Paint Correction issues after my first attempt...

Dan Tran

Dan Tran

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I thought I was content with the results, but of course the more and more I thought about it, the more I suffered from detail-itis!!!

My car is 09' Honda Accord mystic green metallic. Also was told it's soft paint whatever that means.

My question is, the following:

Purchased a brand new Griots Garage 6 along with Meguiars cutting pad which is the burgundy looking one 6", the yellow polishing pad and the black finishing pad. Product I bought are ultimate compound, ultimate polish and ultimate liquid wax

My goal is to do I believe is called a paint correction. I had white looking scratches that I seemed to get out but I still see swirl marks on the car. I'll try to add pictures soon.

Till then, question is, is it possible to cause more swirl marks or have permanent swirl marks in general?

In daylight it looks like a majority of it is gone, but at night under the parking lighting say at Home Depot, I can see signs of scratches. Those scratches are nowhere close to nail deep by the way. If I am causing more problems I would like to know if I dug myself too deep and can still fix it!!

The first time I did the correction swirls were for the most part taken out after two passes. Do I need more passes.? I use pressure about 5-10 pounds. Should I more so let the machines weight do all the work on a flat surface or should I add more downward force?

Do I need more of an aggressive approach like different pads and products?? Is there no such thing as perfection??
( I understand there are limitations to what a product can do but if it can be better I would like to know)
 
So many details that need to be known to know what you are doing, right or wrong. Products probably are not your problem. Most likely process and technique are.

Welcome to AG btw!
 
I'll need to wait on the pictures because right now it's raining out and the lighting situation is horrible. Ergo, pictures make my car look like a superstar.

In the meantime here's what i did.

The first step that I did, I took the ultimate compound I put about 5 pea size drops of product on to the correcting pad. I smudged the product around the pad and I started buffing the car in hatch patterns with two passes. After, the initial step, I believe is called priming the pad, I would only dab 2 pea size of product each and every time after.

I did everything in sections with about palm pressure which is about 10 pounds of downward force. Each section I did in 2 feet by 2 feet areas give or take at a time. After each pass, I would wipe with Meguiars ultimate shine micro fiber towels.

I repeated process for the following:

I started with the horizontal panels, the hood, trunk, roof.

Then I moved onto the vertical panels, front side panels, doors, and rear panels.

Lastly, I did the front and rear bumpers

All of this at about a #5 setting on the DA

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Moving onto ultimate polish with the yellow pad from Meguiars , I used in the same manner as ultimate compound also in the same pressure and speed.

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Finally onto ultimate wax with the black finishing pad from Meguiars also in the same method, but this time I did at a #2 speed

To be very clear, every product was cross hatched

Ultimate compound and polish I passed through twice and the wax once

Passes were made slow, almost felt like I was just allowing the machine to walk across the surface on its own if that makes sense.

When I use the micro fiber towels tri-fold the edges inward vertically, then same again but vertically.

What other detail can I share with you???
 
How many pads do you have of each color? It sounds by your post just one of each?
 
One of each pad. I am not blaming anybody (cough, salesperson) but I didn't know any better
 
Don't forget to get a matching backing plate for the smaller pads.
 
There's no doubt now that I need more pads based on this thread alone.

I guess the next question is, why? Am I buffing with contaminants which can render my correction useless. I don't have the best wording on the matter but please help as I am still new to the process and any other terminology.

Based on the method i go with, his many pads per panel?

Based on your experience, can anyone else point out other things I'm not doing regarding steps and technique? (Ex. Not using extra pads)

Ps: I will try to get photos when possible by the way...
 
Pads load up with product and contaminants and become ineffective. They also wear out faster if you over use them as heat builds up and can delaminate the backing.


Here's an example. I had cleaned each of these on the fly as they say a couple times during a detailing paint correction with Menzerna FG400, they eventually became loaded up and gummy with product.

IMHO one thing you can never have too many of is pads.



 
Gretchen, welcome to AGO!

From what you said, your detailing process and technique are just fine. You didn't do anything to harm you vehicle. Pictures will definitely help us help you. Basically it seems you just need more pads. As Sporty said you can never have enough pads. And he's right. You've obviously studied the process of polishing paint. All you need now is more pads and refinement. If you have questions, somebody here has the answer, don't hesitate to ask.
Take care and good luck.

Peace,

Darrin
 
Do I gauge the correction based on how dirty the pad is or do you change it out based on sections and/or panels???

In other words, when do you recommend changing out pads?
 
By the way, thank you AGO community for the support and warm welcomes!!
 
Gretchen731 said:
Do I gauge the correction based on how dirty the pad is or do you change it out based on sections and/or panels???

In other words, when do you recommend changing out pads?
Click to expand...

A little of both. Generally I use about two pads per each side of an average sedan if you were to draw an imaginary line down the vehicle front to back splitting it in half.
 
Ok so we are talking at least 4 pads minimum for a mid-size sedan.

Just so I can have a better understanding based on a previous comment, if I don't change out pads then eventually it is nearly ineffective, correct?!

I take it that you want the pad to "breathe" in order to have nice surface contact.

Beside the extra pad on hand thing,

Can anyone else second the possibility I have most of my ducks in a row as far has my process goes for the paint correction?

Can I yield better results with different brands of pads and compounds polish etc?!

Do I have good pads otherwise?
 
Gretchen731 said:
Do I gauge the correction based on how dirty the pad is or do you change it out based on sections and/or panels???

In other words, when do you recommend changing out pads?
Click to expand...

You'll eventually kind of get a feel when the pad is spent. Just check it every couple of passes or so. You can clean it "on the fly"

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/how-articles/20135-how-clean-your-foam-pad-fly.html

or replace it. Clean pads and proper technique will get you the results you desire.

Peace,

Darrin
 
BTW...

The technique that you described in your initial post sounds good to me. Are you familiar with a test spot?
 
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