Any suggestions on how to proceed next?

[MrAP]

This is what it looks like now:

I have the UDM, SFX 1 2 & 3, and OP & OHC; the DAS white, orange, green and blue pads, & 5" Yellow and Orange CCS Foam Pads.



I've tried OHC with the Yellow CCS and finished with OP on the DAS green already. (I've also tried SFX 1 with DAS white and orange on another area with similar lack of results.) Any suggestions on how to proceed next? :help:



Thanks!

 

[MrAP]

58 views and no posts??? I spent a couple more hours. Three passes with 5" Yellow CCS Foam Pads and OHC with no change. Then did two passes with OP and DAS green, and it looks like there might have been a tiny, tiny improvement according to my wife, but to me it didn't really look much different. Maybe I'll get the 4" pads from AG for Christmas and try then, or get an inexpensive HF rotary and try it. Any thoughts? :help:

 

[imported_paradigm]

Three passes with 5" Yellow CCS Foam Pads and OHC with no change.

hmmm....that is a pretty good effort w/out much change. 4" pads would be a good thing to try, but there won't be THAT much difference from a 5". you could try a different product like HTEC or something with a bit more bite to it. otherwise, it's rotary time.



what type of vehicle is this? was it repainted to get such super hard clear?

 

[cheapshot]

They don't seem to bad? I know this could be deceiving at times, but move the polisher PC? a bit slower maybe. I use my PC somewhat like this: I set it on 2 -3 spread polish over the 2'x2' area. then I just kick it up to 4-1/2 or 5 and apply a little pressure about 8-10 pounds (push down feel the machine bogg down let up on it till the bog is gone) and move it very very slow. "Almost" as if an ant were crawling on the car. Then i let up on the pressure as the polish thins out. Depending on the polish one applications takes a few minutes on average i would guess about 3-4 minutes. But i never really times myself.



explain how you are using these products, because they should be working.





whats HTEC?

 

[MrAP]

hmmm....that is a pretty good effort w/out much change. 4" pads would be a good thing to try, but there won't be THAT much difference from a 5". you could try a different product like HTEC or something with a bit more bite to it. otherwise, it's rotary time.



what type of vehicle is this? was it repainted to get such super hard clear?

It is a Ford Ranger, and as far as I know, it wasn't repainted. So far I've tried the hood and a door with the same lack of results.

They don't seem to bad?



explain how you are using these products, because they should be working.

That was in the garage at night with a flash. In the full sun, they are very visible



I do it pretty much like you described. I move the UDM very slowly, less than an inch/second. I push down very hard on the UDM, but not enough to bog it down (I have a mark on the backing plate so I can tell it is still spinning).

 

[Setec Astronomy]

I've never used the UDM, and I know it's more powerful than a PC, but it still might not take that much pressure to keep it from spinning. Do you know if you have the original OHC or the newer version? Because the original didn't have much cut, really. Sometimes it takes a lot of pressure on a small pad with a coarse compound to take stuff like that out. Depressing, ain't it?

 

[MrAP]

I've never used the UDM, and I know it's more powerful than a PC, but it still might not take that much pressure to keep it from spinning. Do you know if you have the original OHC or the newer version? Because the original didn't have much cut, really. Sometimes it takes a lot of pressure on a small pad with a coarse compound to take stuff like that out. Depressing, ain't it?

I do have the new OHC. It takes a decent amount of pressure (depending on the pad!) to stop the UDM. The green DAS pad can be stopped even at 6 with great ease. The yellow 5" LC CCS can be stopped at 6 with much more effort.



I do notice that the backing plate was pretty warm, almost hot, after I was about 3/4 done (around 1.5 hrs) so I took off the yellow pad to let it cool off and used the the green one with OP for a bit.



