2007 Mustang GT - Black Paint Help Needed

[Truckguy24]

Hey everyone,

I have learned a lot over the years from reading here as a lurker, but today I really could use some help.

I have a 2007 Mustang GT I purchased a few month ago. Clean car but the paint was swirled bad in direct sunlight.

So having been a hobbyist for the past 10 years or so, I figured I could tackle it and prepare it for a nice Ceramic Coating.

My process was:

- 2 Bucket Method (always do this)
- Meguiars Mild Clay
- Iso wipe down
- Ultimate compound on Adam's Polishes Blue Pad
- Ultimate polish on Adam's White Pad

My DA is a Meguiars 110V2 and I have been suspicious of it having some issues with speed. Well we confirmed it is not working properly and would struggle spinning with basic hand pressure.

I am now left with what I believe is micro marring and buffer trails.

The paint doesn't have the spider swirls anymore and is much cleaner, but the scratches are everywhere and I am so disappointed and really hoping I can fix this.

My LED shop lights and flashlight appeared to not show the marring, but I was wrong as soon as soon as I pulled it outside in the bright sun.

I frequently clean my pads just an as fyi.

I have a Griots Garage G9 on the way along with regular 5.5" AND 3.5" LC orange, white, black and yellow foam pads. I use a 5" and 3" backing plate

I have Ultimate compound, ultimate polish and Meguiars 105/205 on hand. I have an older bottle of Meg's Color X. D300, and Swirl X as well.

I do have Meguiars Microfiber System Compound and Polishing Pads on hand as well as older but clean, Soft Buff 2.0 4" and 7" Black Finishing and Yellow Polishing Pads. I got away from using these as I found them too large for the G110V2. I still have some of the black and Burgundy Microfiber System pads.

My buddy works for a detailing company and loaned me his Adam's Swirl Eraser DA with 5.5" backing plate for the time being.

Today I did try M205 on the white Pad and after buffing with clean Adam's towels, the marring was gone. However once I wiped with Iso/water, they reappeared.

This is my first black vehicle and on other colors I have felt my results are good, but this is a different story. Black show everything.

After Wash and Clay
71799

Test Panel - seemed decent after Ultimate Compound. Bottom is where I had corrected

71800

After Ultimate Polish

7180171802

Sun showing Marring

71803

Hood after trying M205 on White Pad

71804

Any help would be appreciated - especially with trying to use what I have on hand/coming.

[Truckguy24]

So I have an update.

I tried Chemical guys V36 on a white pad. On parts of the hood it cleaned up nicely.

I then tried it on the door and it had all the DA tick marks.

I took a clean white foam pad and hit the same spot with Ultimate Polish. It removed the tick marks but still has the fine scratches like holograms.

Is my black paint just incredibly soft and needs and even softer pad then a white foam? Say a black or even blue from Lake country?

This car is killing me and I'd sincerely appreciate any help.

[Sizzle Chest]

Ford paint of this vintage is pretty soft. Not super finicky in my experience.

I'd like to say that this is due to your 'broken/not working properly' machine/polisher. If it doesn't rotate the pad with minimal downward pressure you won't get the correction you are looking for if anything at all.

I'd like to see you wait for your G9 (a fine piece of kit IMO) and take it from there using: The least aggressive method That is: start with your least aggressive pad/polish combo and see what that does for you; then ramp it up with polish/compound/pad.

Keep us posted and don't get too frustrated and quit, you can handle this!

[Truckguy24]

Scott thank you for your thoughts on this. I am thinking you may be right.

I tried two smaller areas with Ultimate Polish and my failing meguiars on 4 black" foam pads on max speed pushing down, and even though it obviously isn't working correctly, man did those light swirls go away quite a bit.

When my pads arrive I have my buddies Adams Swirl killer so I can use my new 5.5" pads on there when they arrive and see if it makes a difference. Seems like black could do the trick or possibly one step lower if there's still some light swirling.

