topcoat streaking? cold weather?

LS2 Powered · 12-19-06, 02:22

hey all,

First of all, as I'm sure none of you recognize my UN, I am in fact a newb to the board....

I've been detailing for about 2 years now, however this is the first year that I'm still doing it regularly in the colder weather (I live in NY). I'm no professional or anything, just an enthusiast with the right equipment who likes to make a couple bucks on the side.

Lately I've been noticing (on multiple cars that i've done) that whatever I apply to the car after polishing (with a PC and usually a green Sonus polishing pad w/ 3M Perfect-It II SMR) comes off oily and streaky after the usual amount of buffing.

The paint will look absolutely PERFECT in the shade, but direct, sharp-angle sunlight reveals what look like holograms. Now I know they're not actually in the clearcoat itself, because simply wiping a clean MF over them changes the direction of the streak, yet it seems no amount of buffing will get the finish TOTALLY even now.

I've had these results w/ Meguiar's Gold Class, Turtle Wax Platinum Series and 3M IHG.

Is it the cold weather that's doing this? today was about 45-48 degrees and I couldn't get the paint TOTALLY 100% the way I want it. I was able to clean it up a lot to where it wasn't obvious, but still not perfect. The owner was ELATED about the way the car came out, but i wasn't totally happy with it myself...

Can this be gotten around or do I have to wait until the weather gets back up above 55 or so? I tried cleaning up the streaks w/ some Meguiar's quick detailer, which helped, but didn't solve the problem.

I've been told that misting on some plain or distilled water panel by panel and then redrying will usually fix it, but i've yet to try it.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

-Mike

LS2 Powered · 12-19-06, 11:22

Nobody's ever come across this problem?

Wise 85 · 12-20-06, 03:12

The cold weather will be a factor, you might need to extend the drying time of your LSP before you buff it off.Any product with quite a lot of oils will have this effect in cold/humid conditions.

You are right about misting water, and then buffing dry,this usually works with a lot of streaking problems.

Try the extended drying time if you can, and keep a sprayer with water handy.

LS2 Powered · 12-20-06, 11:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wise 85

The cold weather will be a factor, you might need to extend the drying time of your LSP before you buff it off.Any product with quite a lot of oils will have this effect in cold/humid conditions.

You are right about misting water, and then buffing dry,this usually works with a lot of streaking problems.

Try the extended drying time if you can, and keep a sprayer with water handy.

thank you very much.