Am I expecting too much? No difference seen.

[11Frontier]

HI Guy's,

I’ve been detailing my truck for a couple of years now and I’m happy with how it looks. I know there are swirls there but I rarely see them because it is Silver. And since I’ve been neglecting my 7424XP for far too long I thought I would put it to good use when my youngest got discharged from the Marine Corps and was coming to visit for a while before heading off to school. His car has been sitting on an airbase for the past couple of years and has only had a couple of washes. It’s a dark blue gray metal flake 2013 Nissan Juke which had a coating of California smog/desert dust/Jet Fuel and a cross country trip back home on it.

But after attempting to do some correction I saw no difference in how the hood looked - my test spot.

I did the usual two bucket wash and also did a medium clay. Paint still felt rough though. Maybe I should have clayed again? But I did have a little bit of a time limit.

Attempted to do an AIO and then a LSP on top. Test spot on the left side of the hood.

First: I used some left over XMT 360. I was not happy with it on my truck so I had some left over.
Saw/felt no difference.

Second: I tried some WG Uber AIO that I bought a while back. Same area that I used the XMT 360 on.
Saw/felt no difference. As an LSP I used WG Finishing Glaze 3.0

Third: I tried some Blackfire Total Polish & Seal AIO on the RIGHT side of the hood next to the Uber AIO.
No LSP.

Don’t see any difference in how it looks or how it feels or between the two?

** Used Orange Lake Country flat pads for each application. I do not have anything more aggressive but I did not think I needed more aggressive?

So what am I doing wrong or am I expecting too much after seeing the results that other people post here?

I did do it when it was overcast this morning and the sun is out now. The hood does have a little shine to it but it is very rough and the swirls are still here.

Thanks in advance.
Tom

[Msdetailing]

They are all AIO's not really going to have much cut to them.

[Boejoula]

Depending how much grime and dirt is baked in the paint, I would probably try some Iron-X then another clay to get it smooth and all cantaminates off.

My best guess would be that if there is a lot baked into the paint (jet fuel, sand, acid rain) your AIO isn't enough to cut through it. Therefore your polishing dirt and not paint.

[Boejoula]

BTW, some pictures would help.

[fly07sti]

I agree with Boejoula on getting some IronX then follow up with another round of clay. Also, when you're claying what are you using as lube and which clay are you using?

[Bus_Driver]

And the other usual questions:
What size orange pads?
Did you mark your backing plate to make sure it is rotating?
How many passes for your test spot?

[11Frontier]

They are all AIO's not really going to have much cut to them.

Didn't think I needed much cut.


Depending how much grime and dirt is baked in the paint, I would probably try some Iron-X then another clay to get it smooth and all cantaminates off.

My best guess would be that if there is a lot baked into the paint (jet fuel, sand, acid rain) your AIO isn't enough to cut through it. Therefore your polishing dirt and not paint.

I was going to try the clay/iron X/Clay again when I get the chance. Your probably right that I am just polishing dirt.

And I will try to get some pics up.



And the other usual questions:
What size orange pads?
Did you mark your backing plate to make sure it is rotating?
How many passes for your test spot?


5.5" pads, yes the backing plate is marked and rotating.
at least 4-5 slow passes. I alternate between vertical and horizontal.
Is that enough?

[11Frontier]

I agree with Boejoula on getting some IronX then follow up with another round of clay. Also, when you're claying what are you using as lube and which clay are you using?

I used water and my Blackfire Wet Diamond Conditioing Shampoo. Not a lot of water so there is a higher concentration for soap to make it slippery.

Medium NanoSkin Autoscrub pad

[Justin at Final Inspection]

Honestly if the car was sitting on a base there is a good chance of paint overspray. They do all types of maintenance and who knows what gets sprayed in the air. If the paint is still rough then you still have contaminates bonded to the paint. Going to have to really get after it with a clay bar.

[Setec Astronomy]

How much pressure are you applying to the polisher? One of the surprising things for a machine-noob is usually how much pressure is required to achieve correction. Of course, you are also using a polish which is rated as a 2 on a 1-10 scale here: http://www.auto-geek.net/charts/wax-chart.pdf

[dcjredline]

My guess is also that if the paint felt rough after the clay, you still had contaminants on it. No sense in polishing if the paint is still that rough. No matter what you used it probably wouldn't have made a huge difference. Don't blame XMT yet.

[AGOatemywallet]

I used water and my Blackfire Wet Diamond Conditioing Shampoo. Not a lot of water so there is a higher concentration for soap to make it slippery.

Medium NanoSkin Autoscrub pad

Using too much shampoo in your claying lube is probably limiting the ability of the clay to "bite" and remove above surface and embedded contaminants

Do not proceed to polishing until the paint passes the Baggie Test

Auto detailing clay, detail clay bar, clay lubricant, Pinnacle Poly Clay, Wolfgang, auto detail clay, meguiar's detailing clay, auto clay bar (http://www.autogeek.net/detailing-clay-bar.html)

[Scoobertin]

I looked at the wax chart, where does WGAIO sit at or any typical AIO.

[hollerstiltner]

I looked at the wax chart, where does WGAIO sit at or any typical AIO.


Here's the a autopia chart. I saw it had Wolfgang über AIO and xmt 360 on it.

http://www.autopia.org/forums/paint-correction-and-gloss-enhancement/181138-updated-9-2015-autopia-polish-comparison-chart.html

[11Frontier]

Using too much shampoo in your claying lube is probably limiting the ability of the clay to "bite" and remove above surface and embedded contaminants

Do not proceed to polishing until the paint passes the Baggie Test



Not using that much shampoo. Just less water then usual so it feels slippery.

I will have to do the baggie test and use some Iron-X as well. I guess I am so used to my truck that I didn't think that I would have to clay more then once.






Here's the a autopia chart. I saw it had Wolfgang über AIO and xmt 360 on it.

UPDATED 9/2015: Autopia Polish Comparison Chart (http://www.autopia.org/forums/paint-correction-and-gloss-enhancement/181138-updated-9-2015-autopia-polish-comparison-chart.html)


WG Uber is a 6
BlackFire and the XMT 360 is a 1



No paint over spray on the car