Polishing leaves "cloudy" appearance?

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NorcalZ71

New member
Working on my GF's black tahoe today that has some pretty harsh paint conditions. Mind you this is my first true detail as my only previous work is my dads audi that didnt need much help and is also silver.



anyway, i started with PP and a cutting/polishing pad but that left many visible swirls. stepped up to UPP and same pad, still a few left. Stepped up to straight yellow cutting pad and UPP and that took out 95% of the swirls and cleared the paint up a ton. However, when i look under different lights and angles, i can see cloudy looking patches left from the PC pad, no doubt from where my pressure was uneven. I only got as far as UPP over the hood, fenders and front doors, so i have a ton of work left. however, will following up with PP and MP remove this cloudyness or am i doingsomething wrong?
 
Yes, UPP is harsh enough (especially with a cutting pad) that it will leave hazing that must be polished out with a less aggressive product. I'd suggest trying PP and a polishing pad. If you want to check and see if all the haze has been removed, do a wipe down with alcohol/water spritz to remove the PP fillers.



Michael
 
You could follow up with a mild glaze, and see if it will clean up the cloudiness. After those abrasives you used, it should've cleared up the oxidation on your paint.



Top off the glaze with a coat of pure wax. I think you should see results after that.



In any event, I wouldn't get any more abrasive on your paint until you either find out whether the cloudiness has disappeared, or until you are ready to re-clean and start over.
 
NorCalZ71 - Yeah, the PP should even things out and is always a good follow-up after the Ultra. After that, the MP is *so* mild that you can sorta consider it to be the "glaze" step that lbls1 suggested.



But note that, depending on how serious you have to get with the Ultra, you might still end up with a little variation between different areas. The less work you do with the Ultra the better; don't hesitate to do multiple passes with the PP once the Ultra has done the hard work on the worst areas. The PP should be the most-used product of the three. Don't switch to the MP until things are pretty much they way you want them.



Oh, and while there's no real right/wrong, I don't think *I'd* bother with the alcohol spritzer on this job. The "fillers" in the 1Z stuff really only hide mild (micro?) marring anyhow. Realistically, it's probably *not* like it'll never get marred again, right? I kinda like leaving the 1Z's waxes on the finish. I'd just get it looking nice and then top it with something long lasting. If some marring "comes back" it'll just go away again the next time you use some 1Z polish on it. More likely it'll get enough new marring to make it a moot point anyhow. And it sounds like you're gonna be doing enough work on it as it is ;)
 
Thanks guys, i figured it was just the UPP marring left behind but it took me FOREVER to do just the hood, front fenders and doors of a 98 2dr tahoe so i was getting a bit worried. About how much pressure should i use with the UPP/cutting and also what "speed progression" if you will (ie spread with #1, work in on #4.5, end on 6? etc). Same question for the PP and MP as well.



Thanks guys:up
 
alrighty, thats about how i've been doing it. i spread the the machine off, even it out on 1.5-2 then step up to 4.5 or 5 and work it for a minute or so and then go up to 6 until i get some dusting. Is this going to long or is waiting for dusting proper? Also im working about a 1.5x1.5, maybe 2x2 (feet) area at a time. Is this too big?



Thanks mates
 
NorCalZ71- You're not working too big an area, but IMO you're working the product too long, not that I think it's gonna cause a huge problem or anything, but it's not too productive either.



I don't work 1Z polishes until I get some dusting, I quit just before that. It does take a little experience to know when you've broken down the abrasives, but it's well before the dusting starts. And IMO once you've broken the abrasives down, there's no real point in working it more. See what you have and if it's OK move on to the next milder product; if it's *not* OK, rework with the same thing some more. It can take a while, depending on your paint's hardness.
 
well that there could possily be a big time saver. About how long does it take for the product to break down? I have been going till you can barely see the haze of the product left on the paint, but should i stop when i can still clearly see where the product is?
 
NorCalZ71 said:
well that there could possily be a big time saver. About how long does it take for the product to break down? I have been going till you can barely see the haze of the product left on the paint, but should i stop when i can still clearly see where the product is?
Click to expand...



Yeah, try stopping a little sooner. It's hard to say when, everybody seems to have a slightly different experience with it. Remember that the PP has wax in it, so maybe treat it at little like a cleaner wax, just one that has abrasives that need to break down. It's not like DACP where you have to work it forever.
 
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