Double failure on a 2014 black Nissan Maxima... ugh

I would call and speak with Ray on your first order and let them get you set up. I called my first order in for a Porter Cable kit and Ray and Trey both were extremely Patient and helpful. I had never polished a car by machine in my life. Ray is the easiest to get on the phone.Good luck.
 
Good morning, all you smart, beautiful and helpful people :)

So I just wanted to check in and give you a quick update and ask some questions if you don't mind.

First of all: AG "talked me" into getting the PC on Thanksgiving Thursday with their 20% off everything - no exception sale! :D:xyxthumbs: So I am getting a little closer to start this project and try to fix this black baby of mine. :buffing: I did get Mike's book (Complete Guide of a Show Car Shine) and I read it already, but I still have some questions.

I gave up fighting with the dealer about this, and had a long conversation with the branch manager. It looks like the saleswoman actually never talked to the manager, the dealer never paid for the first "buff" (that messed up the paint) and she must have "asked a friend" or somebody to tackle this project real quick for her. Since then she had been let go, so the manager can't really find out what has truly happened. The second "buff" was done by the dealership's own detailer who did get some of the holograms off the trunk lid, everywhere else the car looks the same tho. So I just let it go and will give it a try to fix it by myself.

Soooo! I got a 20 lbs package yesterday Im the MAN

I am not jumping into this project and try to do it in a weekend or so, my goal is to find the right product - pad combo first. So do a (hopefully "a") test spot. Then I will probably do the roof in one weekend, the hood the next etc...

I do understand that every single paint is unique and there is no recipe for mine, but as a first step I would like to give you what I have in my inventory (and that is very limited) and get to a starting point:help:

So my inventory includes:
Tools I have
- PC 7424XP
- 5 inch BP
- 3 inch BP

Pads I have
- 4x 4 inch orange cutting, flat- these are probably too strong for my project
- 2x 6.5 inch LC white foam polishing CCS
- 1x 6.5 inch LC black foam finishing CCS
- 1x 6.5 inch LC blue final finishing CCS
- 2x 5.5 inch red flat
- 2x 4 inch green polishing/finishing CCS
- 1x 5.5 inch green polishing finishing CCS

Products I have
- HD Speed
- Meg's Ultimate Compound (2x Sample)
- Meg's Ultimate Polish (2x Sample)
- Meg's SwirlX (2x Sample)

- Meg's Paste wax


Towels
OMG, did I spend a fortune too much! :wow: I got some really nice towels, 3x super plush jr, 12x 70/30 pro grade MF towels and some thinner ones that came with waxes/gifts etc .
I should be set - OMG I sure hope I'm set because if I spend a penny more I am in trouble!:eek:

Questions I have :)
- How do you polish the roof? :eek: I mean I can't even wipe down the top of the car because I can not reach. Do you use ladder? A chair? Stand on door jamb? Go thru the sunroof?:p
- What product/pad combo should I be starting with? ( I was thinking the HD Speed with the black pad?)
- How many section passes should I be starting with? 6?
- So do you guys think I am actually doing a polishing after a rotary that they didn't do, or I have to go deeper and correct their mistake. Because I did read that rotary can leave micro marring and holograms. So I am not sure if the project is "just" touching up after rotary or the issue is bigger...?
- the roof looks actually the worst, I might need different technique for that (more aggressive). As it is a little higher, I am not sure about how the holograms look like but above the rear windshield, the edge of the roof looks like it was rubbed with a scotch brite pad.... the hood or the rest of the car does not have that. I can actually see the lines.

Well, I guess that's it for now! So sorry for the lengthy post and please bear with me, you are my only hope. :bowdown:
Have a great day, everybody! :)
 
Maybe try HD Speed with a white pad first. Then move on to compound with orange pad if it's not cuttin it.

Use a stool for the roof?
 
Just wanted to say sorry for the condition of your paint. For every real detailer in this area, there are a few shops that charge 100$ to slap some glaze on a wool pad and rotary and ruin your paint. Its pretty sad and gives the real detailers a bad name.

As long as you are not completely strapped for time, you did the right thing investing in the tools to fix to and maintain your paint yourself!
 
I am sort of confused...you have 6.5 inch pads for a 5 inch backing plate?

Assuming this is as bad as it sounds. It looks like you need a Orange pad and Ultimate Compound. Remember to go slow...the PC is not a powerful machine so this may take some time.

I dont think HD speed is going to remove those swirls.
 
butacska said:
Hello everybody!

