New, FRUSTRATED, tired, and defeated. HELP!

B

busyguy

New member
Black paint job with swirls and scratches EVERYWHERE.



Using the PC and edge pads.



I spent literally one hour on a 2 by 2 section with the white polishing pad and the meguires #83. Prepped the pad and used speed 6. After all that time, it looked better, but still WAY too many scratches.



I got pissed and went against what many said. I used the ORANGE LIGHT CUTTING pad with the #83. Of course, everyone was right...It just left a ton of little swirls and hazed the **** out of the paint.



SO...What do i do now... THE ENTIRE CAR is covered, and by doing my math, at this rate i'll be done in about 4 months, and still have a slightly scratched car.



NOW WHAT? Oh..i also have a fresh bottle of xmt polish #2. Will that be any better? Can i use that with the orange pad wihout making matters worse? What do i do?!?!?!
 
It would be great if you posted pics of the car or at least told us the brand, age and current condition of the finish. One of the things that is not stressed enough here is:



While a PC may be not ruin your finish when used by a rookie, it does take skill to get results.



Hazing with #83 should be minimal if you let the product work enough. Even if you have hazing left over after #83, you can jump to #82 with a lighter cut pad or another finer polish and get rid of that haze. Getting a perfect finish takes multiple steps.



Pick a small section and get everything down, then move on to the rest of the car.
 
If I'm not mistaken (and usually I am according to my wife :chuckle:), the edge white pad is ultra fine and really has no polishing/cutting ability. Therefore, your time with the #83 was very ineffective.



You just need to match a cutting pad and compound to first correct the paint ie. remove scratches and swirls and then match a polishing pad and polish to remove any marring from the cutting process and restore the gloss and shine.



A little practice and experimentation and your frustration will be replaced by pride in your work.:up
 
Im an advid megs proline user and this is how i do it.

According to megs, completely wrong lol



Ok, with #83 i ALWAYS use a cutting pad, i never use a polishing pad. What i have experianced by doing this is it really *cuts* out the deep deep scrathes/swirls. But what it also does is leaves thousands of smaller scratches/swirls also known as micro marring, this is the hazeing that you see. After i finsih the areas or whole car with this combo i switch to a polishing pad and #80. What this does is removes the micro marring you left with the #83 and the cutting pad. After #80 your finish should be PERFECT and ready for your LSP. If ya want you can follow up with #82 on either a polishing pad or finishing pad, i always like to follow up with #82 on my personal vehicles.



Hope this helps.
 
Are you using enough product? Or maybe too much product? How long are you working the product in for?
 
I have not tried the Edge pads so my experience is based on using Lake Country Pads, but the general technique and process is still the same. #83 with a cutting pad will remove quite a bit of major marring but it also generally leaves minor hazing. You should then follow this up with a lighter polish and lighter pad to remove the hazing - thus, leaving a very nice finish.



Generally, every brand of polish has some type of "step-down" combo:



Meguiar's #83, #80 (There are more just can't remember the #'s)

Menzerna PG, IP, FPII

Poorboy's SSR3, SSR2.5, SSR2, SSR1

Optimum OHC, OC, OP



This is a pretty good polish breakdown tutorial that blkyukon created (Different products but the thought also applies to your #83 situation)



Polish Hazing/micromarring



Good Luck - MCA
 
No problem, just get another white pad, go back over it with the polish you have and see how well it cleans it up.



Typically, you'll doing all your "cutting" first and then polish out all the hazing.
 
thanks guys...YES, i do see lots of little scratches after using the orange cutting pad and the 83.



Another thing that concerns me- MIKEPHILLIPS from meguires says DO NOT USE A CUTTING PAD WITH #83. But if you guys had good results, i'll try it again.



I'm not sure HOW MUCH product is right, and for how long to use it... How do you know when to apply more?



I used a time to quarter sized amount set directly on the car. Would set the pc on top of it, and with a light pressure, work side to side, then top to bottom in a small 2 by 2 area. I would work the dime sized amount for maybe 3 minutes.(untill it started to look like it was just wiping the pruduct away, instead of spreading it.)



HELP!
 
I think from what I read in this post you need a rotory polisher for the swirl marks and then can finish with the PC. What year car are you working on?





Bob Geco
 
busyguy said:
thanks guys...YES, i do see lots of little scratches after using the orange cutting pad and the 83.



Another thing that concerns me- MIKEPHILLIPS from meguires says DO NOT USE A CUTTING PAD WITH #83. But if you guys had good results, i'll try it again.



I'm not sure HOW MUCH product is right, and for how long to use it... How do you know when to apply more?



I used a time to quarter sized amount set directly on the car. Would set the pc on top of it, and with a light pressure, work side to side, then top to bottom in a small 2 by 2 area. I would work the dime sized amount for maybe 3 minutes.(untill it started to look like it was just wiping the pruduct away, instead of spreading it.)



HELP!
Click to expand...





Yes yes but you have to understand im following it up with either #80 or #82 on a polishing or finishing pad. If your not gonna follow up with one of those and a polishing or finishing pad then i highly recommend NOT useing a cutting pad with #83.



I have pics of this combo if ya wanna see.
 
busyguy said:
thanks guys...YES, i do see lots of little scratches after using the orange cutting pad and the 83.



Another thing that concerns me- MIKEPHILLIPS from meguires says DO NOT USE A CUTTING PAD WITH #83. But if you guys had good results, i'll try it again.
Click to expand...



I believe Mike Phillips was referring to the Meguiar's Burgundy Cutting Pad --- This pad is in a league of its own when comes to foam leveling power. Pad vendors' descriptions do not often match...IMO, Meg's burgundy cutting pads have a touch stronger cut than LC yellow cutting pads.
 
4 pea sized dots on the pad will help spread the product out more...try not to put them in the same circular plane, offset them a little too



and you should be seeing micromarring with a 83/cutting pad combo....that is almost normal, depending on how soft/hard the paint is...



follow up with a milder polish, and possibly an even milder polish....



83 to remove scratches

80 to remove micromarring

82 to remove hazing



good luck
 
Thanks toyota guy.

Orange Light Cutting Pad This pad is highly versatile, as it can be used on cars with light to moderate swirls and imperfections. We recommend you begin with this pad if you are unsure how deep swirls are, moving up to a Green Medium Cut Pad if necessary. Safe on clear coats. 60 pores per inch (ppi)



Blue Finishing Pad This pad is great for everyday use. It will leave surface areas scratch-free and smooth while still removing light swirls and imperfections. Use with wax and polish to apply a fine gloss. Safe on clear coats. 70 pores per inch (ppi)



White Ultrafine Polishing Pad This ultra-smooth polishing pad contains 80 pores per inch, allowing for fine polishing which creates a bold, crystalline gloss Use this pad to apply waxes, polishes and sealants. Safe on clear coats. 80 pores per inch (ppi)





this is a list of the more MILD pads i ordered. I thought polishing was rougher than finishing, or am i confused? Should i use 83, with orange. 80 on blue, then the #21 with the white?



Many people say to let the "polisher do the work".... Is that just for the was/sealent, or for EVERY step.. I tried putting like 20lbs pressure and it seemed to help w/ polishing...



Also, how do you know when you have too much or not enough product? when do you add more? ALSO, for sealant, do i buff it in as well, or just barely skim the serface with it?



Do i DARE TOUCH a green cutting pad(harsher than orange) with the #83?
 
chill out dude!



you'll fix what you did wrong.



:)



it's all a matter of learning... the great thing about detailing is even if you botch something as long as you've got clearcoat left you can always fix it :)
 
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