im still not happy with my results!

L

LandonZ

New member
hey, I got my new white finishing pad in the mail and decided to give it a try. I used Griots #3 polish which is suppose to be a final, white pad and used speed 6..I used griots because I didnt have my menzerna yet. Now here are the pics from what my car looks like with flash from a camera.. But when my car is in the sun, im still seeing some marring? Looks to be caused by the polish? *this thread is not linked to my other thread about marring*. can someone maybe tell me what im doing wrong on my car? its looks so good in the pics but im just not happy in the sun!! I WANT a flawless finish



swirls7.jpg
 
What polisher are you using? You might want to look into a Cyclo if you are not using one already.



Also, try going over the car a few times with the #3 and the finishing pad.
 
If you are seeing marring in the sun, it might help to take a picture of it in that light. Looks perfect in that shot.
 
i will take a pic of it..the weather has been bad lately..really overcast. I think i am going to do another buff with my white pad and menzerna one more time! Do you think that might fix it?
 
One thing is to make sure to go over it enough times as the polish will break down into a finer abrasive. Like the others I cant seemuch in the picture, it looks good.
 
If you have FPII from Menzerna coming, go over the finish in the sun at 1/2" per second and do a panel and see if it helps. Working in the garage sometimes doesn't help because you can do the whole car under halogen lighting then pull it out to see marring. I think that should work for you. I had the same problem last year, but slowing it down should help. Never used Griots 3 so that could be the problem as well, but you can't go wrong with FPII! From that shot right there, great job so far!
 
i do feel like I have done a great job with the swirls.. Ill give menzerna a try on about a 6 or so.. then pull it out into the sun.. thanks for the advice
 
From the pic, your car looks pretty freakin good. I wouldnt get flustered if you cant get the paint flawless because, 1) it's an 02. It's probably got a few miles on it, and has more than likely been exposed to environmental factors that may prevent you from attaining absolute perfection, and 2) If it's a daily driver and black in color, you will drive yourself crazy trying to get it perfect and keep it that way. Keep at it, if you think it could get better, but dont expect perfection......I have learned that from experience and now enjoy the time I spend detailing my black car a lot more than when I got P*SSED because it wasnt perfect.
 
Yeah, gotta watch that you don't develope unrealistic standards, which is easy to do if you spend enough time here ;)



FWIW, the Griot's MP#3 is a *VERY* mild product, too mild to do any correction for me in most cases, even on soft lacquer. There's simply only so much it can do. The FPII will have a bit more cut, even though it's pretty mild stuff too.



Oh, and you could always drive yourself nuts by getting some lights that let you see the light marring inside the shop, like an incandescent work light ;)
 
I would say don't drive yourself crazy over very minor things that you can't really see if you are "appreciating the look of the car". If you want to have an easier time with the minor flaws, next time try something like a glaze that has concealing properties. I believe in hiding very minor flaws as long as I am satisfied with the final outcome. Think about how much more time you can spend enjoying the look of the car as opposed to fussing over things you missed. ;)
 
stop there, glaze it and seal it....black is almost never going to come out 100%...at least its very hard to get it even close to 100%, I only know a few who have some so close, but still, it looks marred upon 2" away :waxing:
 
ok, i have a 3m mirror glaze but I dont have a seal. You are right, it doesnt look marred until you get about 2 inches from it.. Will a glaze and wax make it look perfect? I might just have to except that my car will not get better, I have 75,000 miles on my car and it is a daily driver. Id say it looks awesome with those conditions!



Landon
 
LandonZ said:
ok, i have a 3m mirror glaze but I dont have a seal. You are right, it doesnt look marred until you get about 2 inches from it.. Will a glaze and wax make it look perfect? I might just have to except that my car will not get better, I have 75,000 miles on my car and it is a daily driver. Id say it looks awesome with those conditions!
Click to expand...



Perfect? Nope, sorry. But then there aren't many truly perfect finishes anyhow and it's not a realistic goal. I'm rotarying my 74K '97 M3 to death trying to undo all the damage it suffered before I got it, and there's simply only so much you can do (and even less that you really *oughta* do).



Your car will look super with just a bit more, and slighty different, work. Now that you're getting more dialed-in with your detailing it'll be a lot more likely to *stay* that way.



Use the glaze/wax approach and work on your wash technique, and IMO you oughta be really happy with it. Don't let the Autopian Goal of Perfect Finishes :rolleyes: get in the way of common sense regarding a daily driver and also the enjoyment of said driver ;)
 
the pictures you see here... they can't really show you the kind of marring visible at 2" away. I mean, unless someone pains to take super macro pictures of their paint 2" away.. If you already have depth and clarity, you're getting diminishing returns on further polishing. I bet you'll see significant improvement with the glaze.
 
I go my Jet Black 330i perfect once. It didn't last too long. Maybe a wash or two. That process involved a rotory, and finshin with a pc and finishing pad.
 
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