I was wondering if you could give me some input/help regarding my "new" car. Bought a 2014 Nissan Maxima, black, used. It was a company's fleet car so you can imagine that it was probably sent thru the car-wash about one million times. When took it home, next day in full sunshine I saw the very (more than expected) sad condition of the paint, swirls along with scratches, even chips. I had a 7 day "satisfaction guarantee" so I addressed my concern to the dealer that at the price I paid it should be in excellent condition. I was actually hoping for a price reduction but instead the dealer said they would polish the paint. I accepted it, knowing I could not afford it. They took the car to a detailing company for polishing (and tinting). During the day I got a text from the dealer saying that the detailing company said the car needs a couple of more layers of buffing to get the swirls out. That just did not sound good. When I got the car back at 10 pm, with the coach light hitting the hood, I almost got a heart attack. I was not even mad that the car was full of splashes from getting the tinting done. Or that they did not even touch the wheels (I needed the paint done, not the wheels). Or that they did not even wipe the MUD off the door jambs (they did not even open the door probably). It was full of buffer marks! So of course I said right away that this is not cool, needs to be done. After some time, dealer said they would have someone else to do it. I told them I do not need a wax/detail, I need paint correction. They said yeah, okay, no problem, they get it right. Dropped the car off yesterday morning, went to pick up today, it looked almost the same. They did put some wax on it, I can tell but the holograms/marring are still there. I can see some areas on trunk, where it looks pretty good, but the rest of the car is the same. The top of the car still looks like someone cleaned it with steel wool. Literally :eek: Horrible. I showed to the manager, he said the car looks awesome, what I see it dust because the car was sitting outside in the morning, then he licks his thumb and rubs the top :bash: He did not even see what I was talking about... I told him I traded in an 18 year old black car and it looked better than this one year old. He said he spent a butt-load of money on this car and he is done, nothing more he can do. So I guess I am stuck with the damaged clear coat because I do not have the cash to pay 1-2K for that right now :(

Anyway, sorry for the much detailed story, what I am trying to ask is... Do you think I can (slowly), by myself take care of this and get some of this ugly stuff out? I have zero experience and do not expect to hear the recipe here, buy the product and do it in an afternoon. I was just wondering if there is a way to fix this by hand over time. I was thinking to get some product you guys would recommend and work tiny areas at a time, (wash, clay, compound, wax one panel, or even half a panel at a time) and see how it comes out, etc. I do not dare to go aggressive on this, as I have no idea how thin the clear coat is. I believe the car has extra soft paint, so I might be able to make a difference?
I don't even know what to think. I am probably stuck with the marring and holograms. I have been reading the forum since I bought the car and noticed the paint problem (sept 1), and I am amazed of the knowledge you have and admire your work. I do not expect to learn how to do a pro's job. Just to find out if I can make it better myself, or should I let it go and don't even try...?!
Thank you for your time reading this. Pictures attached.
Maria
Click to expand...


Manager is an absolute joke. You have to be kidding me. I paid alot of money for this car to be done-well it was done wrong twice, what an idiot. How about choose a person you know is reputable and ask them to pay for it. They are screwing with you and you should not take it
 
jms493 said:
I am sort of confused...you have 6.5 inch pads for a 5 inch backing plate?

Assuming this is as bad as it sounds. It looks like you need a Orange pad and Ultimate Compound. Remember to go slow...the PC is not a powerful machine so this may take some time.

I dont think HD speed is going to remove those swirls.
Click to expand...


RE Backing plate for PC:
Porter Cable 7424 Backing Plates- Dual Action Hook & Loop backing plate for your porter cable 7424, The best backing plates for the Porter Cable 7424
LC-43-125DA Dual Action 5 Inch Hook & Loop Flexible Backing Plate
Use this plate with 5.5 inch or 6.5 inch pads. The plate is large enough to stabilize the pad, but small enough to provide an adequate buffer zone between the edge of the foam and the edge of the plate. The 5 inch backing plate is ideal for the Porter Cable 7424. Use any of our Low Profile 5.5 inch pads with this plate.

A PC 7424xp will work just fine, as will HD Speed. HD Speed is 75% polish and 25% Sealant. I have had great success removing defects with HD Speed. You would be surprised at what speed can do.

NDMyMDBENDRBMDdEQzFGODRDQUY6NjYzODdjZTUxYzkyZWYwZTMzMDgwY2M1ZjA3NDJiM2Y=


After an Orange LC 5.5" CCS and PC 7424 with HD SPEED:

NDMyMDBENDRBMDdEQzFGODRDQUY6YzI0NWRjOGE5ZjZhNDRkZGJmNDYzZGU1MzkyYWM2NGE=




For staging, working and standing, you can get one of these:
(I can post a Home Depot Link because AGO does not sell this)
Werner 39-1/2 in. x 12 in. x 20-9/16 in. Aluminum Work Platform-AP-20 - The Home Depot

You may want two or three, I have one front of car, and one on either side. USE CAUTION, placing the platform too close to the car doesn't leave much room for the metal to hit the doors! I drape a moving blanket over mine to be on the safe side. They are great to get roofs of cars and SUV's as well as a place to put your gear down.

