Holograms on fresh paint

J

Jester2893

New member
Joined
Jun 17, 2015
Messages
26
Reaction score
0
So I just got the side of my car painted along with the hood, rear bumper and front bumper. The body work came out really well, but after the shop buffed it I noticed in the sun I see some holograms. I took it back to the shop for them to fix it and while they did get a lot of the marks out its not 100% and I think I want to do it myself. Since 3/4 of my paint is fresh I know I have to be careful of what products I can use and I definitely cant use a sealant right now. I am going for the menzerna line of products as they all seem to be highly regarded.

Since a lot of my paint is fresh I dont think Ill need much abrasives to get rid of the holograms.

My plan is this kit Menzerna Intro Kit, Menzerna polishes, Menzerna Final Polish, Intensive polish along with orange, white and grey pads.

Step 1: wash the car
Step 2: clay the body panels that have not been painted
Step 3: Use the first stage polish with a white pad and see if that removes the marks and if so take the second stage with the grey and be done.
or
Step 3: If it doesn't work out like this then I will do the first stage with the orange and then the second stage with white or grey, not too sure about this yet.

I have never done this before, but I have researching lots of things over the past two weeks and I hope I finally finalized a decision. If there is something else or a different method I should choose I am all ears!

Picture attached; paint is audi black
 
Hi welcome to AutoGeekOnline!

Menzerna is top notch in my book and I prefer them. Especially on German paint.

Being that you have a lot of fresh paint to work with and usually is generally a bit softer than OEM paint, I would surely grab SF4000 over FF3000 as 4000 will cut a bit less and finish better. This will be noticeable on soft jet black paint.
 
conman1395 said:
Sounds about right to me. What machine do you have?
Click to expand...

Haven't gotten one yet, thinking I'll just go with the porter cable and 5.5 pads.




Mike@DedicatedPerfection said:
Hi welcome to AutoGeekOnline!

Menzerna is top notch in my book and I prefer them. Especially on German paint.

Being that you have a lot of fresh paint to work with and usually is generally a bit softer than OEM paint, I would surely grab SF4000 over FF3000 as 4000 will cut a bit less and finish better. This will be noticeable on soft jet black paint.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I'll have a look into it! Would I go the SF4000 and that's it or would I still need a prior step? According to the chart of Menzerna products online it seems the SF4000 is a finishing polish, so I'm slightly confused on how I would use it.


Would I use it with the Orange pad and then use it with a white pad? Or do I do I need another product before/after as far as a different compound or polish? Or are you saying to use that after I use the super intensive po83 ?

This is the chart that I have been using for help.

menzerna-chart-2013.jpg
 
Mike@DedicatedPerfection said:
Hi welcome to AutoGeekOnline!

Menzerna is top notch in my book and I prefer them. Especially on German paint.

Being that you have a lot of fresh paint to work with and usually is generally a bit softer than OEM paint, I would surely grab SF4000 over FF3000 as 4000 will cut a bit less and finish better. This will be noticeable on soft jet black paint.
Click to expand...

:iagree: Mike is our definite go to guy concerning Menzerna and a lot of things as far as that goes. Menzerna rocks! Just listen to Mike and you will soon be on the finished end looking back at how easy and fun it was. Good luck & take care.

Peace,

Darrin
 
Use SF4000 in place of FF3000. SF4000 will be your finishing polish.

You may only need SF4000 on a white pad to fix the swirls in the repaint. If you need more you can use IP2000 or PF2500 to remove the defects either on the white or Orange. Your test spot will determine this.
 
Mike@DedicatedPerfection said:
Use SF4000 in place of FF3000. SF4000 will be your finishing polish.

You may only need SF4000 on a white pad to fix the swirls in the repaint. If you need more you can use IP2000 or PF2500 to remove the defects either on the white or Orange. Your test spot will determine this.
Click to expand...


So maybe I will pick up the SF4000 and a white pad and see if that does the trick, if not Ill grab the PF2500 with an orange. Its safe to say I wont need any grey pads correct? Ill be good with just orange white, since I wont be applying any sealants at this time just a silicon free wax until I wait the appropriate time for the paint to cure.


Thanks for the help!
 
