White spots

[VASpartan]

I just finished the first detail of a 2010 Honda Accord that I picked up used about one month ago. While pleased with the results overall. I do have 1-2 concerns.

It appears that I have white "dots" on the front end and on frontal portions of the hood. I knew going into this that I had some very small pock marks on the front end due to road debrie, dust and stones that kick up from the road. The amount actually looked very manageable prior to detailing. However, now that I'm through they really stand out and I believe it's because the white residue from the DGPS, that wipes away cleanly from smooth surfaces, is trapped into the pocks and now show as the white dots.

1. Is there anything I can do about the white dots? Is there a sealant or wax that is closer to my color that will be less noticeable? I can take photos if needed.

1. the finish isn't as deep as I thought it might be. That said, taking the photo (shown below) makes me realize that it looks pretty darn good, perhaps more "shiny" than deep. I am interested to know if you any of you have preference for products that work really well with certain types of colors?

Here's the products I used:

• Meguiars clay bar on top, hood, trunk and front-end
• Wolfgang Twins
• Wolfgang DGPS 3.0
• Collinite 845

The top, hood, trunk and front-end all received 2 coats of DGPS and Collinite. The sides and rear received 1 coat apiece.

[VASpartan]

Wow, I didn't expect not to receive feedback. Trying to figure out what that means:

1. lack of photos? I tried to take pictures of the "dots", the lighting inside just did not work well (raining full blast here at the moment) and will try again when nicer outside).
2. shut up and move on 'cause 98% of it looks nice? I'm okay with that but I gotta believe I either missed something on the forum here that deals with small road debris "pocks".
3. you posted in the wrong place? If so, I'll gladly put my tail between my legs and post where it's appropriate.

I will greatly appreciate any help you can give.

Mike

[Mike Phillips]

I just finished the first detail of a 2010 Honda Accord that I picked up used about one month ago. While pleased with the results overall. I do have 1-2 concerns.

It appears that I have white "dots" on the front end and on frontal portions of the hood. I knew going into this that I had some very small pock marks on the front end due to road debrie, dust and stones that kick up from the road. The amount actually looked very manageable prior to detailing. However, now that I'm through they really stand out and I believe it's because the white residue from the DGPS, that wipes away cleanly from smooth surfaces, is trapped into the pocks and now show as the white dots.

1. Is there anything I can do about the white dots? Is there a sealant or wax that is closer to my color that will be less noticeable? I can take photos if needed.

You're correct, the white dots are dried polish residue and this will happen with most if not all compounds and polishes that dry white, not any one specific brand.

1. the finish isn't as deep as I thought it might be. That said, taking the photo (shown below) makes me realize that it looks pretty darn good, perhaps more "shiny" than deep. I am interested to know if you any of you have preference for products that work really well with certain types of colors?

The color of your car's paint is a "light" to "medium" color so you're not going to get the same kind of deep, dark reflective look like you would get from black or darker colors... like this...

[Mike Phillips]

Wow, I didn't expect not to receive feedback. Trying to figure out what that means:

There are no problems at all... I don't know about everyone else on the forum but I'm always multi-tasking so I'm not always at my desk or working on the forum even if I show to be logged-in.


Discussion Forums are not meant to be instantaneous forms of communication...

We all wish they were and hope for fast answers but that's just not reality. I'm the same way when I post a question to one of the other forums I belong to, that is I post and "hope" for but don't expect a quick reply.

The fact that people hope and even expect for quick "helpful" and "valuable" replies on AutogeekOnline is just a good sign that we have a awesome forum community.


On a lot of forums you'll get one-liner answers or told to use the search feature... not here...


I am glad you bumped up your thread though as I missed it when it was originally posted...

[Mike Phillips]

As to how to remove dry, white residue out of rock chips...

There's no fast, easy, simple, safe and surefire way to do this...

• Scrubbing with a toothbrush risks putting scratches back into the paint.
• Blasting with a pressure washer risks lifting off the paint itself as water can get under the paint under high pressure
• Any other manner of picking at the residue with for example a toothpick is not easy nor fast...

Dang rock chips!

Solutions for the future...

• Fill in rock chips first, even if you use clear touch-up paint. (time consuming but it can help)
• Next time buy a white car? (Ugh...)
• Polish around the chips? (not realistic)

[buddhadog]

Turtle wax makes some crappy colored waxes that can temporarily fill in the chips and make them less noticable.

Its a temporary solution but it helps, it works best on black.

[VASpartan]

Mike, my apologies for perhaps pushing too fast to get an answer, I had observed a lot of "views" and it had not donned one me that the answere wasn't an easy one.

You've confirmed one of my thoughts that this does not have an easy solution. Are there polishes and compounds that dry darker that I could try. My next project is a 2000 copper metallic Chevy Tahoe and I can just envision the dots now. With your advice, I might want to try some clear coat on any rock chips first (perhaps paint for those more signficant), but a recommendation on products that dry darker will help with spots that I miss.

Thankyou for your list of options to correct this.

Regards,

Mike

[Mike Phillips]

Mike, my apologies for perhaps pushing too fast to get an answer, I had observed a lot of "views" and it had not donned one me that the answere wasn't an easy one.

Don't feel neglected... I post a lot of stuff that gets a lot of views but few replies...

If people can help... they will help... and sometimes it just takes time... heck I never saw this when you posted it so I'm glad you replied to your own thread to bump it back to the top of "Recent Threads" which is what I monitor. I never click on the "Today's Posts" button, just monitor the forum homepage...

You've confirmed one of my thoughts that this does not have an easy solution. Are there polishes and compounds that dry darker that I could try.

Not to the point that it will solve the problem. Some products are gray in color but after they are worked, then embedded into rock chips they will still tend to turn opaque...

One thing you an try is to machine apply a wax or paint sealant to the area and apply some pressure in your initial passes.

The foam pad moving over the surface, even if it's a soft finishing pad will have a cleaning effect especialy if the polish residue is fresh and not hardened.

My next project is a 2000 copper metallic Chevy Tahoe and I can just envision the dots now. With your advice, I might want to try some clear coat on any rock chips first (perhaps paint for those more signficant)

Look into the Dr. Color Chip system...

There's no easy way to avoid the hassles of working with rock chips...

[embolism]

Mike's got you covered. The residue is from the polish not the WGDGPS or the Collinite.

you can also try washing the car after your polishing steps (the WG twins). If you spray the front end with OPC and pay a bit more attention to areas prone to chips then you might be able to get the residue out. I don't think you need a pressure washer, just a hose should be fine.

Washing will also remove the residual polishing oils from the twins which will help your sealant bond better.

[VASpartan]

One thing you an try is to machine apply a wax or paint sealant to the area and apply some pressure in your initial passes.

The foam pad moving over the surface, even if it's a soft finishing pad will have a cleaning effect especialy if the polish residue is fresh and not hardened.




Look into the Dr. Color Chip system...

There's no easy way to avoid the hassles of working with rock chips...

Mike, Thanks again. I'll try the extra pressure on my DA w/ wax tip.

Mike's got you covered. The residue is from the polish not the WGDGPS or the Collinite.

you can also try washing the car after your polishing steps (the WG twins). If you spray the front end with OPC and pay a bit more attention to areas prone to chips then you might be able to get the residue out. I don't think you need a pressure washer, just a hose should be fine.

Washing will also remove the residual polishing oils from the twins which will help your sealant bond better.

embolism, Thank you. With the Tahoe I will definitely wash AFTER the Twins are finished. I think you mean to use OPC AFTER the wins as well and I'll give that a shot.