Polishing Paint

[mainstay939]

Hey all,



Today I polished my black Honda accord. There are a lot of swirls, spiderwebbing, scratches, etc.



I did the whole hood 3 times with dacp and the PC at speed 5.5.



It did not remove any of the spiderwebs or scratches.



There are a lot of area`s that have litterally a hundred swirls/scratches within a 3x3 inch area. They are all very very close to each other. I`m sure you guys know what I am talking about.



Also, none of these imperfections can be felt with my nails. I just don`t get it and feel really discouraged at the moment.



Any idea what it could be?



*EDIT* - BTW... I was using DACP. I used both, cutting pad and polishing pad. :nixweiss

[Accumulator]

mainstay939 - Welcome to Autopia. Sorry to hear all that work didn`t improve your Honda`s marring. Don`t get discouraged, plenty of people find the PC doesn`t quite work the miracles they expected, at least the first time around. I`m gonna assume that you used the DACP correctly, that is, you worked it a LONG time until it was gone/turned to powder. If you don`t, the abrasives won`t break down and it can leave (fine) marring of its own. But I`ll assume you worked it long enough.



SO..it wasn`t aggressive enough. You can try using speed 6 (I almost always use 6 when polishing), you can do it even LONGER (as in several hours for just the hood), you can lean on the machine a bit, or you can use a more aggressive product.



Sometimes removing marring with a PC, while easier than by hand, is really asking a bit much of the machine. Situations like yours are why some of us keep a rotary around. But don`t give up, you should be able to make some good headway with the PC. Just be forewarned that it might take quite a while. I spent 20 (!) hours working a friend`s Audi with a PC. When I was finished it STILL didn`t look as good as I would have liked (that`s when I bought the rotary).



Get a wool pad or two. They aren`t THAT much more aggressive than the foam cutting pads. Using them wet will make them MORE aggressive, but be careful if you try it. Get a product that`s more aggressive than the #83. Maybe Diamond Cut or some "paint correction cream" type product. Maybe try TOL (http://www.topoftheline.com/index.html)



Set aside plenty of time for your next attempt. Use the wool pads and/or the aggressive product ONLY until the worst of the marring is considerably better, then go back to something like the #83. Be willing to live with SOME marring as opposed to risking the removal of too much clear.



There`s a learning curve with this stuff, not just with how to work the machine, but also with what to expect.

[shaf]

:lol Great advice again from Accumulator. :xyxthumbs



I`m just posting this so that you don`t think the rest of the forum isn`t posting because we`re ignoring you or anything! :lol DACP --> Wool & DACP --> "something stronger"



By the way, :welcome to Autopia mainstay!

[imported_jaobrien6]

Before you move on to something more aggressive, I want to stress what Accumulator mentioned in his first paragraph. What you described sounds similar to the marring I`ve seen DACP leave if used with a cutting pad and not worked long enough. I just want to verify that you are working the product until it dusts before you move to something more aggressive unnecessarily.



John

[Gonzo]

You never did mention what pad(s) you used with the DACP. CMA has an orange color Power Pad that works very well with DACP.



Mike Phillips recommends when using DACP on bad swirling to press down on the buffer, enough to compress the pad (from pix I`ve seen maybe 1/2 to 3/4 of its "at rest" thickness). Do that over your work area a couple of times, then start to let up on the pressure, because by that time the DACP is starting to break down into a finer abrasive. As the DACP starts to dry out and looks powdery on the paint, you should not be applying any down force to the buffer - just let the weight of the buffer sit on the pad. When the powdery residue is virtually invisible, wipe it off with a MF towel.

[togwt]

:welcome to Autopia





Good advice from gonzo et al.



Nothing to add but welcome





Experience unshared; is knowledge wasted…/



justadumbarchitect * so i question everything*