It is rather depressing. I feel completely clueless and I've wasted nearly 10-12 hours polishing, and $$$ on the UDM and polishes and pads. It's enough to make me want to just quit, although I haven't yet . . . can't take these swirls beating me!!! :hairpull :angry

 

[Setec Astronomy]

I bought a leftover GM that had been used as a demo car and run through the dealer wash process who-knows-how-many times. It had some really bad swirls that I spent a really long time on with a PC/yellow/original OHC/SSR2.5 and basically got nowhere. I finally gave up because I wanted to have a life without a PC in my hand, and because everybody else thought it looked shiny and great. It's a lighter color so it's harder to see the swirls. I did have success with SSR3 (rocks in a bottle) with a 4" orange or yellow pad, following that up with a finer polish (only did a very small area) but the SSR3 was just too scary on a brand new car.



It was suggested to me that I could do it with a PC with something like the Menzerna line starting with PowerGloss and working down, the HTEC mentioned would be a similar progression. Rotary would be another way to go. I didn't see where you mentioned how old the paint is/how much the car is worth, which may factor into how agressive you get...I think we'd all hate to see you take off too much clear in an attempt to get the swirls out.



On the other hand, when you need it, you have to be aggressive with your compound and pad selection, otherwise you will just spend forever with the less aggressive methods. Where are you located?

 

[MrAP]

I hear ya. I'm still in between the "I want a life" and "live with it" state. Working on the cars is sometimes just work and sometimes just a hobby for me. I certainly don't want to kill the paint, but there are some spots on the edges of the hood where the paint is starting to peel off, but it isn't really visible unless the hood is raised.



The paint is probably as old as the truck--1994. I've owned it since 1997, it only has ~120K miles, and if it keeps going, I'm hoping for another 5+ years at least. So in actual sale $, not worth that much (I'd guess $4-6K) but in terms of avoiding new car payments, and getting me to and from work every day, worth very much to me!



I'm in S. Florida, about 1.5+ hours drive from Miami, and ~3 hours drive from Orlando/Disney, and ~ 1.25 hours drive Autogeek!

 

[Setec Astronomy]

Well, be careful, if that car has been in the FL sun for 13 years...I'm sure some of the clear is burned off just from that. The other way to play it is to get a finishing polish that will bring out the gloss (say, FPII or PO106FF) and just make it shiny and nice without taking too much more paint off, although OP is pretty good. One thing that may help is to try the ceramic clearcoat polishes (SIP and PO106FF or the Blackfire "equivalents") which cut faster (to offset the UDM vs. rotary limitations)...I guess that's an option vs. the "rocks in a bottle" approach of SSR3/PG/HTEC. But I haven't used all of those products so don't take that as gospel.

 

[BigJimZ28]

I find myself asking this alot

and please don't be offended but,



Have you used you UDM to remove any defects?



there are alot of resons that I ask

you could be using too agressive of a pad/polish combo

you could be moving to fast

you could be not breaking down the polish

you could be using to much/too little product

you could be dry buffing and putting swirls back in

 

[howareb]

I find myself asking this alot

and please don't be offended but,



Have you used you UDM to remove any defects?



there are alot of resons that I ask

you could be using too agressive of a pad/polish combo

you could be moving to fast

you could be not breaking down the polish

you could be using to much/too little product

you could be dry buffing and putting swirls back in

....and going off of what Big Jim has said, you do not need a lot of Optimum to get results. Also you must work Optimum in for a longer time than most polishes (although spending 10-12 hours is a long total time to polish).

 

[MrAP]

I do park in the garage now and have been for the past ~7 years, but it does sit out during the day at work. It was a San Diego vehicle from 1994-2000 so plenty of sun there too



I started with the SFX series, then got the OHC and OP after reading a bunch of threads (SFX dusts, so I avoided the Menzerna's and SSR's for the dusting reason) I just hate having to try another product to see if it works $$$, although I do understand the point of not every product works the same way on different paints . . . .



I guess I'm going to have to either consider:

1. Different product(s!)

2. Rotary (may still need different products, definitely need pads and BP)

3. Shine it up and live with the swirls (it does shine up very nicely!)

4. Shine it up and apply a glaze every couple of weeks to hide the swirls.



I'm inclined to try #2 ($22 HF/CT rotary, $22 BP, $? pads) and/or #3 for now :| and if I go with #3, I may find my way to #4 eventually I'm not too keen on #1 because I have 32 oz of OP and OHC and I don't forsee using them up and whatever else is needed for #1.

