Midnight Sun is AMAZING!

Z

z4zen

New member
Hi everyone,



Some of you were kind enough to provide suggestions as I embarked on my first detailing with a PC. I ended up using my PC and PI-2 Rubbing Compoung & SMR on my mom's midnight blue Caddy DeVille.



Claying the car make a world of difference, as the car felt as smooth as glass after (makes my car's paint feel like sandpaper!). However, after doing 1 pass with the Rubbing Compound and 1 with SMR, only some of the larger scratches were gone & most of the swirls were still visible in my parent's garage. How many passes do I need to make????



I applied the compound and smr on the yellow pad, rubbed it on the car, then turned on the PC. Started at level 2 and went up to level 6. I was surprised to find much vibration starting just shy of level 5 (maybe I need to buy that counterweight).



That's all the time I had... while the paint is now very very smooth and polished, the swirl marks remain. Have I set my expectations too high? Or do I need to hit the car again with 2-3 more rounds of the Rubbing Compound followed by 2-3 rounds of SMR???



I believe that Carguy has suggested using another Machine Compound to start instead of the Rubbing Compound...



Oh well... at least I haven't given up hope! Thank goodness my car is silver or else I would have already gone crazy seeing the number of swirlmarks that I get from parking outside 24/7!
 
Rubbing compund is very aggressive stuff! I don't use rubbing compound. Scares me. I'm assuming you started with it because you felt you had to. I'm also assuming the car has clearcoat paint over the color.Before you go any further, make sure that none of the color of the paint is showing up on your pads. If it is, STOP - you have already burned through the clear coat, and any more work will make things worse.



Anyway, it will indeed leave pretty major swirls, and SMR is going to take a LOT of work to get it out. I would suggest an intermediate, like 3M finesse-it II finishing compound. Use it on 6, with a firm ("cutting") foam pad. Do a small section at a time - a quarter of the hood, for example. Use about a quarter-sized dollop of compound. Use a lot of pressure to start - enough to slow the PC motor down a bit. Maintain this pressure for several slow passes over the whole area. Then reduce pressure to a light pressure (weight of the machine plus a pound or two) and do several more. The support the weight of the machine so that it is pressing down a pound or two less than it truly weighs, and make a few more passes. This is the amount of work required for the abrasives in FI-II to do their thing, then break down and polish their own scratches out.



You should use the same technique with SMR. Past that (polish, glaze, wax - just use the orbital to apply it smoothly and evenly - you don't really do a lot of work with these. )
 
thanks for the info carguy.



I'm positive the clearcoat is still in tack. I think that I wasn't apply enough pressue, but was rather moving the machine in a back and forth machine and did not push down at any time.



one interesting thing I found ws that the material seemed to buff itselff off pretty quick in certain places, but in others, even after buffing any remaining polish by hand, there was still a slight cloudiness on the paint.



i did start with the rubbing compound given this was the first time the car had ever been detailed (over 3 years old). i may need to order some of that finishing compound via the 3M site.



guess I'm experiencing the learning curve first hand, huh?
 
p.s. I used the 3M FINE CUT Rubbing Compound followed by the 3M SMR. The Finesse It 2 Finishing Compound is one level less abrasive, right? I may need to get myself some of that too (and the detailing collection/inventory continues to grow...:rolleyes: ).
 
The SMR is a bit to fine to remove the hazing from the compound, FI2 should do. You can't burn paint with the PC even with a compound, you can however sand it away, the PC is a pretty safe tool to use.
 
After five years of ownership, I decided it was finally time to buff my daily driver, a 2001 Camaro B4C. MG105 and 205 with a rotary, and this is only one coat of Midnight Sun....
FBCDA003WEB.jpg

FBCDA004WEB.jpg
 
Lookin' good! BFMS is a nice product and looks great on white (my DD is pearl white). If you get the chance, use BF Wet Diamond topped with BFMS - it will make you turn your head every time you walk from your car.

Regards,
GEWB
 
Yes,
The BFMS looks great on it's own, but wait till you use it as a topper over BFWD. That is really a GREAT look. I used the BFMS over 2 coats on my Black Corolla, and it looks awesome. On black paint, just make sure to get a real good buffing towel, because it streaks a little if you are not careful. Do 2pannels before you buff off.:thumbup:
Your car looks great!!:hurray:
 
I hate these threads..... cuz I always end up adding a new LSP to my regimen! I already love BFWD, so I guess this would be cool to try!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top