Bentley paint question.

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Kombat2010

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Hello everyone,

I am detailing a Bentley Speed 4 doors, the car is 2012 model, only 18k km ~ 11k miles, but scratches and swirls everywhere!

I found that the paint really really hard. I used Sonax Cutmax, Menzerna FG400 first with Orange hybrid lake country, then with flex and Sonax wool pad and lamskin pad. I used Flex rotary PE14. I never use woolpad up to speed 3 ~1200 rpm, tilted the pad and applied pressure. It took me 1 hour to mostly remove the scratches and swirls on the up side of the trunk. With the foam pad I used up to 1500rpm.

I believed with that pressure and compound if I applied on any japanese car, the paint would be long gone!

So Is there anything wrong with my combo? Can I go more pressure or just be patient?

Thanks very much.
 
I think you have bitten off more than you can chew on this one.use a da if all possible with fg 400 micro cutting pads,clean up with HD speed done.with a rotary if you don't have the skill and knowledge to finish down don't answer the phone for 2 weeks.sorry for the negative input but your technique and timid skill set And overkill of products of choice I can't advise .just finish it up the best of wat you have and seek more training Gd luck.
 
Better get a paint gauge before going any further..wool pad and a rotary in the wrong hands may amount to a paint job.
 
IMO Bentley is considered "soft" paint. It is very easily correctable. I used my Flex 3401 with Menzerna FG400 and then followed up with Menzerna SF4500. I used a sealant topped with a wax. The car was very easy to correct the swirls and scratches.

My point being is that you may be going "too hard" on the paint. I would suggest taking a look at your plan and re-think it. I am not familiar with wool pads as I have great success with the foam pads and see no reason to go to wool pads.

Here is a Bentley that I worked on about a year to 1 1/2 years ago. It is white so you really can't see the swirls and scratches, however I put the best pictures I could find. Here are before and afters.

I hope this helps you. When you are finished show pics please.

I have been trying to upload pics, however, I am having difficulty. I will try to figure it out and post.
 
Kamakaz1961 said:
IMO Bentley is considered "soft" paint. It is very easily correctable. I used my Flex 3401 with Menzerna FG400 and then followed up with Menzerna SF4500. I used a sealant topped with a wax. The car was very easy to correct the swirls and scratches.

My point being is that you may be going "too hard" on the paint. I would suggest taking a look at your plan and re-think it. I am not familiar with wool pads as I have great success with the foam pads and see no reason to go to wool pads.

Here is a Bentley that I worked on about a year to 1 1/2 years ago. It is white so you really can't see the swirls and scratches, however I put the best pictures I could find. Here are before and afters.

I hope this helps you. When you are finished show pics please.

I have been trying to upload pics, however, I am having difficulty. I will try to figure it out and post.
Click to expand...

Sounds like the op's Bentley may have a harder clear than the Bentley you corrected. As you know not all makes have the same paint.
 
Rsurfer said:
Sounds like the op's Bentley may have a harder clear than the Bentley you corrected. As you know not all makes have the same paint.
Click to expand...

You are so correct. That could be case. As for downloading pics....I give up!! With the new forum upgrade I must be missing something in terms of uploading...oh well. I do know in a couple of older posts I did post the Bentley pics....But to the OP good luck and kick azz.
 
Do you have a paint gauge? If not I hope you have good insurance! I have never in 17 years had to be that aggressive with any Bentley. Finish what you started with Meguiars da system and then either get some formal training or read Mikes books. Sorry for the honesty but if it keeps you from buying a paint job it's good
 
Thanks everyone for great input,

Yes I have PTG, the paintbis really thick 200-235 microns(7-9.5 mils). Everytime I did 4-6 passes, I wipe off and use PTG to check atleast 20 points. I noticed that I removed not much than usually, 1-2 micron at a time.

At first I use orange pad with menzerna 2400, sonax cut and finish 5-5. I did not remove any paint or just very little like 1 micron. So I went for little bit aggressive, so after 2 days, I only finished half of the Bentley.

