Problem correcting an '06 Honda Civic Galaxy Gray with my G110

[Nopstnz8]

Hey guys I'm in the process of polishing my mom's '06 Civic Sedan in galaxy gray. I know this car has soft paint, and have tried a few different steps all with 4in. pads including m105 on orange speed 5, followed by m205 speed 3 orange, then m205 speed 5 orange, m205 speed 6 white. I think the swirls are gone, but the has all these marks across the hood that almost look like tiny key marks or even sanding marks I guess? It wasn't caused at all by the polishing because they are across the entire hood, including the sections that I haven't even touched yet. I'm thinking it may be wash induced marring, but i'm not certain. This car has some pretty deep swirls in it, that can be clearly seen in the sunlight.

Anyways, the marks i'm talking about on the hood that can be seen in the picture I've attached are fairly deep, almost like micro scratches that can be felt with my fingernail. Are these too deep to remove without a wetsand or repaint? And these marks are mainly the lower half of the hood, not really much of them closer to the windshield. It also doesn't seem like they are on the bumper either, which leads me to believe it's from washing. Other than that, I have no clue and would greatly appreciate so feedback from some pro's on tips for correction of this.

In my arsenal I have my G110 v2 DA with 6.5in orange, white, blue, red, and black pads as well as 4in. orange and white pads. For polishes I have Megs m105, m205, ultimate compound (don't really have any plans for this one), and Menzerna 106FA.

[Nopstnz8]

As a matter of fact, the marks look identical to those of the Civic in this thread. They are on the hood as well. Is this a result of Honda's soft paint after a few years?

http://www.autopia.org/forum/pro-det...etsanding.html

[Mike-in-Orange]

As a matter of fact, the marks look identical to those of the Civic in this thread. They are on the hood as well. Is this a result of Honda's soft paint after a few years?

http://www.autopia.org/forum/pro-det...etsanding.html

The same as what marks in that thread, the small stone chips on the front bumper of that car? If you're seeing them on the hood as well it could be some checking in the paint that is beyond repair. Can you get an image of the situation on your car?

But more importantly than that, why are you being so darn aggressive on such soft paint? The orange pad alone could be so aggressive that you're just marring the heck out of the paint. And M105 is incredibly aggressive too, plus you're running 4" pads on a D/A which is also quite aggressive. We've seen Honda's with soft paint correct up really nice with just a white or green LC pad, or a Meguiar's W8207 yellow polishing pad, and some M205. And the paint was heavily swirled to begin with! On soft or delicate paint you are much better off going real easy to get the correction you want, not blasting it with the most aggressive combination of products and pads you can find.

[Nopstnz8]

The same as what marks in that thread, the small stone chips on the front bumper of that car? If you're seeing them on the hood as well it could be some checking in the paint that is beyond repair. Can you get an image of the situation on your car?

But more importantly than that, why are you being so darn aggressive on such soft paint? The orange pad alone could be so aggressive that you're just marring the heck out of the paint. And M105 is incredibly aggressive too, plus you're running 4" pads on a D/A which is also quite aggressive. We've seen Honda's with soft paint correct up really nice with just a white or green LC pad, or a Meguiar's W8207 yellow polishing pad, and some M205. And the paint was heavily swirled to begin with! On soft or delicate paint you are much better off going real easy to get the correction you want, not blasting it with the most aggressive combination of products and pads you can find.

Well this is my mom's car actually. My car, as well as my dad's BMW 530i don't have these marks since our cars have harder clears. I'm pretty sure, and as a result of that thread, it looks like that's what happens with Honda paint over time due to it being so soft. I'm pretty sure your right that they are beyond repair since they can be felt with my fingernail. Unfortunately there are so many of these little things that at the right angle, they almost look like one to two swirls in the paint under halogens.

Oh and thanks so much for the recommendation on the polishing combo. What I originally did on the hood was m205 orange speed 6, followed by 106fa white speed 3. This came out fine, but that's all I did with that combo. I read your post, and decided on m205 on white speed 6, followed by 106fa speed 3 on white. This came out perfect! You saved me. Lol.

Can I use M105 to remove heavy defects, like a light scratch that's 6-8in long, then follow my current combo of white pads with m205 and 106fa? This would just be for a spot, if my current process fails to put a dent in this. Otherwise, I need some advice. Thanks.

[Mike-in-Orange]

Susceptibility to stone chips, scratches and other defects is not necessarily directly related to a paint being "hard" or "soft" as it relates to polishing it. There may be some correlation with some paints, but the dynamics of inflicting a scratch versus buffing one out are quite different. Take a razor blade and see how easy it is to put a a tiny scratch (well, a small cut at least) in a stick of butter and in a piece of steak. Pretty darn easy on both items, right? Now try to level down the surface of either to remove that scratch. Simply on the stick of butter, but a bit more difficult on the steak. Yeah, it's an imperfect analogy since butter and steak are much more different from one another than is the paint on a Honda versus the paint on a Rolls Royce, but you get the idea.

If you're finding that a light to moderate process like your M205 description is getting the paint up to your expectations but you find a spot here and there that requires a more aggressive approach to fix, then by all means use the more aggressive approach to fix it. But why be so aggressive when you don't need to be otherwise? I've seen far too many people use an aggressive method on delicate paint, only to have to go back and fix the bad hazing they've introduced. So much could have been avoided by simply using enough power to get the job done instead of going really aggressive to speed through the defects, only to need a second pass to correct the haze. What's worse is when you don't recognize that the haze is caused by an aggressive pad or liquid, depending on the paint, and so you keep going at it with similarly aggressive combos trying to "correct the paint". Sometimes slowing down and working smarter gets the job done in much less time.