Please help w/soft paint

I

imported_Homer

New member
I just picked up a used cat-back exhaust for my car for Xmas. The unit is in very good condition...it's a TRD stainless steel exhaust. Anyhow, it's got minor scratches on the surface...is there any way to remove the scratches? I've used never-dull and some meguiar's metal polish. Both products cleaned up the metal and it shines like no other, but the surface scratches are still there. Does anyone have any suggestions?



Huy
 
Unless you want to experiment with a polishing wheel and various compounds from a place like Eastwood Company.
http://www.eastwoodco.com/cgi-bin/sgdynamo.exe?HTNAME=buffing_new.htm&UID=2001122700032177

Or find a place that does this professionally. Can't recall where in So Cal you are but in Santa Ana/Costa Mesa there is Santa Ana Plating or Sihiling Metal Polishing. Sihiling used to do tons of stuff for the race cars I worked on. They do a fantastic job.
 
After this car, I'm ready to give up detailing. I just finished up an 04 Audi All-Road in Brilliant Black for a friend. Polishing went ok, except that it had some horribly deep defects that wouldn't come out given the time I had. No big deal there, we knew it wouldn't be perfect even before we started.

My headaches began once I started waxing. I went around the car with BFWD, light coat and finished the whole car before going back to remove. Once I pulled it into the sun, I saw there where certain spots where it looked like it smeared or hazed upon removal, which is weird since I've never had ANY problems with BFWD before. Grab M34 to help remove, along with one of my newest, plushest towels, which has been washed once. M34 left a haze and streaks on this paint. That's weird too, so I grab my ONR QD mix. This removes the haze from BFWD and M34, but when I grab my LED to inspect it, now there are straight line towel marks. Keep in mind, I didn't use any pressure using either QD, didn't bear down on it, nothing of the sort.

Now I have ultra-fine scratches in what I've always heard to be rock-hard clearcoat. I'm not sure exactly what I could have done differently, but there has to be some method for dealing with paint like this. I've never touched a Jet Black BMW, but I'm guessing it's pretty close to how this car is. I really need someone with experience on supersoft clears to explain how they would handle something like this. Help! :banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead:
 
mikenap said:
After this car, I'm ready to give up detailing. I just finished up an 04 Audi All-Road in Brilliant Black for a friend. Polishing went ok, except that it had some horribly deep defects that wouldn't come out given the time I had. No big deal there, we knew it wouldn't be perfect even before we started.

My headaches began once I started waxing. I went around the car with BFWD, light coat and finished the whole car before going back to remove. Once I pulled it into the sun, I saw there where certain spots where it looked like it smeared or hazed upon removal, which is weird since I've never had ANY problems with BFWD before. Grab M34 to help remove, along with one of my newest, plushest towels, which has been washed once. M34 left a haze and streaks on this paint. That's weird too, so I grab my ONR QD mix. This removes the haze from BFWD and M34, but when I grab my LED to inspect it, now there are straight line towel marks. Keep in mind, I didn't use any pressure using either QD, didn't bear down on it, nothing of the sort.

Now I have ultra-fine scratches in what I've always heard to be rock-hard clearcoat. I'm not sure exactly what I could have done differently, but there has to be some method for dealing with paint like this. I've never touched a Jet Black BMW, but I'm guessing it's pretty close to how this car is. I really need someone with experience on supersoft clears to explain how they would handle something like this. Help! :banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead:
Click to expand...

Make sure your not using any kind of fabric softner. Also a good idea to double rinse before drying :2 cents:

Sounds like you may have been applying the products a lil to thick. That or maybe the humidity level was high. Or maybe it was just one of those freak of nature unexplained phenomenons :out:

I have a new black Honda Accord I mantain for a customer. I can 1 step this car to perfection, but if you start trying to QD it, lite swirls will appear X_X I have learned after I apply my LSP to simply walk away @-)
 
Brilliant black is a bitch for 2 reasons...

First is that polishing defects out of is takes a long time because in that regard the clear is, hard... meaning more aggressive methods need to be taken in order to achieve even minimal levels of correction. In truth I would almost always rather deal with a hard clear than a very soft one.

