About the video, the vehicle is an 03 Carbon Black M3. Paint correction was done with a Rupes 21 and 75, Megs MF Finishing pads for compounding with Megs M205, then I used a white Rupes pad for both the 21 and 75 with M205 varying speeds from 3 to 1.25 to finish (on my Rupes the dial does not go all the way down to 1.)
So it came time to add the coating to the vehicle, I was going to use 2 coats of Cquartz UK that I had purchased specifically for this vehicle. A few weeks back I did a 08 Jet Black M3, I used a product by CarPro called Eraser, it removes any residual polishing oils so the glass coating won't have an issue bonding to the clearcoat. For Microfiber towels I use MICROPAK Ultra-Plush Micro Fiber Towel's. I used Garry Dean's Infinite Diamond Shield glass coating. I had no issue's with the car, other than the horrible road paint, but that's a different story
So I start spraying the Eraser on the hood of the vehicle, I grab my MF towel and begin to gently wipe it off, knowing full well I had to be cautious with this malleable clearcoat from my experience of polishing it. I did a small section and grabbed my 5000lumen LED light setup, DARN!!! (actually it was a few other choice words) I noticed marring! I thought about it for a minute, maybe the Eraser was showing that I polished incorrectly, I used a very similiar process on the other BMW and had no issue though, I looked more closely and it followed the pattern I had wiped with the MF towels. I did another little test, I buffed the marring out and wiped the M205 off from left to right, I then sprayed the Eraser and wiped from front to back GENTLY. I pulled the light's over and...insert explative!!!!
OK I thought, "maybe it's something in the Eraser?", doubt it but let me test some other things (in the "back of my mind" I was thinking, it may be the towels.) I tried 50/50 Reverse Osmosis/ IPA, same thing happened...explative! I went online and asked a few detailer buddies ;-) The response was try 80/20 ROwater/IPA, also, try 100% cotton plush terry cloth to wipe with instead of the MF towels. I did not have access to Show Car Detailings Super IPA so I had to just go with what was available. The results all ended the same way, light marring. Explative, explative, explative!!!
Alrighty then, its time to call a mentor, Kevin Brown...assistance please! He asked some questions and we started to take a look at what was occuring. He pointed out that with all the chemicals I had used the paint was probably swollen in the area I was testing. Time to move to the other side of the vehicle, in the conversation with him he suggested using very warm water as a rinse when using the MF towel while wiping off either the Eraser, or IPA mixture. I mentioned I had a steamer, lets give that a try he said... nothings working! this is so FRUSTRATING, Marring!!! I call Kevin back and let him know its a no go. He recommended a few more thing's to try, one being the blue shop towels, also a no go.
At this point I really just wanted to cry, seriously! I had been working on the vehicle from Tuesday afternoon till about 3am Wednsday morning when I finally tip toed into the house, to not wake my two sleeping children, crawled in bed like a ninja, and stayed up for the next 45 minutes worrying, "would what the guys recommended to me actually work?" I got back up around 8am and started the process all over untill about 2am Thursday morning, knowing I needed to get the vehicle back to the customer by mid to late Friday AND I still had the whole car to prep and put the coating on. A mild panic was setting in. I thought ok, just be present and stop listening to that little voice in your head screaming at you that your tired, that you can't do it, that your too stupid to figure it out. You know, that voice thats not very forgiving or constructive, filled with doubt and fear. By 2am Thursday morning , when I still did not have a process down, I was starting to question if it was possible at all. I was missing spending time with my family, I was starting to also question is this worth it? Most people would just slap some wax with filler on it and call it a day, is this just about me trying to get it "perfect" for my own satisfaction? Thursday nite was difficult, my 2 year old daughter woke up screaming for her mom, it was a restless nite.
By Thursday morning I was really starting to feel the effects from the lack of sleep, I drank some coffee, and chose to presence myself to the commitment to the customer, to provide passion and excellence in my work. That kept me going, along with encouragement from my wife, Kevin and Corey.
So back to the point where a process had still not been figured out by Thursday morning...I was dealing with anytime I used a product with alcohol in it, wiped while wet, or steamed(still slightly wet) Id get marring using either the MF towels, super plush 100% cotton towel, or the blue shop towels to wipe, or dry with. In the meantime I called Corey Caruth, and started having another conversation about what it would take to make sure no oil's, or residue, were left on the clearcoat from the polishing stages to apply the CQuartz, in the conversation he mentioned, "this is the devils paint", I couldnt have agreed more!
I tried using the actual suede towels that come with the Cquartz to see if they would marr, I mean even if I got the paint prepped, what would happen when I go to use the CQuartz applicator towel?....Marring! Dam!!!!! This is just incredible, I was at my wits end, I called up Kevin and he encouraged me to keep trying new things. He gets all the credit on this one, he mentioned water buffing. I thought, "that won't work!, but hell, nothing has, so lets try it. Out came the crimson LC hydrotech pad, Rupes 21 and RO water in a spray bottle with a touch of Dawn. I set the machine on its lowest setting, set it down on the clearcoat, turned it on ANNNDDD... sud's EVERYWHERE!
I forgot to spin dry the crimson pad I had soaked in clean water, ok lets try again. WOW this is fun! I grabbed some water to spritz it off then I grabbed my blow gun to dry, there was left over residue, which, there was quite a bit of. I misted the panel down with just RO water, switched to a clean pad and buffed some more, then air dryed. Flawless! I called Kevin and let him know, his suggestion worked, I wasnt expecting that! I thought to myself, "Kevin is a genious!" I told him so too!
What a relief, I really felt a lot of pressure dissipate. I knew now I could move on to the next step once I get the car totally prep'd, I just couldn't touch the clearocoat for drying. Also I wanted to deal with the amount of residue from using the dawn, so I decided to try Optimum Power Clean, it worked.
So the video begins with me showing the marring that occured from using just the MF towels and Eraser. I dont show where I corrected the hood back with M205 on the White Rupes pad. This is also to be continued as this was just about getting a process down to prep the car. Next I need to see if the CQuartz can be applied by foam applicator without marring, as I had tried a test spot with the CQuartz UK with suede applicator on a prep'd section which ended up marring. That was a whole world of frustration in and of itself!
I wanted to say thank you to Kevin Brown and Corey Caruth for the incredible dedication to solving the issue,their willingness to share their expertise, their encouragement and general kindness.
