My swirls are back?! WHY

My car is silver also and I cannot see any marring under direct sunlight or halogen lights. I can only see my defects when I'm in a parking lot under the lights. I guess I'll have to do all my polishing at Walmart :rolleyes:
 
Accumulator said:
If the car's just been sitting, and hasn't been touched, then the marring was always there. Must not've been as visible under the halogens as it is in sunlight. That's one reason why I do most of my inspection under high-wattage incandescents instead of halogens ;) It can pay to use multiple light sources when inspecting, less chance of surprises like this one.



In many cases *IMO* there's nothing wrong with a product "hiding" some marring. Just use a long-lasting LSP to seal in the "fillers" and it'll look good for a long time. Yeah, on some cars I'll occasionally polish out all the marring but it's not the only approach for everyone every time. Consider that many (most?) people mar the paint again in short order and if you keep polishing it all the time you'll eventually take off too much clear/paint. A color like that, with a little better prep work ;) can look fine for a long, long time without being literally perfect.



And yeah, "IPA" is "rubbing alcohol" though the concentration can vary. No, no, I don't mean "IPA" as in India Pale Ale ;)
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hmm alright, thanks for the explanation, can I use some incandescent bulbs in the same light fixtures that I put my halogens in? if so I'd be on top of that in order to deal with the swirls a little bit better....I'm doing a black expedition one day this week and I'm worried that the customer might not be satisfied, I'm also doing 2 black 04 cobras in the next coming weeks and I wanted to make sure that I had my routine to a science before I go in to this project, I'd have the swirls taken out under the halogens, only to re appear under direct sunlight :( :( :( :( I would NOT want this to happen, so for the next couple of cars I will take the compound off with a 50/50 mix of the alcohol and water and then am I safe to take off of the polish with just a regular microfiber??? any more help would be appreciated
 
Incandescents are "regular" style light bulbs, the kind that screw in, as opposed to the halogen style. The high-wattage incandescents take a slightly special base that won't overheat. Look at your local Lowe's store- these are the old-fashioned "trouble light" style lights, cheap looking things that cost maybe $20. They're rated for different wattages, mine are good to ~300W but even a "regular" 100W lightbulb will work pretty well.



Heh heh, with all the fancy lights out there, the old fashioned lightbulbs are still the best for this job.



One invaluable trick is to use this type of light in an otherwise dark shop. Move the light around and change your viewing angle- counter-intuitive as it might be, you usually don't want the most direct illumination/viewing angle... keep at it for a little bit and suddenly you'll get everything just right and *ta-dah* you'll see all the marring, and I do mean *all* of it (even on silver).



Ever since I discoverd this type of lighting, no more surprises under those "special" lights at night :D
 
Accumulator said:
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Heh heh, with all the fancy lights out there, the old fashioned lightbulbs are still the best for this job.



One invaluable trick is to use this type of light in an otherwise dark shop. Move the light around and change your viewing angle- counter-intuitive as it might be, you usually don't want the most direct illumination/viewing angle... keep at it for a little bit and suddenly you'll get everything just right and *ta-dah* you'll see all the marring, and I do mean *all* of it (even on silver).



Ever since I discovered this type of lighting, no more surprises under those "special" lights at night :D
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I concur absolutely. :xyxthumbs When I first used AIO/SG, I took some of the "aero" bits off my car and worked on them in the house. That night the hood scoop was sitting under a 40W incandescent bulb in an otherwise dark room and, walking by casually, I suddenly noticed streaking left by the SG that had been "completely invisible" before.
 
Man, I need to stop by Home Depote buying me some value pack bulbs.

It's possible to get rid of 100% light marring,cob webs,etc?
 
superstring said:
I concur absolutely. :xyxthumbs When I first used AIO/SG, I took some of the "aero" bits off my car and worked on them in the house. That night the hood scoop was sitting under a 40W incandescent bulb in an otherwise dark room and, walking by casually, I suddenly noticed streaking left by the SG that had been "completely invisible" before.
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alright, well I'll definately pick up a fixture that is portable and that is capable of handling bulbs with wattages up to 300W, and for the next detail I'll mix up a batch of 50/50 alcohol and water so I can get all of the compound off...now with the polish, is it safe to just remove the product from the car with just a plain microfiber? or should I also use the mixture to remove the polish? and one more question, what should I apply the EX with caranuba with...I ordered two gray pads with my PC but they seem to buff on a little bit of the wax and then they just seem to buff it right off...should I apply it by hand, because I've been applying it by hand with just plain applicator pads from pep boys (meguiars gold class or whatever) should I apply it with something else? I'm confused :nervous2: :help:
 
