Noob Needs HELP ASAP!!!

[slvr-bullet]

I'm in the process of polishing my car with a PC and SSR1.



From the get go the poilish cakes up in to little balls and starts to splatter all over the place, as if drying up really fast.



What am I doing wrong?



I'm just applying an amount around the pad in a circle, spread it around on a section of the car before I turn it on, start @ speed 3 to spread the SSR1 around and then to 5 to work it in.

 

[autoprincess]

are you buffing in the sun? are the panels hot?

 

[BobD]

are you buffing in the sun? are the panels hot?

Also, what pads are you using and what speed on the PC?

 

[slvr-bullet]

Yah, I'm outside in the sun...it's around mid to low 20 degrees celcius.



Panels are a bit warm but not too hot. But the side I'm doing right now is in the shade.



Using the LC white pad and speed is 3 to spread the SSR1 and then bumping up to 5 to work it in.

 

[Elhorch]

That happens to me alot when I use SSR1 in the sun. To overcome this, i spray some QD (I use Meguiar's Quick Detailer) to the pad before every application of polish.



The only problem I have with this is that the polish is harder to remove, so again I use some QD, spraying on the panel with polish to be removed.



It is time consuming, but I don't have a garage to work in.



Hope this helps...

Jorge.

 

[slvr-bullet]

I don't have any Meg's QD. Would Z6 work too?

 

[autoprincess]

Excuse my retardness, not sure what 20 degrees celcius is equivelnt to to farenhight. Since you said the the panels are warm, that might be where you major problem is. Since you are outside you are going to be batteling the panels warming up. How to fix this?



Find plenty of shade, or take a damp chomis and wipe down the panel with water in the chamois, you are going to cause a big mess. Make sure there is no water on the panel before buffing, but you have to have the panels cool when buffing. That is one of the major problems when buffing outside in the sun. Working in a garage is always nice if you can do that I suggest relocating there.



I don't think you materials are the problem. Unless you are buffing a panel with a foam pad before you have used a wool pad. A wool pad removes most of the grit then you use a foam pad. If you use a foam pad on a panel that really should be buffed with a wool pad then this will cause the clumping as well, because the foam pad can not cut the grit that well, therefore it is just shifting it around in clumps.



Quick shine spray and a microfiber rag will remove these clump things as well.

 

[slvr-bullet]

That's interesting. I never knew you need to buff with a wool pad before a foam pad. Of all the threads I've read and people who've posted their process/technique, they never mentioned using a wool pad before a foam pad. :nixweiss

 

[autoprincess]

Been doing this professionally for a couple of days.



New paint/not so old or not so wheathered can be buffed with just a foam pad, but sounds like your problem is a combination of heat/grime.



Try it and see if you notice a difference. (Remember try keeping the panels cool).



Also make sure the surface is clean before you buff either by washing the vehicle first or by quick shinning the panel you are trying to buff. Either case you want a clean surface before you buff.

 

[slvr-bullet]

Well I washed, clayed, washed, and then started to buff so I think it's clean



Spraying a bit of QD on the pad before polishing is helping a bit tho.

 

[autoprincess]

You are on your way now. Cool.

Once again, make sure the panels are staying cool. Keep in mind the wool pad thing. What year/make/color vehicle are you buffing on?

 

[natebood]

Odd...PB's SSR line is designed to be used in the sun. However, they dust a lot regardless.

 

[Accumulator]

I never knew you need to buff with a wool pad before a foam pad. Of all the threads I've read and people who've posted their process/technique, they never mentioned using a wool pad before a foam pad...

With a PC you don't need to use a wool pad and I found no real advantage to using one. It only provided a little more cut than a foam cutting pad but it left a lot more (not-so-micro) marring. If you need to increase the aggressivness of a PC, IMO the best you can do is use 4" cutting pads (which work well within the limits of the machine). A 4" cutting pad is aggressive enough that you have to use a little care.



I suspect autoprecise1 was thinking *rotary* with the wool pad recommendation.

 

[slvr-bullet]

You are on your way now. Cool.

Once again, make sure the panels are staying cool. Keep in mind the wool pad thing. What year/make/color vehicle are you buffing on?

'96 civic silver

 

[slvr-bullet]

Odd...PB's SSR line is designed to be used in the sun.

That's what I thought too. I wasn't expecting to have this problem



Also, as I was finishing up the buffing process and started to get ready to apply my LSP (Zaino), I noticed that my hood and roof were not as smooth/slick as my side panels. Why is that? When I clayed earlier, every panels was smooth as silk.

 

[Accumulator]

I noticed that my hood and roof were not as smooth/slick as my side panels. Why is that? When I clayed earlier, every panels was smooth as silk.

If they were all uniformly slick before you polished, you must've treated the sides/horizontal surfaces differently. Not that uncommon, what *is* a little funny is that the sides seem better (most people end up the other way).



But note that the horizontal surfaces take the abuse of day-to-day exposure, they generally get more sun, rain, etc.

 

[slvr-bullet]

If they were all uniformly slick before you polished, you must've treated the sides/horizontal surfaces differently. Not that uncommon, what *is* a little funny is that the sides seem better (most people end up the other way).



But note that the horizontal surfaces take the abuse of day-to-day exposure, they generally get more sun, rain, etc.

So I would suppose I would need to clay, polish, and LSP the horizontal surfaces again to get that smooth/slick touch?

 

[Accumulator]

I don't think you'd have to clay again so soon, unless you haver reason to believe it got contaminated. Wouldn't hurt anything though, just more time/effort.



I'd try a small area- repolish and re-LSP and see if there's an improvement.



It really does sound like something went wrong somewhere, so pay close attention. If something goes wrong again, you oughta be able to tell just when it happens so you can fix it.

 

[slvr-bullet]

I really don't think I did anything wrong. I mean wash, clay, wash. What could happen? Doesn't claying remove whatever is on the paint/car?

 

[justin30513]

Looks awfully familiar to mine!

1998 EX...turboed...72k



And yes...the clear fades quickly on CF hoods. Just paint them!