What to use for tree branch marks?

[Russ57]

A bit of a follow up to a post below about a silver metallic 2008 Vibe. Thought maybe I had cause some defects on the roof with improper cleaning. I was doing things wrong but now have "the rest of the story".

I was discussing why I was depressed and my daughter fessed up. She said when she drove to her boyfriends house he had a ton of low hanging branches. It was so bad she made him cut them before she left. Seems the damge was already done though.

So I have a lot of fine scratches across the entire roof. Nothing you can feel or catch a fingernail in. In fact you can't see them in most normal lighting conditions (which makes them hard to deal with).

I tried using ScratchX by hand. I can get them out but....well lets say I have decided I need a DA machine

So give me your suggestions on what products and pads to get. I'd rather use meguiars if possible as I can get it locally. Maybe ultimate compound followed by ultimate polish? Or maybe the ScratchX that I already have is aggressive enough? For pads I'm guessing orange or white with UC followed by white or black with UP?

Understand this will be my first ever attempt at using a DA and do paint correction. So any and all tips are appreciated. Not even sure what I should be taping off, if anything.

[jankerson]

If you are going to get a DA then I would say Megs Ultimate Compound then Ultimate Polish should take care of it.

I would start with the Orange pad and UC then follow up with the white pad and UP.

Finish off with Ultimate Wax.

Do clay the car 1st though before starting.

I would say watch this video here 1st.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...-polisher.html

And these also.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...-polisher.html

[Mike Phillips]

The Ultimate Compound will remove most of what you "should" remove. Anything it doesn't remove is probably deep enough you shoujld learn to live with it.

The good news is whatever might not be removed will probably be undetectable as machine compounding and polishing will remove any opaqueness in the clear layer of paint by smoothing it over making it clear again thus you won't see it.

If you want to keep it real simple and also have pads that you can use for future projects then get Lake Country 5.5" Flat Pads. Get some,

Orange
White
Black


Call Customer Care, they can make sure you get the pads, the right backing plate and the polisher.

1-800-869-3011

[Russ57]

Thanks....and especially thanks to Mike for his great videos. Without them I would never consider taking this on.

I'm an older guy and have memories of guys trashing paint jobs with rotary machines and 3M compound. So I'm real paranoid of the damage I could inflict.

I'm in south florida....would be nice to attend a class sometime in the future in finances allow it. Just need to get that daughter a job

[Mike Phillips]

Posted this earlier today so I'm just copying and pasting...



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And we'll not only be using the new Black Label Diamond Paint Coating on the above two cars but the really cool, top buzz items you read about at SEMA will be in the Autogeek Garage and the people attending my above classes and my Detailing Boot Camp Class in January will be some of the first people in the United States to test these cool new things out...

[KMG]

Here is a truck that I worked on a few weeks ago that had tree branch marks down the whole side of it. I did the interior on this and the client wanted me to do a test panel to see what I could remove from it. So I did the passenger fender, however he didn't want to do the rest of the outside at this point in time.

I used Megs M105 on an orange 5.5" pad, followed by M205 on a white 5.5" pad. I would think the UC and UP would work just fine also though.

before



after

[jankerson]

Thanks....and especially thanks to Mike for his great videos. Without them I would never consider taking this on.

I'm an older guy and have memories of guys trashing paint jobs with rotary machines and 3M compound. So I'm real paranoid of the damage I could inflict.

I'm in south florida....would be nice to attend a class sometime in the future in finances allow it. Just need to get that daughter a job

Yep, Mike's videos are great and very informative and really do show how to do it correctly.

With a DA I wouldn't worry about trashing the paint.

[Russ57]

Any compelling reason to pick one machine over another? Griots seems to have more power (but printed specs don't always tell the truth) and a better warranty. I like the handle better too.

Porter Cable is a name I know and trust. That is important to me but not a deal breaker.

[jankerson]

Any compelling reason to pick one machine over another? Griots seems to have more power (but printed specs don't always tell the truth) and a better warranty. I like the handle better too.

Porter Cable is a name I know and trust. That is important to me but not a deal breaker.

I would personally recommend the Meg G110 V2, the PC is outdated now, although still a great machine.

[KMG]

I have been using a harbor freight DA for the last 6 months, and have had good results for it considering I paid less then $50 for it. Next spring I do plan on buying a Rupes however, and will probably end up putting a 3" backing plate on my current unit.