Slight paint discoloration after polishing

[cloud336]

I am polishing a 300zx with pearl paint and I had decided to test a spot on the hood to see what results I could obtain on this car.

Details:
PC 7424XP (spd 5)
Garaged, home temperature
Hexlogic pads orange/white
105/205 meguiars mirror glaze

The results were great, but I realized the discoloration after walking back a few steps from the car: http://i.imgur.com/n18Ah0W.jpg (starts after the windshield nozzle and goes from the beginning of the hood to the middle area)

Of course now I have a few questions and comments to see what I may have done wrong or could do to continue:

Did I eat through the clear coat? I say this because after my first pass, I did see what seemed to be like matte looking spots as if someone spread clear peanut butter on the hood. The spots were not all over the place, just one or two "islands" of matte splotches about an inch long which at the time I thought were the remnants of 105 (which is why I followed up with the second pass, they were gone after that). The paint is still smooth though...

Did I just take out the oxidization or something? Its an old car so I assume there may be some lighter tone that will end up having to happen based on the polish work being done.

Lastly, should I continue with the hood? Or maybe somehow just end it there and "blend" the color with its surrounding area with lighter polishing?

Thank you.

[custmsprty]

Check this post by Mike out:

https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/2017-new-car-detailing-how-article-mike-phillips/111373-dirty-paint-paint-gets-dirty-you-might-not-see-but-your-cars-paint-gets-dirty-impacted-dirt-paint.html#post1508811

[cloud336]

Check this post by Mike out:

https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/2017-new-car-detailing-how-article-mike-phillips/111373-dirty-paint-paint-gets-dirty-you-might-not-see-but-your-cars-paint-gets-dirty-impacted-dirt-paint.html#post1508811

Ahhhh interesting! Never knew about the dirt. Seems like I am still in business! Thank you for your post.

[Mike Phillips]

You probably simply restored clarity to the clearcoat by removing any build-up of dirt staining, oxidation or other surface impurities.


Here's the blue clickable link to the recent article I wrote on this topic, (I have about 3-4 similar articles)


Dirty Paint - Paint gets dirty - You might not see it but your cars paint gets dirty- Impacted dirt on paint (http://tinyurl.com/y7x7a36u)


Here's the picture and keep in mind, the car in the photograph is a SHOW CAR and garage kept. If the paint on a show car that is garage kept and probably NOT driven often like a daily driver gets dirty, then how much more so would the paint on a daily driver get dirty?


http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/1854/1955_Chevy_Sedan_Delivery_010.jpg


In the picture above - the color of the paint was not changed, it's still the same color the day it was painted.

What changed was I placed some tape on the fender and then only buffed on one side of the tape and buffed off all the surface staining to restore clarity to the clearcoat and reveal the true color of the paint under the clear.


:)

[Mike Phillips]

Did I eat through the clear coat?



If you eat or buff through the clear layer of paint the underlying basecoat or color coat is DULL. And you cannot make it glossy.

You will also see the color of the paint (basecoat), coming off onto your buffing pad.

When working on white paint this can be tricky to see if you're using a white pad and a white polish. You can take a dark colored cloth and a grey colored polish and rub on any area you think you buffed through and if you did buff through then you'll see the white color of the basecoat on the cloth.

I have an article similar to this here,


How to Test for Single Stage or Clear Coat Paint (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/tricks-tips-techniques/34829-how-test-single-stage-clear-coat-paint.html)



The above article discusses how to test for white single stage paint. Not a big deal but I think I'm the only guy to ever use the written word to describe how to do this...






I say this because after my first pass, I did see what seemed to be like matte looking spots as if someone spread clear peanut butter on the hood.

The spots were not all over the place, just one or two "islands" of matte splotches about an inch long which at the time I thought were the remnants of 105 (which is why I followed up with the second pass, they were gone after that). The paint is still smooth though...




M105 can be sticky. Sounds like you simply didn't get all the residue wiped off with your first removal pass but then rubbed it off with your second pass.


Cool car. Cool color.

Post some after pics.

Share AGO with your car buddies...


:)

[Eric@CherryOnTop]

Haha, enjoy the color of your car the way it is supposed to be!!!!

:buffing::buffing::buffing:

[Paul A.]

You don't need any more confirmation than what Mike offered but from the picture it looks like you're on the right track! That discoloration is a whiter white than the surrounding unbuffed areas and looks like what you want.

For what it's worth, I have also had some experiences with M105 caking on the paint in some spots and it's very difficult to remove with a MF towel. When that's happened its a signal that its caking up on the pad and its time for a fresh pad. Sounds like you figured that out by rebuffing those spots. Keep pluggin', my friend. It's looking better!

[cloud336]

Thank you all for the input! VERY informative posts! I do plan to update this with some pictures once its all said and done, that way I can receive any feedback from you all in order to tackle some of the harder points on the car which may need further steps. The car has seen the road quite a bit so unfortunately it does have those nasty chips and deeper gouges in the paint. It would be great for me then to probably buy 1-2 more pads to easily switch out during polishing. Trying to hit it all in a long garage session!

Any recommendations on sealant and a smaller sized plate/pad for smaller or tricky spots? A plate that can be used on the PC I have currently. I would like to also buy a dent remover too if anyone knows a decent one for smaller dents/dings.

Thanks,