I really tried-Help me from making it worse

WeekendDIY

WeekendDIY

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Hello, Thanks in advance for any of your comments.

So....I have a '15 Murano-Black. As hard as I tried I still ended up with a few micro marring, minor swirl marks (not from machine buffing) and just general little imperfections. One or two on the hood, an area on one door panel. That type of stuff.

I wash the vehicle frequently. I even use two rinse buckets and then spray my microfiber wash mitt with the hose before going back into the suds bucket. I use microfiber towels and chamois. But somehow I've ended up with these minor imperfections. None of these are hard scratches where it will catch your finger nail. But it's just bugging the crap out of me. I'll have to sit back and figure what I did wrong. But in the mean time I'd like to fix this.

Like I said, it's not terribly bad and nothing like a lot of the before pictures I've seen on this site. I'm fairly familiar with cars and very comfortable from the wrench and ratchet standpoint. But paint finish I'm a total newb. This is our first vehicle for adults, as in kids are grown aren't tearing it up.

I do have a PC-XP, variety of fine (non aggressive) finishing pads and products. I'm just not sure I even need to this via machine and really leaning hard towards doing it by hand. I've gonna thru countless pages on this forum and videos. I'm not necessarily intimated by this but of course I do want to be as cautious and conservative as I can. This area of vehicle care has come along way from the old school Turtle Wax days. LOL

Apologies for rambling. I guess I'm just looking for any thoughts and suggests so I don't go all ape **** over this and make it worse.

Thanks again.
 
As Mr. Mike Phillips has said before. Black is not a color but a full time job!

All it takes is some form of dust or debris no matter how careful you are and you can induce micromaring. Also if the paint is super soft (which I believe newer GM's are) then that really adds to it.

It sounds like you really have taken the standard precautions. Have you thought about getting a master blaster to blow dry the vehicle? The less you have to touch it the better. After blowing it dry you can go around with your favorite quick detailer and touch up the remaining spots. I use my electric leaf blower without issue but I know others are against doing so.
 
It could be the chamois if it is being pulled over the paint, could be your drying towels, could be a softer clear coat, or a combination of all three.

A dual action polisher like the PC is fairly safe to use. Even more so if it used with a light polish and a light cutting pad.

What kind of pads and polishes to you have?

Like Justin said above, keep a good wax or sealant on it and blow off the water after the rinse. And/or use a drying aid/spray wax with a dampened towel as you dry.
 
HD Speed and the PC should knock out those swirls and lay down a nice layer of protection. I used the speed on a black Nissan Maxima with great results. I would think any AIO with a small degree of cut would get you where you want to be. Using the machine will do it a LOT faster than by hand.
 
WeekendDIY said:
Hello, Thanks in advance for any of your comments.

So....I have a '15 Murano-Black. As hard as I tried I still ended up with a few micro marring, minor swirl marks (not from machine buffing) and just general little imperfections. One or two on the hood, an area on one door panel. That type of stuff.

I wash the vehicle frequently. I even use two rinse buckets and then spray my microfiber wash mitt with the hose before going back into the suds bucket. I use microfiber towels and chamois. But somehow I've ended up with these minor imperfections. None of these are hard scratches where it will catch your finger nail. But it's just bugging the crap out of me. I'll have to sit back and figure what I did wrong. But in the mean time I'd like to fix this.

Like I said, it's not terribly bad and nothing like a lot of the before pictures I've seen on this site. I'm fairly familiar with cars and very comfortable from the wrench and ratchet standpoint. But paint finish I'm a total newb. This is our first vehicle for adults, as in kids are grown aren't tearing it up.

I do have a PC-XP, variety of fine (non aggressive) finishing pads and products. I'm just not sure I even need to this via machine and really leaning hard towards doing it by hand. I've gonna thru countless pages on this forum and videos. I'm not necessarily intimated by this but of course I do want to be as cautious and conservative as I can. This area of vehicle care has come along way from the old school Turtle Wax days. LOL

Apologies for rambling. I guess I'm just looking for any thoughts and suggests so I don't go all ape **** over this and make it worse.

Thanks again.
Click to expand...
as careful as you are when washing,are you washing top first then bottom last.
 
