Painted my Suzuki Intruder VL 1500

[vorga]

I painted my Suzuki Intruder last weekend and im having a little trouble getting the bike to shine just right . I striped the tins to the metal primed, painted the color and clearcoated the tins with rattle cans dupont acrilic enamal .( i used alot of clear ) I then wet sanded with 1000 and then 2000. I polished with my porter cable DA and started with Orange LC CCS pads M105 then M205 then tried a white and gray pads with M205 . Now i dont have swerl marks i have straight lines in some of the tins . im having trouble telling if its the sanding marks still there or the microfibers scratching the clear? The paint has been curing for 7 days now . Also if i work the DA alot it starts to cloud . I am wondering if i should try M105 with a orange pad again or if its something else . I have also tried M82 and M03 and they seem to cloud the most .Dont get me wrong the paint looks great just not as good as my Mustang did and the paint on the Mustang was trashed before i started . Can the clear still be so soft that the microfiber is causing it to scratch? Im not pressing that hard and even tried 1 of the new microfibers from the site first use .

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[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

Sorry for the late reply, we were all at SEMA for the last week...

I polished with my porter cable DA and started with Orange LC CCS pads M105 then M205 then tried a white and gray pads with M205 .

Using a DA to remove #2000 Grit Sanding Marks can work but requires you use good and even exact correct technique.

Were you able to maintain "pad rotation" during the compounding step?

What speed setting?
What pad size?

Now i don't have swerl marks i have straight lines in some of the tins .

Chances are good these are tracers...

Tracers Tracers - RIDS - Pigtails - Cobweb Swirls - Rotary Buffer Swirls - Holograms - Water Spots - Bird Drooping Etchings - Micro-Marring

im having trouble telling if its the sanding marks still there or the microfibers scratching the clear? The paint has been curing for 7 days now .

Are the straight line scratches in the direction you moved your hand when you sanded?

One way to tell would be to use the same microfiber and wipe in a different direction than the current straight line scratches, if you see a new scratch pattern then you know it's the microfibers.

Sanding marks are best removed using a rotary buffer, using a DA Polisher could mean what you're seeing are Tracers as you'll remove the shallow scratches first and what's left are the deeper, sanding marks.

Also if i work the DA alot it starts to cloud .

Heat can make clear paint cloudy and dull.

I am wondering if i should try M105 with a orange pad again or if its something else .

Troubleshoot and determine if the straightline scratches are sanding marks or toweling marks, my guess is they are Tracers. If so then either a rotary buffer with a wool pad or foam cutting pad and or a Surbuf pad on a DA Polisher.

I have also tried M82 and M03 and they seem to cloud the most .Dont get me wrong the paint looks great just not as good as my Mustang did and the paint on the Mustang was trashed before i started .

What does the spray can instructions state for polishing recommendations?

Can the clear still be so soft that the microfiber is causing it to scratch? Im not pressing that hard and even tried 1 of the new microfibers from the site first use .

See above where I mentioned testing by wiping in different directions.

 

[vorga]

Thanks Mike .I recieved the M205 I ordered and went over it again with a LC orange pad 5.5 the rotation of the 5.5 pads are great compaire to the 6.5 pads . I also ordered some of the new HT thin pads this weekend l looking foward to playing with them . The marks came out but the clear i used is sooo soft that i think im going to have to take the tins off and have them recleard at a automotive paint shop .