Did I screw up or am I just not done yet?

[radarcontact]

Hi guys, first time poster and overall newbie...

Long post, sorry in advance.

I have these micro-scratches all over paint and I know I messed up in a few places, don't know where to go back to to fix.

Here are my supplies (all except for car wash were bought from AG, of course!). I think I did good in this department, just not in applying it!

PC 7424xp w/orange and black (grey?) LC pads
pinnicle clay w/diluted opti no rinse as lube
chem guys citrus auto wash (clear)
pinnicle twins
klasse glaze
poorboy's white jar (?) wax

My car is a prior-owned black '06 bmw convertible, paint in good condition overall, but had bad/numerous light scratches from auto car washes and other neglect such as embedded water spots, etc.(sorry, couldn't resist)

So on Friday, I:

ENTIRE CAR
washed
clayed
washed
dryed

then on HOOD & TRUNK (time constrained)
pincl swirl rem using orange on #5 (many passes, just like in the DVD! lol)
(I thought it looked good, but lighting wasn't great as my halogens burnt out on startup!)
pincl polish, but just a once over with black LC pad, as if it were a wax on #3.5 (mistake #1?)
then klasse glaze, one thin coat with black LC pad on #2.5
then immediately (mistake #2) put a coat of wax w/black LC on #3. Removed by hand w/MF cloths.

So...I know (now) that the polish should have been used just like the swirl remover, correct? Keep using until I get a glass-like finish? Or are the micro-scratches from not going far enough with the anti-swirl? Don't know which product to do more work with.

Also, I (now) know that the glaze should have been left to cure for a day (or close to it), right? I don't think that caused any problems but it didn't help any either!

Any advice is appreciated. Unfortunately, I don't know how to describe the problems that I see in the car's finish very well, and I don't think my cell phone camera would do much better. Sorry.

[Emm]

I think you should have used a white LC pad with the final polish. Black pad is for wax or "jeweling" the paint

[Elite Pro]

pincl swirl rem using orange on #5 (many passes, just like in the DVD! lol)
(I thought it looked good, but lighting wasn't great as my halogens burnt out on startup!)
pincl polish, but just a once over with black LC pad, as if it were a wax on #3.5 (mistake #1?)

I'm not familiar with the Pinnacle twins, but usually I go from orange pad to white pad- as it has a little more cut to it than the black and will finish down nicely-keeping it at the speed I used on orange

[LuxuryMobile]

I would try polishing on speed 6. For me, it is always on speed 6 when polishing with foam pads. IMO, alternating pressure with a DA polisher is more effective than alternating speed.

[radarcontact]

Thanks to all so far...

So I need to buy a white pad I guess. Ok. Then go back to the polishing (not swirl removal) stage and use the white pad on speed #6? That will get rid of those little micro-scratches?

[radarcontact]

Stephan...you going past Crestview anytime soon??!! lol

[SeaJay's]

Your right about mistake #1 - you should use the final polish as you would your swirl remover or heavier compound. You'd start with some decent pressure then ease up as you do your passes. Typically I do 2 passes with decent pressure, then 2 passes letting up about half way, then a final section pass with little to no pressure.

But as others have said you may need to pick up a white LC pad. It has a little more bite. But I'd say try it again with what you have and see if you get better results.

[Mike Phillips]

pincl polish, but just a once over with black LC pad, as if it were a wax on #3.5 (mistake #1?)

The Pinnacle Advanced Swirl Remover is medium strength swirl mark remover and after using it in most cases as someone else posted you're going to want to use a polishing pad with the Advanced Finishing Polish on the 5 to 6 setting and re-polish each panel.

One thing I've been sharing with guys on the Internet since about 1994 is the idea of doing what I call a Test Spot. That is to test out the pads, products and technique to one section and make sure you're getting the results you want, hope for and expect before going over the entire car or even an entire panel.

If you're test spot looks great then simply duplicate it over the rest of the car, if it doesn't then you'll be glad you only worked on one small section and come back to the forum and get help.

Anyway, try the AFP with a polishing pad on the 5-6 speed setting and then check your results.

[BobbyG]

To Autogeek Online Radar!!

[LuxuryMobile]

Radar...PM me. Maybe we arrange for me swing by and give you a hand sometime.