Scratching or?

[Andre1961]

Dear Mike,

I have an issue. I polished a Toyota Aygo (Black metallic) with Chemical guys V36 with an orange hex logic quantum pad and finished with V38 with a White hex logic quantum pad. I use a Rupes LHR15 markIII. I also tried a test spot with V34 and the orange pad. The outcome is looking very good BUT when buffing of the residue I created marks immediately with a branded microfiber towel. They are from the microfiber wipe and by changing the direction of the swipe also the direction of the marks change so it is related to the buffing action. I used brand new towels straight out of the bag. I then polished again and buffed off very carefully and even used a lubricate during the action. It was better but extreme care is required.


Then I applied a seal to the surface which is drying slowly by the way and difficult to wipe off. It is around 15 degrees Celsius over here. The end result looks quite good but I like perfect. Otherwise I probably did not end up at your site. I changed to a softer Monello microfiber towel and made a little video of the phenomena. Hopefully you are willing to have a look at it and give me an advise what could be done different or what you think is causing the issue. You can see the halo on the picture. When I change wiping direction (I wipe with no pressure) the halo (Blueish lines next to the light) is also changing direction. I use a Rupes swirl finder as a light.




Hopefully you are willing to help out.


Looking forward to your support,


Andre

[Mike Phillips]

I’m sitting at my gate at the PBI airport typing on my phone - so can’t type much.

Historically- I see lots of posts with micro-marring issues with V34 and V36.

Maybe switch to different abrasive technology and do a Test Spot.

It might be your towels but - as long as they are clean, they would be my second factor to look at. Easy enough to troubleshoot too - just get some new better towels and test then.

[Mike Phillips]

Also - could it be lint on the paint?

Here’s my view...







Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Andre1961]

Hi Mike,

Thanks for the reply. It isn't the product because after the polishing the paint is clear. It really is created during the swipe action. I switched to different MF towels but same result. It is as of the scratches are in the wax layer. Would you expect a fully clear reflection? I have a little video showing how the orientation of the marks changes from horizontal to vertical and back during a swipe in a different direction but it says it is too big to upload.

Thanks again and have a good flight.

Andre

[Mike Phillips]

How are you sealing the paint?

[Andre1961]

This time I used Jetseal from CG. Hand applied and dry to the touch. It was difficult to buff off. Very sticky.

BTW the lines I see are straight and change perpendicular on the previous one when swiped. The previous one are gone. When polishing harder I can create sticking scratches.

[Mike Phillips]

Maybe it’s soft paint?


The only time I have problems with paint is if it’s stupid soft. Then the key is a quality AIO or great towels and good technique.


I really like the Forrest Green towels I show in all my write-ups, like this one,

Why I call the FLEX 3401 the BEAST! by Mike Phillips

[Andre1961]

Will try different towels, thanks.

It is crazy.

Does this help to form an opinion.

Swirls1.mp4 - Google Drive

It is driving me nuts.

[SWETM]

Since it's change when you wipe in another direction it's not scratches. So it would be your mf towels that don't pick up whatever is left on the paint. Thinking it's the polishing oils that you don't get off as it has that oil kind of blueish when you wipe. Get you an IPA or a panel prep wipe product like Carpro Eraser or Gyeon or Gtechnic Panel Prep. The Gtechnic Panel Prep is use another solvents than IPA based and is a little stronger than the others. If you want to get a stronger product look for a wax and grease remover and you will get the paint bare of any polishing oils.

Always wash brand new mf towels. And use a dedicated mf wash cleaner and no softerner. I like to air dry them by just hanging them up. A dryer on low heat works but I think that most of them is quite aggressive to mf towels and they can get to start linting from them. When they are manufactured the mf towels they don't gets washed and it's not always the cleanest environment before they get packageing. Also most of them is treated with an anti-molding product. So if you where to look very closely on a new mf towel you will see all kind of small speck of dirt. Apex Detailing Channel on Youtube did a video about wash media a couple of months ago. Where he showed how some new ones can look under the microscope which where of mf. And don't save on the mf towels as there are difference between the quality ones and the very cheap ones. Get the ones Mike Phillips recommended you or from a known rebutable brand. And get some with different kind of nap on them. Closed loop nap mf towels and short split weave mf towel useally around 250-350gsm and the long split weave mf towel the ones from 450gsm and up. Then you have mf towels that suits the different work they suits better for. As different kind of loops and weaves can make a huge difference with how they works with soaking up different products. It's not always obviuos which you reach for so I try out the ones I have and go with the ones that I get best results from. With proper care and use they last you a long time before they gets worn out. Flip or change to fresh mf towel when you see this kind of streaking if it has picked up more of it in the beginning of the use of them. Streaking is often an effect from it's saturated with the product. And some products leaves a lot to be buffed off so you need to be useing many mf towels with some products and less with others.

Something that useally works great as a finishing polish step on very soft and or finicky paints. Is the primer polishes for coatings like Carpro Essence and Gyeon Primer Polish and Polish Angel Invicible Primer Polish to name a few. They have the ability to desolve the previous polishing oils so you don't need to be useing a panel prep wipe product to get them off before a coating application. And you don't need to be useing a ceramic coating over these if you don't want to. Most sealants works great over these kind of primer polishes too. But the sealants or what the brand recommend is often a great choice to go with. IIRC the Gyeon Primer Polish can be used on it's own as it has the high hydrophobic abilities which Essence don't have or the Invicible Primer Polish has. Britemax has also one of these primer polishes for coatings that's like an AIO polish too. The less wiping after the polishing is what you are after with these products on soft/finicky paints. And you have a clean base to apply a sealant or coating on. AIO with wax or sealant in them is also a great choice for reduce the wiping you need to be doing like the Blackfire One Step Finish that Mike recommended.

/ Tony

[Jayfro]

I had this happen to me a few months ago when I compounded and Polished an Audi S4 with Pinnacle, I went into panic mode thinking I marred the paint, but when I wiped in a different direction, mysteriously the marring/scratches "moved" in a different direction...WTH!!! As it tuned out, my MF towels were shedding fibers into the polish! I quickly changed towels and all was well in the world!!

Jay