Friend used FP-II now has light holograms

[imported_Mighty HD]

A friend of mine has a GMC 2500hd like my own. It`s even carbon metallic. He had some very light marring of the finish and decided to take care of this himself. He is using menzerna products, PC and Excel Detail pads.



His steps were this:



Wash

FP-II with Green pad using QD for lubrication to mist the pad or the panel

Menzerna Glaze with a blue pad

FMJ by hand

He stated that he did not use any pressure using the FP-II, only the weight of the machine. Speed was 3.5-4, the Glaze was on speed 3.



Out in the sun you can barely see some hologram`s. It`s only if you look at an angle and move around a bit. It`s there and it bothers me.



Any suggestions as to what I can tell him. I`m limited as to what *I* can do, due to an injury unless I would have done it.

[SpoiledMan]

He`s going to need to use some pressure to remove the marring with FPII. The paint on GM trucks in my experience is on the hard side.

[3Dog]

yes Like Spoiled said...and bump the speed up to 5 at the very least.

[imported_Mighty HD]

So the light pressure caused the holograms?



Edit: After he glazed it and put a coat of FMJ on there, it looks like the glaze masked the holograms, but I can still see it. I`d rather see them removed.



Is he using the correct pads?

[JeffM]

Yes, tell him do not prime the pads with QD(or anything), use speed 5, work until the product is very clear, almost gone, and make really really really sure his pads are perfectly clean.

[imported_Mighty HD]

So NO priming of the pad at all?



I just glanced @ the insructions that came with my Menzerna box and they state to mist the pad wtih H20.





I`ll tell him to do FP-II with a Green pad, NO priming, speed 5 with light/no pressure (use machine weight)



Should he follow another coat of FP-II with a blue pad and skip the glaze?

[JeffM]

I dont prime my pads with QD for any of my polishes anymore.



I polished out a black vehicle with a white SFX pad and FPII a couple weekends ago. It finished perfectly, and i went right to my waxing.



It might be cool to try a test area with a finishing pad, and see what it looks like with a bright light on it, compared to the other sections.

[imported_Amused]

like others have suggested, use a clean dry pad with FPII and bump the speed to at least 5. speeds below that I`ve found to not fully break down polishes, but better suited for applying LSPs. in my experience, the PC really doesn`t start working polishes and compounds until speed 5.5. don`t be afraid to up the speed and apply a bit of pressure. with such a light polish in FPII, your friend isn`t going to be doing any sort of damage to his paint with a PC. best of luck!

[DrSauekraut]

Is it possible that he dry buffed the finish? Inadequate use of polish can be the foremost contributor to minor holograms.

[imported_Mighty HD]

I tried using a 500w halogen light on the finish and it looked flawless. Pull his truck out in the sun and you can see the hologram`ing.



Maybe Monday I`ll talk him into doing it over again and see what results we get using a dry pad?

[Alfisti]

Something else to consider - I`m assuming he used MF to remove the polish.



If not worked properly FPII can leave a tough residue that requires lots of pressure to remove. This hapened to me once.



I polished a black Monaro with FPII and used the khaki MF that ACC use to sell to remove the residue. I discovered that those MF where too aggressive on dark colours and left micro-scratches. In addition, I believe the unbroken abrasives caught in the MF where dragged accross the paint and also left micro-scratches. The end result was that when I pulled out in the sun, before LSP, it was covered in holograms induced by the MF and polish swiping.



I pulled it back in, re-polished properly, used different MF, and it looked great.



Check the MF he used, and make sure the polish breaks down until its gone totally clear, like a light oily residue. Avoid spritzing the pad after the initial priming, and wipe the surface with IPO after polishing to remove any residue. Sometimes the residue isn`t completely removed, leaving a hard micro-layer that can get hologrammed by your MF. When the residue is removed, the holograms go.



Here`s a couple photos of it:



http://autopia.org/gallery/data/500/sm002.jpg



http://autopia.org/gallery/data/500/sm001.jpg

[imported_Mighty HD]

The holograms werent nearly as bad as those, they are very faint, but I can see them.



I watched his process today and he was doing this:



Green pad for FP-II, on a vertical panel --doors, etc. He would mist the panel a few times with Megs QD, put the FP-II on the pad in an X, spread it on the panel, turn machine on, beign on speed 1 and work up to speed 3.5-4 and work it until it was almost dry. Then mist it with QD again and wipe off with a MF. Then wipe off again wtih a dry MF.





The MF he used was the Blue ones you get @ sams club. I have personally used these for about 9 months with no problems what so ever, but I`m very anal about how I wash/store mine as well. (Mine go through 1 load with soap cold/cold, then 4 other full runs with no soap to ensure all soap is out, then dry in the dryer for 50 minutes on low tumble).



Ill print this out and bring it with me when he attempts this again. Hopefully next week.



What if the holograms wont come out? Then what? What if they get worse?

[Alfisti]

I would suggest that 4 on the PC is too slow...5 is good, but with light pressure. Remember, its only a final burnishing. Also, you only need 2/3 of what you`d normally use to remove defects. Don`t work it until almost dry...work it until it goes oily and completely clear, then remove.