Rookie mistake, need help

[Todd@RUPES]

When you rub the pad with compound over the area do you see the color of the paint transfer back to the pad?

[Weaverpsu]

Thanks. So, I'm just curious. If those dark spots (really just one odd shaped spot at this point) are not the clearcoat, what else could they be? Looks like primer isn't necessary after more research. Just scuff it, paint it, polish it.

Would anyone recommend buying a cheaper DA Polisher from Harbor Freight? I am just a guy that wants to make his vehicles look as good as possible so I don't/won't spend a ton but also don't want a hunk of junk. Reviews are decent for Chicago Electric 6 inch for like $70 bucks. Or I could get a Griots 6 inch for $137 shipped through Amazon or this site probably. I probably will use it a few times in next few weeks and then probably only 3-4 times a year.

[Weaverpsu]

I recall seeing some grey on orange pad, yes. I'm attaching another close up photo. Seems like most of the car is plastic, including this piece I worked on. Photo didn't work, sorry.

[Bicycle]

You talking about this guy? [I'm the 1 on the left]
Attachment 49294

Darren's vids are full of great tips and advice. [IMO they're the best source of quality information presented by someone without a script or a camera crew] I've learned alot from watching Darrens vids and always look forward to the videos he uploads to youtube.. But you have to keep in mind that he's a seasoned veteran when it comes to auto detailing, a guy like him can make something like de badging emblems on a luxury car look easy because he's a master of the craft.

If you've seen him use a Magic Eraser it's usually for oddball tasks like removing scuffs from interior panels, cleaning tar off the lip of a wheel, removing transfer from a plastic mirror, etc.. But when he's going straight to the paint with it, you best believe his experience comes in handy.

I've never used Chemical Guys V32, but if it's supposed to be a cutting compound it sure doesn't sound too great.. Reason I say that is because I've removed a bunch transfer on numerous vehicles by hand using just Ultimate Compound and a microfiber applicator. The stuff has never failed me.

Attachment 49296

Attachment 49297

I still think there's a chance you haven't struck through the clearcoat. We're all novices at 1 point, and I think any novice deserves a free pass. Good luck!

I enjoy his vids as well. Used his trick with Magic Eraser on scratches under door handles today on a Tundra detail.

[Setec Astronomy]

You talking about this guy?

Is that the guy who sprayed Wheel Brightener on his bare hand? He lost me right there.

[Eldorado2k]

Is that the guy who sprayed Wheel Brightener on his bare hand?

The same hand he's giving thumbs up with, yes.👍🏽
Looks like he survived.😃

[Setec Astronomy]

The same hand he's giving thumbs up with, yes.����
Looks like he survived.��

Yeah, most asinine thing ever, to put on the internet. Maybe he should jump off a bridge in another video "see, that wasn't so bad!"

[Calendyr]

My question is, how did I go through clear coat? An orbital polisher is supposed to be very safe and I only used my hand. With just an orange cutting pad and V32, I started to get through clear??? I've seen videos of people hand wet sanding out a scratch using several passes until you can't see scratch again and simply add a few steps of Polish afterwards and no problem with clear. I sanded with a magic eraser, that should have been safe. Do you guys think this area was polished before and thus was weak? Now I'm scared to touch the rest of the car.

It's a matter of pressure and pressure points. When you sand with any type of tool, the pressure is distributed over the whole area of the pad. When you do it by hand, it is very easy to concentrate all the pressure on a single point (usually where your finger tips are) and have 20-50 times more pressure on that spot than you would have with a DA. This is why when sanding, it is better to use a block than just using the sand paper. Pros knowing that can work around it and make sure we don't create pressure point but if you are unaware of this, it is really easy to do damage. Correcting by hand takes longer and is more difficult, but you can achive just as much correction as you would using a power tool.

[Calendyr]

While I'm hesitant to say you went through the clear, that comment about using a Magic Eraser on paint couldn't be farther from the truth.. I once tried using a Magic Eraser as a last resort in order to remove some extremely stubborn tree sap and ended up with a small dull spot on the paint. [went through the clearcoat] It's a good thing I only did a small test spot.. It's also a good thing it wasn't a showcar or anything crazy like that. I'll never use a Magic Eraser on paint again.

Magic Eracers work really well on things like paint transfer. You just have to be very careful using them. I use them as I would sand paper. As for using them on tree sap, that's not something effective. Alcohol is the best tree sap remover. And regarding going through clear, are you sure? Magic Eracer mare (sp?) the paint, so you have to compound and polish afterward. It might just have been a dull spot caused by the marring (same as when you wetsand).

[Calendyr]

Is that the guy who sprayed Wheel Brightener on his bare hand? He lost me right there.

Ya that made me cringe when he did that. I think he simply doesn't know how dangerous Hydrofluoric acid really is.