Help With Black Paint Final Polish

[BMack]

just to add to this ultimate polish has a lot of oils and fillers in it. You have to use something after ultimate compound in my opinion. You need to go softer not harder to get rid of that micro marring.

Definitely not an expert here either. I have seen some videos where a harder pad and finish polish is recommended for soft paint. Counter intuitive, but apparently it works. Going to give it a try.

[BMack]

See Rupes chart below. In general you start out with blue-compound then finish off with white-ultra polish. And the top it with whatever you like.

Notice chart for soft paint. They do not recommend white (ultra fine) but go with yellow (fine polish.) You can feel the abrasives between you fingers more so with the yellow than the white.

Also--yellow pads and the UHS pads are harder or more firm than the white (finishing pads.)

The Rupes chart:
RUPES Pad and Compound Recommendation Charts

Tom

Great info. After doing some more research I found another pro recommendation to use Rupes yellow pads with Sonax Perfect Finish. Holding on my order until tomorrow to see if there are other suggestions. Some other recommendations for Menzerna 3500 too. I would try all three (including Rupes Kermik) but now we're getting pricey.

[dlc95]

Thanks, I'm going to wash the towels I'm using, which are Gold Plush from AG. Other than some lint, I don't think the towels are causing the marring, however.

I've been doing several overlapping criss-cross passes with varying pressure and speeds. I'll try doing just one pass and so on as you've suggested. Might wait to get a new polish before trying that.

With a non-diminishing abrasive Polish, like M205/Ultimate Polish, more passes can work against you. The abrasives will continue to abrade the paint as you make your passes. These abraded particles are larger than the actual abrasive grains in the polish, and can have a negative effect on the paint because of this.

Sometimes I only need on or two light passes with M205/Ultimate Polish to accomplish the task.

You might also want to try applying a little bit "more than normal" amount of polish on the pad. The lubricant in the polish gives the abrasives, and abraded paint somewhere to retreat, in effect, buffering the paint. I would definitely prime the face of the pad with product, and add three dots of working product on a Lake Country Hydrotech Tangerine polishing pad. That pad, and M205/Ultimate Polish have given me some of the clearest, most dramatic gloss of just about any paint polishing set up I've tried. I use light, firm pressure, and enough speed to keep the pad rotating. Usually 4, or 4.5 on the PC 7424.

The Tangerine Hydrotech pad is also a lot harder than typical polishing pads. It's closed cell foam construction keeps the liquid on the surface of the pad, and paint. Great for finishing IME.

[BMack]

With a non-diminishing abrasive Polish, like M205/Ultimate Polish, more passes can work against you. The abrasives will continue to abrade the paint as you make your passes. These abraded particles are larger than the actual abrasive grains in the polish, and can have a negative effect on the paint because of this.

Sometimes I only need on or two light passes with M205/Ultimate Polish to accomplish the task.

You might also want to try applying a little bit "more than normal" amount of polish on the pad. The lubricant in the polish gives the abrasives, and abraded paint somewhere to retreat, in effect, buffering the paint. I would definitely prime the face of the pad with product, and add three dots of working product on a Lake Country Hydrotech Tangerine polishing pad. That pad, and M205/Ultimate Polish have given me some of the clearest, most dramatic gloss of just about any paint polishing set up I've tried. I use light, firm pressure, and enough speed to keep the pad rotating. Usually 4, or 4.5 on the PC 7424.

The Tangerine Hydrotech pad is also a lot harder than typical polishing pads. It's closed cell foam construction keeps the liquid on the surface of the pad, and paint. Great for finishing IME.

I'm not having any luck with the Ultimate Polish and the tangerine pad. I've tried priming and not priming, less and more product, varying speeds, pressure and passes. Are you getting these results on soft black paint with that combo?

I just put an order in for Sonax Perfect Finish and a Rupes yellow pad.

[The Guz]

No, the before photo is before compounding. I can post an after UC if that would help. The finish is typical DA swirls.

It would be more for curiosity for me to see how it looks after UC. It could be that the paint is on the hard side as well and UC is not potent enough.

[dlc95]

I'm not having any luck with the Ultimate Polish and the tangerine pad. I've tried priming and not priming, less and more product, varying speeds, pressure and passes. Are you getting these results on soft black paint with that combo?

I just put an order in for Sonax Perfect Finish and a Rupes yellow pad.

Soft black and red.

The other finishing pad I often use is a blue Buff and Shine. I did the same car the first time with the tangerine and blue using Menzerna PF2500 to remove the damage. My first test spot was M86 on a blue. It cleared the swirls, but marred the paint pretty good. The PF2500 and either pad was way better. The following year, I used M205 on the blue pad, and it came out great.

I usually keep Menzerna SF4000, or 3500 as it's now labeled - just in case there is a really finicky paint, like on my old red Monte Carlo.

[Toolhead]

Are you describing holograms? If so..maybe use flex which will compound them out and restart the process.

Did this issue not appear during your test spot?

[Toolhead]

Also.. r u sure this isnt a metallic paint you have or part of the paint effect. What is being seen?

[dlc95]

It would be more for curiosity for me to see how it looks after UC. It could be that the paint is on the hard side as well and UC is not potent enough.

Very true.

[TMQ]

That's the thing---are 2016 Dodge Challenger's paint hard or soft or in between?

Tom