About to pull my hair out....

[davela72]

I`ve been lurking on here daily for quite a while now but after todays ordeal with my car, I`ve decided I need a litle help!



First off, the car in question is a 2006 VW Rabbit. I`ve had the car for a few months now, has a tad over 5K miles on it. The big kicker is the car is black, no metallic. I love black cars when they`re detailed properly, my favorite actually! When I first ot the car, I went this route:



wash

clay

Zaino ZPC w/ white pad

Z5 w/ ZFX x3 or so



The car looked great but still had some minor scratches, surface imperfections, etc. So, today I decide to give it a final detailing before old man winter sets in. Well, let me say, my day didn`t go good. The process today was:



wash

clay

Megs #80 w/ green SM Arnold pad (didn`t like it...seemed to leave marring), wasn`t super happy with the #80 so I went to Menz FP1 on Megs yellow polishing pad. This went better but the scratches are still there. I never noticed all the scratches before until I bought one of the 1000W halogen dual lamps @ Lowes yesterday.



It seems that I either need a more aggresive polish to get these scratches out or a better pad for the PC? I don`t want to be polishing too much on a new car but I want the paint to be as perfect as possible. I gave up today as Id like to get a few new products and pads so I`ll tear into it again next weekend.



I`ve heard that the paint/clear on the newer VW`s is pretty hard, is that correct? If so, what would be a good route for me to take? Sorry for the long read and thanks to whoever replies back!



Dave



http://www.geocities.com/preparedthemovie/lnkd/dave.jpg

[lemans23]

That looks ridiculous man! Nice work for you not being satisfied.

[fdizzle]

have you given any thought to bumping up your polish to some menz intensive polish with whatever the equivilant to a lake country orange light cut pad is, and then try using your menz final polish with the white pad again? From what your saying it sounds like you will need to an agressive polish or light compound, are the scratches over the whole car, or just in isolated places ?

[davela72]

lemans, that picture was before this weekend, still had the Zaino on.



fdizzle, I had some IP before but ran out so I might have to give it another try. I`ve read a lot about the Optimum polishes, how do they compare to the Menzerna polishes? As far as the scratches go, they`re almost everywhere but not as bad on the hood/roof. Like I said, when the car is outside you can barely see anything at all but in the garage under the lighting they are there for sure.



Thanks for the suggestions!

[imported_flatstick]

Car does look good in the pic :2thumbs: 106FF might be what you need. would try it on a polishing pad first in a test area to see if the results are what you want. the VW clearcoat is hard as heck. 106FF would be my first choice, never let me down on black ever. if that does not do the trick, IP may be needed. where are you in PA ? may be able to help :nixweiss

[RAG]

Devala, I basically specialize in paint correction on black vehicles. So let me give you a little advice:



First - don`t try to achieve perfection...settle on 90% or 95% perfect and you`ll save your sanity (and your hair). And your ride will still look better that all other black vehicles on the road.



Second - Per your comments, don`t worry soo much about polishing too much, as it takes a long long time before too much clear is removed. I have an ETG and after compounding with the rotary 5 times in a row on a given pannel (4 passes each time), it was difficult to even measure the amount of clear removed, so "polishing" with a PC really removes very very little actual clear coat.



Third - Rather than get a more aggressive pad, going with a more aggressive polish is a better way to go...as the "compound" breaks down, it slowly becomes more like a polish...a cutting pad cannot make this transition.



The PC takes quite a bit of time to remove anything more than the lightest of swirls. If you need more bite, I would compound with the first step using #83 DACP or Hi-Temp Heavy Cut (my first choice) and then polish with FPII or the Blackfire Scratch Resistant Clear Polish (the best on black). The Blackfire SRC (basically Menzerna 106FF) will finish down much much better than #80 or even ZPC and yet will provide more "cut" at the same time...it is an absolute must for a black car owner.

[RAG]

See, I didn`t even read flatstick`s post till after I posted...but he too is recommending PO106FF for black. Worth every penny.

