Another PC noob question

[djtano]

So, I finally got the Lake Country CCS pads from autogeek(great service + quick shipping ) so Here's what I did on my daily drive Sentra which is suffering badly. I polished only on the hood to test it out.

1. Zaino Z7 wash
2. Clay
3. Wash again
4. Z-PC polish with LC Orange pad
5. Z-5

The final product looks ok. A lot of the swirl marks are gone and the water mark from the washer nozzle is gone. However, deeper scratch from bird poop etching and others are still quite visible. The paint also has noticeable orange peel. So what should be my next move?

LC Yellow pad + Z-PC
or
LC Orange pad + Pinnacle XMT 3
or
Just forget it, it's just a sentra and it looks good enough!

Also, is there anything I could do other than wet sanding to fix the orange peel? Obviously I don't want to do wet sand because I'll probably mess it up. Thanks in advance.

[ltoman]

Pics?

[sparkie]

The Z and LC is above me. Pics would help. And welcome.

[01SVTvert]

limited knowledge here but orange peel is a modern paint "byproduct" and can't be resolved by a polisher.

[sparkie]

Originally Posted by 01SVTvert

limited knowledge here but orange peel is a modern paint "byproduct" and can't be resolved by a polisher.

You are correct!

[orngez]

zpc is a medium level polish at best...its very mild and really only cleans paint rather than correct it...if you want to get rid of swirls/minor scratches/etching you have to step up to a higher level polish like the xmt/poorboy/optimum/etc line....if you read the zpc instructions if you spritz the polish with water it does help in the polish's agressiveness but not by much or for a very long time...if that is all you have and all you want to use that is the best tip i can give you...also orange peel can be leveled using either wet sanding and/or wool pads...over time less agressive polishing will eventually help to level out your paint but will not completely fix it..but if you want the instant fix you can jump straight to wet sanding...

[sparkie]

Originally Posted by orngez

zpc is a medium level polish at best...its very mild and really only cleans paint rather than correct it...if you want to get rid of swirls/minor scratches/etching you have to step up to a higher level polish like the xmt/poorboy/optimum/etc line....if you read the zpc instructions if you spritz the polish with water it does help in the polish's agressiveness but not by much or for a very long time...if that is all you have and all you want to use that is the best tip i can give you...also orange peel can be leveled using either wet sanding and/or wool pads...over time less agressive polishing will eventually help to level out your paint but will not completely fix it..but if you want the instant fix you can jump straight to wet sanding...

Wool pad to correct orange peel paint! Well, I just learned something.

[djtano]

Hi guys, thanks for the responses. I tried taking pictures but I suck at digital camera almost as bad as I suck at teh internet and it's hard to show the scratches that I am fighting with. Anyway I do understand Z-PC is mild abrasive at best but reading posts on here and autopia, people seem to have different results/perception. Z-PC seems to be pretty good at taking swirl marks out though not complete. It sounds like I should try XMT 3 with orange pad and Z-PC again. I knew I should have bought more than one orange pad... damn it!

[FloridaNative]

When it comes to defect correction it is important to keep in mind the thickness of the clearcoat. It is as thin as celophane and once it's gone it's gone. It's important to weigh out the expetected benefits vs the consequences and take into account how much clearcoat is available to you to work on.

The PC is very safe and only abrades miniscule amounts of clearcoat, but when you start getting into wet sanding you can remove a great deal of it quickly. If the clear coat is good and the defects are superficial enough, you know you can get more aggressive and get better results, but sometimes you have to accept good enough instead of perfect. Some bird etchings can cut very deep and in some cases and so again, it's important to weight the plusses and minuses to determine the best course of action. Just my 2 cents.

[djtano]

Originally Posted by FloridaNative

When it comes to defect correction it is important to keep in mind the thickness of the clearcoat. It is as thin as celophane and once it's gone it's gone. It's important to weigh out the expetected benefits vs the consequences and take into account how much clearcoat is available to you to work on.

The PC is very safe and only abrades miniscule amounts of clearcoat, but when you start getting into wet sanding you can remove a great deal of it quickly. If the clear coat is good and the defects are superficial enough, you know you can get more aggressive and get better results, but sometimes you have to accept good enough instead of perfect. Some bird etchings can cut very deep and in some cases and so again, it's important to weight the plusses and minuses to determine the best course of action. Just my 2 cents.

I hear what you are saying. To examine the clearcoat thickness, the only way to gauge it is to use paint thickness gauge right?