Is it me or Optimum suck?

Z

zimmerDN

New member
Why? Why can't I remove those damn scratches on the 2004 Accord? I am using the orange DAS pad and spends 20mins on one tiny section (3' X 3') and the scratches are still there. However the spider web shape scratches are gone. Bug etching remains, unknown white dots remains. Ughhhh.. :furious:





Maybe I need SSR2.5? I thought optimum has the cutting power equivalent to SSR2.0. Am I wrong?



The scratches don't appear to be white lines anymore. Just indentation in the clearcoat (black lines, but paint is black also). This is my first time using a PC. :LOLOL



Someone please tell me I am doing things right. I am following every tip i can remember reading from the past 3 months. Going slowing (takes 1 min to make 3' pass), a little pressure on the PC, speed at 5, cutting pad with optimum. What am I doing wrong? Maybe Honda paints are really hard?
 
The Sonus orange pad is not as aggressive as most yellow cutting pads. Maybe a picture would help us to see your situation better.
 
I think its you! ;)



Actually Honda paint is super soft. I've had good experiences with Optimum on an orange cutting pad, so i'm really not sure what to say. Maybe the white dots are chips? If so, you really can't do much about them except touch them up. I'm really not to sure about the bug etching either, did you clay it before polishing? I worked on a Civic last weekend. Needless to say the car is daily driven, and sits outside 24/7. The front of the hood had a bunch of white marks and chips, theres really not much you can do about them. Unfortunately since the paint is so soft its probably prone to chipping and etching easier.
 
one thing to consider is how deep the scratches are. if you can feel it with your finger nail, it probably is too deep to correct without compromising the clearcoat. and from what you described, to me, it sounds like the scratches are a bit too deep to remove without compromising the clearcoat.



if you still feel the need to remove the scratches, maybe consider some 4-inch pads, if you don't already have some. with the 4-inch pads, they concentrate the polish more so than a 6.5-inch pad, and are better at removing scratches.
 
Did you apply enough pressure on the PC while polishing? Little pressure on the machine won't yield you any significant results. Are the residual "scratches" that were left behind finger nail deep?

I find the PC at its best between 5-5.5 with enough pressure to almost bog it down. Once you find the sweet spot for pressure, you should get the results you're looking for.
 
I used mine the other day with 4 inch pads (only polishing not cutting) and ended stepping up and using SSR2 and 2.5in the end to remove the marks. ( I was nervous of trying a cutting pad on my Black paint for the first time) Then followed up with optimum which I found gave a great finish though. I feel I used to much product and should off really used the cutting pad after reading some threads on here so may not have got the results I expected.
 
Who's the guy that said 1 lbs of pressure on the PC. He should get a beating... lol Yah I applied more pressure this time (like 2-3 lbs) and its removing them faster.



Also the scratches left can all be felt by my fingernail. So does that mean it could be fixed by SSR2.5 or should I just leave it because it will take off too much clearcoat. This car is in much worse condition then I thought and it's only a year old and being black doesn't help (it never does haha).
 
zimmerDN said:
Who's the guy that said 1 lbs of pressure on the PC. He should get a beating... lol Yah I applied more pressure this time (like 2-3 lbs) and its removing them faster.



Also the scratches left can all be felt by my fingernail. So does that mean it could be fixed by SSR2.5 or should I just leave it because it will take off too much clearcoat. This car is in much worse condition then I thought and it's only a year old and being black doesn't help (it never does haha).
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he might have meant 10lbs of pressure. don't be afraid to bog the machine a little while learning. once you find the optimal pressure level you won't forget it. the PC is very forgiving and won't harm your paint(if you have clean pads).



i'd seek help with those scratches. do you have a picture? that would help people here understand your situation better.
 
if your feeling them with your fingernail a pc prolly wont get them out

maybe wetsanding and a rotary would

but they could also be threw the clearcoat
 
Optimum Polish.





Wow 4 hours later I only finished 4 doors and half of the hood. I am getting faster though. I hate using the PC sideways like on doors, it strains my back.
 
Without pics, it is really hard to say what the problem might be-but if the halo swirls are gone, odds are the scratches are too deep to be completely removed. I have some sections on my own car like that since for at least the 2 years prior to me getting the car, it was not polished or waxed at all. The scratches will never come out completely, but I've rounded off the edges enough they don't catch the light and are hard to see unless you get real close and look at the area from different angles.
 
Remember, Optimum polish isn't *that* abrasive. I almost always use it as a prep for my LSP, like I'd use SSR 1 or something. It does remove light swirls and can remove decent marring with the right pad and pressure, but for more serious defects you should be using the appropriate product, like Optimum compound or Menzerna IP, SSR2.5/3, etc...
 
I find that many folks feel a little apprehensive about really putting the PC through it's paces. Like the others said, don't be afraid to apply 10-12lbs. of pressure with a more aggressive pad (yellow cutting comes to mind) and 2.5. Applying more weight and pressure and moving very slow (1/2in. per second) will be much better than doing multiple passes at a fast moving speed and little pressure. I find it best with a cutting pad (and any polish or pad for that matter) to run the PC at 6...if you've never tried six it's an entirely different realm of speed versus 5. My go-to sweet spot combo is using the above technique with IP and a yellow 7.5 inch LC VC Pad, followed by FPII with a white polishing 7.5 in LC VC Pad - it virtually eliminates me getting out the rotary it works so well.



I'm also interested in trying the new Optimum Compound, but I'll stick around to hear other's opinions and pics of it to really determine if it's more aggressive than IP.
 
zimmerDN said:
..the scratches left can all be felt by my fingernail. So does that mean it could be fixed by SSR2.5 or should I just leave it because it will take off too much clearcoat. ..it's only a year old and being black doesn't help (it never does haha).
Click to expand...



I would *NOT* try to remove any defects that are that deep, let alone on a car that's only a year old. You'd at least remove so much clear that you could never safely polish it again. One of the tricks to doing the right thing is knowing when to say "enough". I'd hate to think of needing a repaint so soon; you need the UV protection from a nice thick clearcoat. So don't abrade it all away in an attempt to remove serious scratches.
 
if you can catch it with your fingernail, it won't polish out. Least not with a PC and the Optimum line anyway.



I never use my PC for polishing, just a rotary, and have had good reults with OCP to it's degree of effectiveness.



Thing to remember is that OCP is not a heavy cut product and neither is OCC ( I have a sample from them)



Also OCP and OCC are at thier aggressive best when used w/a wool pad or a Yellow Medium cut pad.
 
Your clearcoat is only 1.5 to 2.0 mils thick, about the same as a sheet of paper. If you take the clear under 1 mil, the UV protection is compromised and the basecoat will fade under the clearcoat, requiring a repaint. You should always assume 1.5 mil maximum thickness with your clearcoat and never remove more than .4 mil for the first heavy polishing session. You want that .1 mil margin of error for any future polishing.
 
I spent another 2 hours doing just the back of the car. I give up. There are still fine scratches on the trunk lid where I spent at least 35 mins on. I redone one 2X2 area 3 times each time with 3 slow passes.



I thought I wasn't using enough product at first so I apply more and more each time (i was afraid too much might cake my pad) and that seemed to help. I am still moving slow as before, about 1/4" - 1/3" per sec. I think I am apply enough pressure because I can see the pad spinning slowly. When I am done one area, I can see the pad has been pushed out by backing plate but does this mean too much pressure? I overlapped each pass by the distance from the edge of the pad to the backing plate.



I wish i have a camera right now and I can show you guys.
 
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