Hard Clear That Mars Easily?

A

Accumulator

Well-known member
I didn't want to thread-jack so I'm starting a new one on this topic.



People have posted that they have paint which is both easy to mar/scratch/swirl and hard to polish. I don't get it and I've been at this for nearly 30 years (lots of Audis for the past 15 years or so).



I have some vehicles with hard clear (specifically, the Audis and our MPV). They seldom get any marring if I wash correctly. Even when I wash somewhat carelessly, or use a BHB instead of a soft mitt, the hard paint resists damage. I also have vehicles with softer paint. Those vehicles are easily marred, but are also easy to correct.



With the dozens of cars I've had over the years, I've just never had a vehicle with paint that was both easy to mar and hard to correct. Sorry if this sounds like a rant, or like I'm flaming somebody, which is *NOT* my intention, but I simply don't get how a paint can exhibit both characteristics. It's gotta be either hard or soft.



I honestly think that people underestimate how easily *any* automotive paint can be scratched. If you press abrasive dirt against the paint and then *move* said dirt, you're gonna scratch the paint. You can even damage glass or chrome or stainless steel that way. If you just avoid such "scrubbing", hard paint will stay nice for a very, very long time. OK, end of rant :o
 
Magellan498 said:
I guess people just think that if it's so easy to mar, it should be equally easy to polish out...
Click to expand...



I agree. I think people just don't realize how much work it is to remove swirls compared to how much work (not much effort) it is to install the swirls.
 
I think of it as further opportunity to improve my polishing skills while I curse under my breath ;)
 
Well, maybe people think they have been carefull with their paint, but in reality are being quite cruel to it. Thus they say it easily mars, and then when the PC isnt a magic wand they think it is hard-hard to correct.
 
I think that sometime it has to do with color, like in the case of my black A4 compared to mothers A4 guess which car is more of a pain in the you know what. I think it comes down to when I polish the silver one I do not see as many defects.
 
That is true, just for my own reference, I'll take a look at my scrap silver fender under all the different lighting sources to see how quickly I spot defects compared to my black car.
 
Well I'm happy u started this thread because I don't get it either.



Proper auto care has an interesting article on the subject



Is the paint on German cars really different?



In the end I think it's a matter of finding the right combination

of product + pad + technique.



If this was my 15th or 16th Audi by now I would have that.



It's just an obstacle to be overcome, nothing more and I agree with Bill D as it does keep the game interesting.
 
Yep, the game is even more interesting on my 15 year old Caddy. That one can be even worse than the Audi :eek:
 
JBM said:
Well, maybe people think they have been carefull with their paint, but in reality are being quite cruel to it.
Click to expand...



This statement is especially true up here where we get a lot of sand/chemicals used on the roads in winter. I have gained numerous customers that thought that washing the crud off the paint with a car wash brush was better for the car than leaving it on and doing it properly less often.



They also were taking the cars to a local budget detailer here for *brush* washing during the winter.



Last spring I had a hell of a time trying to correct them.



This winter the cars are hand washed by me and only on warmer days ( +35F ).. Some have only been washed twice all winter and every owner has commented on how much better they look this year than last at the same time.



Biggest reason is that lessening of maring and sanding off of the protectant when washing.
 
MorBid said:
In the end I think it's a matter of finding the right combination

of product + pad + technique.



If this was my 15th or 16th Audi by now I would have that.
Click to expand...



Heh heh, I just put a deposit down on what I believe is my 11th Audi :o



BTW, I find that article by Properautocare to be somewhat misleading in that they lump the Audis in with the cars having "soft German paint". Just try removing marring on an Audi with a PC, the big green pad, and some FP..heh heh heh ;)
 
My truck fits in that category to the "T." I've recently began to believe I have some sort of mutant paint that love loves to torture me. It's a major PITA to polish out swirling, I was using 1ZPP and even SSR2.5 with a yellow pad and still couldn't get the results I wanted, I finally had to step up to 3M PI RC and it worked like magic. And the paint swirls so damn easily it's not even funny.....I have all the right supplies (2 buckets, QEW, 2 lambswools, tons of WW's) and have a great process (which I put together from tips from here) and swirls still appear. Black just plain sucks!



Also, another thing that may make you cringe....the whole "Use the least abrasive product to do the job" philosophy was thrown out the window a long time ago by me. After my experiences with my truck I use the 3M RC as my swirl remover most of the time now (#80 on occasion as well). It just does a much better job in less time and let's be serious, how much more dangerous is it to the paint to use the 3M fine cut compared to say SSR 2.5 or even #80.....i'd say it's a non-factor if you ask me.



I love autopia and I respect the things people say here but after the experiences I have had I have created my own polishing philosophy, "Don't waste your time, energy, or products using weaker products, go right for the 3M! (or occasionally #80)"



Nobody here will agree with me on that and I know it's not the "correct" way to think so I will never offer it as advice, but like someone said earlier "If the shoe fits..."





PS: I will admit that the 1zPP did a great job at fixing my disaster of black paint but it took sooooo long and soooo much energy, and was only able to get about 80% of the perfections out, the 3M did twice the work in half the time! I won't comment on my bad experiences with the 2.5 :(



Great topic BTW!
 
Which 3m RC?



I gave up on the PI II FC RC a while and use it mainly as a product for rotary practice these days, not to mention the excessive dust.



The PI III RC seems along the lines of DACP, maybe IP as well, but I don't find it to be a magic product especially on my older car. I just have to put in a lot of time ,discipline and multiple products to make some progress on that one
 
Speaking of the car washes, last winter I went to the "100% brushless" auto wash after every snow storm. Let me tell you the time it took me to lessen the amount of swirls. I haven't been there once this year. My friends think I am crazy for not going. I told them we'll see whose car looks better in the spring.
 
IMO, isn't properautocare speaking about how German paints are more prone to rock chips. On my Brilliant Black A4, everything except for the hood and front bumper look great. I have many little rock chips. Some of the users on the Audiworld forums have the same problem.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top