Paint still showing haze after final polish

[Klutch]

Hey guys, im in the process of detailing my 63 deville. Im using the 3 stage kit with the heavy compound polish, correcting polish, and final polish. The paint job on my car isnt all that great, but i wanted to correct as much as i can of the swirls. Well i did the car with the HCP with the blue pad, then i did the CP with orange pad. Now im doing the final polish with the white pad and im noticing that there is still quite a bit of hazing in the paint in certain spots. Im using a porter cable polisher, with the speed set on 5. I attached a picture of a section that i already went over with FP, you can still see little bit of hazing in the paint. Any recommendations into what i should do?? Thanks ahead of time!

[shane@detailedreflections]

So there's a few things that come to mind with that.  It's hard to tell if that's truly haze or if it's damage that still needed to be worked.

 

The first question that comes to mind is if the paint is original?  If it is, it's quite possible that with that much time on it, the paint itself is damaged.

 

Is the paint single stage?  Older cars often used a single stage paint versus the more modern "base coat, clear coat" currently in use.  You can still polish single stage, but you're actually removing paint versus simply clear coat.

 

How much clear coat are you working with?  Hopefully you have decent clear coat on the car.  Without a gauge it's difficult to tell, but that's the best way to ensure you don't go after it too hard.

 

You said you did three steps of polish on it, but what does that truly mean?  Did you blast over the area once with a polisher for each step?  Did you work it in different directions?  Did you change pads often to ensure you're still getting a decent cut with the polishing?  There's a ton of variables.

 

Have you tried using anything to see if it's simply stubborn polish residue?  It could be that simple, although from the image it does look like damage.  

 

And the last question, which is the biggest.  Did you do a test spot on the most heavily damaged part of the vehicle to determine what process/materials you truly needed?  The reason we do this is so we don't potentially do what you did here where you went through multiple steps to find out that maybe you needed a bit more.  

 

Set realistic expectations for yourself given your experience and the age of the vehicle.  This will help make sure you're not setting yourself up for disappointment.

 

It sounds like I'd try working that area with a fresh pad and some compound before polishing it back to life.  It may take a few passes.  Diminishing abrasive polishes lose their effectiveness the longer they're worked, this could have been at the end of a polish.  

 

Good luck.

[Chris@Adams]

I would go back to CP and Orange pad, it should finish down pretty well itself unless your clear is super soft.

Then go back to FP and White Pad. Remember take your time and don't move your machine too fast, keep us posted.

[Klutch]

On 7/11/2019 at 12:58 PM, shane@detailedreflections said:

So there's a few things that come to mind with that.  It's hard to tell if that's truly haze or if it's damage that still needed to be worked.

 

The first question that comes to mind is if the paint is original?  If it is, it's quite possible that with that much time on it, the paint itself is damaged.

 

Is the paint single stage?  Older cars often used a single stage paint versus the more modern "base coat, clear coat" currently in use.  You can still polish single stage, but you're actually removing paint versus simply clear coat.

 

How much clear coat are you working with?  Hopefully you have decent clear coat on the car.  Without a gauge it's difficult to tell, but that's the best way to ensure you don't go after it too hard.

 

You said you did three steps of polish on it, but what does that truly mean?  Did you blast over the area once with a polisher for each step?  Did you work it in different directions?  Did you change pads often to ensure you're still getting a decent cut with the polishing?  There's a ton of variables.

 

Have you tried using anything to see if it's simply stubborn polish residue?  It could be that simple, although from the image it does look like damage.  

 

And the last question, which is the biggest.  Did you do a test spot on the most heavily damaged part of the vehicle to determine what process/materials you truly needed?  The reason we do this is so we don't potentially do what you did here where you went through multiple steps to find out that maybe you needed a bit more.  

 

Set realistic expectations for yourself given your experience and the age of the vehicle.  This will help make sure you're not setting yourself up for disappointment.

 

It sounds like I'd try working that area with a fresh pad and some compound before polishing it back to life.  It may take a few passes.  Diminishing abrasive polishes lose their effectiveness the longer they're worked, this could have been at the end of a polish.  

 

Good luck.

The paint is not original, its been repainted couple years ago, but the paint job wasnt the best. I see lots of flaws in the paint but i just wanted to make it look as good as it can get.

 

So i did the HCP in sections all around the car, once i did the car in that i moved to the CP, and now im on the FP. I did work it in different directions, but i didnt change my pads. Are you supposed to be changing the pads that often? I thought 1 pad would be enough to do the whole car.

 

I tried to wipe it down but its not polish residue. Theres still hairline scratches on it that didnt come out.

 

I did a test area on my trunk, i had almost no shine in one certain area, i did it with the HCP with the microfiber pad and it came out looking good, but i did notice on the FP stage that some parts did not have enough paint and was almost going right through. But that was the worst part, the sides and the rest of the car wasnt as bad (well i thought), so i went over the rest of the car with just the HCP and blue pad instead of microfiber.

 

Should i go back to the CP and try to get the damage out, or should i go back to HCP. Is it fine if i've aready started FP on it and i go back to CP or even HCP over top of it? And i dont have any new pads left. Can i clean them and reuse them?

 

Thanks!

Edited July 15, 2019 by Klutch

[shane@detailedreflections]

How aggressive to be is difficult to say without seeing the damage. I don’t know if it’s through the clear or not. 

 

You can go back over it, you just have to repeat the steps. So if you go back to correcting compound, polish over it. 

 

As for pads, we tend to go through a bunch for each vehicle. We change them out when they get loaded up and lose effectiveness. 

 

Pads can be cleaned and reused without issue. Just let them dry first. With pads and towels I always recommend you buy way more than you think you will need. Because you will need them.