 

[Setec Astronomy]

I find myself asking this alot

and please don't be offended but,



Have you used you UDM to remove any defects?

I agree that in these situations it is proper to establish if the OP has indeed mastered basic polishing skills so as to be able to remove defects at all.

 

[MrAP]

I find myself asking this alot

and please don't be offended but,



Have you used you UDM to remove any defects?



there are alot of resons that I ask

you could be using too agressive of a pad/polish combo

you could be moving to fast

you could be not breaking down the polish

you could be using to much/too little product

you could be dry buffing and putting swirls back in

Not offended at all; could use the help!!!



I've not really removed any defects that I can tell, other than the oxidation of the paint. The DAS white pad and SFX 1 brought a heck of a shine back, and the swirls became very visible.



I'm polishing OHC for about 5 minutes per ~2x2ft panel. I did try the 2-3 drops of OHC that I've seen mentioned, but it really looks like the pad and paint are not wet/moist at all, so I added more until I see/feel something on the paint. So yes, too little/too much product is a definite possibility.



I'm moving around an inch per second.



I thought about the aggresive pad/polish, but I've tried OP/SFX3 with the green DAS pad also. Only milder pad I have is the blue DAS.



Dry buffing is also a possibility as the OHC/OP on my paint never looks like any of the online videos. I see the polish when I smear it around, but I never see the "Wet hazy look" on application at speed 3. I never see the "clear look aka polish has broken down look" at the end of 5 minutes (or during the 5 minutes) either.



It is all very frustrating. :hairpull

 

[MrAP]

I agree that in these situations it is proper to establish if the OP has indeed mastered basic polishing skills so as to be able to remove defects at all.

I'm wondering the same thing: Have I mastered, or at least have a decent handle on basic polishing skills?



I'd like to think so, since the consensus is anyone can use the PC/UDM and I'm doing what I see in the videos, but I suppose it is possible that I am not! :soscared:

 

[BigJimZ28]

try this go get some painters take and make a 1' x 1' test area

and try the OP on a polishing pad

use a enough pressure so the pad is less then half compressed

and move slower to the point that it feels like you are not moving

(keep it moving but very very slow)

work the OP for 4 min with slow overlapping strokes in all directions



pull the take and post a picture

this will only cost youa few $ for the tape

and about 10 min. of you time

but it will help me (us) help you



good luck

 

[MrAP]

try this <SNIP>

pull the take and post a picture

<SNIP>

it will help me (us) help you



good luck

An excellent idea!!! I will do it tomorrow night or on Turkey Day or the weekend!!! I'm looking forward to this!!! Thanks for the suggestion!!!!

 

[MrAP]

Okay, I did it! Here is the panel before anything:

After the first 4 minute pass with OP and DAS Green Polishing Pad:

After the second 4 minute pass with OP and DAS Green Polishing Pad:

Not getting anywhere, so after first 4 minute pass with OP and DAS Orange Swirlbuster Pad:

Little better after first 4 minute pass with OP+OHC (in a 3:1 ratio) and DAS Orange Swirlbuster Pad:

Looks much better after second 4 minute pass with OP+OHC (in a 3:1 ratio) and DAS Orange Swirlbuster Pad but lost the sunlight so final judgement will have to wait till I can catch the sun:

Thanks to all who posted, and especially BigJimZ28 for the suggestion!



Looking forward to new comments!



Thanks!

 

[Frito Bandito]

You definitely made an improvement!



Another option if you are worried about the life of your paint is to use a milder polish to remove the haze on the paint and bring the gloss back. I know you don't want to buy another product but I like 4 star SMR a lot. It has a little more cut than OP and it cuts faster so you don't have to work it as long. Consider using this milder approach every 6 months or so. Every time you will reduce the swirls and it's pretty much the mildest approach you can use. Just something to consider.