The problem comes in also that the clear on a Brill black Audi is also very easily marred.

This is a very annoying combo to deal with, trust me I know, thats the color of my car! BF WD on Brill Black gave me some streaking. Best bet is to let the product cure after being buffed off for as long as you can and then go back over and wipe it down using DISTILLED WATER, no QD, no ONR... you will just end up overloading the finish with products and end up causing more streaking opposed to actually removing it.

Most all QD's have lubricants, protection (possibly polymers) and some like Meguiars last touch are loaded with silicone for slickness. Now if the finish is already coated with an LSP the last thing you need is to add a product on top which also has protection in it, I have said this to many people in the past few days "You can only put so much water in a glass".

Hence why distilled water works great because it contains none of the above. Also I would stay away from super plush towels, I never liked them simply because they do not glide as easily as a short nap micro fiber. I dont care about how plush a towel is, I need it to have the least amount of friction possible, short nap is basically all I use because the glide very well (minimal fiction) and the do not push water around the paint, they absorb it quite well and help to wipe evenly without getting grabby or overly saturated.
 
Street Dreams;43440[B said:
]Brilliant black is a bitch for 2 reasons...

First is that polishing defects out of is takes a long time because in that regard the clear is, hard... meaning more aggressive methods need to be taken in order to achieve even minimal levels of correction. In truth I would almost always rather deal with a hard clear than a very soft one.

The problem comes in also that the clear on a Brill black Audi is also very easily marred.[/B]
This is a very annoying combo to deal with, trust me I know, thats the color of my car! BF WD on Brill Black gave me some streaking. Best bet is to let the product cure after being buffed off for as long as you can and then go back over and wipe it down using DISTILLED WATER, no QD, no ONR... you will just end up overloading the finish with products and end up causing more streaking opposed to actually removing it.

Most all QD's have lubricants, protection (possibly polymers) and some like Meguiars last touch are loaded with silicone for slickness. Now if the finish is already coated with an LSP the last thing you need is to add a product on top which also has protection in it, I have said this to many people in the past few days "You can only put so much water in a glass".

Hence why distilled water works great because it contains none of the above. Also I would stay away from super plush towels, I never liked them simply because they do not glide as easily as a short nap micro fiber. I dont care about how plush a towel is, I need it to have the least amount of friction possible, short nap is basically all I use because the glide very well (minimal fiction) and the do not push water around the paint, they absorb it quite well and help to wipe evenly without getting grabby or overly saturated.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that in-depth answer, Dave.

Ok, so I'm not going crazy then. I couldn't understand how it could be so hard to fix and yet scratch so easily. It really doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but it is what it is, I guess. And the other products streaking was exactly what I was seeing. It honestly looked much better before I applied BFWD. It was all downhill from there.

I guess I should try some short nap towels, I just thought my plushies would be best to avoid scratching. And I'll try the distilled water trick too. Does it need to be chilled water, or is that just a myth?

And Flash, my wife has a Nighthawk Black Pearl Honda. I have no love for it either.
 
mikenap said:
Thanks for that in-depth answer, Dave.

Ok, so I'm not going crazy then. I couldn't understand how it could be so hard to fix and yet scratch so easily. It really doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but it is what it is, I guess. And the other products streaking was exactly what I was seeing. It honestly looked much better before I applied BFWD. It was all downhill from there.

I guess I should try some short nap towels, I just thought my plushies would be best to avoid scratching. And I'll try the distilled water trick too. Does it need to be chilled water, or is that just a myth?

And Flash, my wife has a Nighthawk Black Pearl Honda. I have no love for it either.
Click to expand...

I havent found colder water to work any better, except for the fact that when your 1/2 done with the car the water in the bottle is room temp anyway.
 
Street Dreams said:
Brilliant black is a bitch for 2 reasons...

First is that polishing defects out of is takes a long time because in that regard the clear is, hard... meaning more aggressive methods need to be taken in order to achieve even minimal levels of correction. In truth I would almost always rather deal with a hard clear than a very soft one.

