Cannot get these mini swirls out!

G

Greg Ayo

New member
Hey all.



Long time reader. Recent poster here.



I did a full detail of my 2007 Mazda 3 hatchback. Color is crystal white pearl



The products that I used are



Porter cable buffer

Blackfire clay with megs lube



Meg's DA compound (orange pad on speed 6)



Menzerna SF 4000 (white pad speed 4.5)



And finished with collonite 845 (black pad speed 2)



I did the detail as the tips on this forum say. Work in 2x2 areas at a time. Buff untill abrasives are broken down ECT.



But at the end. I still saw these very small buffer swirls. Very small circles almost.



If you look closely. You can kind of see what I'm talking about in this picture.



zaqujamy.jpg






What do you guys think I'm doing wrong



Maybe the products I'm using? What would you guys recommend?



Thanks.

Greg
 
What size pads are you using? Why didn't you do a test spot? No point in doing the whole car and have to do it over again.
 
I'm using a 5.5 inch pad. Weirdly enough. These swirls are only on the hood ( the hood has been repainted). The rest of the car is swirl free
 
Then they are probably sanding scratches and pigtails left from the body shop under the new paint. You probably would have gotten more help if you gave that info that it was repainted in your original post. If there is enough clear, you may be able to continue compounding to remove enough clear to level the scratches or even wetsand them out, but you would be taking a huge risk as there is no way to tell how much clear is on there even with a thickness gauge since the panel was repainted.
 
Okay, so as a novice detailer, I there isn't much I can do that doesn't involve risking messing up my paint.
 
It depends on how much clear the painter put on there if it is in fact scratches under the paint. You could check with the painter to ask how many coats of clear they put on to give you an idea how much you have to work with, but it could still be risky. I've successfully dealt with this issue by compounding until I leveled the scratches, but I was absolutely sure the painter had put enough clear on the car that I wasn't going to overthin it. One thing you can do is look at the scratches with a magnifier and judge how much clear would need to be removed to level it. If you feel you have enough to work with, then go ahead and work it, but I say if you can live with it, you are better off leaving it if unsure. As a pro, I wouldn't be willing to risk it on someone's car not knowing the painter and how much clear they put on there.
 
Greg Ayo said:
Hey all.



Long time reader. Recent poster here.
Click to expand...



Greg Ayo said:
Really guys? 105 views and no help?
Click to expand...



Just like you, there are a lot of "lurkers" on the forum. Just be patient.



As Rich said, they do look like sanding tracers/pigtails, though whether they're mapped through the clear from the ground coats or on top of the clear it's hard to say based on just that one pic. Looking at the scratches under a magnifier/microscope might give you a better idea of what you're actually dealing with.
 
Greg Ayo- Since it looks like something related to the prep done before the repaint, I'd be talking with the shop that did the work. I'd guess that it's gonna require wetsanding/compounding/polishing, and I'd rather have *them* on the hook for the whole thing. If you do it yourself and cause problems, they could easily say it's all your fault.



Now you just gotta hope that they're competent.



Really guys? 105 views and no help?
Click to expand...



Well, you don't want people with nothing worthwhile to contribute posting BS advice do you? ;)



One thing that did come to mind before I saw the pic and read about the repaint- I seldom work areas as big as 2' x 2' when I'm doing correction. I know it's a kinda the norm, but for me that's just too big an area in most cases; I get better results when I work small areas at a time.
 
If you find that there isn't enough clear to compound it safely, put some glaze on it, then go ahead and wax the car like normal and the scratches will look very minimal. Sure it's not a permanent fix, but unless you are willing to get a repaint or chance the clear thinning out, there's not much choice imo.



As a detailer, you have to know when not to over correct.
 
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