I have been working on a Volvo s70. For a car with 175K miles on it, I think it is decent shape. Even though the car was covered with wax residue, the initial wash indicated (at least to me) there was no wax protection going on. The clay work went pretty well.
Among the challenges, there are two that have me perplexed.
First, the car has a clear bra but it is definitely aged. When I suggested getting a new one, the owner said he doesn't want to put more money in the car. The bra is heavily faded in spot and the entire thing is covered with scratches that reminds me of old paint that has dried up and cracked. However, the bra is still soft and I can actually scraped the wax out of the crevices. Is there any way to improve this? Is there a sneaky way to get the wax out of the cracks or do I let it go as is?
I used the Meguires DA with my Flex 3401. Overall, the paint responded very well. However, it seems the hood of the car is the thorn in my side. After several attempts, I changed pads and used Meguires 105 with an orange pad, speed settings around 4.75. Most of the scratches came out but there are still small scratches...and if I did not know any better, I would say there are swirls on the left top side of the hood. I cleaned the surface again, got a new pad, made sure everything was clean and ran another pass over the hood. Scratches/swirls still there. Then, another pass. Almost all of the swirls came out except near the cowl. There is an area of about 2 feet by 2 feet where there are still swirls and what I would call hairline scratches. At this point, I am not sure what more I should be doing. The DA did not get it done in 2 passes and then another 3 from the 105/orange pad. It appears to be getting better but my concern is going to far.
Is there a point where we have to say it is "good enough"? This is supposed to be a "basic" detail but the perfectionist in me does not to accept this situation as acceptable. I am looking for some guidance and feedback.
Thanks!
Feed back please
Among the challenges, there are two that have me perplexed.
First, the car has a clear bra but it is definitely aged. When I suggested getting a new one, the owner said he doesn't want to put more money in the car. The bra is heavily faded in spot and the entire thing is covered with scratches that reminds me of old paint that has dried up and cracked. However, the bra is still soft and I can actually scraped the wax out of the crevices. Is there any way to improve this? Is there a sneaky way to get the wax out of the cracks or do I let it go as is?
I used the Meguires DA with my Flex 3401. Overall, the paint responded very well. However, it seems the hood of the car is the thorn in my side. After several attempts, I changed pads and used Meguires 105 with an orange pad, speed settings around 4.75. Most of the scratches came out but there are still small scratches...and if I did not know any better, I would say there are swirls on the left top side of the hood. I cleaned the surface again, got a new pad, made sure everything was clean and ran another pass over the hood. Scratches/swirls still there. Then, another pass. Almost all of the swirls came out except near the cowl. There is an area of about 2 feet by 2 feet where there are still swirls and what I would call hairline scratches. At this point, I am not sure what more I should be doing. The DA did not get it done in 2 passes and then another 3 from the 105/orange pad. It appears to be getting better but my concern is going to far.
Is there a point where we have to say it is "good enough"? This is supposed to be a "basic" detail but the perfectionist in me does not to accept this situation as acceptable. I am looking for some guidance and feedback.
Thanks!
Feed back please
