Need something more aggressive for buffing but what?

[brondondolon]

So im trying to perfect my skills and my friend brought me a Honda accord that he wanted paint corrected. On multiple cars before this ive had great results using a PC DA with a LC orange flat pad with WG swirl remover 3.0 and then using a LC black flat pad and CG black light followed by colinite 845 applied by hand. Well this car was in terrible condition. We thought it was black but turns out it was midnight blue metallic lol. Although it looked 100x better when i was done it wasn't perfect. there were still a ton of scratches. The polisher was set to its highest speed my arm speed was some what slow and i was doing no less then 6 passes 1/2 panel at a time. Now my friend was beyond satisfied with the results and couldn't believe how much better it looked. He doesn't have the eye like i do so while he was stoked i was disappointed with the results.

My process:
2 bucket wash with micro fiber wash mit and WG auto bathe and grit guards
dry with guzzler
clay with nanoskin (fine) and mothers show time detailing spray
2 bucket wash with micro fiber wash mit and WG auto bathe and grit guards
dry with guzzler
buff with PC DA, LC orange flat pad, WG swirl remover 3.0
wipe residue with micro fiber
PC DA, LC black flat pad, CG black light
wipe residue with micro fiber
hand wax with colinite 845 and foam applicator
wipe residue with steel wool... lol jk wipe residue with micro fiber



My question is given the condition of the picture attached what product and pads would you use to correct this? Also this picture was taken after its first wash. And again even though it looks black the car was actually midnight blue metallic. Oh and the entire car looked like the attached picture of the trunk lid.

http://i170.photobucket.com/albums/u247/brondondolon/jackiescar.jpg

[281]

Flex 3401
FG400 - LC Orange Hybrid
SF4000 - LC White Hybrid

[brondondolon]

What pads?

[281]

Lake Country Hybrid Power Finish 5 Inch Foam Pads (http://www.autogeek.net/5-inch-hybrid-pads.html)

I've transitioned from LC 5.5" Hydrotechs to LC 5" Hybrids. I definitely have more control with the 5" pads...partner them with Menzerna = Excellent results

[brondondolon]

but what color. Ive been using orange with good results but for a car in that condition would you suggest something more aggressive? I have a mercedes slk that is black and in the same condition coming up so ill be placing an order pretty soon as i dont think the orange pad and WG swirl remover will be aggressive enough after doing that honda above.

[JSou]

Lake Country Hybrid Power Finish 5 Inch Foam Pads (http://www.autogeek.net/5-inch-hybrid-pads.html)

I've transitioned from LC 5.5" Hydrotechs to LC 5" Hybrids. I definitely have more control with the 5" pads...partner them with Menzerna = Excellent results

:dblthumb2:

[281]

but what color. Ive been using orange with good results but for a car in that condition would you suggest something more aggressive? I have a mercedes slk that is black and in the same condition coming up so ill be placing an order pretty soon as i dont think the orange pad and WG swirl remover will be aggressive enough after doing that honda above.

Its hard to say until you've done a test spot. I have hybrids in orange, blue, white, and black. I'm sure the purple wool will definitely cut but you'll need to follow with a foam pad. Also, I dunno how FG400 performs on the purple wool pad. Have you tried Meguiar's MF cutting disc with D300?

[MitchLiving]

How about some 2000 grit on the DA with a very light hand then buff all of that out. And I mean a very light hand. But from the look of that paint it don't seem you have much clear to work with.

Maybe Meg's 101 with a yellow pad.

[Kamakaz1961]

Looks pretty brutal. I would go with the Flex 3401 VRG and the orange pad with Meguiar's 105 Ultra Cut. It is a more aggressive compound than WG 3.0. Use the white pad with Meg's 205 or Menzerna's FG 4000 or FG 4500.
It looks very close to being wet sanded with 2500 or 3000 grit, however, try the compounds and polish 1st in a test spot.

The orange and white pads are either the Lake Country CCS pads or the Hex Logic Pads. Again, IMO.

I do know and I am pretty sure everyone here will agree......you have ALOT of work cut out for you!

[brondondolon]

Yeah my friend said the previous owners were old and washed it with gas station car washes and when he picked it up they had old news papers and boxes on it.

[HateSwirls]

Man that paint is hammered, I'd use Meguiar's 105 along with an orange pad or better yet with my rotary using a wool pad.

[primo spaghetti]

i too think you will need a rotary and wool if it is save-able.

and FG 400 is a great suggestion!

[ShaunD]

You said you did no less than six passes per half panel. I hope that's not what you meant. How big a section are you working? You need to shrink the working area down to no bigger than about three times the size of the pad you are using. So a six inch pad would mean no bigger than an 18" square; even smaller may be necessary with the PC especially if using pads larger than 5.5". Using 15-20lbs of downward pressure with slow arm speed in a small working area should give you better correction. When working small areas though, you may not want to be on the six setting just so you don't heat the pad/panel too much, and so that you don't cause the compound to flash off too quick. Just gotta find what works for you and the situation. Another thing is don't add much product once the pad is primed. With Wolfgang TSR3.0 you can actually spritz the pad and do another few passes to really bring the gloss up and even continue correcting another section. But for your situation adding a couple of pea sized drops for each new section, or for a second pass, should work well. Clean the pad after every section(on the fly technique) so that the pores aren't getting clogged which can prevent cutting and cause scouring of the paint. If you are going to be sticking with the PC for now I would recommend using MF pads to get max cut using the PC. The Meg's system is a great option since it comes with everything you need to do production work, and can be tweaked once you get the hang of working with MF pads. M105 is definitely a great option, just don't over use it or you may run into dusting issues, and or the product flashing too quick and sticking to the panel. Less is more in most situations. I would also recommend the Hybrid pads under six inches. I was actually using a blue Hybrid pad and some TSR3.0 on my Flex 3401 tonight, on a black Mustang, and it corrected everything except some RIDS, and left a haze free, deep gloss finish. For a race car it is gonna be good enough since more RIDS are in its future.:) The purple wool pads will cut really well with FG400 and should allow you to just follow it with TSR or the Finishing Glaze on a polishing pad and be LSP ready. However I think for the PC I would prefer a MF cutting disc with any of the new age compounds, from M105 to FG400/Uber Compound.

[TundraPower]

Looks like it's time for a wet sand. This is much safer and faster than ultra aggressive compounds and pads. Start with 5000 if that doesn't work try 3000. I wouldn't go anymore aggressive than that though.

[brondondolon]

Ok so as stated in the original post i said i have a black mercedes that ill be doing that is pretty much in the same exact condition. Its never been touched with a buffer either. After doing some reviewing and video watching here is what im thinking.

PC DA with megs 105 and megs MF cutting disk
PC DA with LC orange flat pad and WG TSR3.0
PC DA with LC black flat pad and megs #7 glaze
apply colinite by hand with foam pad

What do you guys think?