My first attempt at detailing.

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JoeRN

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My first attempt at detailing


Hi all,

I have been reading how-to threads on this forum and watching youtube videos for awhile, so I consider myself an expert.

However, my first attempt at detailing my car says otherwise.

I made my first attempt at detailing my new Inifiniti Q60 Red Sport last week. Unfortunately I do not have any before pics, and the pics I do have are not great as they were all taken with my phone. The car was in great shape as it is a new car. However, it was embarrassingly dirty as my wife favors parking under trees. The car was covered in debris from trees, sap, bird poop, and dead bugs.

After cleaning the car using a foam cannon, followed by a two bucket wash, I chemically decontaminated with CarPro's Trix then clayed the entire car. I decided to polish the car using Meguiar's m205, more as an excuse to use my new "toys" rather than the paint really needing to be polished.

So this is where I need your help.

Buffing off the polish was more difficult than I was expecting. I wasn't sure if I should be using a product to moisten/lubricate the process of removing dried polish. I was also using a standard edgeless microfiber cloth of good quality, but not a super plush buffing towel.

Afterwards, when inspecting the paint, I felt like I was seeing tiny micro scratches everywhere. However, I'm not even sure about this, as the paint is a pearl tri-coat, and maybe the metal flake is just playing tricks on my newbie eyes.

Here are some pics of the car after polishing, but before applying any sealant or wax.

View attachment 56871

View attachment 56872

View attachment 56873


This pic is after applying CG glossworks glaze.

View attachment 56874


And these are after applying CG Jetseal and Pete's 53.

View attachment 56875

View attachment 56876


So in addition to possibly covering the car in micro scratches during the polishing phase, I also seem to have scratched the chrome trim around the windows when claying.

Any advice is appreciated, especially concerning whether it is possible to polish out fine scratches in chrome painted plastic trim.

Thanks.



:)
 
How many passes? Were you out of the sun? How big was your work area? Did you perform a test spot? Was there any dust from polish?

Sometimes I've had issues removing polish and will spray some ONR mix on the surface to help aid in removal, you can rub to hard in dried polish and install swirls. Also maybe your pad was to aggressive and left micro swirls, that's why it's important to do a test spot to actually see how the combo is working. I've never had issues with M205 being hard to remove
 
vobro said:
How many passes? Were you out of the sun? How big was your work area? Did you perform a test spot? Was there any dust from polish?
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I only did one pass as there weren't any noticeable defects I was trying to correct. I was just hoping for increased gloss. I started polishing at sunset and worked overnight. I don't have a usable garage so I am limited to working at night with limited light. I used the CG white finishing pad which is pretty soft. Removing the polish seemed like the most likely step to have caused the scratches. As I was doing it, it just felt abrasive. As a noob I have no frame of reference.
 
You should be able to get the 'scratches' off the painted chrome with something like Meg's Ultimate Polish or something similar. Follow the directions for application & removal, especially how long to leave the polish on, but be sure to work gently on the surface using a soft cloth, letting the polish do the work. I used an old white T-shirt & a small amount of polish, removing it gently also. The scratches on mine came out.
 
Belair said:
You should be able to get the 'scratches' off the painted chrome with something like Meg's Ultimate Polish or something similar. Follow the directions for application & removal, especially how long to leave the polish on, but be sure to work gently on the surface using a soft cloth, letting the polish do the work. I used an old white T-shirt & a small amount of polish, removing it gently also. The scratches on mine came out.
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What kind of car is it? What year? Were the scratches moderate/covering the entire chrome pieces? Boy I would've loved to see pictures of the process :)
 
'11 Toy Avalon. I'd say 'moderate' scratches rather than destroying the whole area. Try it, you won't need pics from me. The Guz is the one who suggested this strategy to me and he was right again.
 
JoeRN said:
So this is where I need your help.

Buffing off the polish was more difficult than I was expecting.


I wasn't sure if I should be using a product to moisten/lubricate the process of removing dried polish. I was also using a standard edgeless microfiber cloth of good quality, but not a super plush buffing towel.
Click to expand...


