Anyone had experiencew with Chrysler Crossfire finish?

[35TH LE]

I just had a customer here to detail their black Crossfire SRT6.... I started with M83 and orange Edge pad then moved to M80 and green Edge pad, all this with a rotary going 1300-1400rpm with the orange/M83 then 1000rpm green/M80. After running over the whole car with M80 I pulled it into the sun to make sure everything was ok. :wall Glad I did that because there was HORRID buffer trails, I mean the worst Ive ever made. I pulled the car back into the garage and proceeded with other combos.. all with M80 and various finishing pads. NO DICE! What really sucked was while I was instilling buffer trails I wasnt getting any swirl correction out of it. :confused: However.. I was able to remove some of the trails with a PC and finishing pad with M80.... though no swirl correction still.



The owner of the car is a very very good friend of mine and we decided to call it a day after chasing our tails for a couple hours and basically getting nowhere. We are going to try again next friday.



This is the first time Ive ever had this happen... where I couldnt finish a car. I feel defeated.



I know the car is made with a lot of Mercedes parts..... is it possible it may have the super hard clear coat that some Mercedes have? I was out of my Menzerna 106FF.... so I couldnt try it.



For the first time since Ive been detailing customer cars I really need some help here. Any suggestions?



Im thinking about going with 106FF with orange pad and rotary to clear the swirls... then going to the PC and finishing pads with M80. I also have some Optimum Hyper Compound too which I could try as well.



Any help is appreciated.

[imported_User Name]

Why M83 followed by M80? I`m just curious as to why you didn`t start with M80 first, since it is less abrasive?



Not sure why it all went so wrong.

[35TH LE]

Why M83 followed by M80? I`m just curious as to why you didn`t start with M80 first, since it is less abrasive?



Not sure why it all went so wrong.





I should have tried M80 first with the orange.... but the car had some pretty good swirl and imperfections that I knew would take more then M80 could handle. I usually start with the least aggressive to see if it will work but this time I didnt. However... I have used the M83 and M80 combo in the past, even on black, but still didnt have any problems like this.

[imported_User Name]

I`m wondering if you might try multiple passes with your PC and M83 and a yellow pad (as a means of avoiding the buffer trails)?



It might not be the most efficient use of time, but in the end it might work. If after a few passes it works, maybe a pass with M80.

[Scottwax]

I wouldn`t be suprised if it has Ceramiclear paint on it.



#105 removes a lot more than #83 and usually leaves less holograms. I`d also go with wool pads instead of orange cutting pads with the rotary. The stiff orange pads tend to leave a lot of swirls and hazing behind. Wool tends to cut faster too.



Try #105 with an Meguiars 8006 foam polishing pad first, I find it to be very effective even on harder paints. If it isn`t enough, step up to wool.

[Edwards944]

Crossfire`s are the first domestic cars to use the acrylic polynomic paint used for the past couple of years by Maserati and Bugati. Conventional wisdom does not always apply when caring for this coating. I`d suggest using only surfactants with very high surface tension as a start. For correction of blemishes use polynomial lubricants bound by long chain molecular weight derivatives. Workstatt and Lincoln Arts are good choices. In any event start slow and finish slower when using a polisher. The polynomial coatings are notorious for backlash.

[35TH LE]

Scott... I have never used wool before. Do you think I should try it out on this car? Would the #105 work ok with a less aggressive pad, like maybe a LC white? I see that the #105 is a pretty heavy cut formula.... should I be able to follow the #105 with #80 to finish up the job? I dont mind going 3 rounds (stages) to get this one right but after todays bout with it I would really like to have a whole game plan in place.



Right now Im on the fence about using the 106FF or #105. Ive used 106FF before and have been impressed but most of my arsenal is Megs so I know its good stuff too.... but havent used #105 yet.



Thanks again for the help, much appreciated. :bigups

[Scottwax]

I suggested trying foam first, but if you have to go harder into the paint, wool is better and safer than an orange cutting pad, IMO.

[35TH LE]

Thanks Scott. Ill pick up a wool pad to have on hand then... Im gonna try the #105.

[efnfast]

What happens if you just stick with 83 and skip the 80? For some reason on 90% of the stuff I try 80 on (with a cyclo), it leaves really funny hazing that no amount of work can lift (short of going over the area again with 83).........maybe it`s just me, but 80 is really hard to work with, 83 is much easier.:think:

[35TH LE]

What happens if you just stick with 83 and skip the 80? For some reason on 90% of the stuff I try 80 on (with a cyclo), it leaves really funny hazing that no amount of work can lift (short of going over the area again with 83).........maybe it`s just me, but 80 is really hard to work with, 83 is much easier.:think:



Thats strange, I find the exact opposite. Although I use a rotary 99% of the time. I find M80 less dusting, longer work time, and less marring then M83. Ive always followed M83 with M80.

[miahman98]

With the rotary I’ve had good success with Meg’s #85 Diamond Cut Compound 2.0. It works very fast with wool and doesn’t swirl as much you would think. I know more people use #105 then #85, but #85 really has become my go to compound.



Just my 2 cents.

[Scottwax]

What happens if you just stick with 83 and skip the 80? For some reason on 90% of the stuff I try 80 on (with a cyclo), it leaves really funny hazing that no amount of work can lift (short of going over the area again with 83).........maybe it`s just me, but 80 is really hard to work with, 83 is much easier.:think:



If you use #80 with the green pads and Cyclo, you are going to get marring. The white pads work a lot better.

[efnfast]

If you use #80 with the green pads and Cyclo, you are going to get marring. The white pads work a lot better.



I will try that next time - thanks.

[35TH LE]

Just want to bring this one back up with an update....



I ended up getting the Megs 105 to give this car a second shot..... HOLY SMOKES this stuff is really something else! I used my rotary with a Edge Green pad and M105 and I could not believe A) how fast it works b) how much it removed swirls in that short of time and C) how unbelievably nice it finished down! I followed the M105 with my PC with finishing pad and M80..... the finish was incredible. I just found a new favorite combo.... M105 and then M80.



I topped the car off with Chemical Guys 5050 wax and the results were stunning. Unfortunately I dont have any pics... my wife had my camera for the day. Ill see if I can get some from the owner.



THANKS SCOTT for the M105 suggestion!