Newb needing some assistance

J

Jayfro

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Newb needing some assistance



Newb here...I used the DA (2nd or 3rd time using DA) to buff my ‘15 Acura TLX last Sunday and I’m now starting to see my buffing trail on the hood.

The size of the trail is almost the same size as the 5.5” white chemical guys pad and it follows the same pattern I performed on the hood.

Products used were the

  1. Chemical Guys White Logic Quantum Pad,
  2. DPC Flash Pro AIO,
  3. HF DA with speed around 5 if I remember correctly.



Car was washed, decon’d with CarPro Iron-x (clay was not needed, did it approx 6-7 weeks ago), stripped using Duplicate-Color wax remover, washed again to take anything left off the car.

I finished the car with DPC Armor....car looked spectacular!

Car was in the garage, temp in garage was probably around 80-85 and typical Houston humidity at 100% per the weatherman that morning before the wash.

Wash was out of direct sunlight. I did use a LC Orange pad on other parts of the car that seem to look fine now, the hood looked good prior going over it, there were only a few minor blemishes that I wanted to correct.

I did use a small (cheap) light to inspect my work after each section and I did not notice any trails at the time, it only appeared starting Wednesday it seems.

I’m sure my technic is to blame but now it’s time to clean up/fix as this is driving me bat poo crazy!

As for a test pass, I performed this on the trunk as this is what I was concentrating on, doing the hood was a bonus.

I would appreciate any input on how to fix this as well as advice on how to prevent it again. I can’t post any pics at the moment as the sun is going down.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Jay


Sent from my iPhone using AGOnline
 
What you are describing is called,

Micro-marring


It can be caused by a number of thing like,


Pad - Too aggressive for the paint.

Product - The abrasive technology used.



To troubleshoot you would need a clean, uncontaminated pad and a product known to use great abrasive technology.

I tell people all the time the MOST important factor when it comes to polishing paint is the abrasive technology.


Most people say it’s technique. I disagree - but what do I know? :laughing:


:)
 
I’ve never used the product you mentioned - I looked it up and the description says it will remove #1500 grit sanding marks. That’s pretty aggressive to finish out with for most products unless they truly use great abrasive technology.

So I would recommend switching to a different product and see if that fixes the micro-marring problem.

Most retail auto parts stores carry Meguiar’s Ultimate Compound and Ultimate Polish - get either one of these, or order them from Autogeek.com if you want to support this customer service forum, then place a tape-line down the middle of one of these trails and do 6-8 section passes. Wipe-off and inspect and COMPARE to the side you used the other product I call this trouble shooting.

Very important to use a fresh pad- cannot have been used with the other product.



:)
 
I have never read or heard about DPC, and the pads you have are not widely recognized as some of the "best". But I can tell you that Lake Country flat pads are amazing.

And, although Mike has already mentioned it...... You need a proven product. One sold here on AG.

Are you dead-set on an AIO? I really like 3D Speed (formally HD Speed).

How about a straight up polish? I have had great results with HD (3D) polish+, and Griot's Correcting Cream.

Just my two pennies......
 
Thank you for the input. The “white” pads were not my first choice at all but it available to me at the time. My first choice were the LC pads but they were unavailable to me last weekend as I was in the mood to knock it out...it was my birthday present to myself (29 for the 24th time)...not having wife nagging to go do something!

I guess being impatient has cost me and multiple lessons have been learned so far!

Going forward, I am very open to any product, polish, AIO, etc...as well as pad choice (currently have LC Orange and Black). Being inexperienced and with so many choices, it’s very overwhelming to say the least and any input is greatly appreciated.

Jay

I



Sent from my iPhone using AGOnline
 
Jayfro said:
Thank you for the input. The “white” pads were not my first choice at all but it available to me at the time. My first choice were the LC pads but they were unavailable to me last weekend as I was in the mood to knock it out...it was my birthday present to myself (29 for the 24th time)...not having wife nagging to go do something!

I guess being impatient has cost me and multiple lessons have been learned so far!

Going forward, I am very open to any product, polish, AIO, etc...as well as pad choice (currently have LC Orange and Black). Being inexperienced and with so many choices, it’s very overwhelming to say the least and any input is greatly appreciated.

Jay

I



Sent from my iPhone using AGOnline
Click to expand...

That's what we are here for, Jay. :)

No question is "dumb". We are here to help.

Keep rocking!
 
Mike Phillips said:
You send me your product and I’ll send you a product I know will finish out perfect.

Autogeek.com
C/O Mike Phillips
7744 SW Jack James Drive
Stuart, FL 34997


:)
Click to expand...

Wow! It’ll be in the mail tomorrow or Monday! You want SIO2 too?

I’ve been following AG for a few months now, ever since I bought my TLX, it’s very refreshing to see how inviting the community is to ask any type of questions without ridicule. It’s also very cool how everyone is constantly helping each other, you typically don’t see the amount help you get on AG compared to any other forums in this industry or any other industry.

I’ve always tried to support companies/people that have helped me in what ever I’m doing...and I’ve got to say AG is the Best In Class from the Community and my previous shopping experience!

I have learned so much from AG and I’m so grateful for everyone’s help.

Thank you
Jay



Sent from my iPhone using AGOnline
 
Jayfro said:
Wow! It’ll be in the mail tomorrow or Monday! You want SIO2 too?

I’ve been following AG for a few months now, ever since I bought my TLX, it’s very refreshing to see how inviting the community is to ask any type of questions without ridicule. It’s also very cool how everyone is constantly helping each other, you typically don’t see the amount help you get on AG compared to any other forums in this industry or any other industry.