I would recommend using the mf over the chamois when drying or perhaps look into a blower to dry the car. This way you avoid any possible marring or scratches from the drying process.
 
Justin@FinalInspection said:
As Mr. Mike Phillips has said before. Black is not a color but a full time job!

All it takes is some form of dust or debris no matter how careful you are and you can induce micromaring. Also if the paint is super soft (which I believe newer GM's are) then that really adds to it.
Click to expand...

Justin, the Murano is a Nissan.

OP:

That being said, nice ride.

But it's black, the bottom line is the more you wash it, touch it, dust it, wipe it the more of those little scratches will appear. It's just the way it is with black paint. No matter how careful you are it's an inevitability. You can minimize it but you can't avoid it.

You also want to be careful to not be reaching for the polisher too often. Each time you polish no matter the product to some degree your are thinning out the already thin clear coat.

I currently own a 2015 White Rouge and a garage queen black Genesis Coupe(which has only been traditionally washed 3 times and rained on twice in 4 years, and it gets those little scratches from a quick after drive wipe down.)

Maybe it's not to late to trade it in for a white Murano LOL.

I have three white cars in my drive way and that's no accident. :dblthumb2:

Any how enjoy the some time beauty and full time frustration of owning a black car, welcome to the club!
 
Thanks for all the feedback. I had to do a quick wash to take pics. A few days of rain and pollen over the last 10 days. Purchased in June of last year. I wouldn't think the paint is soft, but what do I know. I knew black was going to be biatch. I wanted at the Pacific Blue, but the wife really wanted black w/ black interior.

God love her, I pick my battles though and got the black. She really doesn't see the total issue. She comes over to the driveway and I'm cursing and she asks me what's wrong. I tell and show her but she's not as frustrated by it as much as I am. I have spent more than time with my face a foot away from that car than I want to admit. Both of the previous comments you all get. LOL

Huh....A blow dryer for cars. Never thought of that. Will have to look into that. No tags on the MF towels. I do wash from the top down. I have new MF towels in different sizes coming tomorrow. I read a couple of posts here recently about AG and there product sponsors hosting this free site. So resoecting that the only products I will say I have coming as well are the Klasse twin products. Only because I came across this site after I placed the order. Not because I don't like this sites products. I honestly don't know anything about them other than what I've read here over the last few days. But I'm open to other products. I need to do a search and see what HD stands for. I'm not loaded but fortunetly have the means to buy something different.

I know a DA would be best but I guess I've psyched myself out. I know its a reality but I hate the idea that I'm removing layers of this and that with buffing. But I'm starting to obsess over this now. LOL I just want to get it back as close as I can to factory and try some of ya'lls tips and suggestions.

I do have an '02 Santa Fe that I'm going to practice on before tackling the Murano. I just want to use the least aggressive solution as possible. Depending on how this goes will determine if white vehicles are in my future. LOL

Thanks again folks.
 
Yeah, judging by the pictures you already have some good swirlies going on.

HD Speed AIO would knock those out pretty easily on a da and make it look like glass and it is mild as far as aggression goes.

Just one comment, polishing by hand is a lesson in futility. You would be hard pressed to get those out by hand.

Using a cleaner wax by hand is in itself a major project. You will want a da at some point. I could seal your entire ride with a a da in about 20 minutes. No way can you get total coverage by hand in twice that time. Don't fear the da, embrace it. That Hyundai would be a great vehicle to practice on. While you're at it teach your wife too. Since she wanted the black car. Team work. I know down here in Florida it's impossible in the middle of the day to wash a black car with the blazing sun and get it dry before the dreaded water spots set in. And that's with or without a blow dryer. I have the AG DP Pro dryer too. I feel like I can dry faster with good waffle weave towels than any blower out there.
 
Yea...just frustrated as hell. Thought I was doing everything right. Clearly I need to change how I'm doing things.

Ha....you gonna be in VA anytime soon. J/K. To put this in the sexist category, help ain't a coming. Next to mowing the grass and the garden I do the outside stuff and she does most of the inside stuff.

A couple of questions.

The surface itself is fine. I can run my fingers and it is smooth with no bumps or debris. It is smooth but I do have clay bars on the way as well if needed.

