Newbie help

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Hello folks,

I'm relatively new to detailing and have been relying on this forum to guide me as I gain experience. I've done a handful of cars with better success than I had hoped, however, I recently started a Black 2006 BMW 530 i for a close friend (He is aware of my low experience level) and the car is giving me fits. The cars paint was trashed with very dense swirls and scratches. I am equiped with the Makita 9227C, PC 7424XP, Lake County CCS pads (all colors for both 6" and 8.5" with appropriate backing plates and counter wieght for PC) and Menzerna chemicals (Intensive Polish, Power Gloss, Final Polish, Finishing Glaze, Final Finish, Super Finish). I've been struggling to remove what should be light scratches and swirls. I am accepting that the car was so scratched that I wont be able to remove 100%, however I appear to be reintroducing light scratches during the Final Finishing process. I'm beginning to suspect that I have a PAD issue, bad towels (Cobra Delux Jr 600). I'm hoping one of you can look at my photos and give me a clue as to what may be happening.

Much appreciated.

[rider9195]

In the after pictures, what polisher, pad, polish combination was used? If you just did that with the Makita, you will need to follow it up with a finer polish on the Porter Cable.

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Duhh... It would help if I mentioned what I used.

1st pass was Makita at 1800 rpm, 8.5 inch orange CCS pad with Power Gloss
2nd pass was Makita at 1500 rpm, 8.5 inch white CCS pad with Intensive Polish
3rd pass was PC at speed 4, 6 inch grey CCS pad with Final Finish

Each step buffed with Cobra Delux Jr 600 micro fiber towels with final buff including a 10% alcohol wip down.

Pads are washed in Dawn commercial strength detergent, thoroughly rinsed and conditioned with PB pad conditioner after each use. Towels are washed seprately in cold water with bleach free detergent and air dried.

Thanks,

[BobbyG]

Well, if you haven't been Welcomed aboard, :welcome: To Autogeek Online....

You've got some nice tools and products to use. You've also tackled the color black which is notoriously difficult to get defect free because it shows everything. Some of the scratches my indeed be too deep to completely correct.

8 1/2 inch diameter pads are pretty large and I've always found the smaller diameter pads easier to use and more manageable when removing swirls and other defects.

I prefer and use 6" pads on just about everything. I do have some 7" Lake Country Kompressor pads and both work well on my Makita 9227.

Some of what I can see appear to be swirls because they seem to follow the same circular pattern.

Orange is a medium to lite cut and you may just need to spend more time with it and Menzerna Power Gloss. Working a small section on speed 1500rpm - 1600rpm should yield progress and nicer results.

You've got some great polishes and have the ability to really control the correction phase. Here's a handy reference chart for product and pad selection.

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s225/BobbyG53/Detailing/MenzernaPolishingChart.jpg

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BobbyG, Thanks for the reply... and I realy like the chart. I searched the Menzerna site and didn't see it, did I miss it and/or could you forward a link where I could find it?

I agree that there are still swirls that follow the same radial paterns. They're pretty clear in the the 50/50 shot. I'm presuming I will be able to work those out with a few more passes. My biggest concern is the final two images that show horizontal scratching. I can only image they're being generated from the MF towels, but how, I don't apply much pressure when buffing, though that may be relative give my super human strength :-).

I'll post a few more pics once I try a few new things.

Thanks,

[BobbyG]

From Menzerna

http://menzernausa.com/Charts/Liquid%20Summary3.15.10.tiff


From Autogeek

Autogeek Menzerna Compounds Comparison Chart (http://www.auto-geek.net/charts/wax-cut-chart-menzerna.htm)