[psmitty95]

Ok so an update for you guys. Wanted to test everything out so did my dads 750 BSM hood today. To be completely honest with myself, not happy at all with the results... My guess is I was doing something wrong and not the products themselves.

I started boxing off an area and doing just the SI1500 followed up by the Perfect Finish. It came out pretty good but there were still some swirls when I looked in the garage. Went over the whole hood with FG400 after that then followed that up with Perfect Finish. looked decent in the garage in terms of swirls, but there were still water marks and some scratches that seemed like they should've come out. When I pulled it out of the garage and looked in the sunlight the paint looked good, but again there were still swirls and scratches.

The first picture is a before picture of what it looked like the rest are after me trying to correct it. I took a ton of pictures but they all came out pretty bad so I just deleted them and these are all I have. In terms of the Sherbet Fizz again I think I did something wrong. I think I either didn't do it thin enough, left it on for too long, or too short. Removal was not very easy... I left it on for around 3 minutes (jar says 1-3) and when I swiped with my finger it still smudged. Despite that I decided to continue with removal which was hard. Other than that though i'm happy with it. Beading/sheeting is pretty good (video below once I upload it) and it smells amazing.

So anyways anyone have any ideas what I might have been doing wrong??






















Edit: I just realized in order for you guys to help me figure out what I might have been doing wrong I should list my process. He already had the car washed prior so I just did the nanoskin medium grade mitt with a wash bucket first. After that I started attempting to do the correcting. For the FG400 I was using the cyan pad with speed on 5. For the SI1500 and Perfect Finish I was using the Tangerine pad with speed on 5 also. Lastly to spread the wax I used crimson pad with speed on 2.

[Otruba_843]

If it was hard to remove, just use it as a WOWO.

[psnt1ol]

I think the wax was layered on too thick. What method did you use to get the wax on the pad? Generally speaking.... a little should goes a long way.

If I am reading this right.... you did a 3 stage correction/polishing (FG400, SI 1500, and Sonax PF). How long did it take for you to do this?

[psmitty95]

Originally Posted by psnt1ol

I think the wax was layered on too thick. What method did you use to get the wax on the pad? Generally speaking.... a little should goes a long way.

If I am reading this right.... you did a 3 stage correction/polishing (FG400, SI 1500, and Sonax PF). How long did it take for you to do this?

Well sort of but not really. I skipped the SI 1500. I originally did a small box area of Si 1500 and then PF and it wound up not getting everything out. I then did the entire hood with FG400 and then followed up with PF. Took me around 2 hours. Car was already washed so all I had to do was use the nanoskin mitt and then get to work.

Wax definitely was probably too thick. I just let it slide out of the little container and then rubbed it all over the pad using the container to hold it. Next time i'll probably do it by hand..

Originally Posted by Otruba_843

If it was hard to remove, just use it as a WOWO.

I thought leaving it longer would make it easier or is that for sealants (swipe test)?

[psnt1ol]

Originally Posted by psmitty95

Well sort of but not really. I skipped the SI 1500. I originally did a small box area of Si 1500 and then PF and it wound up not getting everything out. I then did the entire hood with FG400 and then followed up with PF. Took me around 2 hours. Car was already washed so all I had to do was use the nanoskin mitt and then get to work.

Wax definitely was probably too thick. I just let it slide out of the little container and then rubbed it all over the pad using the container to hold it. Next time i'll probably do it by hand..



I thought leaving it longer would make it easier or is that for sealants (swipe test)?

You did the car in 2 hours??? or was that just the hood??

You don't need to rub the wax all over the pad. 2-3 quick swipes is all you need.

[psmitty95]

Originally Posted by psnt1ol

You did the car in 2 hours??? or was that just the hood??

You don't need to rub the wax all over the pad. 2-3 quick swipes is all you need.

No all I did was the hood. So the pad doesnt need to be fully covered in wax like priming the pad for the other steps?

[psnt1ol]

Originally Posted by psmitty95

No all I did was the hood. So the pad doesnt need to be fully covered in wax like priming the pad for the other steps?

Nope... Low speed, little or no pressure, and moderate arm speed. Your goal is to spread the product thinly across the surface as well as a even coverage throughout. Too much product will be a waste since 90% of the wax will be remove anyway. It is always better to lay down 2 successive thin coats than one thick one.

[psmitty95]

Originally Posted by psnt1ol

Nope... Low speed, little or no pressure, and moderate arm speed. Your goal is to spread the product thinly across the surface as well as a even coverage throughout. Too much product will be a waste since 90% of the wax will be remove anyway. It is always better to lay down 2 successive thin coats than one thick one.

So should I do it by hand or machine? If machine whats the best way to get barely any on the pad... I was using a speed of 2 and then just holding the polisher on the end with the cord, no pressure other than the weight of the polisher

[psnt1ol]

Originally Posted by psmitty95

So should I do it by hand or machine? If machine whats the best way to get barely any on the pad... I was using a speed of 2 and then just holding the polisher on the end with the cord, no pressure other than the weight of the polisher

I find that 2-3 quick swipes of the wax on the pad is generally enough to do the entire hood. To test if you need to add more wax to the pad, kiss the windsheild with the pad.... you add more when the residue is barely there.

Again.... I am not a wax guru. I done it several different ways in the past ( by hand with a applicator, by bare hand, by hand then follow with a applicator, and a machine). Machine is much easier and faster IMO.

did you take a look at the vids I sent you????

