Tiger Stripes After Polishing?

B

backlash2032

New member
Joined
Dec 13, 2014
Messages
8
Reaction score
0
So, I'm not exactly sure what I'm doing wrong. I have a craftsman buffer, I believe it has a 1400/1700 rpm variable speed. I've tried buffing on both speeds. I have a carquest foam pad and I believe it's 3m ultimate finish (or something like that.. if it's important I can get exactly what it is).

So basically I started buffing on the trunk lid and it was perfect. (As perfect as I care for it to be haha) But I ran out of time and had to come back a different day to finish the rest of the car. From this point on I haven't been getting as good of results. It either leaves the swirl marks, or it will leave tiger stripes of swirl marks.

It got really bad on the drivers door so I called the guy I bought the pad and compound from and he told me to try to wash the pad out.. so I did and let it dry completely. It helped a little bit, but it was never as good as that first cut.

So if anybody has any pointers to a first time buffer / detailer trying to give his girlfriend the best Christmas present he can afford, I'm all ears!

Thanks!
 
You need a quality dual action polisher and pads. You also need some enthusiast friendly polishes.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I'm just trying to figure out how I got good results once.. what changed from the first time to the second lol
 
Some cheaper pads clog up & the dried up polish/compound can cause swirls if you don't keep your pad clean enough. You may want to use multiple new pads and switch them as you go around the vehicle.
 
What's the best way to clean out pads? Washing worked well.. maybe there's better?
 
backlash2032 said:
What's the best way to clean out pads? Washing worked well.. maybe there's better?
Click to expand...

I got some Zep all purpose citrus cleaner from Wal Mart that does a pretty good job. I prefer a dedicated pad cleaner though.
 
backlash2032 said:
What's the best way to clean out pads? Washing worked well.. maybe there's better?
Click to expand...

Cleaning on the fly is covered in the video above

After the work is done, it depends on the type of pad:

Foam- hand wash with pad cleaner or dish soap
There are also pad washers available if you are going to be washing a lot if pads

Microfiber Pads- hand wash with lad cleaner or dish soap. I throw mine right in the washing machine with my MF towels

Wool- some shops machine wash them
 
Did you try to polish the whole car with one pad? I only do a panel or 2 with one pad, while cleaning on the fly like allenk4 mentioned.

If you didn't wipe the car down before going at it the second day, you could have easily picked up some dust into your pad and swirled away.
 
When you say "Tiger Stripes" it's hard to diagnose without photos. I don't like to 'assume' as it puts an AS-S in front of U and ME. However..... what we generally refer to as "holograms" or "buffer trials" are caused by rotary buffers.

They look like THIS:







Easiest way to avoid them, is with a DA style buffer. From worst to best (as well as cheapest to most expensive) they'd be anything from Harbor Freight, Porter Cable, Griot Garage, then Rupes (which get REALLY expensive).

With one of the first 3, and a 5½" foam pad, (orange or white to start, then moving to green, blue or black to finish) and something like Meguiar's M101, Scratch-X, D300, Ultimate Compound, M205, Ultimate Polish, D301 (in the Meguiar's line) *or* if you want to go with Menzerna you'd have, FG400, PG1000, IP2000, FF3000, SF4000 and you'll be able to have a totally "tiger stripe" free finish. :)
 
keep the pad flat on the paint , and you maybe too aggressive in polish paste-pad-rotary speed combination .....
or the paint is too soft...
 
I guess I didn't clean on the fly (or from day one to day two! Yikes..) so I'll give that a whirl before I go pick up a DA style buffer. Thanks for the suggestions guys!

And yes, my tiger stripes look like the ones in the video. Haha. Maybe if use a finishing glaze and a softer pad like it shows in the video that'd take care of it. That is, if I can't get the finish I'm looking for with a nice cleaning and cleaning on the fly.
 
i dont think is just the cleaning , is the technique , too much pressure , or angle pad , and improper pad/paste /and speed.
go lower rpm on the machine and a polish pad , something lighter than what you been using, and lower passes
 
FWIW Those "holograms" were done by a well respected dealership body shop. When the owner picked the vehicle up they had used a glaze (like they always do) because it fills in so well and hides their work with a rotary buffer and they wool pad. It looked shiny, and slick, and wet, and all of those adjectives.

But once it had been driven in the rain once or twice the glaze started washing away and the result is as you can see.... buffer trails and holograms covering the complete right side of the vehicle!

Keep in mind that the people operating the buffer do it for a living. They do it all day, every day!

Much easier to get a DA style buffer with 8 to 12 quality foam pads and never have to worry about Tiger Stripes again. :)
 
You can also get stripes with a DA by not over lapping when doing heavy compounding
 
allenk4 said:
You can also get stripes with a DA by not over lapping when doing heavy compounding
Click to expand...

Ooooo-Taaaayyyy, if you say so. :dunno:

OTOH, who wouldn't have at least SOME pad overlap no matter how/where/when/what they were buffing? :dblthumb2: Never seen anyone go wide enough to miss overlap... then again, never seen any rotary style holograms/buffer trails by a DA either. :eek:Must be hanging around with the right crowd. ;)
 
cardaddy said:
Ooooo-Taaaayyyy, if you say so. :dunno:

OTOH, who wouldn't have at least SOME pad overlap no matter how/where/when/what they were buffing? :dblthumb2: Never seen anyone go wide enough to miss overlap... then again, never seen any rotary style holograms/buffer trails by a DA either. :eek:Must be hanging around with the right crowd. ;)
Click to expand...


I agree, you would almost have to try to do it on purpose

Zero overlap

No cross hatching

Heavy compounding

Oxidized/Swirled paint


They wouldn't look the same as rotary hologram stripes


Since we have not seen photos of the OP's stripes; I thought i would throw it into the conversation
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top