More from the same thread I linked to above...
Meguiars Macro Diminishing Abrasives, found in product like M84, M85, M04 etc, work well for this situation.
They will get the paint transfer off but most likely leave severe marring behind.
Actually, M85 and M84 use
Microscopic Diminishing Abrasives, this is why these products feel more like a hand lotion than a rubbing compound.
M04 came out in the 1920's I think and uses
Macroscopic Diminishing Abrasives and does in fact work quite well for removing paint transfer by hand. Note the formula has been upgraded dramatically since when it first came out but it still uses
MDA, not
mDA.
What you need to remove paint transfer is something kind of
chunky, that's why the XMT #4 or the M04 both work so well for removing paint transfer BUT they also will leave scratches in the paint.
My normal habit and practice is to type, teach and practice myself,
"Use the least aggressive product to get the job done"
So while I know that XMT #4 or M04 will excel at removing paint transfer, I still try using something a lot more gentle in order to leave the most amount of paint on the car while solving the problem and in so doing teaching that practice.
In the example of this thread where I removed white paint transfer off a 2006 Mustang, the Pinnacle Paintwork Cleansing Lotion together with the
"nap" of a microfiber were
aggressive enough to convince the paint transfer to come off while
gentle enough to
not put scratches in at the same time.
That's a
Win/Win deal.
If it had not worked, I had the XMT #4 in my tool chest, or in other words, if the least aggressive product didn't work, I could substitute a more aggressive product. This is called
testing and as I always tell my son,
"You don't know what you can do until you try"
For the same reason that a chunky abrasive will remove paint transfer, a chunky abrasive will also remove water spots and road film off glass, but make sure the abrasives used in the "chunky product" doesn't scratch glass. I'm pretty sure the abrasives in XMT #4 are
non-diminishing, the abrasives in M04
are diminishing, I haven't tested XMT #4 on glass so I don't know if the abrasives will scratch it or not, being from Oregon, I've been using M04 for decades to remove water spots and road film off glass with no problems, but I digress... just wanted to tie in the "chunky" aspect because there's a lot of confusion over this topic.
For a tiny job like this would the Griot's 3" mini polisher or 4" foam pads for the PC work as well as applying by hand?
No, would hardly work at all and probably not at all. First it's because if you push too hard on the 3" mini polisher the pad will stop rotating and thus nothing will be done. With enough time, a 4" pad on a DA on the 6.0 setting with an aggressive compound would
eventually remove it without the heat problem of a rotary buffer but you can do this in seconds
by hand... and be safe while doing it.
If you put a small pad on a rotary you'll be able to rotate the pad but the bond between the transferred paint and the car paint is so tight that in most cases you risk
heating the paint up in your effort.
Again... back to the benefit of
working by hand...
By hand you can use 2-3 finger tips on an applicator pad and
exert a lot of force to a small area which will remove the offending paint transfer without creating the heat you would create with a rotary buffer.
Not saying rotary won't work because it will, heck throw on a 8" wool cutting pad on a full size rotary, slap on some abrasive compound and you can take everything off right down to bare metal if you want... I'm not recommending this, just making the point of what
can be done.
This article was to show the majority of people how to fix a common problem with something they already own...
their hand...
Having an assortment of products in your detailing arsenal is like having tools in your tool box, after reading this if you don't have any of the above then maybe stock up your tool chest...
:laughing:
