Micromarring????!?

Cassman · 06-09-06, 07:22

Hi everyone,

First post, so go easy. I have a PC and have been using it for about a year now. I have become infected with the detailing bug as have you. I have had great results on neighbors' and friends' cars, but I am less than happy with my results on my 2004 BLACK!? G35 coupe. I have been told that these cars have touchy paint, and I agree.

My problem is that I have, especially on the hood, what I would think is micromarring, but I'm not sure. I have searched multiple different forums to see what I have with no luck. I have clayed, polished, waxed, etc. to remove it with no luck. I currently have Meg's # 80, and 2 3M products. I am not home, so I don't have the exact product numbers, but the one that I used about 7 months ago was the finesse it rubbing compound which warns about carcinogenic dust, if that helps. It seems like since then (but I'm not sure), I have had this marring.

Ok, the marring: I cannot seem to take a photo that shows the marring since it is so diffuse and uniform. The best way to describe it is to imagine thousands of tiny little dots per square foot. They are uniform in number and distance from each other. Most people would not notice them from five feet away. They drive me nuts. I have used #80 since getting these spots with no effect. I have no true hazing on the paint, just these "dots". You cannot feel them with your nail.

Any help identifying the dots and with correcting them would be GREATLY appreciated. I kinow the thread is not as useful as if I had a photo, but ONE of you has to have seen something like this before.

Joshua312 · 06-09-06, 07:26

I would try the #80 again very slowly on a Finishing pad, wipe down with a Isoprypl 50/50 mix to make sure they are gone....or get your hands on some Menzerna FPII or 3m's discontinued #05937 (I know some ebay members carry it still)

Ive had good luck with all of these products to remove micromarring..Some people say to use a polishing pad to remove it but I have had no luck with those so I always use a finishing pad, moderate pressure, and slow overlapping passes to get it crystal clear (You may also have success with Jeff's Werkstatt Prime Strong)

Edit: Here is a link to a thread I recently posted in, showing pictures of my severe micromarring and the afters
http://autopia.org/forum/showthread.php?t=72577

Accumulator · 06-09-06, 07:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cassman

I am less than happy with my results on my 2004 BLACK!? G35 coupe. I have been told that these cars have touchy paint, and I agree.

My problem is that I have, especially on the hood, what I would think is micromarring, but I'm not sure. .. I used ..the finesse it rubbing compound which warns about carcinogenic dust, if that helps. It seems like since then (but I'm not sure), I have had this marring...[that is] so diffuse and uniform. The best way to describe it is to imagine thousands of tiny little dots per square foot. They are uniform in number and distance from each other. Most people would not notice them from five feet away. I have used #80 since getting these spots with no effect. I have no true hazing on the paint, just these "dots"..

Welcome to Autopia. Sorry to hear you're having this trouble, yeah, it does seem like the black paint on G35s can be tricky.

What you described does sound like micromarring from an aggressive product or product/pad combo). If the #80 has no effect on it (doesn't fix it, but doesn't cause *more* either) then you'll need to use something more aggressive than the #80.

I'm a little stumped here as I use 3M's PI-III Machine Glaze (05937) after 3M's mild compounds to remove micromarring...BUT, the 05937 is *milder* than the initial cut of the #80, so it doesn't sound like that'd work for you

I wonder if you fully broke down the 3M compound, or, on the other hand you might've worked it too long (working such pruducts "dry" can cause micromarring too). Maybe you need a slightly less aggressive, but similar, product. See what the actual product is (full name, part number) and maybe we can get to the bottom of this.

Edit: Oh, another idea comes to mind. If you used the compound with a cutting pad, did you follow up with the same stuff on a milder polishing pad? That's how I do it, it makes for a gradual ramp-down in the aggressiveness.

A clean-slate approach would be to find out what others use on this particular paint and just redo it with that combo. Just make sure you work the aggressive stuff long enough, but not too long. Heh heh, sorry, but how to do that is really just a matter of first-hand experience; you'll have to educate yourself. Look for the point where the product starts to get transluscent/transparent, right before it starts to "flash" (go dry).

Cassman · 06-09-06, 07:49

Thanks for the quick response. The 3m was the only thing I could find locally other than Megs #9, which I had slaved over previously. I had a hard time working the 3m. I think I probably did over work it as it seemed to dry up much faster than #9 - for reasons which are obvious to me NOW. Wouldn't the micromarring caused by over or underworking a product be more scratch-like rather than thousands of tiny dots? I agree that it is probably from polishing, but it seems strange to be in the form of dots that are so darn uniform in size and and spacing. Maybe I should get some Meg's 83 or go over it again with the 3M?

Edit: The #80 did nothing to make it worse or better on a polishing pad.

Accumulator · 06-09-06, 08:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cassman

Wouldn't the micromarring caused by over or underworking a product be more scratch-like rather than thousands of tiny dots? I agree that it is probably from polishing, but it seems strange to be in the form of dots that are so darn uniform in size and and spacing. Maybe I should get some Meg's 83 or go over it again with the 3M?

Edit: The #80 did nothing to make it worse or better on a polishing pad.

I agree that the "dots" are perplexing and that "scratches" would be much more understandable; I sure hope you don't have some weird paint issue.

I'd probably recommend trying the #83 (though I'm not a fan of that product) as opposed to more work with the 3M, but I'd still like to know just what 3M product it was first and I could just as well go the other way. We're kinda guessing here, trying to determine the problem: product/technique/both/neither and I'm not much in favor of guesswork.

Maybe start a different thread about "Weird Micromarring on Black G35" and see if anybody with first-hand experience has a suggestion.

I can't talk about people not posting pics (as I'm utterly ignorant about digital data-capture and posting pics on the 'net

) but a nice macro shot that showed the problem would probably help somebody say "yeah, I know *exactly* what that is"...

Whatever you decide to try (#83 or more with the 3M), do a small area and watch what happens.

Cassman · 06-10-06, 05:50

I appreciate your trying to help. I used Perfect-It II Rubbing Compound. I just did a Google search and it used to have "fine cut" on the bottle. I don't know where the product number is on the bottle, but there is a number in red over the UPC code 39002. I also recently bought a bottle of Perfect-It II foam polishing pad glaze 39009. Should I try that? Or should I try a small portion with the first one? I would thing that the 39009 wouldn't be any more aggressive than the #80?

Accumulator · 06-10-06, 09:28

OK, yeah, the 39002 *is* the product/part number and it's the stuff I thought it was. Not that *that* really gets us anywhere

Still, at least I now know what you're doing for the first step and it's OK IMO.

I haven't used the PI-II Polishing Glaze 39009.

Since these are pretty mild products, *I* would work a small area with the 39002 again, trying to do the balancing act between "fully broken down" and "too dry". Then try the 39009 and do the same thing. But honestly, I have no idea whether it'll solve your problem. Finding somebody with experience on *that* paint will bet the best course of action. Sorry I can't be more helpful.

Cassman · 06-10-06, 10:45

Its okay. I'll try it and see. Thanks for taking the time to help. I'll let you know after I get a chance to try it.

Cassman · 06-13-06, 06:02

Ok. I bought some #83... Absolutely no change. I did about 4 passes with pressure and without much. I repaired a chip on my hood recently and wetsanded the blob down. Interestingly, the area right around the blob has no dots. I guess I need to either get a 4" pad or get someone with a rotary to polish it. I don't have 30 hours to keep grinding down with #83. The only other option is to re-use the 3M RC. Anyone have any idea how abrasive the 3M rubbing compound referred to above is compared with #83? I am suspecting there is not much of a difference.

RAG · 06-13-06, 06:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cassman

Hi everyone,

First post, so go easy. I have a PC and have been using it for about a year now. I have become infected with the detailing bug as have you. I have had great results on neighbors' and friends' cars, but I am less than happy with my results on my 2004 BLACK!? G35 coupe. I have been told that these cars have touchy paint, and I agree.

My problem is that I have, especially on the hood, what I would think is micromarring, but I'm not sure. I have searched multiple different forums to see what I have with no luck. I have clayed, polished, waxed, etc. to remove it with no luck. I currently have Meg's # 80, and 2 3M products. I am not home, so I don't have the exact product numbers, but the one that I used about 7 months ago was the finesse it rubbing compound which warns about carcinogenic dust, if that helps. It seems like since then (but I'm not sure), I have had this marring.

Ok, the marring: I cannot seem to take a photo that shows the marring since it is so diffuse and uniform. The best way to describe it is to imagine thousands of tiny little dots per square foot. They are uniform in number and distance from each other. Most people would not notice them from five feet away. They drive me nuts. I have used #80 since getting these spots with no effect. I have no true hazing on the paint, just these "dots". You cannot feel them with your nail.

Any help identifying the dots and with correcting them would be GREATLY appreciated. I kinow the thread is not as useful as if I had a photo, but ONE of you has to have seen something like this before.

Let me first say that I didn't even read the other replys to your post. However, this micromarring you are describing is a HUGE issue with me...I don't think most people even notice it since it still looks 50 times better than having swirls in your paint. What you are seeing is thousands of little squiggly gashes, correct? These are made on the initial cut (first giggle) of the PC; MOST so-called finishing polishes leave these marks. AND, the Infiniti paint is soft - I've done many many black Infinities. The first thing you need to do is get some of the new Blackfire Scratch Resistant Clear Polish - it has the ability to finish without these marks much better than any other polish I've tried. If you still get some of these marks, you will have to couple this polish with an ultra-soft pad, like the Propel II white or blue. Trust me, this is your best solution; try it and PM me to let me know how it works for you...but I already know. I won't be able to respond for 10 days, as I'm leaving on vacation in about 20 minutes - adios.

Oh yeah, if this doesn't work, you probalby have porous paint, which is always more porous on black...and the hood would be worse because it is succumbed to more elements...including rock showers; if so, you'll be happy you bought the Blackfire SRC polish - it's 5 times better than #80 on black! In fact, it is the best on black.

Ryan Gelardi
Magic Mobile Detailing