Did I burn the pain with my RO? Need Help

bkchang79

New member
I have a black 2011 BMW m3 that had swirls and purchased the Griot's Garage Random orbital package. I started off by washing the car, claybar with speed shine, paint prep, polish number 3, klasse, then pinnacle. I have this wierd foggy cloudy look underneath the paint that I can't seeem to get rid of. Any suggestions? it looks horrible!:wall
 

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It looks like a lot of micro marring as Shawn mentioned. You need to step down in aggressiveness on both the pads and polish. From what I heard, black BMW paint is very soft.
 
Which pads are your using is the first thing I would like to know and did you go too fast over the surface with your machine.
 
Wow, I couldn't get polish 3 to do anything on my BMW. Try some Meguiar 205 with a orange pad. Are you using a 6 inch or 5 inch pad?
 
has that ever been repainted? its possible the clear is hazzy from too much air in the line when they sprayed. its hard to tell in the picture tho.
 
That BMW black is very tough to finish down perfectly, especially for a beginner just learning. You probably just need to go back with a milder finishing polish and refine things some more.
 
That BMW black is very tough to finish down perfectly, especially for a beginner just learning. You probably just need to go back with a milder finishing polish and refine things some more.

Boy, ain't that the truth, Charlie?

BMW Jet Black is one of the softest out there. *Extremely* challenging to finish out well.

The only two polishes I have that I was able to get to finish out well on BMW jet black are Menz Final Polish II and Ultrafina (on a rotary at slow speeds. DA left micromarring).

Even just removing the polish residue with a Eurow Shag MF could induce marring.

You might want to consider using the slickest QD you have in your inventory and the softest, plushest MF's to remove polish residue. Use *very* little pressure and keep the surface saturated with QD. Kinda digressed there... polish removal isn't what caused the problem in the picture...

It's really hard to tell in the picture, but it does look like marring. Interesting that it's isolated to one particular area like that, though. A closeup shot using the macro setting of your camera might help.

BMW Jet Black is enough to give any detailer nightmares. It's not a color, it's a full time job.
 
"Looks like it marring, what type of pads where you using, what speed was the da on"
"It looks like a lot of micro marring as Shawn mentioned. You need to step down in aggressiveness on both the pads and polish. From what I heard, black BMW paint is very soft."
"Which pads are your using is the first thing I would like to know and did you go too fast over the surface with your machine."
I was using griots orange pad with polish 3 on speed 4 or 5. Heck yeah the paint is soft. The hood, top and trunk, look ok. It's just the sides. I think I may have rushed the sides.

I'll try to get some more pictures later today
 
with the side panels not having a flat surface on the sides of the car, what is your technique on the sides especially the side top portion of the BMW 3 series.
 
I see Black Bimmers all the time, they have a few black colors including many that are metallic black. What is the color of your vehicle?

I see Jet Black all the time and have owned a couple of Bimmers in that color. This color is challenging but not impossible to bring to perfect clarity.

Let us know the exact color you have and we can dial in the approach for you to try, if you want to..

Dan F
 
The color is jet black. I took some more pictures under the sun, but it's really hard to see it at that lighting. It kind of has to be filtered by a cloud to see it's effect. You can see the black doesn't look deep. Is there anything I can use in my garage that can fix this? I have the following in my garage

Griot's polish 1,2,3
Griot's paint glaze
Klasse AIO
Blackfire Wax
Griot's Best of Show wax
 

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bkchang79 -
Thanks for the pics and the exact color - Jet Black.
Now I need to go look up if possible, what Griot means with his 1,2, 3 polishes..
Anyone have an idea who makes them or what they are?

Im not so sure his pads are as good compared to professional pads from Lake Country, Buff and Shine, etc..

Tell us, what speed are you using the Griot's DA, what size Pad, and how many passes are you doing, about how much pressure you are exerting on the machine, is the pad rotating the entire time, what does the product look like when you are done and want to wipe it off?

It looks like to me that your product is not even correcting anything to start with.

Where did you say you lived? Perhaps someone lives close by and can help out.. Let us know if you want. Just need to know the city and state if possible..

If you are in the Northwest anywhere close to Seattle I got you covered..

DanF
 
GG Polish 3 is considered a "Very Mild Polish" and there is a Polish 4 they call the "Mildest Polish" they make -- for jet black you'll probably need that, or something equivalent like 3M Ultrafina or Menzerna 85RD, both of which I've used on BMW JB successfully.

As far as pads go, it looks like the orange pads are all Griot's has, so you probably will have to look at LC or B&S for a mild pad to finish with (LC's HT Crimson are one of my favorites).
 
the best combo i found for my jet black bimmer is menzerna power finish and l/c green pad. finish with 85 and black pad on rotary.... finished down perfectly...
IMGP0880.jpg
ths is before i got it dialed in....
 
Tell us, what speed are you using the Griot's DA, what size Pad, and how many passes are you doing, about how much pressure you are exerting on the machine, is the pad rotating the entire time, what does the product look like when you are done and want to wipe it off?

It looks like to me that your product is not even correcting anything to start with.

I was using the machine at 4. Since it was my first time using the machine, I think maybe I applied too much pressure, maybe too much product? (used about a quarter of the bottle), not enought passes. I should have marked the backpad with a marker to see if it was spining. So you guys believe I need a new pad and product? I'm located in anaheim, ca
 
Ok LA area Detailers, see if you can PM with bkchang79 and make arrangements to see his car and help him out, ok ? Thanks !!!

I always run a DA at speeds-5-6 as much as possible to get the most rotation out of the pad.

Not knowing how the Griot products work, I cant help you with that. I only use Menzerna (German) compounds and polishes, Meguiars 105/205, Optimum, and a little 3M product.

You can apply enough pressure to stop the machine from rotating but that would be counter-productive. You need to apply pressure, watch the rotation, turn it up to 5 or 6, and polish one small area using the most aggressive compound you have until the compound is almost all gone and broken down and just starting to dust. Then wipe it off and see how it looks compared to the areas next to it.
Your less aggressive compounds can be used to further refine the finish with a less aggressive pad.
Again, no experience with Griot pads either.. Hopefully someone will chime in on them.

Good luck, hopefully someone on this Forum lives close to you and you guys can talk/email about this further.

You will be ok, I dont think you ruined your paint at all. It would be almost impossible to do that with a random orbital.

Good luck with this !!
Dan F
 
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