DACP Application

C

ced

New member
Hello,



I've been reading all types of information from various past posts. I have been unable to find a solid answer regarding my question.



I would really appreciate some help:



My friend has a 2003 G35 which has been scratched up all over the body. I went over it with my PC and DACP. The surface is darker, slicker and sharper looking. However, almost all the scratches are still present. I cannot feel any of the scratches with my finger nail.



I'm guessing that maybe I didn't work the DACP long enough? I worked 3x3 area's for about 2 minutes each.



Do I need to work it longer? I don't want to ruin the paint or mess up the clearcoat. I'm assuming it would require at the minimum, 10 DACP runs in order to even acheive any damage?



To do this job I used a white pad with 3 dime sized drops on the pad.



Any ideas, suggestions?
 
To do this job I used a white pad with 3 dime sized drops on the pad.
Click to expand...



I am not expert on DACP. I recently picked some up and can't wait to give it a try this spring. You might have better results with a yellow pad since it has more cut to it. Any hazing can be gone over with a white pad and some Megs #9.



You might also want to try and work it in longer. DACP has diminishing abrasives and takes a while to break down.



Hope it helps some.
 
You need to buff the DACP in until it's GONE, not just worked thin...gone. You also need to keep the speed up on the PC, 5 or more. Then follow up with a finer polsih such as the #9, #80 or #82
 
Going at the car with DACP again won't do any harm right? Should I use a polishing pad?



I'm assuming I have not even removed hardly any clearcoat since I wasn't working it for very long.



Is #9 the same? Work until it's gone?
 
Most polishes you want to work until there is almost no product to remove with a towel.



DACP really needs a cutting or polishing pad to be most effective. Something like the Meguiars yellow pad would work better but you could escalate it to a more aggressive pad if needed.



DACP is not super aggressive. It starts like a fine cut but buffers down to a SMR. I don't think you wore off much of the clearcoat. At any rate, if your friend wants the scratches gone, its gonna take some clearcoat removal to do it. There's no other way around it.
 
I understand more clearly now.



No immediate danger in making another pass with DACP is what I am assuming.



I guess I just need to work it for a longer period of time?
 
ced said:
I understand more clearly now.



No immediate danger in making another pass with DACP is what I am assuming.



I guess I just need to work it for a longer period of time?
Click to expand...



Work it longer with a more aggressive pad and at a higher speed.
 
Scott,



I should not worry about possible damages right? CMA's yellow pad and DACP is pretty safe?
 
No you're not going to hurt it. Think about it this way, you say you cannot feel the scratches with your fingernail which means they aren't through the clear, and they aren't gone so that a sort of depth gauge, with the white pad you probably removed very little clear. A lot of people use DACP and a cutting pad THEN DACP and a polishing pad to clean up the surface.



What kind of scratches are they, swirls etc?
 
The blemishes I'm talking about are scratches. They are straight and some of them are .5 inch, 1 inch and there are even a couple that I estimate to be 4-5 inches long.



Definately not swirls though.
 
DACP is not at the most aggressive level out there. My experience with it is that at times you have to go to the next level to remove swirls and scratches, and if they are profound then they cannot be removed, at least with the PC. I mixed 3M Heavy Duty Rubbing Compound with Meg`s Cleaner (the Deep Crystal 3 step system, step one) and applied with a yellow Lake Country pad set at 5. At this level you can handle almost anything if you work it and also any hazing can be removed with DACP and a white pad set at 6. But remember, you have to be careful because the pc has real cutting action at this level and be especially careful on ridges. But it will really do the job. DACP will not cut through a really bad surface because it will break down first. I am no pro but I have done several cars with this method and it is only used when it is obvious that DACP cannot handle it. I suspect that pros are reluctant to recommend this method because it creates the possibility of someone inexperienced really doing a paint job in. But I have not been able to get a satisfactory result without this on bad finishes and everyone know that I ain`t no pro.
 
I've had good success using 3m medium cut on scratches that dacp wouldn't remove. you should try this before you go to heavy cut.
 
I'd just like to warn about trying to get too aggressive too many times in an effort to totally remove scratches.



Remember that every time you use polishes you are also removing paint thickness, especially with some of the stronger products like Medium Cut.



Sometimes you're just better off reducing them....
 
~One man’s opinion /observations~



I agree with 4DSC the clear coat has only ‘thinness’ of 2-3Mils. Removing more that 0.3 mil (0.0003�) will cause premature paint film failure. As a point of reference a sheet of copy paper is 3.5Mil (0.0035�)







~Hope this helps~





Experience unshared; is knowledge wasted…/



justadumbarchitect * so i question everything*
 
Now if that doesnt define DACP, I dont know what does, excellent job Regal.......
 
BlackRegal - So, are you saying that the rotary will not break down the DACP into a finer abrasive??? And in doing so, is a useless "cleaner"????:confused:
 
No, that's not what he said at all... he said that the rotary will build up some heat after running for a little while. At that point, it *might* actually be a little more aggressive than when you first started because even though the DACP has broken down some, the paint is softer now due to the heat. The DACP will still break down and act as a diminishing abrasive with a rotary.



Note: BlackRegal's not saying that the situation he described is definitely what happens, but just a possible hypothesis.



John
 
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