentle (OK, that means safe too). IF you really care enough to want to correct it, at this point I'd move up to a more aggressive product. While it's good/safer to make incremental progress, it sounds like it's just not getting the job done. OVERALL, you oughta end up taking off the same amount of paint anyhow, so I don't see any harm/risk in taking off, say....two-thirds of what's required with a more aggressive approach. You could do even more (I would) before stepping back down to the HD Polish, but go by what seems right to *you*.

Do you care that much? (Would you if you weren't a member of Autopia?) Can you *keep* it marring-free or will you be back at square-one after a year or so? I recommend that you think it over.

Oh man do you need to get your inspection lighting/conditions sorted out....that'd drive me nuts not really knowing how well the effort is going.
 
Accum,

I used a compound yesterday and it seemed to do the job. I think I can safely say that majority of the paint defects are removed. One thing that is worrying me is that for the first time, I saw actual paint on the pads. I'm figuring this was probably needed in order to remove the swirls and other defects but still. I might have to do one more session of lighter polishing down the road but overall, it's gotten quite a bit better. I'm just afraid of using the compound again, lol. I hope I don't have to.

Just wondering if its OK to see some paint on the pads. After all, I'm fairly sure this car has thin paint to begin with. I'm hesitant to do some paint correction but I think I will do one more minor polishing in the next few weeks. You're quite correct about the lighting. I've just been doing it in the shade and then pulling into the sun in order to see progress. This works but is not as accurate if there was proper indoor lighting.

I was going to get another car but have decided to keep this one for a while so that's one reason I'm trying to make it look good. Also, I want to learn detailing. Plus, I'm paranoid, obsessive, and a little crazy, heh.

I do appreciate it!
 
What year did you say the car was?

Has it ever been in an accident or repainted?

Is the paint transfer only on certain panels you polished?
 
Nav45- Some areas of many vehicles aren't cleared, but those are out-of-the-way spots, not the exterior body proper.

If things appear OK, then I wouldn't worry, but I do wonder where the pigment came from...
 
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