SO FRUSTRATED with these SPOTS!

[lmgg33]

So here's the deal. I'm stationed at Eglin AFB, FL where we have salt water, hard water, hurricanes, etc..you get the point...very bad for my paint. Anyways, LONG story short, the car was left outside (by no choice of mine) for what was likely an entire deployment to get rained on, bake in the sun, etc. for like 6 months. There are what appears to be "spots" all over the flat parts of the car only. (hood, roof, and hatch). I have tried a craftsman DA buffer with the entire meguires product line it seems. No luck. That's what brought me to Adams. Is there anything I can do for these horrible spots? I'll try to include pics, but they make it look a LOT worse all over than it is...or do they? Some of these are so bad that you can almost feel them running a fingernail over the spot. I don't have much cash (E-3 MIL pay with wife and kids...YEAH RIGHT), but want to get this fixed up ASAP..so cost effective suggestions are appreciated. I've got a garage for her to live in after I get this fixed up...It just makes me so mad! Thanks so much for your help!

 

EDIT: Not sure if this is the right place to ask this, but does anyone know if there is a military discount with Adams? Ive seen other discounts for forum members, etc, but wasn't sure...I just want to get this fixed up since I may be gone this winter too.

[lmgg33]

Good. That helps give me a better idea of what you tried.

 

So heres the skinny of it. That craftsman thing is a toy by most standards... it simply doesn't have the 'oooomph!' to get the job done. The unloaded speed is around 3000opm, meaning with pressure its probably below 2000... we recommend working our polishes north of 5000opm. Also applying by hand and removing by machine isn't really maximizing the polish... they need to be worked completely (by a machine) to get the job done.

 

If you're serious about removing these you'll need a PC or Flex, foam pads, and polishes.

 

I'd guarantee that you'd see a dramatic improvement after a few passes with the PC, if not complete correction. Its gonna come down to how severe they are... they look pretty pad in the pics, but stuff like this always tends to look gnarly when you hit it with the camera flash.

 

OK buddy. Does the PC do just as good a job as the "flex". It's a lot cheaper, is why I ask. On that note, any idea if there are any discounts available for this stuff anywhere?

[GXPaycheck]

I know what it's like. I was a lowly 3 striper when I hit Eglin (best assignment I had in the Air Force! Wish I had never left.)

You are going to get what you pay for. A PC kit would be a great choice. You can nickel and dime yourself to death but in the end you will pay more for what you got in the first place.

And the help you get on these forums is free!

Plus if you get good good at detailing all those occifer types on base might put you to work. Could be some bennies there.

[Vincenzo]

Those look pretty bad..... I honestly don't know if Adams can fix something like that..... You might want to try wetsanding as a last resort......

[lmgg33]

I understand that cash is tight, but check out the Complete Kit

 

Adam's Complete Porter Cable 7424xp Polisher Kit

 

The rationale is this: you'll wind up buying all this stuff anyway, and the kits offer substantial savings over buying the bits individually. I'm not saying you gotta go whole hog with an Ultimate Kit, but at least don't cut yourself short with the machine polishing kit.

 

Yeah I can see that for sure..It's especially painful when you just spent (cough)$150(cough) on Meguires product only to be disappointed. Heck that was half of what I would have needed right there.

[XQIZT]

I understand that cash is tight, but check out the Complete Kit

 

Adam's Complete Porter Cable 7424xp Polisher Kit

 

The rationale is this: you'll wind up buying all this stuff anyway, and the kits offer substantial savings over buying the bits individually. I'm not saying you gotta go whole hog with an Ultimate Kit, but at least don't cut yourself short with the machine polishing kit.

[lmgg33]

I'll PM you the military discount Airman 1st Class! Now order the PC or Flex from Adams before I write you an LOC:lol:

 

Just kiddin.....good luck on those spots. Looks like you used all the OTC Megs....doesn't compare to Adams.

 

Welcome and GL if you deploy again.

 

Thanks man

[07RS4]

OK buddy. Does the PC do just as good a job as the "flex". It's a lot cheaper, is why I ask. On that note, any idea if there are any discounts available for this stuff anywhere?

 

I'll PM you the military discount Airman 1st Class! Now order the PC or Flex from Adams before I write you an LOC:lol:

 

Just kiddin.....good luck on those spots. Looks like you used all the OTC Megs....doesn't compare to Adams.

 

Welcome and GL if you deploy again.

[lmgg33]

Dylan is right on point.

 

If you're new to machine polishing, I'd personally start with the PC. It'll address 98% of your issues and its simple to use. The Flex is an amazing machine as well, but there's a little more technique and thinking required (a little).

 

There is a military discount here (and through distributors like me). Money can be saved by checking out the daily specials ORRRRRRRRRRR if you can wait it out, come on down to Turkey Rod Run in Daytona over the Thanksgiving weekend. There you can meet Adam, Lynn, me, others on the Adam's team AND we can show you technique, etc etc.

 

Let us know. We'll get you squared away as best as possible.

 

And like Mc2hill said, if you were closer, you could demo the products right away. Let us know if you're ever close to Orlando; we'll make it happen.

 

Thanks so much for everything! Unfortunately I won't be here for Thanksgiving weekend. It's 7 1/2 hours to orlando...maybe some day I'll make the trip for fun. In the meantime, I need to get rid of these darned spots. I'll try the PC and whatnot. I just need to get the basic kit, I'm assuming. It's really all I can afford right now anyways, and seems to have the essentials for removing these spots.

[XQIZT]

Dylan is right on point.

