First attempt at detailing my car's paint... a few comments

R

ricastm8

New member
Well last weekend I gathered up all the stuff I had been acumulating for my detailing incursion. And after doing it I have the to say the following:



1st It's hard hard work, even with a PC. and secondly I was disppointed with the outcome.



I know I'm not supposed to master this in my first attempt, but I certanly expected something better. The final result was no doubt better than before, but I could't get rid of most of the scratches (linear fine scratches) and ultimately the swirls were not all gone.



I guess the main problem must be technic, but I'm thinking product might also have something to do. I used the things I was able to get, it is difficult for me to get must of the products people here seem to recomend the most (KLASSE, 1Z, POORBOY etc). Nevertheless I thought I had good products to begin with.



Here's a list of the products I have, although I didn't used them all, and afterwards some description and pics of the progress, or lack of it :( :





-3M cleaners clay(used it)

-3M PI-II fine cut rubbing compound(used it for polishing, and by the way the amount of dust residue is just maddening :mad: )

-3M SMR (not used)

-3M Machine Glaze (used it)

-3M hand glaze (not used)

-P21S wax (used it)

-PC 7336 with LC pads yellow, orange, white and black.(used it)



I began by claying, then polishing with 3M PI-II by PC first with white pad, then orange and finally yellow in an attempt to get rid of the fine scratches, wich I didn't. Do I need a more abrasive product (PI-II MP or PI-II medium cut)? Or do I need better technic?. Then used the MG with orange pad, wow, this stuff realy shines the paint. Finally waxed with P21S.



I need some help here guys and a voice of encouragement to try again and maybe again and again to get my car looking as some of the great looking rides here:xyxthumbs



151651antes_de_nada_cofre.jpg


1.- hood shot before anything was done.

151652antes_de_nada_cu.jpg


2.-Reflection before anything was done. I used the flash to highlight the swirls and scratches on this close ups.
 
151655clay_reflejo.jpg


3.-Reflection after clay.

151656polish_cofre.jpg


4.-Hood shot after polish.

151657polish_reflejo.jpg


5.-Reflection after polish.

151658glaze_cofre.jpg


6.-Hood shot after glaze.

151659glaze_reflejo.jpg


7.-Reflection after glaze.

1516510wax_cofre.jpg


8.-Hood after wax.

1516511wax_reflejo.jpg


9.-Reflection after wax.
 
Is it daily driven....if so, then its gonna be near impossible to keep the paint flawless! Also: you have a black car.....the hardest color to keep looking good.



Why aren't you happy with th results....I think It looks great. The before and after pics do all of your work justice....I think you did a good job, now the ***** is maintaining it:(
 
~One man’s opinion / observations ~



Don’t be so hard on yourself, this is all about fun and learning (otherwise why do it) * I * think you did a good job.



~The Keys To Success~



PRACTICE ~ learn ‘how to’ use tools



PREPARATION ~ the final finish can only be as good as the prepared surface it’s applied to



PROCESS ~ learn what products really work and in what order to apply them



PRODUCTS ~ what’s available and what ‘fixes’ a given paint condition



PATIENCE ~ it’s the journey not the arriving, so enjoy



PRIDE ~ in a job done to the best of your ability



~Hope this helps~



Experience unshared; is knowledge wasted…/ Jon

justadumbarchitect * so I question everything *
 
Easy easy easy....I think you're being too hard on yourself. I also think it looks great. The pics along the way show your hard work.

How come you didn't use the SMR ?
 
Yeah, i think your results are great



Me parece que estas siendo demasiado duro contigo, la condición del carro cambio mucho, y va ir mejorando con el tiempo



Saludos
 
First off. The pictures in between each step are outstanding. It really shows how much of an improvement you made in you paint.

Keep in mind that some of the people on this board have been doing this for decades. Don’t expect your results to match theirs the first time you try. You had great improvement.

Some times it's the journey not the destination that is enjoyable and rewarding.
 
I know there is a distinct diference with the before and after shots, but maybe I had my expectations I litlle higher.

I'm going to keep doing this, if it ever stops raining, and see if I can get any better.