I'm excited for the G9 , it has excellent reviews and I think would be a very worth replacement.

I will keep this updated.

[Truckguy24]

At this point I'm beyond frustrated and need a break. I ordered Poorboy's black Hole. 3 weeks full of this all weekend. I'm just beyond burnt out.

The paint looks phenomenal under my shop lighting and LED phone light. The halogen shop light reveals the scratches under the right angle. You can see the shop light clear as day looking straight on. There are microscratches I cannot get out as you can see in the pictures.

For now I just need to drive my car - this was supposed to be a daily driver for me - not a mental breakdown LOL!

I'll just seal it up with my trusty Collinite 845 Insulator Wax.

I have tried: Orange pad M205/ White Pad M205/ Black Pad M205

Orange pad Ultimate Polish/ White Pad Ultimate Polish/ Black Pad Ultimate Polish

Same result - super clear paint once cleaned up with 4-5 passes and medium to light pressure on 4-5 speed. Just will not remove those fine swirls.

The Iso wipedown appears to have been scratching my paint I noticed. I went and used the Adam's surface prep from my ceramic kit and additional scratches were not added.


7188571886

[Desertnate]

Just a couple thoughts.

Do you know Black Hole is a glaze which will just fill the flaws and not correct them? It's a great glaze and looks amazing, but the flaws will re-appear over time. Just asking, because some people don't know.

Since you are getting a G9 polisher, you might want to try some Griots BOSS polishes or similar too. I've used the Meguiars Ultimate Polish/Compound for a while and I'd rate them as "passable". They work, but I get much better results from other products.

[Truckguy24]

I am aware of that, I just figure since I wax clay my vehicles every 6-8 months with Collinite 845, the black hole will likely be protected underneath for awhile. It's just to give me some sanity back and get this thing out of my garage and driving.

I have read good things on Griots Perfecting Cream.

I'm just confused as to what step should get these micro scratches out. Is it a polish or compound? I want to be careful of the paint since I already did the car once and realized outside it wasn't where I want it (due to the faulty polisher.)

I had a nitrile glove on last night, and it actually scratched my paint. It appears to be very soft paint.

[Matador]

It sounds like your paint is super duper soft.

Since your paint is so soft, an IPA wipe down (I am assuming 50/50 with water mix) may be marring the paint. Hell--have you also looked at using different towels with less 'bite'?

I've read some detailers use different blend of MF towel for softer paint and another blend of MF for harder paints.

Could be towels too?

Don't mean to throw more your way. Soft paint is really hard to deal with...

[Craig Encinitas]

Something you may think about for the next time you go through this process, consider doing a long-term ceramic coating. I would not want to deal with this type of paint every 6 to 8 months, as you have stated.

[Truckguy24]

Thank you for the thoughts guys.

The towels are from reputable companies - it seems Ultimate Polish gets me as close as you can see, but no better.

In regards to ceramic coating - that was my intention. But there's no way in hell I'm locking in paint like this unless it's perfect.

The Blackhole will be here in a few days. I'll finish polishing with the Ultimate Polish to get it as best I can without killing myself, then use that. I'll top with Collinte 845.

This car is proving to be a hassle, and where a professional detailing would be invaluable for in person guidance. I'd like to try again eventually, but I'm burnt out and sick of spending money on this for subpar results.

[2black1s]

I have a few thoughts... Some of these may not apply. You will need to determine that as I am not there to see the issue(s) first-hand.

Many "hobbyists", as you have described yourself, approach polishing in too timid of a manner. They never get aggressive enough from the start. I completely understand that. With all of the "paint is thin" cautions discussed on this forum, and it is real, I'm not discounting it, many hobbyists tend to over-emphasize that point and thus approach their polishing "timidly" because they don't want to remove too much paint.

With that in mind, are the defects you're seeing simply those that have not yet been removed by your process, or are they actually something that your process has instilled? This is an important question to answer before proceeding.