 

If you're new to machine polishing, I'd personally start with the PC. It'll address 98% of your issues and its simple to use. The Flex is an amazing machine as well, but there's a little more technique and thinking required (a little).

 

There is a military discount here (and through distributors like me). Money can be saved by checking out the daily specials ORRRRRRRRRRR if you can wait it out, come on down to Turkey Rod Run in Daytona over the Thanksgiving weekend. There you can meet Adam, Lynn, me, others on the Adam's team AND we can show you technique, etc etc.

 

Let us know. We'll get you squared away as best as possible.

 

And like Mc2hill said, if you were closer, you could demo the products right away. Let us know if you're ever close to Orlando; we'll make it happen.

[mc2hill]

OK buddy. Does the PC do just as good a job as the "flex". It's a lot cheaper, is why I ask. On that note, any idea if there are any discounts available for this stuff anywhere?

 

The PC is easier to use for someone that has not used a powerful machine before. It can do a lot of correcting, but it will take longer to achieve the results than with the Flex. Also the PC can be used to apply MSS, and use the 4" pads.

I wish you were closer, Mike (XQIZT) and/or I could help you out.

[Team Adam's]

That is the exact craftsman buffer that I was using. As far as the meguires products that I used..here we go: (MG short for meguires)

Wash w/ MG gold class soap

MG Clay Bar whole car

Wash again

MG scratchx 2.0 whole car

MG ultimate compound

MG ultimate polish

MG Gold Class Wax

 

All applied by hand, removed with Craftsman DA buffer. Thanks buddy. I'll see if I can snag some better pics of the damage...

 

Good. That helps give me a better idea of what you tried and glad to see you gave claying a shot to start.

 

So heres the skinny of it. That craftsman thing is a toy by most standards... it simply doesn't have the 'oooomph!' to get the job done. The unloaded speed is around 3000opm, meaning with pressure its probably below 2000... we recommend working our polishes north of 5000opm. Also applying by hand and removing by machine isn't really maximizing the polish... they need to be worked completely (by a machine) to get the job done.

 

If you're serious about removing these you'll need a PC or Flex, foam pads, and polishes.

 

I'd guarantee that you'd see a dramatic improvement after a few passes with the PC, if not complete correction. Its gonna come down to how severe they are... they look pretty pad in the pics, but stuff like this always tends to look gnarly when you hit it with the camera flash. At a bare minimum you could GREATLY reduce the severity of them using the right tool/pads/products.

[lmgg33]

I had them on an is300 I use to own. I never had luck getting them out. But it was before I started using a pc, so not sure if it would have worked. I doubt it because they were pretty deep. Enough to make you sick!

 

That makes me sad. I have heard a LOT of that "it's no use..give up..I used to have those too and nothing got them out". This is my dream car, my baby, and I just don't want to throw in the towel that easily. Paint jobs are expensive..

[bjoeaull]

I had them on an is300 I use to own. I never had luck getting them out. But it was before I started using a pc, so not sure if it would have worked. I doubt it because they were pretty deep. Enough to make you sick!

[lmgg33]

Got a GOOD one of those elusive little buggers. Have to get them in just the right light and angle to get them...especially with a point and shoot!

[lmgg33]

That is the exact craftsman buffer that I was using. As far as the meguires products that I used..here we go: (MG short for meguires)

Wash w/ MG gold class soap

MG Clay Bar whole car

Wash again

MG scratchx 2.0 whole car

MG ultimate compound

MG ultimate polish

MG Gold Class Wax

 

All applied by hand, removed with Craftsman DA buffer. Thanks buddy. I'll see if I can snag some better pics of the damage...

[Chris@Adams]

Some of those water spots look pretty deep. Can you catch them with your finger nail?

[Team Adam's]

So here's the deal. I'm stationed at Eglin AFB, FL where we have salt water, hard water, hurricanes, etc..you get the point...very bad for my paint. Anyways, LONG story short, the car was left outside (by no choice of mine) for what was likely an entire deployment to get rained on, bake in the sun, etc. for like 6 months. There are what appears to be "spots" all over the flat parts of the car only. (hood, roof, and hatch). I have tried a craftsman DA buffer with the entire meguires product line it seems. No luck. That's what brought me to Adams. Is there anything I can do for these horrible spots? I'll try to include pics, but they make it look a LOT worse all over than it is...or do they? Some of these are so bad that you can almost feel them running a fingernail over the spot. I don't have much cash (E-3 MIL pay with wife and kids...YEAH RIGHT), but want to get this fixed up ASAP..so cost effective suggestions are appreciated. I've got a garage for her to live in after I get this fixed up...It just makes me so mad! Thanks so much for your help!

 

 

I've highlighted my 2 areas where theres some need for clarification and potentially some explanation of why you were coming up short of expectations.

 

The craftsman tool you used... I'm assuming looked something like this and used bonnets?

 

 

The megs line is EXTENSIVE and unless you spent thousands on products the odds are you only touched on a few of their products. Do you remember exactly which products you did try? Knowing what tried and failed will help us better understand what you might be dealing with and what might make a difference.

 

Also, have you clayed? Sometimes the simplest solutions are the best and clay is many times overlooked as a process that will fix an issue like this.

[Justin@SwanCreek]

Ouch! looks like you have etching and some nasty hard water spots... I personally would use the flex on it with some ssr, shr, and fmp. It appears and sounds like the damage is too deep in the clear to be removed by any hand method (an inexpensive method most likely will not work). Therefore I would personally save up some money and purchase the pc or flex depending upon your knowledge and skill level of machine polishing.