[klnyc]

Mang, that car look hot. Any closer shots of the panels? Like other said, you may need to bump up more abravise polisher than the one you have now. Get OP or Men IP and see.



"don`t try to achieve perfection...settle on 90% or 95% perfect and you`ll save your sanity (and your hair). And your ride will still look better that all other black vehicles on the road"



^^^ Thats soo true.

[Way2SSlow]

I`ve heard that the paint/clear on the newer VW`s is pretty hard, is that correct? If so, what would be a good route for me to take? Sorry for the long read and thanks to whoever replies back!



Dave,



My sister has an 01 Black Jetta, and the swirls really beat me up. I tried a lot of different product/pad combos before finding the "Stilez compound" (Hi Temp Extreme Cut mixed with Optimum Polish). I was never able to make any progress with the PC and ANY product. On rotory it still takes a bit of time and patience, but I am finally able to defeat them.



HTH,



Wade

[davela72]

Wow, you guys are an awesome bunch! I`ve heard many good things about the Menzerna/blackfire polish, might just have to bite the bullet and order some up. I`m guessing a white pad would still be the choice with this polish? I`ve looked at the green pads at Proper Auto Care, says they`re for German cars/paint. I had an orange pad but it had seen its better days so off to the trash it went.



One more and I`ll try to stop asking questions.....after I get the finish where I want it, what LSP would not only be fitting for black but durable enough for the PA winter?



Thanks again!

[imported_flatstick]

Wow, you guys are an awesome bunch! I`ve heard many good things about the Menzerna/blackfire polish, might just have to bite the bullet and order some up. I`m guessing a white pad would still be the choice with this polish? I`ve looked at the green pads at Proper Auto Care, says they`re for German cars/paint. I had an orange pad but it had seen its better days so off to the trash it went.



One more and I`ll try to stop asking questions.....after I get the finish where I want it, what LSP would not only be fitting for black but durable enough for the PA winter?



Thanks again!





the white pad is a LC I take it ? they work ok but I have been using the green propel and P2`s with Menzerna and they have worked well for me. the best thing is that they are super easy to clean and dry afterwards. for LSP you many choices. Collonite, Zaino, AJ/ Trigger ... just to name a few lol !

[imported_flatstick]

See, I didn`t even read flatstick`s post till after I posted...but he too is recommending PO106FF for black. Worth every penny.





No biggie, looks like we are on the same page. great minds think alike :hifive: just wish I had your weather though :spot

[RAG]

Wow, you guys are an awesome bunch! I`ve heard many good things about the Menzerna/blackfire polish, might just have to bite the bullet and order some up. I`m guessing a white pad would still be the choice with this polish? I`ve looked at the green pads at Proper Auto Care, says they`re for German cars/paint. I had an orange pad but it had seen its better days so off to the trash it went.



One more and I`ll try to stop asking questions.....after I get the finish where I want it, what LSP would not only be fitting for black but durable enough for the PA winter?



Thanks again!



With the PC pad choice isn`t nearly as important as it is with they rotary - there are many many polishing pads that will work well with the PC. For a middle-of-the-road (aggressive-wise) compounding pad, I still like the yellow SFX best. For polishing, it really depends - for black I usually go with a softer than average polishing pad...like the Green P2.



Just watch out for PC induced micromarring (the haze you`ve noticed), as this can be a problem with black paint, though it shouldn`t be a huge issue if your clear coat is hard. If you end up having to "compound," it`s possible you`ll have to "polish" twice (or once really really thorough like) to remove all of the haze. Shoot, even the Blackfire SRC (106FF) can leave some micromarring on some black paints, so just watch out for it, as it will "rob" you of perfect gloss.

[davela72]

RAG, thanks again! Where can the green P2 pads be purchased?

[RAG]

RAG, thanks again! Where can the green P2 pads be purchased?



Excel Detail. And while you`re at it, get one of the orange P2 pads - they are firm and serve well as a compounding pad with the PC. And if you want the softest pad out there, you could get one of the Grey P2s (but there really isn`t THAT much difference between the grey and the green).