Help! First time PC use! Paint problem?

A

abe lincoln

New member
Hi everyone, I got all my PC and PC related stuff in and today I started on an inconspicuous area with DACP, SMR, and #7. Well, the DACP removed the swirls I had in a jiffy, but as the swirls went away I noticed something new about my paint.. attached are a few pictures that may make you autopians cringe.. My question is, am I doing this all wrong or is my paint just hopeless? What are the chances of removing all the dimples and spiderwebs? I can't really feel the spots with my fingers. The following is a picture of the area where I used the PC.
 
And here's a picture of the CMA pads I used, 1 yellow cutting for DACP, 1 white polishing for SMR, and 1 white polishing for #7 show car glaze. I do not have a clearcoat. Do these pads need washing already? I've only done an 8"x8" area so far and this is what each pad looked like after around 5 minutes of polishing.



Last but not least, the DACP and #9 are new, but #7 and #26 are about 3 months old and have been stored in the garage, so they have both become less thick and almost watery. Should I invest in some new product?
 
Yeah looks like chips.



The bummer about detailing older cars is when you get the finish worked up nice it shows off all the nasty bits too :(



Options are alot of time touching up, wetsanding back and polishing or just get it repainted........
 
Looks like acid rain spots. And you do not have a clear coat, so the option would be to level the chipped area with a more agressive product like a Diamond Cut and a cutting pad. Work on one area and check the results. You have to get beyond the etching, and depending on how far they are in you may be removing a bit of paint.



You need to step up to a rotory to level this stuff. Rotory polishers get hotter quicker, and work the cutting or polish more into the paint. You can try it with a PC, but IMO you would be wasting time. Last resort would be wet sanding an area to level. If you've never done it, it takes practice and the right grade paper.



Borrow a rotory if you can and try to level the paint in one area and check the result. If it's level, continue and finish with DACP, #9 and #7 to re-feed paint with the oils in #7. Wait 24hours B4 you put on protection. #7 is oily and needs time to work into the paint and dry up. Then apply your protection.



Other products to look into: 3M products work well with this problems as well as Menzerna if you have a rotory.



Good luck and keep us posted!



Regards,

Deanski
 
I don't have access to a rotary, if only there were some Autopians in my area :confused:



Anyone have any advice about my old polish/wax? I may try using the lambswool pad that I got in the CMA kit with some Diamond Cut Compound (i'll have to order it though, unless NAPA has it).
 
I would try some diamond cut with a yellow cma pad first you can rent a rotary from most hardware stores for like 20 bucks a day like ACE hardware by me does that. And try to level the etchings
 
Sorry to say but the etching may be to deep to repair. I would just remove the swirls and fine scratches than lay on a good coat of protectant.



You don't need to wait a day to add the the protection, the oils in the polishes add gloss, but do not feed the finish, that's an old wives tale. Today's polyurethane enamels, many of them water borne contain no oils at all, so adding oils to the finish does nothing but fill in the fine swirlmarks, and adds shine.
 
Luckily this was the worst area for the paint, the sides and rear bumper dont really have any marks like that, so it's not too bad. Thanks for your advice guys, I will post pictures later today when I'm done with it all.
 
blkstealth said:




Last but not least, the DACP and #9 are new, but #7 and #26 are about 3 months old and have been stored in the garage, so they have both become less thick and almost watery. Should I invest in some new product?
Click to expand...



I would not worry about the #7 and #26. I have a bottle of #7 that I have had for two years, and it works just as well now as it did when I bought it. If it seems like the product has separated, stand the bottle upside down for a day and let the sediments settle towards the top, and then shake the crap out of it. Also, my #7 has always been a thin product; if you are trying to compare it to the viscosity of #26, then I could understand why you would think it is bad.
 
blkstealth - As IndigoGTI said, your products are probably fine.



I'd try the PC with a wool pad and something like FCRC or the Diamond Cut. I was hesitant to try the wool on my XJS's single stage, but it turned out that it wasn't NEARLY as aggressive as I'd expected. Just a little more so than the cutting pad. I also think you need to work longer with an aggressive product, the #7 shouldn't result in THAT much paint transfer to the pad if you've already removed all the "crappy layer" of paint. I used to use #7 on a black single stage and I don't recall the pads getting that black. BTW, with single stage, the pads can get pretty nasty looking, especially when doing black, before they need cleaned.



BUT..that looks like it might need a paint gun to really get fixed :( So I'd go ahead and get sorta aggressive with it.
 
The black only shows up on the rear hatchlid, and I assume that it's overspray coming off of the top layer (I'm not very methodical). I'm in the process of DACPing and #7ing the rest of the car, and so far the pads are staying pretty clean.
 
Did you clay the car first. Are the spots little bumps? If there was overspray, the clay would more effectively remove it than DACP. All that overspray would just cake up your pad.
 
I've clayed the spot before and not much overspray was coming off, those spots are not bumps, you can't feel them with the hand. Right now I've decided to get the whole car polished/waxed, and then try some radical techniques on the really bad areas (few and far between).
 
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