Grouse said:
yeah all cut/polish products that are not LSP's
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so for like the Poorboys EX with caranuba, I could use just a regular applicator from pep boys, and then maybe top it off with a coat of Nattys blue or something for a darker car? how does that sound, LSP is last step product correct?
 
sftempest66 said:
alright, well I'll definitely pick up a fixture that is portable and that is capable of handling bulbs with wattages up to 300W, and for the next detail I'll mix up a batch of 50/50 alcohol and water so I can get all of the compound off...now with the polish, is it safe to just remove the product from the car with just a plain microfiber? or should I also use the mixture to remove the polish? and one more question, what should I apply the EX with caranuba with...I ordered two gray pads with my PC but they seem to buff on a little bit of the wax and then they just seem to buff it right off...should I apply it by hand, because I've been applying it by hand with just plain applicator pads from pep boys (meguiars gold class or whatever) should I apply it with something else? I'm confused :nervous2: :help:
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Not too sure what you're getting at when you say "is it safe to just remove the product from the car with just a plain microfiber? or should I also use the mixture to remove the polish?" Yes, use the mixture with a MF cloth to remove the Optimum. That's the whole idea.



I apply EX with a foam applicator by hand. Really easy on and off. Nothing wrong with using the PC, but if you apply a LSP like EX with the PC you will get a much thinner application that may look like it's been taken off by the buffer. I guess it's a matter of getting used to your product and the method of application....thin and even is good.



Also, I don't think it's necessary to go to really high wattage incandescents. Like Accumulator alluded to, it's more the angle of the light source that's going to show up any imperfections rather than the wattage. I think his idea of using a trouble light and passing it over the surface makes a lot of sense.
 
superstring said:
Not too sure what you're getting at when you say "is it safe to just remove the product from the car with just a plain microfiber? or should I also use the mixture to remove the polish?" Yes, use the mixture with a MF cloth to remove the Optimum. That's the whole idea.



I apply EX with a foam applicator by hand. Really easy on and off. Nothing wrong with using the PC, but if you apply a LSP like EX with the PC you will get a much thinner application that may look like it's been taken off by the buffer. I guess it's a matter of getting used to your product and the method of application....thin and even is good.



Also, I don't think it's necessary to go to really high wattage incandescents. Like Accumulator alluded to, it's more the angle of the light source that's going to show up any imperfections rather than the wattage. I think his idea of using a trouble light and passing it over the surface makes a lot of sense.
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I was mainly wondering if I had to use the mixture to remove both of the optimum compound, and also the Optimum polish, and I moved the lights, crawled on the floor, and came in from many different angles to make sure that I had removed all of the swirls, I guess I just didnt remove the product well enough on my mach 1, that may seem like a likely cause??
 
Grouse said:
yes use the sch/wat mix to remove all polishes.



then i would add a couple of layers of sealant (ex) 12 hours apart then top with natty's
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thankyou grouse, you have been a big help, along with superstring and accumulator, thanks guys, I'll write up a detailed account of the acutal detail of that black expedition this week, I'll let you guys know how it goes!
 
klnyc said:
It's possible to get rid of 100% light marring,cob webs,etc?
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Depends on how much clear you're willing to take off and how skilled you are at this stuff. I wouldn't recommend you try for 100% perfection, IMO you'll probably just drive yourself nuts. I keep two of our vehicles close to that, and it's a pain.



superstring said:
I don't think it's necessary to go to really high wattage incandescents. Like Accumulator alluded to, it's more the angle of the light source that's going to show up any imperfections rather than the wattage. I think his idea of using a trouble light and passing it over the surface makes a lot of sense.
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If the higher-wattage ones are available I'd get those; I do better with 300W bulbs in mine than I do with lesser ones. But yeah, as you found with the 40W ones, it's not a truly critical factor. IIRC Bill D prefers 200W bulbs in his light, and he has the same one that I have. This might just be anothe of those personal preference things...actually, the most demanding lighting I have is the 100W bare bulb (over each bay) in the garage where I only park them; I can spend forever in the shop with all my various lights and still miss something that'll show up when I pull it under that light :nixweiss
 
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