Scratches after 3M Finsse It

A

anthonyautopia

New member
I am new to 3M Finesse It and the PC.



I've just finished 3M Finesse It with a PC this weekend. It took out the fine scratches and swirls on my BMW metallic black. But it also revealed long hairline scratches in my paint. Several passes with 3M doesn't remove this.



Just wondering, could the 3M and PC cause the scratch, or the 3M FII which doesn't contain filler finally reavealed the scratches previously filled up by other SMR?



BTW, the swirls are gone.



thanks,

anthony
 
Post a picture of the scratches. I've never seen a PC produce a straight scratch across the paint. I have created a few scratches in the past, but all mine followed the motion of the pad (semi-circular).





I have put a straight scratch or two in the car when I had something on the towel I used to wipe it off (back and forth motion).



How about belt buckles, the electrical cord or something on the towel you used to wipe it off?



AIO can be applied over SMR. I put two coats on. One to remove SMR residue and the next for good measure. Take a look at the paint after you put the layers of AIO on. SMR sometimes "hides" swirl marks (as well as removes them). If they come back, buff again.
 
In my experience, a relatively fine polish like 3M Finesse It removes fine scratches and 'marring'. Then, the deeper defects remain, and appear more obvious.



When that is the case, we move to a more aggressive polish... Not an uncommon situation. But, we'd have to redo the fine polish.



HINT: Do a small section to begin with, use very good lighting (halogens at facing 45 degree angles). Evaluate. Is your selection of machine/polish/pad doing the work? Decide early, and save time...



Tough to give practical advice without precise pictures.



Jim
 
Listen to Jim, that's great advice.



I noticed the same thing as Jim. The swirls FI2 can't tackle seem more noticable once I've finished polishing.



As to your problem, I don't think FI2 and your PC are the cause. It sounds as though, as mentioned before, that you had some grit trapped in your buffing towel.



You may not need to use SMR after FI2. I go directly to AIO. Although I've never worked on black. The hazing may be more noticable and require an SMR between FI2 and AIO. Try a section going from FI2 to AIO and see how it looks. If acceptable, continue.



Bill.
 
I don't think the scratches are made by the PC. They are straight lines going across the hood. Must have been due to dirt trapped in a drying towel begin dragged across the hood at some point.



I guess the FI2 cleaned up the swirls, but left and expose the scratches since they are too deep. Now the swirls are gone, the scratches are even more visible.



I will try to find some 3M Fine cut compound to see if that help.



---

anthony
 
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