attempted but not happy

P

paralyzer777

New member
I have put 27 hours into this car polishing and I am not happy. I have included some pictures of the outcome. The procedure was this:



Wash with dawn

Clayed with clay magic

washed again

blown dry

megs #83 with orange pad on speed 6(didn't work after 3 passes)

megs #80 with orange pad on speed 6(didn't work after 2 passes)

tried each of above with CCS yellow pad( better but still not right after 2 passes)





At this point I am ticked off. I am sitting at 7 passes and still not like it needs to be. So I went on and sealed and waxed. I am highly upset because it was taking to long to get the way it should have been. I was so upset I didn't even finish the driver side after discovering that some how or another I have red color down at the bottom of my right side on the doors. I have had the car for 4 years and never noticed that before. I have included pictures to judge yourself:



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I put DG 105 then topped with dg aqua wax 12 hours later

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Okay, so what year and make is it, that may help determine if the clear is soft or hard, sounds like it's a hard clear coat.



Also are you using a PC or rotary?? how are you working in the polishes, what speeds setting as well as how slow or fast are you moving over the surface.



Need more info on the technique if you want accurate advise.



Josh
 
27 hours?



That’s why you should always do a test spot first and not proceed to the rest of the car until you have a process that works to your satisfaction.



From your description of your results, it sounds like your car was a prime candidate for a rotary job.





PC.
 
How large of sections did you polish at one time? How long did you work the polish in, on each section, time wise? (IE: how many minutes).



If you did it all 'proper' it does sound like it needs a 'harder cut'.. I didn't think there was a swirl job a DA with the right polish/pad combo couldn't fix? That doesn't look like something a RO/DA would have problems with.. maybe due to finish take the hardest cut you can safely work.. but otherwise..
 
To answer a few questions:



I used a PC 7336



tried speeds 5 and 6



moved the PC about 1.5" a second as I didn't want it to heat up to much and burn the paint



It is a 2003 dodge neon with paint code PW1 stone white



I would do about a 1.5x1.5 cube foot area at a time. I got the hood and trunk swirls and stuff out, but the sides wouldn't do a thing.....well it would, but it would have taken about 4 more passes to get it to the way it needed to be.



The only thing I was worried about was if I needed to put pressure on it. I tried a small spot with more pressure but it heated up really quick so I backed off.



I would work the polishes for about 3 minutes to almost clear and worked it in a crosshatch pattern.



If you need anymore info let me know.
 
Sounds like you did things right. I'm far from an expert, but after tommorow I will be , of course :)



Nonetheless, if I had to guess, you might be a little too worried about the heat. I wouldn't think the PC would tear up your paint even with the orange pad and polish your using, despite leaving it for a few seconds in a spot. Though under 2inches in a complete second is plenty slow enough.



3 Minutes sounds good too for the section size and the fact the polish worked nearly clear.



I actually might consider a completely different polish at this juncture.. not that Meg's is bad, but something is awry here. 27 Hours is way too much time for the minor damage you are showing.



In hindsite you got alot of experience, live and learn, live and learn. :)
 
It's pretty difficult to burn the paint with a PC considering that the PC really doesn't have a lot of cutting power like a rotary does. Don't worry too much about burning the paint.



Just remember that everything has a learning curve. Good luck!
 
I suggest you add a little pressure to to it. Put some pressure, work it for about half a minute and touch the spot. If you can bear the heat (may be subjective so you be the judge) then continue on. If you can't then you're at the risk of burning the paint. I only do this when I use a rotary, though. Never with a PC so you're on the safe side.



Grabby
 
Watch how much product you use on the pad. My first few times with the PC I used way too much Optimum Polish. As others here may chime in, if you use too much polish you then eliminate some of the cutting power of the pad.
 
Heya, Paralyzer, sorry to hear of your troubles. If it makes you feel any better, I never was able to get a PC to even remotely correct any paint on any of the three Dodge vehicles I've owned. The clear is just too hard. And I hate to say it, but those pictures you took show that your paint is quite severely swirled. Way beyond the correcting ability of a PC, probably even if it was a soft clear. Honestly, it *will* take a rotary (and *alot* of hard work with a rotary) to get that looking good again.



