Need help getting rid of stubborn etchings and water spots.

[GlockNessMonstr]

Hello everyone, I have battled swirls, scratches, and holograms for a long time, that were left on the truck by the previous owner. They covered up nicely with polish and Meguiar's No. 26 wax, but would always come back after a few light rains. So I bought a Griot's Garage 6" DA polisher, a 5" backing plate, some 5.5" pads and some other goods, and went to work on a test spot on the hood, after I had clayed it. I started with Ultimate Compound and a white Chemical Guys hex pad. Light scratches disappeared, but water spots remained. I then switched to a Chemical Guys orange pad and saw swirls, scratches, and holograms, disappear with little effort. Carefully checking the paint , I saw no hazing or micro marring. The finish looks beautiful in the bright sun. No evidence of swirls or holograms. I am thrilled with this. However, under my garage shop lights I can still see what looks like water spots and etchings in the paint on the hood , some I'm sure from bird poop and bad rain.

My questions are,
1. Should I try a more aggressive pad. I have one more pad that's more aggressive than my orange one.
2. Can I keep going over the hood with the combo I have now. I split the hood up into 8 sections and went over each section several times. It looked like the spots were getting better each time, but is it safe to keep going over and over the same sections?
3. Does something exist that might work better on these etchings?

I am thrilled with the results I have gotten so far, and thankfully the spots are only on the hood, and roof, and not on the rest of the truck. I look forward to correcting the rest of the paint and finally being swirl free.

Any thoughts, info, or suggestions anyone has will be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.

[Rsurfer]

Try Meg's 101. 105 will work, but has a learning curve.

[CDot]

I'm in your same spot, everything but these little water spot etchings was taken out. I'm going to do another hood session with slower arm speed, harder downward pressure, and smaller sections--and see what happens.

[rms64]

You might try FG400 with a microfiber pad (do a test spot!) - I've had excellent results this way but be careful, this is a pretty aggressive combination.

Good luck, and welcome! :xyxthumbs:

[Kitoy22]

Their suggestions are already enough, but if this doesn't work, do another set of 5-6 section pass on the area, usually you can clear the area from etchings on the second set, unless it is really deep. Another option is feather sanding or spot sanding, but this should be your last option. If your not comfortable with this. you may have to learn to live with the etchings. but I am sure after the second section pass this won't be too noticeable if not totally gone. Good Luck!

[GlockNessMonstr]

Thanks for the responses all. Getting ready to go out and do another run. Fingers crossed.....

[Detailing by M]

your problems lay beneath the paint surface so you'll have to get down to there level so work it more with the UC and you should get rid of them.