The problem comes in also that the clear on a Brill black Audi is also very easily marred.

This is a very annoying combo to deal with, trust me I know, thats the color of my car! BF WD on Brill Black gave me some streaking. Best bet is to let the product cure after being buffed off for as long as you can and then go back over and wipe it down using DISTILLED WATER, no QD, no ONR... you will just end up overloading the finish with products and end up causing more streaking opposed to actually removing it.

Most all QD's have lubricants, protection (possibly polymers) and some like Meguiars last touch are loaded with silicone for slickness. Now if the finish is already coated with an LSP the last thing you need is to add a product on top which also has protection in it, I have said this to many people in the past few days "You can only put so much water in a glass".

Hence why distilled water works great because it contains none of the above. Also I would stay away from super plush towels, I never liked them simply because they do not glide as easily as a short nap micro fiber. I dont care about how plush a towel is, I need it to have the least amount of friction possible, short nap is basically all I use because the glide very well (minimal fiction) and the do not push water around the paint, they absorb it quite well and help to wipe evenly without getting grabby or overly saturated.
Click to expand...


I agree with this 100%
 
Street Dreams said:
Brilliant black is a bitch for 2 reasons...

First is that polishing defects out of is takes a long time because in that regard the clear is, hard... meaning more aggressive methods need to be taken in order to achieve even minimal levels of correction. In truth I would almost always rather deal with a hard clear than a very soft one.

The problem comes in also that the clear on a Brill black Audi is also very easily marred.

This is a very annoying combo to deal with, trust me I know, thats the color of my car! BF WD on Brill Black gave me some streaking. Best bet is to let the product cure after being buffed off for as long as you can and then go back over and wipe it down using DISTILLED WATER, no QD, no ONR... you will just end up overloading the finish with products and end up causing more streaking opposed to actually removing it.

Most all QD's have lubricants, protection (possibly polymers) and some like Meguiars last touch are loaded with silicone for slickness. Now if the finish is already coated with an LSP the last thing you need is to add a product on top which also has protection in it, I have said this to many people in the past few days "You can only put so much water in a glass".

Hence why distilled water works great because it contains none of the above. Also I would stay away from super plush towels, I never liked them simply because they do not glide as easily as a short nap micro fiber. I dont care about how plush a towel is, I need it to have the least amount of friction possible, short nap is basically all I use because the glide very well (minimal fiction) and the do not push water around the paint, they absorb it quite well and help to wipe evenly without getting grabby or overly saturated.
Click to expand...

I always learn something new from you Dave. I have read so many of your posts that have included you using Distiled water and never really understood why. Now I know. I am glad I read this thread because I have a black Audi Q7 next week, and this info will definitely help.
 
bmw5541 said:
I always learn something new from you Dave. I have read so many of your posts that have included you using Distiled water and never really understood why. Now I know. I am glad I read this thread because I have a black Audi Q7 next week, and this info will definitely help.
Click to expand...

:iagree::iagree::iagree:

I buy distilled water four gallons at a time (one carton) and use it for many things, especially cutting/mixing cleaners, pad/clay lube and wipe-downs.

Regards,
GEWB
 
mikenap said:
After this car, I'm ready to give up detailing. I just finished up an 04 Audi All-Road in Brilliant Black for a friend. Polishing went ok, except that it had some horribly deep defects that wouldn't come out given the time I had. No big deal there, we knew it wouldn't be perfect even before we started.

My headaches began once I started waxing. I went around the car with BFWD, light coat and finished the whole car before going back to remove. Once I pulled it into the sun, I saw there where certain spots where it looked like it smeared or hazed upon removal, which is weird since I've never had ANY problems with BFWD before. Grab M34 to help remove, along with one of my newest, plushest towels, which has been washed once. M34 left a haze and streaks on this paint. That's weird too, so I grab my ONR QD mix. This removes the haze from BFWD and M34, but when I grab my LED to inspect it, now there are straight line towel marks. Keep in mind, I didn't use any pressure using either QD, didn't bear down on it, nothing of the sort.