Going to the menzerna headquarters must have been awesome! Seems like all their products get awesome feedback which is what lead me to choosing that brand of products on my conquest for a mirror finish black car!
 
Jester2893 said:
So maybe I will pick up the SF4000 and a white pad and see if that does the trick, if not Ill grab the PF2500 with an orange. Its safe to say I wont need any grey pads correct? Ill be good with just orange white, since I wont be applying any sealants at this time just a silicon free wax until I wait the appropriate time for the paint to cure.


Thanks for the help!
Click to expand...

I would grab both products so if SF4000 does not cut it then you have IP2000 or PF2500 on hand ready to use.

Normally you can get away with SF4000 on white with OEM paint as its more forgiving to work with. Repainted panels are normally softer than OEM and will require more finesse. This is where having a softer pad such the grey will come in to play.

Jester2893 said:
Going to the menzerna headquarters must have been awesome! Seems like all their products get awesome feedback which is what lead me to choosing that brand of products on my conquest for a mirror finish black car!
Click to expand...

It was a surreal experience along with the Flex tour.

There's a reason why I prefer Menzerna on my black German BMW's.
 
Mike@DedicatedPerfection said:
I would grab both products so if SF4000 does not cut it then you have IP2000 or PF2500 on hand ready to use.

Normally you can get away with SF4000 on white with OEM paint as its more forgiving to work with. Repainted panels are normally softer than OEM and will require more finesse. This is where having a softer pad such the grey will come in to play.



It was a surreal experience along with the Flex tour.

There's a reason why I prefer Menzerna on my black German BMW's.
Click to expand...


Sounds like a plan! It's goig to cost a little more getting the products individually, instead of that starter kit, but it seems it's the best course of action to take. My car attends some car shows which is the sunlight so I want it free of any of those nasty holograms!


I think I'll try the sf4000 with a white pad first and see how that works for the bad parts, if I can get away awesome, if not I'll have a grey pad on hand as well for the freshly painted parts to make sure I get the perfect shine. I have a feeling I'll need to finish 3/4 of the car using the grey pad and the rest with the white pad first then maybe the grey pad after.


Thanks for all the help! Now the fun part of ordering everything comes!
 
Mike@DedicatedPerfection said:
Use SF4000 in place of FF3000. SF4000 will be your finishing polish.

You may only need SF4000 on a white pad to fix the swirls in the repaint. If you need more you can use IP2000 or PF2500 to remove the defects either on the white or Orange. Your test spot will determine this.
Click to expand...

BINGO!!! Mike is the man when it comes to Menzerna!!
 
Mike@DedicatedPerfection said:
Hi welcome to AutoGeekOnline!

Menzerna is top notch in my book and I prefer them. Especially on German paint.

Being that you have a lot of fresh paint to work with and usually is generally a bit softer than OEM paint, I would surely grab SF4000 over FF3000 as 4000 will cut a bit less and finish better. This will be noticeable on soft jet black paint.
Click to expand...

:iagree:HOLLA!!!! :iagree::D :D :D :D


Being as you're looking for a DA, why not just use a good coupon code and get a TON off on the GG6 by ordering it from Advance Auto Parts? ;) (Like less than $100 and has FREE shipping.) :D

You would of course still need a 5" backing plate and A DOZEN PADS! Whatever you do, PLEASE.... DO NOT think you can get by with only 6 pads. It'll take a minimum of 4 cutting pads say 4 orange, 4 white, 2 blue, 2 black just to get started. Typically it takes 6~8 pads to go non-stop on a vehicle when compounding, then half that many when polishing. You can however get away with 3~4 when compounding *IF* you don't overheat the pads, keep rotating the dirty ones out for clean ones, keep cleaning the used ones and have them sitting on top of a fan drying while they are waiting to be put back into rotation.

The hood for instance will take TWO pads, period! You try compounding it out with one pad and you'll likely destroy the pad (and possibly the backing plate) in the process.

How do you know if the pad is too hot?
After you do 2~3 sections (enough for say a door, or half a smaller hood) pull the pad from the backing plate, put the BACK of it against your cheek, (or the back of your hand, even perhaps the inside of your forearm) and if it's even more than barely warm TAKE IT OFF THE MACHINE and get a new pad. Clean it, sit it out to dry (like on top of a fan laying flat, or in the sun on a Coke crate so air can get beneath it) and move to the next pad.
 