Speaking of trying again, I'm planning on going a little more agresive with the polish next time(maybe medium cut rubbing compund) Is this too much? Will I harm the paint instead of helping? should I try something different before? oh, and do I have to strip down the wax or will the polish do it alone?



SK2003TypeS:

I couldn't figure out at what point to include the SMR in the process. I figured it is more abrasive than MG but has filler in it so If I did it berofe MG then the MG would wipe the fillers away and if done after MG i would lose the satin finish MG leaves right??



Nicky Pass:

Yes its a daily driver, wich is both good and bad. I love the car every day but its painsfull to see how the finish deteriorates so easily.



Anyway thanks for the comments again everyone.



Ricardo:)
 
ricastm8, your results are very good. You can only do so much with a PC. Some of the scratches and deeper swirls will probably need a rotary.



I would be very careful if you use the medium cut compound with the PC.



What Machine Glaze are you using? If you are using Perfect it III Machine Glaze it is more abrasive than 3M Swirl Mark remover.
 
stevet said:
ricastm8, your results are very good. You can only do so much with a PC. Some of the scratches and deeper swirls will probably need a rotary.



I would be very careful if you use the medium cut compound with the PC.



What Machine Glaze are you using? If you are using Perfect it III Machine Glaze it is more abrasive than 3M Swirl Mark remover.
Click to expand...



stevet:



Yes its PI-III machine glaze, this means I could apply the glaze then SMR and finally wax?



Thanks

Ricardo:)
 
Yes you could. I think it would be over kill though. Perfect it III Machine Glaze leaves a really nice finish that is ready for wax or a sealant. You could always try a section with Machine Glaze followed by Swirl Remover and see if you see any difference. If you dont see a difference skip the Swirl Remover and go to your wax.
 
Amigo, buen hecho. Not bad. All you need is more practice. Next time, it will go faster and look better. Good luck.... Andres
 
I noticed something you said in the first post. You said you started with the white pad, then orange, then finished with the yellow pad. IF that's what you did, then that is a problem. You only need the yellow for cutting, never finish with yellow. I would recomend using orange or wool on the 3M PFII fine cut. Then follow with 3M SMR with white pad. Then AIO with white pad, or machine glaze with finishing pad. THEN only if it looks great would i apply wax. Wax really shouldnt change the final appearance except make it glossy. If it doesnt appear right without wax, then go back and hit it some more with the smr.
 
I am still learning, and spent an entire week practicing on my trunk deck lid. Every day after work i spent about 2 hours on it, trying something different each day. Then at lunch time I use the direct sunlight as my judge, where allllll the swirl marks show up. Well after a week, I finally started getting results when I switched to PoorBoys Swirl remover #2, and #1 on the white pad. I also cranked up the PC to number 5, and ran it slightly longer till the product was almost gone. That was the key, the last few seconds when the product starts to disapear.
 
Hey ricastm8,



Dude, I am in the same boat as you. Ironically, I was "raised"

in a bodyshop, but still I really did not have a true appreciation

for the "art" until I started visiting this site.



Next time, try approaching the work in reverse: fine cut w/ the

yellow or orange, followed by smr w/ the white, hand glaze

w/ the white or by hand, and then wax w/ the black or by hand.

You might still have some scratches, but I wouldn't sweat those

too much, remember the car is daily driven, things will happen.



It does take some time to learn your way around things.

That said, I think you should be very proud of what you've achieved.
 
gto78,



I don't interpret ricastm8's first post the same as you. It looks like he used a white pad and didn't get the results he wanted than moved up to the next level to an orange and still did not get the results he wanted. He then moved up an another level to yellow. Useing the least abrasive combo of pads and product needed to do the job and moving up to a more abrasive combo if you are not getting the results you want is the right thing to be doing.



You also recomend using PF II- Fine Cut with an orange pad or wool. Why would you recomend wool and not a yellow pad?



Also you recomend using SMR on a white pad followed by AIO or Machine Glaze on a finishing pad. Machine Glaze is more abrasive than SMR. Machine glaze should be used before SMR. You want to step down the abrasive level.
 
The most dramatic change in appearance should come from the polishing. Anything afterwards-glaze, wax- will bring minute changes. That'll definetely turn heads, not just cause it's a bimmer, but you have a better finish than 99.999% of the cars on the road. Great job.
 
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