Now I have ultra-fine scratches in what I've always heard to be rock-hard clearcoat. I'm not sure exactly what I could have done differently, but there has to be some method for dealing with paint like this. I've never touched a Jet Black BMW, but I'm guessing it's pretty close to how this car is. I really need someone with experience on supersoft clears to explain how they would handle something like this. Help! :banghead::banghead::banghead::banghead:
Click to expand...

mike i know your pain.. i have a jet black bimmer and have never gotten it to 100% correction. but with daves explanation i understand why...thanks dave
 
glfahlc said:
mike i know your pain.. i have a jet black bimmer and have never gotten it to 100% correction. but with daves explanation i understand why...thanks dave
Click to expand...

On super soft finishes that never quite finish down properly, one combo I have found to work extremely well is Menzerna PO87mc on a black LC finishing pad with a DA machine.
 
Some fantastic suggestions here. Another thing you could try is to use a lighter concentration of IPA to wipedown at the end. It does sound like you may have applied it a bit too thick.
 
Thanks for the suggestions guys. After talking to Michakaveli for a while, I think we've come to the conclusion that most of my problems come from misusing 85rd, not from going heavy on the LSP. It was my first time using 85rd, so I probably applied too much to the pad. This left a large amount of polishing oils on the surface that didn't completely come off with my heavy-concentration Dawn rinse and follow-up ONR wash. Essentially, the streaking and hazing may be due to a lot of oils still on the car when I applied BFWD. My further attempts at removing the haze with a plush microfiber and some QD caused the towel marks. At least this is the best we could surmise.

In any case, I should have a chance to see this car again soon so I will try some new methods and see if they help out. Stay tuned for further panicky posts from me to see how this plays out. Thanks everyone!;)
 
mikenap said:
Thanks for the suggestions guys. After talking to Michakaveli for a while, I think we've come to the conclusion that most of my problems come from misusing 85rd, not from going heavy on the LSP. It was my first time using 85rd, so I probably applied too much to the pad. This left a large amount of polishing oils on the surface that didn't completely come off with my heavy-concentration Dawn rinse and follow-up ONR wash. Essentially, the streaking and hazing may be due to a lot of oils still on the car when I applied BFWD. My further attempts at removing the haze with a plush microfiber and some QD caused the towel marks. At least this is the best we could surmise.

In any case, I should have a chance to see this car again soon so I will try some new methods and see if they help out. Stay tuned for further panicky posts from me to see how this plays out. Thanks everyone!;)
Click to expand...

the combination i found that worked very well the last time working on the bimmer was menzerna power finsh and ccs green pad.. got it to perfect in sunlight... keep in mind that i usually get it to perfect then scratch it up putting on and/or takng off the lsp
 
glfahlc said:
the combination i found that worked very well the last time working on the bimmer was menzerna power finsh and ccs green pad.. got it to perfect in sunlight... keep in mind that i usually get it to perfect then scratch it up putting on and/or takng off the lsp
Click to expand...

That is a great 1 step method for sure. Sometimes I use the yellow pad though. This will remove 90%+ of your defects. Saves me time and my clients money Da Rules!
 
Just add, I had the same problem with my soft infiniti paint. I found BFWD to be streaking after I would remove it. It was frustrating, I think I waited about 5 minutes to cure before I removed it.
 
fishnugget said:
Just add, I had the same problem with my soft infiniti paint. I found BFWD to be streaking after I would remove it. It was frustrating, I think I waited about 5 minutes to cure before I removed it.
Click to expand...


I have an 08 Infiniti that is black non metalic and had the same streaking issues. I was able to manage it by allowing the BFWD to haze before wiping off. I also apply all my LSP as thin as possible ensuring full coverage. Remember everything you see haze up is wasted. Only the super thin layer that bonds to the paint remains as protection so more is not better and in fact only wastes $ and caused you to work harder to remove.

I need to keep the distilled water trick in mind. I have used distilled water to mix with IPA and ONR for clay lube but never though of using it straight.

Thanks for sharing Dave.

Is there a forum -read support group- for black car owners? We should make a section.
 
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