3m products, single stage paint assistance

[INTMD8]

Hello! I'm having a bit of trouble and would appreciate any assistance.

I'm trying to correct the finish on my 95 F355 with original single stage paint.

Started out with alcohol wash, clay bar, some 3000 grit wetsanding in a few spots and 3m compound with white pad.

I then did another alcohol wash and moved on to step 2 machine polish and a gray pad.

The roof, decklid and 1/4's appear to have polished out almost perfectly. The hood and front fenders (which were more scratched to begin with), I'm having a hard time getting a perfect reflection out of it.

Here are a few photos. You can see the front fender is hazy, that is with all 3 steps (last step being ultrafine and blue pad). In comparison is the same 3 steps on the rear 1/4 panel which has much more clarity.

Any ideas what I'm doing wrong here? Thanks!

 

[Stokdgs]

Welcome to the Forum !!! Hope you have an enjoyable time here !
Beautiful Ferrari !

frontfender3jpg looks like it still has some scratches, marring, etc., to the right of the light reflection..

Were you going to try to remove those defects before, or with polishing?

Did you compound and polish all the areas exactly the same way ?

Did you try a new pad same as the others on that spot ?
Dan F

 

[INTMD8]

Thank you Dan! The only thing I can think of is I was being a bit more aggressive with the compounding on the 1/4 panel. I have however went back over some spots on the front fender with the first step compound and it didn't seem to change the end result. Other than that I polished them both the same way.

At this point I'm not sure if I haven't compounded enough to remove the deepest scratches (this is what I'm guessing) or am I having difficulty removing the compounding scratches. (I don't think it's this based on the rear fender)

 

[JSFM35X]

You don't say where your located or if you have a paint guage. It is dangerous the keep digging into paint chasing deeper defects without knowing how far you are from steel. Were not talking an inexpensive paint job and a glaze may be in order to hide your imperfections if you don't have enough to work with.

Second the alcohol wash. I hope you mean wipe down. I suggest you cut the IPA with distilled water. I find that the stronger the alcohol content the more apt you are to get marring when wiping as it softens the paint.

Good Luck and if you post your location you may get lucky and get an offer to help.

 

[INTMD8]

Good point, I already went through the gas door chasing some deep scratches so I should just buy a paint gauge.

And yes, I'm wiping it down between steps with 60% isopropyl alcohol. I'm located in Lake Villa Illinois.

Thanks!

 

[JSFM35X]

I would stop polishing right away and get yourself to a place that can properly guage your pant. I love a guy who want to care for his own car. I am one such guy. The most important thing you need to learn it to make sure match your skill set to the job at hand. Make sure you don't bite off more than you can chew. I don't want to see you wreck the paint job on that beautiful car as a repaint can diminish its value greatly.

I am not one to count anyone's money but if you could swing it, now that you posted your location perhaps a professional in the area can be contacted and you can show him the car, in giving you an estimate on fixing the damage and perhaps teach you at the same time. Its not hard to correct paint and if cared for correctly, its easy to maintain. I did exactly what I suggested to you.

Good point, I already went through the gas door chasing some deep scratches so I should just buy a paint gauge.

And yes, I'm wiping it down between steps with 60% isopropyl alcohol. I'm located in Lake Villa Illinois.

Thanks!

 

[INTMD8]

I agree on the paint gauge and have no problem buying one so that will be my next step. I have no trailer and there's salt on the roads so I couldn't really bring it to anyone until spring.

I guess what's throwing me here is I'm having no issue with other areas of the car. Is it possible that the hazing I'm seeing is from not compounding deep enough to begin with? (so while the gloss is being brought up with step 2 I'm still seeing the deeper scratches).

Either way, I'll gauge the paint and go from there. Thanks.

 

[JSFM35X]

A gauge is a good few hundred bucks minimally for steel and more for plastics. You might get a mobile pro in with a gauge for less than a gauge and he will be able to tell you that you can get the defects out or not. Some may just be too deep.

Love to see some full size shots of the car. I love Ferrari red. Is that a 305 or 328?

I agree on the paint gauge and have no problem buying one so that will be my next step. I have no trailer and there's salt on the roads so I couldn't really bring it to anyone until spring.

I guess what's throwing me here is I'm having no issue with other areas of the car. Is it possible that the hazing I'm seeing is from not compounding deep enough to begin with? (so while the gloss is being brought up with step 2 I'm still seeing the deeper scratches).

Either way, I'll gauge the paint and go from there. Thanks.

 

[INTMD8]

That's a good idea, I didn't really consider that anyone would be willing to travel, I'll look into finding someone. The car is a 95 F355. Thanks!