Newbie question regarding possible RIDS

[Potent68]

So I finally ordered my first real supplies for paint correction. I figured my first victim would be our 1998 Honda Accord. The entire car suffered from the flaking clear coat while the previous owner towed it behind their RV and lived part time under the Vegas sun. The hood, however, was replaced when my wife drove into the back of her friend's SUV. The hood was a junkyard piece in the same color but the paint was definitely in better shape. So the paint I'm looking at is 20 years old and I'm not expecting perfection. I'm just learning.

[Potent68]

I washed the hood and then took the clay towel to it. After drying it I taped the surrounding fenders (don't want any paint flaking off of them onto my pad) and went to work with the orange LC pad and M105. I think it turned out pretty darn good but with closer scrutiny there are a bunch of deeper scratches. My question is, are these scratches deep enough to be considered RIDS? I've hit them each probably 5-6 times now. Should I look to a more abrasive pad and/or compound? Should I wet sand them?

Also, ignore the rookie mistake of spraying the windshield with polish....lol

The hood has a bunch of pits and imperfections so again, I don't expect it to be perfect, but I want to learn as best I can before I move onto my crew cab long box GMC. (Working my way up to the new Civic and the Corvette.)

[LSNAutoDetailing]

Yes, those are RIDS (Random Isolated Deep Scratches). Typical swirls and scratches are caused by improper washing, marring in the cc from towels, brushes, car-washes... Those usually clear up nicely as you've demonstrated. The tough ones are RIDS. Scratches caused by something more sinister. There is a fine line at getting out RIDS and burning through clear-coat. You could try a microfiber applicator by hand with your product, same technique as removing bird etchings. The problem with RIDS is some people are determined to get them out no matter what. They will sit on them with a DA cranked up to 11 and then burn the clear.

I removed a RIDS from my garage queen Mustang today. Luckily it has a sacrificial barrier of CQUK and at least 5 coats of reload. I used least aggressive method, a DAT Abrasive (Pinnacle Advanced Polish), so I knew I had pretty good working time. I used a low opm speed, an orange pad and very little pressure. I did six full section passes even though my scratch was only about 2" in length. NOTE: I mentioned above, don't stay focused on the scratch. Working a larger area will dissipate heat. Heat build up is bad. I then did the same again, six section passes. Scratch gone. If it wasn't gone after the second set of section passes, I was not going to pursue it further.

It's fantastic that you're learning on a vehicle where you can make mistakes with no harm / no foul. I'm a bit more daring... Very smart!!!

[Potent68]

Yes, those are RIDS (Random Isolated Deep Scratches). Typical swirls and scratches are caused by improper washing, marring in the cc from towels, brushes, car-washes... Those usually clear up nicely as you've demonstrated. The tough ones are RIDS. Scratches caused by something more sinister. There is a fine line at getting out RIDS and burning through clear-coat. You could try a microfiber applicator by hand with your product, same technique as removing bird etchings. The problem with RIDS is some people are determined to get them out no matter what. They will sit on them with a DA cranked up to 11 and then burn the clear.

I removed a RIDS from my garage queen Mustang today. Luckily it has a sacrificial barrier of CQUK and at least 5 coats of reload. I used least aggressive method, a DAT Abrasive (Pinnacle Advanced Polish), so I knew I had pretty good working time. I used a low opm speed, an orange pad and very little pressure. I did six full section passes even though my scratch was only about 2" in length. NOTE: I mentioned above, don't stay focused on the scratch. Working a larger area will dissipate heat. Heat build up is bad. I then did the same again, six section passes. Scratch gone. If it wasn't gone after the second set of section passes, I was not going to pursue it further.

It's fantastic that you're learning on a vehicle where you can make mistakes with no harm / no foul. I'm a bit more daring... Very smart!!!

Thanks for the response. I went ahead with the M205/white pad and the M21/blue pad this afternoon. I'm pretty happy with the results and definitely feel comfortable to take on something bigger.