I don't use M205 much, it tends to micro-mar on softer paints when used with orbital polishers. That said, I don't remember it wiping off hard?


Couple of tips and a question...


Tips

Use a soft microfiber towel to wipe if off but not something that is so soft and fluffy that it's perfect for removing a finishing wax. You want a towel with a little stoutness or girth when wiping off compounds and polishes.

Wipe the product off immediately after buffing a section. There's no benefit to letting compounds and polishes dry. In fact wiping them off wet means the residual polishing oils will lubricate the surface as you wipe them off. The ONLY products that need to dry are waxes and sealants where the directions state to let the product dry before removing.

If you're working in low humidity, warm to hot temperatures or in direct sunlight, then shrink the size of your work area down.


Questions

What speed setting are you using?

What pad are you using?

How large of a section are you buffing?



:)
 
Mike Phillips said:
I don't use M205 much, it tends to micro-mar on softer paints when used with orbital polishers. That said, I don't remember it wiping off hard?


Couple of tips and a question...


Tips

Use a soft microfiber towel to wipe if off but not something that is so soft and fluffy that it's perfect for removing a finishing wax. You want a towel with a little stoutness or girth when wiping off compounds and polishes.

Wipe the product off immediately after buffing a section. There's no benefit to letting compounds and polishes dry. In fact wiping them off wet means the residual polishing oils will lubricate the surface as you wipe them off. The ONLY products that need to dry are waxes and sealants where the directions state to let the product dry before removing.

If you're working in low humidity, warm to hot temperatures or in direct sunlight, then shrink the size of your work area down.


Questions

What speed setting are you using?

What pad are you using?

How large of a section are you buffing?



:)
Click to expand...

Hey Mike,
Thanks for the reply and the tips. Much appreciated. I live in Miami so the humidity is usually 100%. The challenge for me was waiting until the sun was down to start polishing, but try to finish before the dew point hit around midnight causing the car to be covered in condensation. I really need to clear out my garage! Anyway, I was using an white CG hex logic finishing pad on speed setting 4 on a torq 10fx (yes I bought a lot of CG products, I'm a sucker for marketing). I was working sections about 2' by 3'. I'm sure all the issues I had were my own fault, working too quickly, not checking my work carefully each step.
 
It's unlikely wiping off the M205 caused the swirls. It's a finishing polish, it doesn't have the cut to produce swirls. M205 can be hard to wipe off if you wait too long, which I have tendency to do. M105 is worse. I'll also follow Mike's tip about immediately removing it. If you do get caught, it comes off pretty well using an ONR solution, a clay lube or quick detailer. If it's really dried on, you can buff it off using a glaze or wax/sealant with a soft pad.
 
chet31 said:
It's unlikely wiping off the M205 caused the swirls. It's a finishing polish, it doesn't have the cut to produce swirls.
Click to expand...

M205 used with a black finishing pad scratches the heck out of the hood on my 2014 Kia. Same result with Essence used with a Carpro Gloss Pad. That paint is soft as heck, and doesn't respond well to those finishing polishes combined with those pads.
 
The Infiniti metal finishes are thousand of tiny specs built into the paint, the white is included. I have a red Q(X)30 and any scratches show up, since they oppose the metal specs. For the metal on the door trims, others have said to use a metal polish, this would be OK. For the door trims and the mirrors, this is a paint on plastic. During washing from new, these areas showed a lot of micro scratches, removed with at least three passes of Meguiars Ultimate Compound and the scratches are gone. Cover with a sealing wax like Megs Gold Class Carnauba Plus Paste Wax and you're good.
For my car, which is now less than 8 weeks from delivery, I removed the dealer's efforts by hand with Ultimate Compound and microfibre towels. The bird poop etchings were uncovered and about two passes wiped them gone.
I feel sympathy for the OP with the humidity, our summer has just gone, detailing cars in that environment is not simple.
 
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