Finishing Polish Questions...

[Kingsford]

Today I was going to polish my entire truck but only managed to get 2 doors done during a painful process. I thought it was going to be simple and quick but it turned out to just be a huge pain. I have done this I dont know how many times and everything has gone fine. While just last weekend I did my hood and it was flawless and only took about 30-45 minutes. Today I spent 3 hours on 2 near perfect to start doors.... I'm not sure what my deal is any more but here are the pics.

 

I started off with SHR and Orange Pad here is my after SHR pic:

 

After that I switched to Finishing Polish, brand new bottle, the pad was only used on my hood. This is where my problem starts.... I worked it at 5-6 on a Flex with a brand new white pad until it was oily and somewhat clear. Little to Moderate Pressure just enough to mushroom the pad.

 

I switched it up thinking something was wrong with the pad and opened a brand new white pad which didn't help. I decided to give the MF Pad a shot and it worked great for 1 panel. After the 1st panel it started to look just like the picture above even after thoroughly cleaning it out after the 1st panel.

 

After much frustration and confusion I switched to an old white pad and used some FMP mixed with a little Revive... Problem Solve?     

 

Whats the deal? What was I doing wrong? It worked great last weekend and this isn't my first rodeo... Most trouble I've had with a detail in a long time.

 

[Baron_Von_Awesome]

Two things missing:

1. Picture before you actually started polishing
2. Picture of the panel after wiping down your FMP/Revive combo

That'll give us a little more ammo to troubleshoot better...

 

Other than that, I'd try to back up a bit and work your polishes a bit more...they should be finishing down way better than what your pictures are showing, so it's entirely possible you're not working long enough, your arm speed is off, etc.  Environment may also be a factor here too - adverse humidty and temp. can make polishes flash well before they've actually done anything for you.  Revive may appear to have given you a jumpstart because of its oil & emulsifier content, so a wipedown after its use is important in this case. 

Edited September 3, 2013 by Baron_Von_Awesome

[Kingsford]

Two things missing:

1. Picture before you actually started polishing
2. Picture of the panel after wiping down your FMP/Revive combo

 

The last picture is the final product after the FMP Revive since it looks fine.

 

I don't think you are understanding the problem. The 1st pic is after SHR. The 2nd pic is after FP... Its obviously worse looking than the 1st picture. Why would you need a picture of the paint before?

Edited September 3, 2013 by Kingsford

[camaro2ssblack]

Use speed 4 on the flex when trying to finish down. Ask Chase@Adams. I remember him having this problem way back when....

Edited September 3, 2013 by camaro2ssblack

[BRZN]

On some blacks and darker colors I prefer to finish with the foam pad instead of the microfiber pad. What are in the bottles that can be seen on the floor in your pic after the white pad FMP Revive combo?

[Kingsford]

On some blacks and darker colors I prefer to finish with the foam pad instead of the microfiber pad. What are in the bottles that can be seen on the floor in your pic after the white pad FMP Revive combo?

Bottles are DS, SHR, FMP, FP, Clay Bar, Revive and Cold Water w/ a Spray Nozzle (For me)

[BRZN]

Okay, I'm glad the water was for you and not for any other detailing purpose. I've found the microfiber pads can, in some cases, leave some hazing or light marring. I like the way the orange microfiber pads cut and how quickly they correct with either the new PCP or old SHR. But sometimes you still need to reach for the good ole' white foam pad to finish polishing. With the microfiber pads make sure you brush the nap back up every time you reapply polish, and frequently clean the pad with the pad cleaning/conditioning brush sliding it across the pads surface with the machine running. I place one single line of polish across the pad face each time I reapply, I don't want to run the pad on the paint dry. The microfiber doesn't seem to clog like the foam does.

[Kingsford]

Dave, the Microfiber fixed the problem on the first panel. The swirls and marring in that 2nd picture were caused by a foam pad with FP.

[BRZN]

Pad too dry, or contaminated? Was your FMP Revive combo on foam or microfiber?

[Kingsford]

1st pad was primed with 3 pumps of of DS and it was the 2nd panel I had ever used it on. 2nd Pad was brand new out of the wrapper and primed with DS as well. 

 

The FMP & Revive was on Foam.

[JHL88]

I noticed you stated you started on "near perfect doors."  If they were in good shape I wouldn't have gone with SHR, I would've used just the FMP/white pad or even FMP/orange pad.  

 

My guess is you didn't break down the polish enough or not using enough polish on the pad.  How much polish did you use to prime the pad?  How much did you use to reload the pad afterwards?  I try not to use too much DS spray when moistening the pad, I usually use about a half to a full squeeze of DS at most.  

 

I actually did a one step last weekend for the first time on this truck since owning it and I had excellent results.  

[BRZN]

Primed the microfiber pad with DS?

[Kingsford]

I always use the X to start on a fresh pad.

 

I tried the one step but there were a few scratches that weren't going to come out with just polish.

Edited September 7, 2013 by Kingsford