I also checked the temp, never let it passed 60 degree celcius (140 F).

I found some deep scratches on the trunk, after 2 days I believed the paint really hard. So I tried to remove that scratch. I used PTG check it before, 232. I use sonax Cutmax, Orange hybrid cutting, tilted the pad a little to have more cutting power, 600rpm, moderate pressure, back and forward for 10 seconds. Check PTG again, only 1-2 micron off, wow!

In my country, no detailer have insurance because no insurance company sell it! We are on our own! Everytime something happens we pay. Thats why I extremely careful.

Little bit about me,

Car detailing is my hobby for more than 10 years, I actually polish a car about 3 years or so(before, I have master degree on Marketing so I was a Brand Manager for a biggest dairy corp in my country, 3 bil usd revenue/year, then I decided to quit because I love car detailing so much. Got lots of criticism from friend and family, Cause it looked like you quit a great job from Google in your country). First with the DA griot, 6inch 3inch, then Flex PE14, XC3401, Rupes 15. I found that rotary is my favorite so I use it most of the time. I read forum, Mile P books, recently trainning with Sonax Germany,also met Renny Doyle in the event.

Here is the S class I did.
This S class was built in my country so the paint is soft. I did another S class which imported from Germany, the paint is hard but not like this Bentley.
View attachment 47408View attachment 47409
 
Your the real deal and have a passion for this craft as we can see.To eliminate the confusing process of machine polishing and different products and such.I always used a rotary on every car I touched.I found to work smarter not harder.It took me a while to quit a bad habit using the rotary on every car from 1988 to 2005.Try to refrain yourself from picking up the same tool all the time.with all the pads and products out there you can achieve the same cutting power equivalent to a rotary with zero halograms and shorter polishing times.gd luck on your new found interest working on cars.
 
Based on the products and tools you are using Nd the amount of paint you are removing...I suspect the Culprit is that your arm speed is too fast to allow the products to work effectively.


I could be wrong

I was once before
 
Nice vid..seems like you know what you are doing and have the right tools. AGOatemywallet suggested slower arm speed, looked ok to me..maybe more passes. PE 14 with a wool pad and M400 is a defect killer and should remove any scratches you cannot feel with your finger nail. Because of the light color you could probably finish down with m400.

You have a lot of paint to work with, so maybe more passes will work. Good luck.
 
Kombat2010 said:
Hello everyone,

I am detailing a Bentley Speed 4 doors, the car is 2012 model, only 18k km ~ 11k miles, but scratches and swirls everywhere!

I found that the paint really really hard. I used Sonax Cutmax, Menzerna FG400 first with Orange hybrid lake country, then with flex and Sonax wool pad and lamskin pad. I used Flex rotary PE14. I never use woolpad up to speed 3 ~1200 rpm, tilted the pad and applied pressure. It took me 1 hour to mostly remove the scratches and swirls on the up side of the trunk. With the foam pad I used up to 1500rpm.

I believed with that pressure and compound if I applied on any japanese car, the paint would be long gone!

So Is there anything wrong with my combo? Can I go more pressure or just be patient?

Thanks very much.
Click to expand...

Seems that your either working on a car that has been resprayed (judging by the deep scratches on the attached pic - they look like sanding marks) or this car is a tri-coat paint job (base color, pearl and Ceramic clear coat) judging by the thickness. I worked on a Continental GT. Paint was not hard not soft. FG400 on a foam cutting pad worked out for most scratches. Paint readings were a bit weird, ranging from 85 to 145 microns - If I'm not wrong theses cars are painted by hand.

Not sure if Bentley uses Ceramic Clearcoat but it might seems to be this case.
 
Instead of trying to remove clear what about trying to add some with kamakazi artificial clear coat. just a thought.
 
Kombat2010 said:
Thanks, But still got trouble with the Bentley as mention above. :((
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You struggling as its a repaint, sometimes you cant push for close on perfection but rather an improvement and be done. Your work based on your video looks sound.
 
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