Very, very, very thin swirls after last step of polishing?

A

Anzafin

New member
So I'm doing this 2004 Sapphire Black BMW.



There are some serious rids and got rid of them with Presta Strata 1000, then 1500 Polish with a medium polishing pad and then Swirl Remover with Edge blue waffle pad (very soft). The finish is very good, but watching with a bright torch (Mag-Lite), I can see some very, very, very tiny swirls. I can't see them with my halogens, and of course it's raining so I don't have the sun to check the finish.



What to do? I'm using Flex 3401.



Thanks in advance!
 
I think it could be the microfiber (or whatever type of towel) that you're using. It's the edging of the towel that would cause new scratches while you're wiping the polish off. If you have many microfibers and you don't want to throw them away, just cut the edges off or fold them in such a way as to prevent the edges in coming to contact with the paint.
 
Thanks. I guess my MFs are quite good. Especially the ones I use now in this process.

And I can get the residue off just with a one or two wipes, so I doubt the MFs would cause this...
 
I got back in garage to check it one more time under the street lights which reveal the imperfections quite easily I think (when it's dark)...

And the finish looked very good! I think those little, tiny swirls won't show in a daylight very badly... I want to add that they sure are very tiny. Maybe I'm trying to be a bit too perfectionist here.



But if you got any tips, please tell...
 
Anzafin- I really dunno from this topic, so somebody else can give you better info, but certain recent-vintage BMW black paints are *incredibly* soft and will get marred with contact from virtually anything. Dunno if the Saphire Black is one of those or not :nixweiss



Even if it is that soft, I have to think that there's *some* combination of product and application/buffing media that won't cause the problem, but OTOH I can't help but wonder how long things woud stay perfect in the real world anyhow (where you're washing/etc. all the time). I kinda like your inclination to just not stress about it.
 
Maybe you're right. Maybe there is some combo that wouldn't do this...



I'm kind of noobie in some things and I really can't tell whether the paint is soft or hard. I can tell that it marrs easily, yes. But to get any kind of correct by polishing

it needs some real hard work and serious polishes/compounds. However, the finishing touch is hard to do.



Well, I guess I just have to go for it...
 
Have you tried Meguiar's #09 or #82? Both are very fine swirl removers and may be your ticket- they're fairly cheap too so you don't have a whole lot to lose.



Auto Detailing Supplies is the best and cheapest site to get Meguiar's products from IMO...they're super cheap and have really low shipping rates.
 
I think I got it. I presume the step from Strata 1000 to Chroma 1500 Polish was a bit too big. The 1500 couldn't handle the swirls Strata 1000 left.



Now I did a test and I took one pass of Ultra Cutting Creme after Strata 1000 and then went to Swirl Remover. Much better, but not perfect.
 
I'm talking to myself here, but that doesn't matter...

Accumulator was right about finding a working combo! I got the paint almost

free of all rids and swirls... almost.



But hey... who I'm kidding. The sapphire black with lots of deep rids + flex + noobie

---> I should me happy with it now. And I am!
 
Anzafin- Sometimes just posting this stuff can get you thinking, even if you don't get any timely responses :D



Yeah, it might require a broad range of different product/pad combos, gradually working down to something very, very gentle.



I'd try to figure out what's causing the marring in question. Is it residual, from some aggressive step, or is it new, from a supposedly *mild* step?



What happens if you try a small area by hand?
 
I'm not quite sure. I think it's just the aggressive step, and next step was just too mild...



It's my own car, so I have time to play with it. I could try doing some little area by hand tomorrow...
 
2-3 minutes is quite quick for an area. I don't know the polishes you are using, but if they are oily and do not need any water to work with then continue finishing a bit longer. If it does dry up and the polish is not oily, try a small spray of water to keep it going bit longer.

After a short while ease the pressure a bit + go with bit slower revs for final passes.
 
Thanks.

I'm using Presta products and they stay quite workable for a long time. With ultra cutting creme I have used some water though.



I'm passing this to the weekend. I'm working this week normally (detailing is a hobby)and I don't want to ruin the good work I've done with the deep rids and heavy swirls. Like I said it's my own car and I can live without it for a few days. I let it sit in carage for now...



I ordered some new Lake Country CCS pads. Trying to find some info right now about using them for finishing. I think my current pads start to be in quite bad condition so I let them go...
 
Accumulator said:
Anzafin- I really dunno from this topic, so somebody else can give you better info, but certain recent-vintage BMW black paints are *incredibly* soft and will get marred with contact from virtually anything. Dunno if the Saphire Black is one of those or not :nixweiss
Click to expand...



Accumulator, it's the Jet Black that is way too soft. The Black Sapphire Metallic isn't. I'm VERY happy that I found this out before I purchased mine.
 
I find that time is as much a factor as pressure. You’ve mentioned maybe you jumped from one stage to another too quickly. I find many stages/steps in succession without a lot of pressure gets BMW (and Porsche) black perfect. My method is letting the product do the work with the texture of the pad, while applying just a tad more pressure than the buffer weighs. As I get to the final stages I’m only using the weight of the buffer as the only pressure on the pad. At this stage the product and pad are doing the job they’re designed to do.

In soft paints like your car, (and others) I find this technique the best. It does take a LOT of time and sloooooow motion to build the heat that works best with the pad, product and paint, but you won’t leave any fine etching/scratches you’re seeing.

Hope this helps.
 
Saintlysins said:
I find that time is as much a factor as pressure. You’ve mentioned maybe you jumped from one stage to another too quickly. I find many stages/steps in succession without a lot of pressure gets BMW (and Porsche) black perfect. My method is letting the product do the work with the texture of the pad, while applying just a tad more pressure than the buffer weighs. As I get to the final stages I’m only using the weight of the buffer as the only pressure on the pad. At this stage the product and pad are doing the job they’re designed to do.

In soft paints like your car, (and others) I find this technique the best. It does take a LOT of time and sloooooow motion to build the heat that works best with the pad, product and paint, but you won’t leave any fine etching/scratches you’re seeing.

Hope this helps.
Click to expand...



Thank you too!

I'm still unsure whether my paint is soft or hard. I repeat it's sapphire black, a metallic color. I know instead, that I needed some cutting power before I got any correction done to deeper swirls and especially to rids.
 
SaintlySins- Glad to see you posting again!



Yeah, sometimes it takes very gradual step-down, something that doesn't get much mention these days....seems like everybody's trying to distill correction down to two steps and that doesn't always work.



blk45 said:
Accumulator, it's the Jet Black that is way too soft. The Black Sapphire Metallic isn't..
Click to expand...



Thanks for schooling me :D I'll try to keep that in mind for future reference.



I really dunno what's up with these stupid-soft paints I keep hearing about...let alone at the same time that others are using the nice hard ceramics/etc. :nixweiss
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top