Removing Swirls from a Honda

[Asad_A203]

Hey,



I have some question for you guys in how to remove swirls out of this Accord. I thought Honda paint was relatively soft and SSR 2.5 with an orange pad would be no match for the swirls in this Accord but I was quite wrong. SSR 2.5 on an orange pad at speed 6 on a UDM and multiple (4-5) passes remove only the minor swirling. I have even wetsanded with 2000 grit and have been somewhat more sucessful (60% removal) but there is still large amount of marring. So I am wondering is there anything else I should try before I give up on trying to remove the swirls and just use a glaze?



Here are some pictures of the swirling:

This is one before being wetsanded:

After:

Some wetsanding on the rear of the vehicle (you can still see the swirls):

This is how much crap the clay bar picked up on the lower body panel after ONE pass; just goes to show how important claying is; haha. I should have soaked the rear body panels with an APC in my pre rinse now that I think of it:

So will it be possible to remove those swirls or should I just move on with the detail.



Thanks in advance.

 

[detaildoc]

Honda paint is really soft and thin. SSR 2.5 and and orange pad should be more than enough. You might be moving the UDM too quickly. Slow down and those swirls should come out. Wetsanding was the wrong approach for those swirls, overkill and you probably induced new ones. I would not do that unless you are talking about deep scratches, which from those pics, I can see those are typical wash/dry webbings. Those should come out. I would not move on to the sealant/wax until you remove those. Check out these videos and good luck: Detailing Video, How to use the Porter Cable 7424 7336 polisher

How to polish your paint with Menzerna super intense polish and PO106FF using the Porter Cable 7424

 

[03k20a2]

coming from a honda owner, those should be able to come out. the paint is soft and you really need to use the right pad and product and move very slow. what other polishes and pads do you have available?

 

[Asad_A203]

Honda paint is really soft and thin. SSR 2.5 and and orange pad should be more than enough. You might be moving the UDM too quickly. Slow down and those swirls should come out. Wetsanding was the wrong approach for those swirls, overkill and you probably induced new ones. I would not do that unless you are talking about deep scratches, which from those pics, I can see those are typical wash/dry webbings. Those should come out. I would not move on to the sealant/wax until you remove those. Check out these videos and good luck: Detailing Video, How to use the Porter Cable 7424 7336 polisher

How to polish your paint with Menzerna super intense polish and PO106FF using the Porter Cable 7424

Thanks for the advice. I will try watching the video when I get home and give it another try. Wierd thing is I was able to remove the scratches from the 2000 grit but not any of the swirls. I am at work right so I will try finding a good article to read on the subject ( I was doing it the way on Autogeek) until then.

 

[Asad_A203]

coming from a honda owner, those should be able to come out. the paint is soft and you really need to use the right pad and product and move very slow. what other polishes and pads do you have available?

That is what I thought as well; I was able to get the swirls out of my G35 with no problems with this combo (although much milder). I think it is probably just a problem with my passes with the UDM instead of the aggressiveness. I have a bunch of white pads & black pads, XP Compound, and SSR 1.0. I will give it another go. Thanks.

 

[detaildoc]

Let us know how it comes out next time.:2thumbs:

 

[Obsessive1]

I'd say you just need to slow down and probably not breaking it all the way down. Keep us posted.

 

[Asad_A203]

I'd say you just need to slow down and probably not breaking it all the way down. Keep us posted.

I am not sure because I tend to go even more even after the polish flashes (and SSR dust pretty bad) just to make sure I broke it down fully. I am going to give it a shot on the same body panel and will return my results for you guys.



Thanks for all the advice so far.



Edit: Ah I think I wasn't using enough polish after watching those videos; will give it another go!

 

[rebelde33]

Also try adding a little pressure if they're not coming out.

 

[Asad_A203]

Also try adding a little pressure if they're not coming out.

Yeah I think that was crucial this go; I bogged down the UDM on speed 6 that it wasn't moving and I was able to achieve much more correction along with more polish. I spent pretty much same time on each pass as before so I think it was the lack of force on the polisher and the amount of polish on the pad. Here are the pics:

2nd pass and ISA wipedown:

Rest of body unpolished (much more swirled) with new method:

^^ This picture shows the marring on the rest of the panel as opposed to the pillar I polished.



I can still see some minor (much less than before; probably 80% correction right now) spider webbing (did 3 passes and did not get removed) so I am not sure if I will be able to correct those but they are relatively mild and you can't even see it unless your 2 inches from the paint with the sun pointing right on it(my camera can't pick it up). I think this will be good enough to follow up with SSR 1, Klasse AIO and P21S Concours.



Thanks again for all the advice and I should be on my way to achieving good results with this.

 

[rebelde33]

The results look good to me. Be sure to post a C&B when you finish the whole car.

 

[Asad_A203]

The results look good to me. Be sure to post a C&B when you finish the whole car.

Thanks will do; I kinda wish I took more before shots but hopefully the end result should be drastic even if it is sub par Autopia quality; haha.

 

[imported_Chris223]

unless you did NOT wash the car, there is no way I can believe your claybar got that nasty in ONE pass. After washing, my claybar wouldn't look like that after doing my whole car, assuming I never kneaded it along the way.

 

[Asad_A203]

unless you did NOT wash the car, there is no way I can believe your claybar got that nasty in ONE pass. After washing, my claybar wouldn't look like that after doing my whole car, assuming I never kneaded it along the way.

This car was never waxed or polished for 5 years; it is the anti thesis of Autopia cars; haha. Here are some pictures of me prerinsing the vehicle with Black Magic (4 OZ), followed with a hand wash with Meguiars Gold Class Carwash (double quantity).



Before:

Pre rinse:

^^ After the wash (still some dirt on the lower body panel which I went over with ONR)



Some more passes with another clay piece (about 2-3 passes with this one):