If they are in the first category, now you have to decide if they are worth chasing. What is the risk of strikethrough? Should I accept the blemishes and live with them, thereby eliminating any risk of strikethrough?

A race car driver’s analogy would go something like this… I’m in second place on the final lap… I’m going to win or I’m going crash trying… or… I’m going to minimize the crash risk and accept second place.

You have to process all of the information you have available and decide. Unfortunately, there's no substitute for EXPERIENCE when making these decisions.

If deciding to proceed, simply repeat your process, maybe even get more aggressive, until the blemish(s) are removed. Do this unless/until you feel the risk of strikethrough is becoming too great in which case you'll need to live with the blemish(s).



If they are in the second category, then your initial work to this point was most likely aggressive enough and you can eliminate the “timid” factor. At this point, you again need to decide if the blemishes are worth chasing for the same reasons stated above.

If deciding to proceed, this would be my approach.

You will need to determine what it is in your process that is causing the blemish(s). To do that I would change one thing at a time. This is so you can learn from the change and what its effects were. If you change too many things at once, you may achieve the desired result, but you will not have learned all that you could have from the experience. Which change, or combination thereof, yielded the desired result? Or which change really had no effect? You’ll never know if you make too many changes at one time.

Here’s the changes I would try. In sequence…

- Lighten up on the pressure, especially for the final few passes. Use less than the weight of the machine by placing your hand under the polisher and giving a slight lift, or lift on the handle rather than push.

- Adjust the amount of product used to control the “wetness” of the surface being polished. Start in the direction of wetter.

- Try different machine speeds.

- Try different pads or products if you have them available. Again, one at a time. Personally, I think you should be able to dial-in any common product without the need for multiples (in most cases).

- Follow your final machine polishing step with a light hand polishing step.



And get rid of the Isopropyl wipe down step unless it is specifically required for the next-step product being used.

Somewhere in the preceding suggestions you should find your answer. If not, I’m lost and don’t know what else to suggest.

Hope something I have written is of some help.

[Matador]

Thank you for the thoughts guys.

The towels are from reputable companies - it seems Ultimate Polish gets me as close as you can see, but no better.


Sorry to nitpick, but not that the towels aren't quality--more so that they 'blend' of synthetic, if soft paint (or so I've heard), can cause scratching. If you're using an 80/20 blend, that is more for harder clears. Where as 70/30 I hear is the ticket to use for softer clears to help with not putting in more defects when wiping, washing, etc.

[Billy Baldone]

The way i finished out a recent black Mustang was with Essence on a reflection artist Blue coarse pad. Some soft paints need a firm pad and fine polish

[Truckguy24]

I appreciate all of these helpful replies everyone!

I have been experimenting a bit and seem to get it as close as you can see in these pictures.

The wiped down was definitely causing issues and I will have to verify my towels to see what blend they are.

The plan WAS to ceramic coat, so I had to make sure the oils are removed from the polish.

Here are some pictures so you can see the paint on the rear quarter panel. The car looks so nice in regular garage lighting.

Very fine swirling. I had found a thread about a guy with a Challenger and he seemed to be plagued by similar results until he switched to Menzerna. Help With Black Paint Final Polish (https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-101-a/110367-help-black-paint-final-polish.html)

718887188771889

[Truckguy24]

I appreciate all of these helpful replies everyone!

I have been experimenting a bit and seem to get it as close as you can see in these pictures.

The wiped down was definitely causing issues and I will have to verify my towels to see what blend they are.

The plan WAS to ceramic coat, so I had to make sure the oils are removed from the polish.

Here are some pictures so you can see the paint on the rear quarter panel. The car looks so nice in regular garage lighting and very reflective without intense light on it. Parts of the car are like a mirror.

Very fine swirling. I had found a thread about a guy with a Challenger and he seemed to be plagued by similar results until he switched to Menzerna. Help With Black Paint Final Polish (https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-101-a/110367-help-black-paint-final-polish.html)

718887188771889