In my opinion, here's one of the most effective processes (highest amount of correcting ability) to use with a PC:



1. Yellow LC pad with Menzerna Power Gloss polish for maximum correcting. This is going to leave a pretty bad compounding haze afterward, but it's going to give you about as much correcting power as you can get with a PC.



2. Now get rid of the compounding haze with this step. Orange LC pad with Menzerna Super Intensive Polish. This part is going to be quite a bit of work. You lose alot of correcting power by going down to this polish, but it's necessary to get rid of the haze. Repeat this step until no haze remains.



3. Finish off by putting the shine on. White LC pad with Menzerna PO106FF. I believe it's also called Micro Polish nowadays.



For maximum correcting and polishing power, always use the smallest pad you can comfortably work with on your PC, and *always* use speed six. Plan on about 10-15 hours of work doing these three steps. Also use moderate pressure...push until the PC just starts to bog a bit.



Good luck, man, let us know how it goes!
 
If the paint is hard, I would opt for 4" pads. I use 4 inch orange pads on my VW/Audi clear with Danase Polish #2 (or 3 depending on severity) which hazes things up pretty good. I then switch over to a 6.5inch white pad and Menz FPII for a flawless finish. If I want, I can do 2 or more passes with a 6.5 orange pad...but honestly, the smaller pad makes a world of difference with a PC. Polishing my car goes from aggravation to slow, but result orientated work without much sweat. I only do my car in sections btw...front fenders, hood, roof and trunk, driver side, pass side. Takes a few weekends but it comes out great b/c I'm not rushing.
 
I agree on the 4" pads. Try Danase for 4" Lake Country CCS pads. I really like them for orange and yellow correction pads.



I just spent 4+ hours polishing my civic this past weekend, which has soft clear and was close to completely swirl-free last June. (Not to mention the 3 hours applying sealant the next day.) Is it perfect? Nope. But it looks great unless I get light on it just so and see the slight residual marring. Now I'll take it panel by panel as the spirit moves me and I have time through the summer.
 
thanks for the hints guys. I am thinking about hitting each section a day due to being short on time, but I was wondering how it would look with a "clean" section and a "dirty section. I need to get this car as much to "perfect" as I can due to indoor car shows this season.....the lighting indoors really show every defect. I am using 5.5" orange LC pads and 5.5" CCS pads....which I tried the yellow CCS pad and to me it just didn't seem to cut as well as the LC orange foam pads....maybe it was just me.
 
6.5" foamed wool, might also give you some good cut with a PC. Also make sure you are putting so much polish on that you take away from the cutting ability of the pad.



I also agree with the 4" pads, I got some for my car and they really do make a huge difference. to me they are harder to control, but they really do cut better IMHO.
 
Paralyzer,

Well, ordinarily, my car looks so much better than others that even with the slight residual marring, other people think it is "perfect." So the really perfect panels don't look significantly different than the slightely marred ones.



But I know what you mean about those bright indoor lights showing everything at the car shows. That's a very different situation. For that, a PC probably won't cut it, so to speak, without an insane input of time. Foamed wool on a rotary? Fast. My UDM will break down that really rough Megs polish and it gives very close to rotary perfection, though you need to follow with a finer cut polish. Which is it that folks have called, "rocks in a bottle"? Don't know if a PC, which bogs, would break that down.
 
A number of things come to mind...



bpfoley said:
If the paint is hard, I would opt for 4" pads..
Click to expand...



Yeah :xyxthumbs The PC is *so* gentle that I always need 4" pads to do significant correction. And I'd use something harsher than #83 (e.g., H-T EC).



And even then, four passes for the initial work isn't even a start on many paints. It might take a few hours per panel....yeah, I know :( but that's what happens when you're trying to do rotary work with a PC. At least it beats doing it by hand (I've spent ages doing 1" x 3" areas behind door handles by hand, and I don't mean just half an hour each).



OTOH, I bet the car looks great in person. Spending a lot of time at Autopia can give a person, uhm... an unrealistic perspective on what's acceptable ;)
 
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