I have an '02 MB S55, black in color. Previous owners apparently either washed the car with very hard water and allowed it to sit, or I've got some serious acid rain etching in the paint. When I got it last Oct, it also showed signs of being machine washed at one of those places that uses the long hanging strap brushes, or worse, the rotating bottle brush, as there were lots of linear scratches from nose to tail.
Here's my equipment list, so you know what I've got to work with - can add to this collection if needed:
Flex xc 3401 polisher
Full set of Adam's pads - pink, white and grey (just ordered the more aggressive yellow one)
Detail spray - Meguiar's brand, I think, plus I just ordered some Adam's product.
Full set of Adam's polishes - Swirl & Haze Remover, Fine Polish and Machine Wax.
Adam's Claybar
Adam's MF Towels
Here's what I've done, and I need suggestions on what to do next:
I've made multiple attempts with the Swirl & Haze Remover using the proper pad, along with the Fine Polish. The finish on the car is baby's-backside smooth, and I don't see any of the fine scratches that were there when I bought the car.
Of course, I've clayed to within an inch of my life and patience.
I still see lots of little circles in the paint - like hard-water stains. They're only visible, not "touchable" (can't feel them.)
One thing I think is a "problem" is that the Flex polisher is a gear-driven unit, so there's no way to stall the pad with extra pressure. The problem with this setup is that with all of the polishes/waxes, I have to be very careful not to overheat the pad and cause the product to dry under application. I use the detail spray liberally, but I'm not sure if this is enough. It is variable speed, and I'm running it fairly slow - running it faster just seems to dry the polishes faster.
From my point of view, in order for any sort of machine polish to "do its job", it must be mechanically passed over the paint surface enough times to allow the abrasives to remove what they're supposed to remove. Here in Houston, when the weather is nice enough to wash the car, that means it's almost always hot, which makes the "drying too quickly" problem even more prevalent.
I do all my car washing inside the garage. Ambient temps can run anywhere from 85-105f. (I've got a new A/C unit for the garage, and plan on installing that SOON before all that's left of me is a BIG pile of dust on the floor from excessive dehydration...)
What can I do to get rid of these spots/rings?
Since I don't see any more haze and the linear fine scratches are gone, should I just forego the swirl & haze remover and move on to the polish (BTW which is more aggressive?)
Should I "double-up" on the detail spray?
While I said I would purchase additional tools, I'm not really interested in purchasing the PC polisher - I think a technique can be implemented to get the Flex polisher to work...
Question
wbrian63
I have an '02 MB S55, black in color. Previous owners apparently either washed the car with very hard water and allowed it to sit, or I've got some serious acid rain etching in the paint. When I got it last Oct, it also showed signs of being machine washed at one of those places that uses the long hanging strap brushes, or worse, the rotating bottle brush, as there were lots of linear scratches from nose to tail.
Here's my equipment list, so you know what I've got to work with - can add to this collection if needed:
Here's what I've done, and I need suggestions on what to do next:
I've made multiple attempts with the Swirl & Haze Remover using the proper pad, along with the Fine Polish. The finish on the car is baby's-backside smooth, and I don't see any of the fine scratches that were there when I bought the car.
Of course, I've clayed to within an inch of my life and patience.
I still see lots of little circles in the paint - like hard-water stains. They're only visible, not "touchable" (can't feel them.)
One thing I think is a "problem" is that the Flex polisher is a gear-driven unit, so there's no way to stall the pad with extra pressure. The problem with this setup is that with all of the polishes/waxes, I have to be very careful not to overheat the pad and cause the product to dry under application. I use the detail spray liberally, but I'm not sure if this is enough. It is variable speed, and I'm running it fairly slow - running it faster just seems to dry the polishes faster.
From my point of view, in order for any sort of machine polish to "do its job", it must be mechanically passed over the paint surface enough times to allow the abrasives to remove what they're supposed to remove. Here in Houston, when the weather is nice enough to wash the car, that means it's almost always hot, which makes the "drying too quickly" problem even more prevalent.
I do all my car washing inside the garage. Ambient temps can run anywhere from 85-105f. (I've got a new A/C unit for the garage, and plan on installing that SOON before all that's left of me is a BIG pile of dust on the floor from excessive dehydration...)
What can I do to get rid of these spots/rings?
Since I don't see any more haze and the linear fine scratches are gone, should I just forego the swirl & haze remover and move on to the polish (BTW which is more aggressive?)
Should I "double-up" on the detail spray?
While I said I would purchase additional tools, I'm not really interested in purchasing the PC polisher - I think a technique can be implemented to get the Flex polisher to work...
Inputs and opinions are appreciated...
Regards
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