Having some issues polishing....

[cchrider]

Hey guys, new to polishing here. Im using a pc 7424xp, adams correcting/finish polish, adams orange micro fiber 4 inch pads,orange foam, and white foam pads. I watched plenty of videos, including junkmans.

Since this is my first go around with this ive only started on the hood of my 13' gmc sierra. I washed it, and clayed the hell out of it. Almost 4 years, 100k miles and never been polished or clayed that i know of, i spent alot of time claying. After claying i taped out 2 1x1 squares on the hood. First square i started with the orange foam and correcting polishing. Did 4 passes, 3 times, then switched to the white foam pad and finishing polish and did the same, 4 passes, 3 times. Paint looked pretty good but could see alot of these tiny, almost white specs all over it. They dont appear to be tiny water spots, thought maybe it was tree sap or something that maybe etched the clear coat? So on the second 1x1 square, i started with the oranged micro fiber pad and correcting polish, 4 passes 3 times, then went to orange foam and corr.polish and did 4 passes 3 times, then to white foam and finish polish 4 passes 3 times. The little specs are better then square one but still there. As for the paint it looks great. No swirls or light scratches,hopefully the couple pics will show up ( never post pics on a message board).

[cchrider]

Sorry guys for the long post, and the not so great pics. But i can not feel those with my finger nail either.

[TheWolf]

Maybe chips in the clear coat that are collecting polish residue?

 

Try wiping them with a plush towel and some IPA to see if they go away.

[cchrider]

Sorry, i should have noted these spots were there after i clayed, before i started polishing. I kept claying and claying to get them removed but wouldnt go away. I tried the baggie trick and paint was smooth so i figured they would go away when i started polishing.

[stripesace]

Chase, what part of Texas are you in? 

[cchrider]

About 30 min north of ft worth. Decatur to be exact

[SumBeach35]

could they be air bubbles in the clear?  with them not being detectable in the baggie test and not being touched by the polisher, would leave me to beleive it may be within the clear or under it completely.

[cchrider]

Thats a very good point. Ill try to take a another look at it tomorrow. Although the second square had less and looked better then the first, i believe thats due to me using the orange micro fiber pad then the orange foam amd white foam pad vs the first square i started with just the orange foam pad then went to white foam pad.

Is there really any way i could over do it with the polishing? Would it be worth it to run more passes with the micro fiber orange pad and work my way back down to finishing polish?

[SumBeach35]

My understanding is that with a DA it would take quite some time to go through a flat horizontal surface but would be a good idea to figure out your paint thickness. I'm not completely sure how much comes off with each pass and/or each pad type. Would likely need a paint thickness gauge to figure out that.

 

So you most likely can keep going but if it was me I would try to find a paint thickness gauge before further correction.

 

Hopefully others can chime in as well

Edited October 3, 2016 by SumBeach35

[PostalTwo]

With a pc it would take an extremely long time to burn thru I don't think u can do it honestly . U would have to have soft paint and alot of free time lol

[cchrider]

Ok well im off work tomorrow so im gonna make a few more passes in that spot and try to get some better pics in the sunlight. Appreciate the help guys

[PHOKUS]

Ok well im off work tomorrow so im gonna make a few more passes in that spot and try to get some better pics in the sunlight. Appreciate the help guys

 

Any number of things can cause pitting, but based on what you said I think we can eliminate a few things. You noted you cannot feel them with your fingernail, so that leaves tree sap and artillery fungus (which is usually black, but can bleach from UV exposure) out.

 

From your explanation, they appear to be pits or recesses in the clear. This could absolutely be air bubbles in the clear, exposed from the compounding you've done. If the spots are uniform and circular, air bubbles are the most likely explanation. If they are odd shaped and vary in size and depth, they could be caused by foreign object collisions. Silica (sand) can cause pitting when they collide with your paint at high speeds. You being in Texas, there's plenty of sand and speed to be had.

 

One other thing to bear in mind - your clearcoat is not endless. You've done quite a bit of polishing already. You may not have much clearcoat left.