It's best to apply the least aggressive method first and do a test spot before attempting to do the entire vehicle.

Looking at your pad selection, you're weak on the cutting side. White is about the most aggressive pad you have, which I use for polishing. But it's all you have.... The rest will be useless.

I would do a test pattern, chose a spot that is pretty bad. Tape it off, in a 16" x 16" section and do 4 to 6 section passes using the white pad, PC on speed 5 with HD Speed. If it comes out great, do the rest of the car and be sure to clean your pads often. Make sure you DO NOT stay on one spot... Keep the patterns overlapping in a cross-hatch patter like Mike Phillips indicates. If you stay in one spot, you can generate heat which can burn the clear. Always keep the polisher moving.

If the test spot doesn't yield results, Megs Ultimate Polish, You might try different test spots... If either Speed or UP doesn't yield results, got to the UC and do 4 section passes to start, wipe it off and take a look.

You may not get 100%, nor should you try to achieve 100% if you've never done this before. You run too much risk in trying to achieve 100% correction. 75% should be your goal for a first timer.

If you use either UP or UC you'll want to top off with a sealant. HD Speed has Proxy which is a sealant. You can top that off as well. I like the CCS Blue for liquid waxes (Liquid Souveran) and Black for the paste waxes such as Paste Souveran, 915 or 476.

Here is another word of caution. Use slower speeds, between 4 & 5 on the PC. #6 may generate too much heat. Japanese cars tend to have softer clears, and self healing clears (without getting too technical here) or if it's black and Lexus, no clear at all.

How to tell if your car is single stage, take a white foam MF applicator, apply Megs ScratchX to a small area and then wipe off. Look at the MF applicator, if it has color, you have single stage.

It appears your are committed to do this yourself. Hope all this helps.

Where are you located??? Are there any AGO'ers in the area that may be able to lend a hand? If you were near me, I'd give you a hand.
 
Thank you so much for your answers!
RE: Paul! You are awesome, thank you for the detailed reply, you have no idea how much I appreciate it. As you said, I do should not and I do not expect 100% correction, I just really would like to reduce the holograms to minimal. They bother me every time I look at the car in the sun and - also to answer your question - I'm in sunny Las Vegas :)

The reasons I went with the 6 inches pads are that A: the starter kit comes with those and B: as I read it, they provide a little more protection (although less cutting power) against bumping into the paint or doing this kind of errors. I understand I do not have the cutting power but as you said, Paul, I most likely have a soft paint. I do not think I have self healing paint, I was looking for the sticker under the hood and could not find any indicator for that.
At this point I really have to try to make my supply work as I already spent too much on this project. Ekennett posted a reply in October for me that he has worked on a similar condition Infinitiand he used the green pad and HD Speed with a total success and that's why I went ahead and got the product and the pads.
I think I will give this project a start next Thursday and try to dial in the suggested steps. If 1st try does not work, move to a different area, right? I should not do the 2nd test over the first. The roof is worse than the rest of the car, so I think I will have to do a separate test for that, plus a different (milder) for the rest of the car. I will go slow (don't want to tackle this project - nothing is rushing me now) and it gives me such a peace of mind that you are here and I can come and ask you. What a wonderful forum and knowledge I found in AG! :wave: THANK YOU ALL!
 
I have extensive experience with the entire HD line up.

Go with Orange Pad with HD Speed. You will get more correction that way.

PS 6.5" pads will bog down on PC, 5.5" are a better combination.
 
Oh, man. I feel your pain. I did a TON of research on detailing in the last few months. I got all the right equipment, products, watched countless videos. Got amazing results on my Tacoma pickup. And then swirled the bejesus out of my dads 2013 BLACK maxima! I know blacks can be harder to deal with, but I'm wondering if that black Nissan paint takes a special touch. It certainly didn't like my touch!
 
Custmsprty, I do not have an orange pad :( I am going to have try with what I have first. Will see...
Harpolith, not sure if I have "the touch" but definitely will keep you posted.
 
The dealer that sold you the car should be ashamed. Good luck with your project. I am sure you will be able to improve the looks of your paint.
 
Holy hell, sorry for your situation. Keep us posted on the outcome. You have some work ahead of you, but seem to be on the right track.
 
Thank you, guys, I really appreciate you kind words! I'll try to do my best! I keep you updated with pictures as soon as I start
 
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