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  1. #1
    Newbie Member Linneo's Avatar
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    Can't get rid of all the scratches

    Hello guys.
    I'm working on my black 2008 e92 BMW.
    Using 3D HD Adapt and Lake Country orange 5.5" foam pads on a DA Porter Cable.
    After 4 rounds of 7 passes the paint shows great improvement, but a lot of scratches are still there.

    This is the trunk lid where I'm starting:



    It's hard to get good pictures on this paint. But you can get an idea. There are more scratches than you can see on the picture. This is before:



    This is after 4 sessions of 7 passes:




    Pads:



    What should I change? Try to buy something more aggressive than HD Adapt or get a more cutting pad?

    Thank you Can't get rid of all the scratches

    Sent from my SM-G955F using Autogeekonline mobile app

  2. #2
    Super Member DaveT435's Avatar
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    Re: Can't get rid of all the scratches

    If it's anything like the paint on the 2 M3's I did recently you'll need to go more aggressive. The paint on those was rock hard. It was pretty trashed, I ended us with my PE14, wool, and 3D Cut+. What kind of compounds do you have?

    You can try the adapt on a heavy cutting pad. If that doesn't do it heavy cutting pad and a compound.
    2015 F-150 Crew Cab Lariat
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  3. #3
    Super Member fly07sti's Avatar
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    Re: Can't get rid of all the scratches

    From your pics, those look like RIDS. Random Isolated Deep Scratch.

  4. #4
    Super Member Calendyr's Avatar
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    Re: Can't get rid of all the scratches

    First of all, your are using polishing pads. This is not aggressive enough for scratches deeper than swirls and light marring.

    So you should upgrade to either foam cutting pads, or microfiber cutting pads.

    Second, these scratches might require wet sanding if they are deep enough. Very hard to tell from a picture.

    Third, you are using a porter cable, which is one of the weakest machine, so even with the right pad and compound, it will require more time and effort to remove deep scratches. Make sure you use very slow arm movement, I recomment moving the machine at the rate of 1 inch per second across the surface to give your aggrasive time to work.

    I don't know how good Adapt is, but you might want to try a different compound if you are not getting results with this one. You should be able to easilly find Meguiar's Ultimate Compound locally. It should give you a decent alternative. If you can get your hand on Meguiar's D300, that is the best compound I have used so far. Lots of detailers swear by Menzerna compounds too but I have never used any of them so I could not suggest one.

  5. #5
    Super Member Desertnate's Avatar
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    Re: Can't get rid of all the scratches

    Great advice so far and I'd agree a compound and a more aggressive pad would be a good start.

    I'd also ask you to consider something else: How for do you want to go with this work? Are you looking for 100% perfection? How much of the clearcoat are you willing to abrade as you pursue perfection? If the car is a daily driver, I don't know if I'd start going down the road of wool pads, rotary polishers, or wet sanding. It might be better to try a compound and a cutting pad, and make the best of the results you get with that combination.
    Drop by to see the latest at The Car Geek Blog

  6. #6
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    Re: Can't get rid of all the scratches

    Agree with others, speaking from experience (my dailly is a Sparkling Graphite Metallic E90 335i), metallic BMW paints are pretty hard. I'd try to find a more aggressive product locally as others have mentioned, Megs UC, M105, or even 3M compound are available at local automotive retailers. Megs UC would be the most user friendly and cheapest. That doesn't get it then combine with more aggressive pad, like microfiber cutting pads.....after that though you could introduce some light marring, then you could follow up with your adapt on a white pad.....it should finish down nicely.

  7. #7
    Newbie Member Linneo's Avatar
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    Re: Can't get rid of all the scratches

    Thank you guys. Tomorrow I'll make a visit to my local detailing shop to see what I can find. I didn't think it would be a hard paint, but it is.
    About the scratches, pictures don't show exactly what's there. On the pictures you can see a few RIDS, but there are lots of them, and they don't look deep. It's like swirls but all in straight line. I've own this car for the last 5 years, and I've tried to be careful when washing it. I never do circles when washing or drying. I guess the scratches are straight line swirls.
    I'll let you know if I can get a more aggressive compound and pads.

    Sent from my SM-G955F using Autogeekonline mobile app

  8. #8
    Super Member LSNAutoDetailing's Avatar
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    Re: Can't get rid of all the scratches

    Agree with all of the above, Adapt is a Polish and your pads may not have enough cut.

    Before anyone even mentions wet sanding OEM paint, READ this article:

    Clearcoats are thin by Mike Phillips
    Clearcoats are thin by Mike Phillips


    Sent from my iPhone using AGOnline

  9. #9
    Super Member brettS4's Avatar
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    Re: Can't get rid of all the scratches

    My '05 BMW 330i laughs at foam pads in general. For any serious correction, I need to use wool.

  10. #10
    Super Member TMQ's Avatar
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    Re: Can't get rid of all the scratches

    Agreed with all said...

    Everything that've read---BMW and Mercedes have hard paint!

    Tom
    Mr Tommy's
    Wash, Buff, Wax
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