I just took your advice on that deal $97 shipped : ))). I didn't think it would actually take that many pads, but I appreciate the heads up. I just assumed the pads would be able to go straight through since I know they can last a while.

Regardless what I saved with going with the GG6 I'll use to get more pads!

I just have to remember to order a 5" backing plate!
 
Wow! Glad I read this post. I had NO idea it would take that many pads either. I thought I had plenty....... guess I need to double up just to be safe.
 
shagnat said:
Wow! Glad I read this post. I had NO idea it would take that many pads either. I thought I had plenty....... guess I need to double up just to be safe.
Click to expand...

Yea I did some more research on it and it seems the reason you need multiple pads is because they get saturate with product. If you were doing a car over the course of several days you wouldn't need as many pads.

$70 for 12 pads from lake county but they should last a while if properly cleaned!
 
Jester2893 said:
Yea I did some more research on it and it seems the reason you need multiple pads is because they get saturate with product. If you were doing a car over the course of several days you wouldn't need as many pads.

$70 for 12 pads from lake county but they should last a while if properly cleaned!
Click to expand...

Yep... pads are just a part of the total package. The buffer is a 'tool', the pads are also 'tools' that you need to get the job done. The GREAT part of it all is that the 5½" pads are considerably cheaper than the 6½" ones! :xyxthumbs:

I was training a guy a few weeks ago and he was using an orange flat LC pad on his F350. I had to run in the house for a minute and didn't get back to him. Now I'd told him IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS going in that HE COULD NOT DO AN ENTIRE HOOD with a single pad. I also told him how to check for heat, as the heat tends to be much MUCH hotter on the backing plate side than on the paint side. Yet when I came back out he'd finished the right side of his hood (with a new pad I'd given him) done his right front fender, the right door, and was attempting to do the back door.

I pulled out an inspection light and noticed that he wasn't getting any real correction.
Then I looked at the machine and the pad literally looked like it was half the thickness it should be (while working on the truck). I grabbed him and asked him if he'd changed the pad. He just looked at me.... :doh:

I grabbed the machine and the pad was DESTROYED! Not so bad that it'd melted down the backing plate (THANK GOD) but even it had a VERY hot spot in the middle with (some) damage. (It's not trashed, but you can tell it got VERY hot.)

The point I'm trying to make is in the grand scheme of things pads are CHEAP. Honestly, I'd get 6 white, at least 4 orange (if not 6) as those are BY FAR your most used pads. Then I'd get 3 blue and 3 black JUST TO START. Now the yellow pads are something you use here and there, but with the excellent compounds we have these days you don't need them as much as you once would have. You could round out your order with 3 yellow, then 3 red and you should be able to handle any paint system that ever comes your way.:xyxthumbs:

When ton's of cut is needed it's easy enough to just use the Meguiar's Microfiber Correction System with 2 cutting and 2 finishing (microfiber) pads. That is PROVIDING you have an air compressor! Whatever you do, DO NOT think you can use microfiber pads without having air to clean them after each and EVERY section pass. That's not to say you can do the section 4 times and clean it either. Noooooo... not at all.

The upside however to microfiber pads is where you would use 4~6 foam pads (if not more) to do a vehicle, you can do an entire vehicle with 2~3 microfiber pads. Why? Because instead of cleaning on the fly with a brush and bath towel (as you do with foam) you are cleaning with air. Air both cleans AND cools the pads. ;) You do however need to take the utmost care to keep them clean and dry along the way. They are an excellent 'tool' though to have in your arsenal!:dblthumb2: (Do remember that you still need to rotate them into and out of service (so one or more is always cooling) as heat builds up VERY QUICKLY in a microfiber pad.)
 
cardaddy said:
Yep... pads are just a part of the total package. The buffer is a 'tool', the pads are also 'tools' that you need to get the job done. The GREAT part of it all is that the 5½" pads are considerably cheaper than the 6½" ones! :xyxthumbs:

I was training a guy a few weeks ago and he was using an orange flat LC pad on his F350. I had to run in the house for a minute and didn't get back to him. Now I'd told him IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS going in that HE COULD NOT DO AN ENTIRE HOOD with a single pad. I also told him how to check for heat, as the heat tends to be much MUCH hotter on the backing plate side than on the paint side. Yet when I came back out he'd finished the right side of his hood (with a new pad I'd given him) done his right front fender, the right door, and was attempting to do the back door.

