Polished for 3 hours on my hood, impressions.

usracer900 · 04-16-06, 05:58

Yes, my girlfriend is close to having me committed for working this long on JUST the hood of my black 95' Miata. Here's what I found worked and didn't work.

3M medium cut compound is WAY too abrasive and caused major hazing. Scared me sh_tless after realizing what I had done, fortunately it came out, but took four more polishing runs with less abrasive chemicals.

DACP is horrible in my opinion. Sorry, I know it has a strong following, maybe I'm using it wrong but it is just plain hard to use, produces little results and dusts everywhere!

Menzurna FP is AWESOME on black. I used this more than anything. The IP was used as a base and hazed a bit. The FP took all the hazing out but I had to do each section maybe 3 times to get a nice shine. The more I kept repolishing with FP, the deeper the shine.

I thought I could intensify the deepness with Klasse AIO but to my suprise it caused hazing after Menzurna FP! I ended up skipping the AIO and going straight to the Klasse sealing glaze. Is AIO more abrasive than Menzurna FP?

After applying the sealing glaze I put a coat of S100 and didn't notice much difference. Will it be allright to apply more coats of sealing glaze over the S100? I want to put 4 or 5 coats of sealing glaze over a week's period.

Also, for the polishing I used only a speed of 2 or 3 with the FP, this allowed the working time to dramatically increase. Otherwise on speed 6 it would dry in under a minute and would be very hard to remove. Do you guys polish on speed 2 or 3?

Long post, sorry but I think I learned quite a bit. Any obsevations/comments are appreciated!

Mad iX · 04-16-06, 07:56

If AIO is hazing the paint then something is wrong. What pads did you use for each product?
AIO is practically non-abrasive.
SG won't bond over S100.

O4cobra · 04-16-06, 08:00

If AIO is hazing paint, the pad is to strong for it.

You need a softer pad with AIO.

usracer900 · 04-17-06, 06:41

Yeah, that's interesting, I'm using a Lake Country 6 1/2 white pad on speed 5 or 6. Now I was letting the AIO almost completely dry (or haze over, is that what it's called?) Should I use a slower speed perhaps and not let it completely dry?

Also, I'm doing all this under multiple halogen lights in my garage so it magnifies every defect.

bmwbear · 04-18-06, 04:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by usracer900

Yeah, that's interesting, I'm using a Lake Country 6 1/2 white pad on speed 5 or 6. Now I was letting the AIO almost completely dry (or haze over, is that what it's called?) Should I use a slower speed perhaps and not let it completely dry?.

I would go on a lower speed, I set my PC on about 3, and I'm using Sonus SFX-2 Paint Polishing Pad and have never had any trouble.

2.5RS · 04-18-06, 04:45

I believe the AIO bottle application method mentions something to the effect that no drying time is necessary, and you can wipe it off right after application. That's what I did (did my first vehicle detail over the weekend, so take that into consideration) and had no problems removing the AIO. The instructions seemed pretty spot on to me.

WaXwOrKs · 04-18-06, 05:26

Yeah I did a black Prius with AIO and you got to get that stuff off quick, when they say wipe on wipe off they mean it, otherwise getting that stuff off after it drys is a major pain...well by hand anyway.

ScubaStevo · 04-18-06, 01:00

Well, what is coming to mind for me, is, could the AIO be removing fillers that the polish is leaving behind? AIO is a CLEANER product, so I'm assuming that it is probably removing the oils and fillers, leaving the slightly marred finish.

blackntan · 04-19-06, 01:08

^^^

He stole the words right out of my mouth.

AIO isn't CAUSING any marring, it's EXPOSING the marring that is already there.

The FP has tons of fillers in it. It's a polish. It's hiding the scratches and marring that are there. The AIO removes EVERYTHING that's on the paint, including these fillers.

So then you're left with the marring again. Which means that all of the scratches weren't removed to begin with.

I'd go back and re-evaluate your steps. I'd spend a lot more time with either IP or DACP, and see if you can get the car to shine using only them. Once you get that done, you know the marring is gone for good.

Keep in mind, if you don't believe that this is what's happening, pour some rubbing alcohol into a spray bottle, and spray and wipe a section of the car that currently has FP on it. This will remove the fillers as well.

(on a side note... I LOVE me some fillers... )

SpoiledMan · 04-19-06, 04:42

FPII with fillers? I don't think so....

http://autopia.org/forum/showthread.php?t=69977

Accumulator · 04-19-06, 05:09

I've only used the FPI but it didn't have any fillers that I could discern. IMO by the time you get to something as fine as FP (I or II) you oughta have 99% of the correction done anyhow.

Trying an alcohol spritz after the FP would quickly determine whether any concealing is going on and help narrow things down.

I too would tweak the AIO process. Turn down the speed and wipe off before completely dry (which IMO is a usually good idea with anything except LSPs).

I'd be very surprised if a white LC pad was causing marring, but maybe try the AIO with something a little softer.

IIRC the AIO has exteremly fine abrasives (I *think* they're described as being in the "one micron" range). I can't see those causing marring on a finish prepped with FP

Spilchy · 04-19-06, 05:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by blackntan

The FP has tons of fillers in it. It's a polish.

From CMA's website:

Final Polish II contains no wax, glaze, fillers or silicones. Minor spider webbing is removed, not just covered-up.

Just because something is a polish doesn't mean it has fillers. 3M comes to mind as another one without fillers.

Sounds like you have the right products, but maybe the wrong pad choice and technique. Aslo, we don't know how severe the defects are on your hood.

I'd try IP on like speed 4 to break down and then crank up and go with slow, overlapping movements with pressure, then let up with the pressure for a bit, then let the weight of the buffer glide over the surface in the same slow, overlapping movements. Wipe off before it dries but also not too soon. With experience, you'll know how much pressure to use and when to wipe off to leave you with optimal performace of the product

Then do the same with FP and a polish pad.

I'd use AIO by hand with light overlapping strokes with a DAMP foam applicator and wipe off using a misting of a QD to help removal.

Take a look at what Blkyukon has posted - a great video of how to use Menzerna with the PC. Excellent reference. http://paintcare-n-detailing.com/pc_video.html

Also, use clean, multiple high quality MF's for all your removal.