Keeping in mind I have a practice vehicle. But when I get to the Murano should I or do I need to use a clear coat safe polish first before using the Klasse AIO? Or is that being redundant? Or if you really had your preference rather I just use HD Speed. Admittedly their are a ton of similar products that I've recently discovered over the last couple of weeks. I mean you cant believe everything you read on the internet as they say. Especially when it comes to the marketing of products. I know I'm putting you on the spot a bit. I do apologize for that.
 
I have had good luck with Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover 3.0 on Nissan paint. I've done several Murano's and Altima's with a PC 7424XP and Lake Country orange and white pads. The WG TSR, Finishing Glaze and Deep Gloss Paint Sealant 3.0 would be a killer combo for your Murano and they are on sale now too!
 
OP the Nissan black paint is VERY soft. You need to ditch the chamois and begin using air to dry the car followed by a towel that has some sort of lubrication on it such as Ammo Hydrate or a quick detailer, spray wax, etc. This will prevent from what is currently happening to you.
 
I'm going to approach my response from a "if I were called to fix this" perspective.

First test spot would be Meguiar's Ultimate Polish on a blue buff and shine pad, on the PC. I would start with speed 4.5, and let the weight of the machine be my pressure. From there I would complete my test spot. From there I would assess my progress. I might move to speed 5 during the process if I didn't feel I was getting the action I was looking for. If this wasn't working, I'd move to a green buff and shine pad, which is more aggressive (60 vs 70 pores per inch foam).

I sometimes use Menzerna PF2500 which is a stronger polish. It cuts well, and finishes beautifully. I also use this on a blue b&s pad, or Lake Country Tangerine Hydrotech.
 
WeekendDIY said:
Yea...just frustrated as hell. Thought I was doing everything right. Clearly I need to change how I'm doing things.

Ha....you gonna be in VA anytime soon. J/K. To put this in the sexist category, help ain't a coming. Next to mowing the grass and the garden I do the outside stuff and she does most of the inside stuff.

A couple of questions.

The surface itself is fine. I can run my fingers and it is smooth with no bumps or debris. It is smooth but I do have clay bars on the way as well if needed.

Keeping in mind I have a practice vehicle. But when I get to the Murano should I or do I need to use a clear coat safe polish first before using the Klasse AIO? Or is that being redundant? Or if you really had your preference rather I just use HD Speed. Admittedly their are a ton of similar products that I've recently discovered over the last couple of weeks. I mean you cant believe everything you read on the internet as they say. Especially when it comes to the marketing of products. I know I'm putting you on the spot a bit. I do apologize for that.
Click to expand...

My personal preference is Speed topped with Poxy for additional protection and shine as an lsp applied with a da is super fast. I use Speed more like a Polish and will make 5-6 section passes with my polisher.

No problem. And if you think your paint is relatively smooth do the baggie test LOL. Do you know what that is? It's eye opening that's for sure.

Here's Mike P's youtube video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ml434m7ILNA
 
Others already tell you about how to solve those swirl, I will tell you how to priperly wash them. First, throw away those microfiber wash mitt and change to LC wash wedge instead. Many low quality microfiber or even good quality have some problem that is they are trap and collect dirt so easy, even sometime we try to clean them, something will still trapped inside. On the otherside, great design sponge like LC wash wedge are so gentle and can release dirt pretty easy, it's the best media for me when washing the car.

By the way, if you want to increase some hardness of your paint, some coating will help. Usually ceramic coating will increase the slickness for easy clean and some little scratch resistant as well.
 
Klasse AIO is a non-abrasive chemical cleaner, so you will need at least a MILD cutting polish/pad combination to get the swirls out. I had an '89 Camaro with very soft paint on the hood and Meguiar's #9 was the ONLY thing that would get rid of the haze. I suppose you could equate Ultimate Polish for #9 these days.
 
custmsprty said:
Yeah, judging by the pictures you already have some good swirlies going on.

HD Speed AIO would knock those out pretty easily on a da and make it look like glass and it is mild as far as aggression goes.

Just one comment, polishing by hand is a lesson in futility. You would be hard pressed to get those out by hand.

