Frustrated...permanent damage?

I recently did my soft as butter black Honda paint with Megs 105/205 and I ran out of 205 and (sorry AG) I didn't want to wait 2 days for more so I picked up some Megs UP at Advance Auto. It worked like a dream, very long working time, wiped off like it wasn't even on and best of all it removed all the marring left by the 105. It left a super shiny slick surface, so Rival I would recommend getting some.
A question for you, what kind of pads do you have from the Opti-Seal? Are they applicator pads? You might want to get a Lake Country CCS White foam hand pad (AG sells them), I did a lot of hand work on my car with it and the UP and it worked great, no marring. My advice is don't get in a hurry and don't get frustrated. The people here at AG will do everything to get you through this.
 
I believe the applicator pads are Pinnacle Yellow Foam Pads. There's no brand on it. I would love to buy that pad you mentioned but shipping is just so expensive. I already spent about 300 dollars and WAS NOT aware of the free shipping option :(.
 
what's the technique to use ultimate polish effectively and without marring by hand application?
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Whoa whoa WHOA. 15 lbs is the recommended pressure for applying to a DA polisher that has a LOT more surface area and is more evenly distributed than YOUR HAND on an applicator. Rivaladversary, PLEASE don't do this.
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15 lbs is not that much even by hand.. If it's safe with DA orbitting thousands times per minute.. Why is it not safe with a hand that orbits at most 120 times per min ?? :idea:
 
i think the most pressure i've put is about 5 lbs. 15 lbs requires me to really push the pad against the surface.
 
rivaladversary said:
what's the technique to use ultimate polish effectively and without marring by hand application?
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Basically I just used moderate even pressure across the pad and since I was only using it by hand in small areas I couldn't get with my DA there was no definite line of motion, some circles some straight line. I would just work it for a minute or so then wipe it off and check my work, if it was good i moved on if not I would apply some more until I got the result I wanted. It has such a light cut to it, it takes some time but I felt I couldn't mar the paint with it. It is well worth the time and effort. It seemed however I used it it worked.
I'm really not sure how it will work with a Pinnacle applicator (maybe someone else can answer that) but the CCS white pad works great, it's easy to hold on to and is made for applying compounds.
 
The problem with hand application is it is difficult to put the same amount of pressure over the entire pad, especially the pinnacle yellow foam applicators. More than likely, most of the pressure will occur just under your fingertips. I think Mike has described this in one of his articles.

Maybe you could borrow a DA? It doesn't sound like you will need it for very long. Although once you see the results you will likely want to do the whole car... :)
 
my understanding is by hand you need as much pressure as you can press to level the paint surface..

I stand corrected on the 15 lbs pressure..i guess i overestimated 5 lbs is the most i could press on vertical panels and 10 on horizontals...15 lbs would require you to press from the shoulders and elbow probabaly not that good of an idea now but this was actually the norm when you still work by hand with terry towel and traditional rubbing compound..Anyhow I only tried to put you at ease from the idea you've damaged your paint you could put as much pressure as you can with scratch X rub the foam app pad against the paint and still wont remove any microns from it...:xyxthumbs: you may dent the hood from overpressure though :doh:
 
well, the good news is that i didnt screw up my paint to the point of no return. i suppose if i just polish it with ultimate polish, it should be ok.
 
does ultimate polish dry fast? should i just apply a quarter amount and work it in for about 20 seconds and then wipe it off?

do i need to dampen the applicator pad first with water before putting the ultimate polish on? some people are saying this?
 
I found that UP has a very long working time, don't see any need in using any water, just make sure the whole face of the pad is covered (rub it across the pad with your finger to cover it) don't rub a dry pad on your paint.
 
S2K said:
I found that UP has a very long working time, don't see any need in using any water, just make sure the whole face of the pad is covered (rub it across the pad with your finger to cover it) don't rub a dry pad on your paint.
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when do i know when to stop then? i wanna be absolute sure and not make the same mistake i did with meguiar's scrtachx 2.0
 
rivaladversary said:
when do i know when to stop then? i wanna be absolute sure and not make the same mistake i did with meguiar's scrtachx 2.0
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The UP is a different kind of abrasive than the Scratch-X. Just rub it until you get the result you're looking for, then you're done. If you're not sure, rub it for a few seconds, wipe it clean and see how it looks, repeat until you like what you see.
 
awesome. thanks. im assuming hazing occurs when the product dries on your paint. does this product dry quick?
 
rivaladversary said:
awesome. thanks. im assuming hazing occurs when the product dries on your paint. does this product dry quick?
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Hazing is caused by too aggresive an abrasive, or not fully breaking down the abrasive. This could be exacerbated by the polish drying. Polishing is a progressive process, proceeding from coarser abrasives to finer abrasives.
 
Yes. Don't get upset about that unless you've been using that rocks-in-a-jar compound from the drug store or sandpaper.

You might want to check in on this thread: http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...-cars/35103-finding-detailer-sf-bay-area.html . Polishing isn't rocket science, but there IS some science/technique to it, especially on a black car. Someone on one of these forums had a signature line "black isn't a color, it's a full-time job".
 
Ultimate Polish has a long working time, but the key is not to work it until it dries. In fact you want to wipe it off while it's still wet. The oils in the polish will cover a lot of sins, so some people recommend the IPA wipedown to check your work. In my opinion, if you are working on a daily driver, seal the paint if it looks good after you wipe off the polish.

Considering the cost of polishers, pads etc, it will probably work out cheaper to take your car to a professional detailer if the majority of your paint needs correction. Once you get it back, do your best to keep it looking good with proper washing techniques and keeping the paint protected. Small blemishes can be handled by a light polish applied by hand. You can never keep a daily driver perfect unless you are willing to sacrafice your clearcoat. You can keep it better looking than 95% of the cars on the road with regular care.
 
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