First Detail w/ Questions

[Rey05]

I just got done detailing my 05 accord, which seemed to take ALL weekend (14 hrs off and on). I started with OP with green edge flat pads which didn't seem to do much. I went out and found some Meguiars #83 and started again with the green pad. I made several passes, 3-4, and still couldn't get all of the scratches out. I ended up finishing up with some pink moose and topped with souvern. It looks awesome until you look at it under the halogens, I really wish I could get rid of the remaining scratches. Do you guys think that if I stpped up to the 106FF it would make the difference?? Or should i possibly look into a rotary? Thanks for the input!

[bambo2888]

If any of the marks catch your finger nail, you may be out of luck. How long are working the polish in? You should be looking at 5-7 minutes for each 2'x2' area. The polish works when it breaks down. If not enough heat is produced, you're not doing anything.

[Nica]

Well the finger nail test is okay but I wouldn't trust it. I did a truck (haven't posted it yet) but it was scratched up like crazy, they weren't deep scratches (I did the finger nail test) and my nail didn't get caugh so I used Optimum Compound with orange Lake Country pad and rotary, the rotary was operating at 1500rpm. After a few pases, the scratch was still there. I then proceeded to wet sanding. I wet sanded and the scratch still there, after a few passes of wet sanding and I could still see the scratch I gave up and went over with Optimum Polish and Orange Lake Country pad to remove the wet sanding.

The point is that some scratches you won't be able to remove even with wet sanding, some scratches may not look deep or feel deep for that mater but you just wont be able to remove them completely. The idea with of being able to remove scratches with the rotary is true for majority of the time but some scratches require a very long process. I came to realise this. To get a vehicle flawless and that has some bad swirls/scratches you will probably require a five step process and most likely some wool pads to do some serious work. But, keep in mind that even then some scratches may not be removed.

Well that's just what I have found out...don't get me wrong with the rotary and faom pads you can correct lots of scratches but not all scraches. Well like I said just my opinion....I hope this helps. On my own vehicles I'm going to do some tuch up paint to remove deeper scratches (the Volvo) to get the vehicle looking perfect.

[sparkie]

Rey05, I agree with Nica and bambo2888.

[Rey05]

Thanks for the suggestions! The scratches are faint, something I am sure can be removed(i've seen worse removed here). I worked the op for 5 minutes but couldn't get a pass or two on the megs without it completely being removed from the paint. I didn't want to dry buff it so I quit when the compound was gone. I'm sure that had something to do with it but what can I do in that situation? That's why I was looking towards something like the 106FF, hoping it would give me more working time. Thanks again for your help!!