[psmitty95]

Originally Posted by psnt1ol

I find that 2-3 quick swipes of the wax on the pad is generally enough to do the entire hood. To test if you need to add more wax to the pad, kiss the windsheild with the pad.... you add more when the residue is barely there.

Again.... I am not a wax guru. I done it several different ways in the past ( by hand with a applicator, by bare hand, by hand then follow with a applicator, and a machine). Machine is much easier and faster IMO.

did you take a look at the vids I sent you????

Yea I definitely had too much. I kissed the pad on the hood probably 20 times before actually applying it and every time it applied a full pads worth... Haven't looked at the vids yet going to in a few minutes

[Zero_09]

I had the same problem with the swirls when I did my dad's car last week. I hit it SI1500 and PG1000 and it still had swirls. It was better than before but it wasn't the swirl free finish I was looking for. I think it's our technique. I'm no pro and I'm still learning.
Here's a similar thread on Autogeek. There's some tips and videos that might help.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...-patience.html

As for the wax. I gave some tips for you on the previous replies since I had a feeling you will have a hard time doing it. I've read that it's best to use a foam applicator for paste wax and that's what I've been using. Haven't heard much from other detailers using a machine to apply paste wax so that might be the problem. Machine is more for sealant, liquid wax, and hybrid LSP from what I've read.

Originally Posted by Zero_09

Also just a little tip for Bouncer's wax. Try to apply it very thin or it's going to be real tough to get off.

I just applied some Vanilla Ice this evening and I applied it thin and it still took my quite a bit of time to do the whole vehicle.

[psmitty95]

Originally Posted by Zero_09

I had the same problem with the swirls when I did my dad's car last week. I hit it SI1500 and PG1000 and it still had swirls. It was better than before but it wasn't the swirl free finish I was looking for. I think it's our technique. I'm no pro and I'm still learning.
Here's a similar thread on Autogeek. There's some tips and videos that might help.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...-patience.html

As for the wax. I gave some tips for you on the previous replies since I had a feeling you will have a hard time doing it. I've read that it's best to use a foam applicator for paste wax and that's what I've been using. Haven't heard much from other detailers using a machine to apply paste wax so that might be the problem. Machine is more for sealant, liquid wax, and hybrid LSP from what I've read.

Yea I think I was maybe going a bit too fast and not putting enough pressure along with too big of a work area... We'll see though. I think Thursday i'm going to spend the whole day doing a full correction on my moms car. Despite being a year old, she takes awful care of it and the paint isn't in great shape

[psmitty95]

Another update for you guys. Did my moms car two days ago. Her paint condition wasn't nearly as bad as I thought, just really rough and needed a clay. Anyways I basically hand washed the car out in the rain (never doing that again) along with claying with the nanoskin wash mitt. Then pulled it in and dried off and started getting to work. I didn't have much time so I only did one step and did tangerine pad with Menzerna SI 1500. I should have followed it up with the Sonax Perfect Finish but again I didn't have time and I was getting extremely tired. Anyways it came out pretty well. I got the paint to nearly perfect condition except for a few random scratches that I could have compounded out but didn't feel like doing at the moment.

After correcting I followed up with a coat of Menzerna power lock then did one coat of Sherbet Fizz. Sherbet Fizz is great but you really need to apply it extremely thin. I tried taking pics of how thin it goes on, in some cases it barely looks like theres any there. If you apply it any thicker its a pain to wipe off. Below i'll put all the pics I took during the process along with a video of the beading of the power lock and sherbet fizz. I know I should have waited 24 hours after the power lock to apply the wax, but again time was short.







After SI 1500











Time for the power lock











Sherbet Fizz





How thin it goes on













Video:

I took a bunch of daytime pics of the paint the next day when it was sunny but can't find the camera. I'll upload those once I find it. Next up is doing a correction on my car. My paint needs a clay bad... It's to the point where it makes noise if I run the back of my hand gently over it. Other than that my paint is in decent condition. I'm going to see if I can get by with doing just the SI 1500 and tangerine pad and then the perfect finish with tangerine pad then do sealant and wax.

Comments/suggestions are welcome

[psnt1ol]

Looking Good!!!!

I hope you had fun doing it.

[psmitty95]

Originally Posted by psnt1ol

Looking Good!!!!

I hope you had fun doing it.

Hahaha I was getting tired from doing it since it was my first time but it was enjoyable I guess. I love seeing the end results of things I worked on and made perfect. My car next I guess. For that i'll probably make a separate thread and i'll be going for 100% perfect paint

[Otruba_843]

I find it pretty hard to get pictures of the swirls as it seems you did too. Can anyone chime in?

[psmitty95]

Originally Posted by Otruba_843

I find it pretty hard to get pictures of the swirls as it seems you did too. Can anyone chime in?

Yea me too... I was reading a thread on AG and they said use your finger on the paint or something like a business card to help the camera focus. I think I might try that next time

[psnt1ol]

Originally Posted by psmitty95

Yea me too... I was reading a thread on AG and they said use your finger on the paint or something like a business card to help the camera focus. I think I might try that next time

This does help and natural light is the best.






Generally..... defects that shows up easily on camera are the horrendous varieties but the before and after can be very dramatic.

Before




After




In a funny sort of way, you don't want this for your car.