Using a cleaner wax by hand is in itself a major project. You will want a da at some point. I could seal your entire ride with a a da in about 20 minutes. No way can you get total coverage by hand in twice that time. Don't fear the da, embrace it. That Hyundai would be a great vehicle to practice on. While you're at it teach your wife too. Since she wanted the black car. Team work. I know down here in Florida it's impossible in the middle of the day to wash a black car with the blazing sun and get it dry before the dreaded water spots set in. And that's with or without a blow dryer. I have the AG DP Pro dryer too. I feel like I can dry faster with good waffle weave towels than any blower out there.
Click to expand...
I agree after washing down here in summer months is hard you have to dry very quickly starting on the top of the car first.I found I had to re wet some sections to dry.Totally different ballgame down here in the summer and I dread it every Year.
 
WeekendDIY said:
Hello, Thanks in advance for any of your comments.

So....I have a '15 Murano-Black. As hard as I tried I still ended up with a few micro marring, minor swirl marks (not from machine buffing) and just general little imperfections. One or two on the hood, an area on one door panel. That type of stuff.

I wash the vehicle frequently. I even use two rinse buckets and then spray my microfiber wash mitt with the hose before going back into the suds bucket. I use microfiber towels and chamois. But somehow I've ended up with these minor imperfections.
Click to expand...


Two things working against you...


Clearcoats are Scratch-Sensitive


Clearcoat paints have a characteristic called,


Scratch-Sensitive


This means even though the paints are very hard they still scratch very easily and because there's a colored layer of paint under the clear, the colored layer works to amplify and magnify the surface or topical scratches making them easy for the human eye to see.


This drives car enthusiasts up the wall.


It also confuses people to no end because it's hard for people to wrap their brains around the concept of how a car's paint can be very hard but then scratch so easily.


The hardness factor smacks you upside the head when you're first learning how to either hand or machine polish because you find out real fast removing the swirls out of a clear coat finish is not as easy at it sound like it should be.

Again, this is for people brand new to working on clearcoats, seasoned pros acquire the skills that make removing swirls and scratches for them very easy via experience.


Once a person completely understands and fully grasps how the hardness factor affects the time, energy and resources required to remove swirls and scratches out of a modern clearcoat finish the light bulb in their head turns >on< and then they understand why it's so important to make sure that ANYTHING that TOUCHES the paint needs to be of the highest quality you can obtain and there needs to be some thinking going on as to the way or manner in which you touch the paint.

In other words, once you figure all of the above out and then buff your car's paint out to the point that you're happy with it, now you have to be mindful of,


  • How "you" wash and dry it.
  • How "you" wipe it with any type of spray-on product.
  • How you let "someone else" wash it.
  • How you let "someone else" wipe it with any spray-on product or even touch it at all.

The above 4 things are how a car is "touched" the most for most people and most cars. (think about it).


Make sense?



Clearcoat paints are scratch-sensitive. They are harder than traditional single stage paints but even though they are harder they still scratch very easily and because they are hard it's difficult to get the scratches out.


Abrasive Technology
This leads into the next topic people discover and that is the most important factor that determines if swirls and scratches are removed WITHOUT the product, pad and process simply replacing one type of defect and replacing it with its own type of defects, (holograms or micro-marring), and that factor is the abrasive technology. The stuff inside the bottle.


So be careful how you work on your own car and if you let someone else work on your car make sure they are qualified.

This includes taking your beautiful brand new car to ANY type of car wash, (things touch your car's paint at a car wash).

Or if you take your car to the dealership to have the oil changed because dealerships love you so much they will have your car washed, (touched), by their car wash guys...


See these articles...

How to maintain a freshly waxed car

DON'T WASH CAR !!!!!!!!!!!


Scratch your car for $5.00

The reality of the 100% Hand Car Wash


And the really BIG reason all of this is important?


Because clearcoats are THIN. The factory sprayed clear layer of paint on most new cars averages around 2 mils. That's thinner than the average post-it note.

Clearcoat_Paints_Are_Thin_01.jpg




The next time you see a post-it note... feel it between your fingers... this is usually all it takes to drive home the point as to how thin the paint is on your beautiful, shiny car.

Clearcoat_Paints_Are_Thin_02.jpg



There you go...


Win/Win
Please feel encouraged to share the link to this article with anyone you think needs to be brought up to speed about the paint on their car.



:)
 
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