how many microfibers!? a.k.a streaking polish residue

[manman]

Now that I'm starting to get the hang on my first time machine polishing, there is still one thing that is driving me nuts! Every time I do a section (probably about 12x12 maybe a little larger), and go to wipe down the residue, It seems REALLY hard to wipe everything away with out at least a few streaks of product remaining. I can barely get through 1 MF before no remaining side (and I am using the 4-way fold technique) has at least some amount of residue that leaves a streak when I try to wipe the other streaks off.

The streaks seem to take a lot of pressure to remove as well, and I'm afraid I'll use too much pressure and put swirls back in. How many MFs am I supposed to be going through, it can't be 1 per section, right?

My technique so far is to use the 4-way fold as mentioned, and first twist it in the center of the section and rub outward until the haze is gone. Then I usually wipe with another side, then use an IPA mix to take care of the streaks and see if I got all the swirls out. It seems like the IPA is almost making it worse, but no matter what I do, it seems like I take care of 1 or 2 streaks, and leave 2 more...

[stemyx]

Are you letting the polish dry to a haze? Or removing it immediately?

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[c8n]

Perhaps you are using too much product?

[PokeFan]

I'm chiming in mostly to see what others have to say. I'm curious though. How many passes are you making? It almost sounds like, to me, that you aren't working the product enough and it's still very wet keeping it on the paint.

[cleanmycorolla]

Are you using any IPA or a product liek Eraser to help remove the polishing residue/oils? Might help....

[manman]

Good feedback, might be on the right track


Are you letting the polish dry to a haze? Or removing it immediately?


It looks like a haze to me, but yeah I am removing it right after I finish each section. That's what I saw in the videos so I was just doing that.


Perhaps you are using too much product?

Definitely a possibility... I should have said, I'm using TSR 3.0. The problem I find which some people mentioned in some other threads too, is that this stuff is not very 'wet'. It's hard to spread on the pad when I prime it, so it takes a lot just to prime (I don't prime every time though, just when I see the pad getting dry). Usually I just put 3 drops, but maybe a little larger than needed? I do find that if I don't put enough product to keep the pad wet though, this stuff dusts really heavily... so I guess I'm still trying to figure out what the right amount is, but yeah I've definitely been skewing toward using more to keep the pad wet.


I'm chiming in mostly to see what others have to say. I'm curious though. How many passes are you making? It almost sounds like, to me, that you aren't working the product enough and it's still very wet keeping it on the paint.


Are you using any IPA or a product liek Eraser to help remove the polishing residue/oils? Might help....

I'm making usually 6-8 passes, usually 8. I think it might be what you guys are saying about it being too much/wet though, because I thought if I'm getting a lot of dusting that means I'm working it too much and might start instilling more swirls.

And yeah, I mentioned above that I am using IPA. WHen I do that the streaking seems to happen even more, which contributes to the idea that maybe it's because it's too wet?

[c8n]

I haven't used TSR but if priming is an issue and you are applying too much product, perhaps a little spray of water or QD on the pad to aid the priming would help.

[manman]

Yeah that, and also thinning down the TSR with distilled water were 2 suggestions that have been mentioned a few times about not using so much product to keep the pad primed. I think I will definitely start doing that.

stemyx asked if I was wiping down right away or letting it dry a bit after finishing a section. Should not be wiping it off right away? It does make sense to me that that might help, but I'm not sure if the problem is I'm not letting it sit longer, or I should just be using less/working it longer so it's more dry right when I finish?

[c8n]

Polish should be wiped off while still wet and should not be allowed to dry.

[swanicyouth]

1st, don't thin down TSR with water. The formula is perfect as it is. This is a very good and versatile polish, it's my go to product to remove most defects. I've used it in sweltering heat and freezing cold.

A few pointers:

8 passes is too much IMO. You didn't mention what machine, pads (foam or MF), and environment your working with. If its anywhere as hot where your at as where I'm at (unless your working in AC) your polisher's head is likely getting pretty warm.

You only should prime your pad ONCE. That's it, one time. After that, don't add any water , etc... TSR requires very little polish to work well. You should have a hard time seeing any polish on the paint after 2 or 3 passes. It should almost turn invisible or disappear.

It wipes off pretty easy, I have polished my whole black car with TSR using only one or two towels to remove it. Your using way too much if its streaking trying to wipe it off, especially after 8 passes. It will dust a little, but you should hardly have any noticeable residue to wipe off.

Adding water is just going to thin your polish and make it more streaky and make a mess.

This is how I use TSR:

1. Add JUST enough TSR to the face of the pad so you can spread it out and turn it white (color of TSR). Add it sparingly so its hard to spread out the product to color the whole face white

2. Give the pad face 1 spray (2 is too much) of pad prep or detail spray.

3. Add 3 dime size drops of TSR to the pad face as your working product.

4. Do no more than 5 passes per cycle. Feel pad and polisher head after every cycle to see how hot it is.

5. Clean pad face after every set of 5 passes with a pad brush.

6. Clean pad on the fly after every panel.

7. Change pad every 2- 3 panels.

[Hazcat]

As above^^ sounds like your're making too many passes and drying out the product on the paint making it tough to wipe off. Fewer passes then wipe off while it's still wet. If you get a dry spot hard to wipe off you can add a drop of polish and go over the area to get it wet again or just spray some detailer spray on it and it will wipe off with very little pressure. Detailer spray will work much better than IPA. Make sure you're not using too much pressure while working the area with your polisher. It will cause heat build up and the polish will dry out quicker. Also, make sure you're cleaning the pad prior to beginning each section. Good luck on getting it working right.

[manman]

Hmm, ok... I wasn't thinking wait for a long time for it to totally dry, but just wait like 5-10 min. I started doing that, and it actually helped; but maybe it's because I am using too much product and so it's taking longer to get dry enough? In all the videos I saw with Mike Phillips and some others, everyone recommended 6-8 passes, so that's what I've been doing...but I did usually go 8 vs 6. I'll try doing 5 w/ less product and see how my results are.

As far as diluting the TSR, I wasn't planning on doing that yet, but another member here did say he had good results yet. For myself, I wouldn't try that until I had enough experience with the product as-is to know what I'm doing...just too many variables for someone who has no experience :)