I’ve always tried to support companies/people that have helped me in what ever I’m doing...and I’ve got to say AG is the Best In Class from the Community and my previous shopping experience!

I have learned so much from AG and I’m so grateful for everyone’s help.

Thank you
Jay



Sent from my iPhone using AGOnline
Click to expand...

I agree with your assessment about other forums. Almost all of them are just full of hate spewing.

AGO is prided on the opposite.

I will gladly answer a question asked a million times before (if I can), because I was once in the same predicament of not really knowing how to proceed with certain things.
 
As Mike mentioned proberly the AIO plus is to coarse for your paint. The white CG hex-logic pad could work with a less coarse polish. But the LC pads are highly recommended pads here so a suitable one of those would be great to test out.
 
I agree with Tony and I'm sure that whatever Mike sends to you is a finer abrasive to flatten out that marring and smooth the paint.
 
eb5311103b7f1e2bbffb97f072178184.jpg


Buh-bye....

Now that I’m preparing for my next chapter, I would typically assume pad choice of a LC blue and/or white based on a lot of opinions on AG but I’m going to rely on y’alls opinions and experience since my judgement doesn’t have a good track record! I have quite a few LC Orange and few of the Black normal 5.5” pads with a LC 5” backing plate. I found LC has quite a few different series of 5.5” pads, trying to figure out what is best is a challenge as the opinions are wide ranging.

The paint, minus the maring, looks pretty good, there are very little swirls just straight line micro scratches. I’m finding the Black Pearl Acura paint is very “sensitive” to anything(!), think something negative about the car and poof a micro scratch!

Again, I can’t thank the community enough for all of the help. I just hope someone else will read this in the future and to keep them from making the same mistake.

Jay


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Jayfro said:
eb5311103b7f1e2bbffb97f072178184.jpg


Buh-bye....

Now that I’m preparing for my next chapter, I would typically assume pad choice of a LC blue and/or white based on a lot of opinions on AG but I’m going to rely on y’alls opinions and experience since my judgement doesn’t have a good track record! I have quite a few LC Orange and few of the Black normal 5.5” pads with a LC 5” backing plate. I found LC has quite a few different series of 5.5” pads, trying to figure out what is best is a challenge as the opinions are wide ranging.

The paint, minus the maring, looks pretty good, there are very little swirls just straight line micro scratches. I’m finding the Black Pearl Acura paint is very “sensitive” to anything(!), think something negative about the car and poof a micro scratch!

Again, I can’t thank the community enough for all of the help. I just hope someone else will read this in the future and to keep them from making the same mistake.

Jay


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
No, you didn't make a mistake. What you did was got some experience. Big difference. A real mistake would be not learning from it. Nobody grabs a polisher and becomes a Mike Phillips overnight. Doesn't work that way unfortunately.
 
PaulMys said:
I agree with your assessment about other forums. Almost all of them are just full of hate spewing.

AGO is prided on the opposite.

I will gladly answer a question asked a million times before (if I can), because I was once in the same predicament of not really knowing how to proceed with certain things.
Click to expand...

And, just to give this a bump..... Telling a newbie "This topic had been asked a million times, do a search" is not helpful.

Some new guys don't even know that is an option.
 
Jayfro said:
Now that I’m preparing for my next chapter, I would typically assume pad choice of a LC blue and/or white based on a lot of opinions on AG but I’m going to rely on y’alls opinions and experience since my judgement doesn’t have a good track record!
Click to expand...


On Facebook I see most of the experts recommending cutting pads. My guess is they've never seen micro-marring caused by too aggressive of a pad on paint that couldn't handle a cutting pad when doing a single step to the paint using any AIO when the AIO was not the culprit.

Just a guess but I've seen a lot in my life and usually type what I know, not what I guess.


Check out this articled I wrote last year about this time,


Good rule of thumb when using an AIO - stick with foam polishing pads by Mike Phillips



It's much meatier than anything you'll ever find in a FB post and also much easier to read due to the ability to format text on a forum, something you cannot do on FB.


I always recommend doing a Test Spot to a car FIRST and carefully inspect the results. Then based off the results, choose the appropriate pad for THAT paint. Some paints micro-mar or SCRATCH easier than other paints but you won't know until you do some testing.

Chemically stripping the Test Spot
If you really want to know what's going on at the surface level when doing a Test Spot you should chemically strip the area of paint you did the testing to. Use Mineral Spirits or some other form of paint-safe solvent to dissolve and remove any polishing oils. In the case of testing with a cleaner/wax, some of you refer to a cleaner/wax as an AIO or All-in-One, because a cleaner/wax is leaving protection behind the wax will tend to do a better job of sticking to the paint and potentially masking any micro-marring inflicted by the product or the pad or both.

I am not sure what the best paint-safe solvent would be for dissolving and thus removing any wax or sealant used in an AIO but when I worked at Meguiar's I always noticed real chemist used Mineral Spirits that you can purchase at places like Home Depot, Lowe's and Ace Hardware.



Be careful who you get your information from, so many experts out there now days.



:laughing:
 
Thank you Mike! I've been on the forums this morning looking at different product reviews and I was just about to go the article "Good rule of thumb when using an AIO - stick with foam polishing pads by Mike Phillips" when I noticed you posted!! I'll be placing my order later this morning or this afternoon for new Pads as well as your book.

Again, thank you very much.

Jay
 
Jayfro said:
Thank you Mike! I've been on the forums this morning looking at different product reviews and I was just about to go the article "Good rule of thumb when using an AIO - stick with foam polishing pads by Mike Phillips" when I noticed you posted!! I'll be placing my order later this morning or this afternoon for new Pads as well as your book.

Again, thank you very much.

Jay
Click to expand...


Check your PMs


:)
 
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