I pulled out an inspection light and noticed that he wasn't getting any real correction.
Then I looked at the machine and the pad literally looked like it was half the thickness it should be (while working on the truck). I grabbed him and asked him if he'd changed the pad. He just looked at me.... :doh:

I grabbed the machine and the pad was DESTROYED! Not so bad that it'd melted down the backing plate (THANK GOD) but even it had a VERY hot spot in the middle with (some) damage. (It's not trashed, but you can tell it got VERY hot.)

The point I'm trying to make is in the grand scheme of things pads are CHEAP. Honestly, I'd get 6 white, at least 4 orange (if not 6) as those are BY FAR your most used pads. Then I'd get 3 blue and 3 black JUST TO START. Now the yellow pads are something you use here and there, but with the excellent compounds we have these days you don't need them as much as you once would have. You could round out your order with 3 yellow, then 3 red and you should be able to handle any paint system that ever comes your way.:xyxthumbs:

When ton's of cut is needed it's easy enough to just use the Meguiar's Microfiber Correction System with 2 cutting and 2 finishing (microfiber) pads. That is PROVIDING you have an air compressor! Whatever you do, DO NOT think you can use microfiber pads without having air to clean them after each and EVERY section pass. That's not to say you can do the section 4 times and clean it either. Noooooo... not at all.

The upside however to microfiber pads is where you would use 4~6 foam pads (if not more) to do a vehicle, you can do an entire vehicle with 2~3 microfiber pads. Why? Because instead of cleaning on the fly with a brush and bath towel (as you do with foam) you are cleaning with air. Air both cleans AND cools the pads. ;) You do however need to take the utmost care to keep them clean and dry along the way. They are an excellent 'tool' though to have in your arsenal!:dblthumb2: (Do remember that you still need to rotate them into and out of service (so one or more is always cooling) as heat builds up VERY QUICKLY in a microfiber pad.)
Click to expand...
Tony, we need to get you a sticky with links to all of your posts like Mike does for threads.

You're incredibly insightful and your posts are the type that are helpful even for people searching on the forum in a few years from now.
 
conman1395 said:
Tony, we need to get you a sticky with links to all of your posts like Mike does for threads.

You're incredibly insightful and your posts are the type that are helpful even for people searching on the forum in a few years from now.
Click to expand...

Conner.... dude.... you humble me brother. :thankyousign::cheers:

You know.... that whole thing that you see on SO (freaking) MANY *other* forums these days where a new guy comes in and asks questions and somebody spouts off dribble about "you should search, use the search". yada yada yada... :rolleyes: THAT JUST ERKS ME! I'm sure you know as well as I do that the "search" doesn't exactly work like you/me/we would like it to. Heck, I get better results if I use Google to search, (and add Autogeek, Cardaddy, Conman, etc. to the search terms) than ANY forum software search comes up with. Of course that surely has to do with the way the software works. In that it DOES NOT use "boolean operators" when doing searches.

I'll be the first to admit that I *CERTAINLY* don't know (anywhere near) what many do, especially those that do this day-in, day-out.... but I DO know what I 'know', (and especially what I read). Hopefully I can at least attempt to share what I know (and of course by extension what I've read). After all, what is an education (from elementary, to graduate school) if not reading, practicing, and putting that knowledge to use? ;)

But sure... I'd be glad to have stickies out there. Perhaps you/someone should run that up the flagpole 'round dese' hear parts. :D I know there isn't a week goes by that I don't get messages about microfiber! Which is why CarMomma keeps telling me I need to at least have some sort of blog...... (to which I generally roll my eyes thinking to myself that nobody wants to know all the junk that is rattling around inside my head). :laughing:

Annnnneeeeee-----whooooooo thanks again Conner for your kind words my friend. :props:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top