Your advice for a super soft black Honda paint

[zckid]

Hello Everybody

My uncle got a Black Honda Civic to sell for one of his friends.
In the shade, the car looked very nice but it was badly swirled and scratched in the sun.











I tried to give it some . It came as a real surprise . The paint was super soft and I was struggling all the time, unable to find the right combo. I managed to do some correction to the boot lid only, but the final results were better but not what I expected.

Polishes: Menz PG, 203s, and 85RD
Pads: LC CCS orange, white and black with Makita

After some light wet sanding and buffing half of the area:



After some passes with Power Gloss over the whole area:



After Polishing:





Etching still remains



Holograms were reduced significantly and the area slick, but I noticed some sorts of sanding marks, may be at the body shops. Those were not visible with all the amount of swirls before. Might be the car underwent a respray at some stage.

I’m wondering if body shops respray the clear coat over an existing layer of clear without removing defects, how can this be corrected? What is the best formula to work on soft paint?

Your advice and suggestions will be most appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Zaid

[Ted S.]

That last pick has a patch of clearcoat failure.... A good paint job may be a costly choice... I hate Honda paint.

I would still recommend a new paint-job, though..

[loudog2]

I have soft Toyota black paint. The only thing I could use to finish was 106FA or 85RD on a gray pad. Everything else left marring(power finish, 205 and etc).

The marks look like crows feet.

[maximus20895]

Same here I would use PO85RD to finish it off with. PowerGloss shouldn't be around Honda paint in my opinion. After my black '07 SI got back from a "body shop" I used 105, 205 and then PO85RD. I might of gotten away with using PO85RD after 105, but I didn't know at the time.

[panthercz]

85RD on a black pad is what you'll need to use to finish.

[zckid]

Thanks a lot for your advice guys.

[tuscarora dave]

That is a huge improvement over what it was before. The spot in the photo is called checking and it is deep cracks in the paint that goes well into the primer so your best bet with that is to use some rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball and soak the polish/wax residue to soften it before flushing it out with with a concentrated stream of water from a garden hose. Repeat this process until the white residue is gone so it is not so noticeable.

If you don't have a clear LSP such as UPGP or Opti-Seal then place a piece of painter's tape over it until your wax/seal/wipe process is completed so you don't refill it with a product that will turn white again once cured. Anything with Carnauba will look nice while still uncured but once it sets up it will turn white again and stick out like a sore thumb.

The other posters gave the same advice I would've given regarding how to finish the polishing, however most folks in the buyer's market would likely think in looks perfect as is.

[Bates Detailing]

That is a huge improvement over what it was before. The spot in the photo is called checking and it is deep cracks in the paint that goes well into the primer so your best bet with that is to use some rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball and soak the polish/wax residue to soften it before flushing it out with with a concentrated stream of water from a garden hose. Repeat this process until the white residue is gone so it is not so noticeable.

If you don't have a clear LSP such as UPGP or Opti-Seal then place a piece of painter's tape over it until your wax/seal/wipe process is completed so you don't refill it with a product that will turn white again once cured. Anything with Carnauba will look nice while still uncured but once it sets up it will turn white again and stick out like a sore thumb.

The other posters gave the same advice I would've given regarding how to finish the polishing, however most folks in the buyer's market would likely think in looks perfect as is.

I think you did great with what you had to work with...... and 99.492% of people wont see the imperfections that you see, very less know what they are.

[02CAMSS]

I have had two Hondas and 85rd and 3m finesse-it II on a LC grey pad took care of any swirls in the paint. It was so easy to get holograms in that soft paint.

[zckid]

That is a huge improvement over what it was before. The spot in the photo is called checking and it is deep cracks in the paint that goes well into the primer so your best bet with that is to use some rubbing alcohol on a cotton ball and soak the polish/wax residue to soften it before flushing it out with with a concentrated stream of water from a garden hose. Repeat this process until the white residue is gone so it is not so noticeable.

If you don't have a clear LSP such as UPGP or Opti-Seal then place a piece of painter's tape over it until your wax/seal/wipe process is completed so you don't refill it with a product that will turn white again once cured. Anything with Carnauba will look nice while still uncured but once it sets up it will turn white again and stick out like a sore thumb.

The other posters gave the same advice I would've given regarding how to finish the polishing, however most folks in the buyer's market would likely think in looks perfect as is.

I think you did great with what you had to work with...... and 99.492% of people wont see the imperfections that you see, very less know what they are.

Thanks for the replies . You both are right. & Thanks for the tip Dave.


In fact, the car's got a new owner already. And that fellow was more than satisfied with the paint I'd been struggling to correct.

I'd like to know whether a DA polisher would be more helpful at this stage?

Which one of these 2 would you prefer: DAS 6 Pro compared to the megs DA?

The DAS is cheaper, more powerful motor, and a longer cable than the Megs. any other considerations?

The Megs DA polisher that AG carries is a 110v machine. we use 220v locally.

Thanks again for your valuable feedback.