Chris11LE

Started detailing the exterior of my Malbec Black G sedan using Gtechniq products (P1 polish, C2 sealant, etc).

Polishing went OK initially....a little learning curve with water based (Im used to Poorboys SSR) but nothing major. Had the passenger side of the car done the best I could get it. There was a little leftover polish residue, some spots that werent worked in as much as everything else, and some just leftover dust.

Since its water based, its advised to spritz some water on the panel or a microfiber and wipe the residue away.

My issue is that during that wipe, Im getting micromarring in the clearcoat. The panel could be perfect, minus the residue, but after Im done wiping it down it looks like a hologrammed mess in the sun. Im using a random orbital, and if I repolish the affect section the "holograms" go away, so Im pretty sure its not induced by the polishing itself, only by trying to get rid of leftover polish.

Any advice? Could it be the self healing clearcoat? Its interesting that it takes some work to remove basic swirls, yet just a small wipe with almost no pressure is causing marring. Would the self healing clearcoat actually heal itself? I havent parked the car outside (since there is no protection on the paint), so I dont know. For reference, this is a pic of one section where it happened: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/14958505/201...2017.57.53.jpg

ANY help would be greatly appreciated. At this point Im worried I might be taking too much off the car, Ive been thru it so many times (drivers side, anyway).

MACS

iTrader: (3)

That's an awesome car you got there... helluva color, too.

Sorry... no help for your issue, just wanted to comment.

TheIvoryG

iTrader: (3)

Unless you plan on doing this every weekend and keeping the car forever...don't worry about getting through the clear. You've got plenty.

Really hard to tell...but my guess is that the problem is your towels being used to wipe. Are they clean? Tags removed? Did you drop them? On a nice, clean, freshly polished panel, it doesn't take much to show some marring.

Neal376

iTrader: (1)

i dont dilute the polish with water. just apply a polish to the pad. when its done it starts to powder and flake off, no residue. if there was residue, a spray of meg quick detail and microfiber took it off quikly

the pc is very weak. if u have swirls after your done, its probably because u did not do enough passes LOL. The G paint is also very soft.

TOGWT

Adding water to a water-based product will dilute it. So you are repolishing with the microfiber towel and leaving surface micro marring.

Chris11LE

Washed after every session. I did the blank CD test on one of each brand (Target orange towels and Gtechniq yellow towels). The towel itself passes the test, but the edges on the Gtechniq towels are HORRIBLE. Very very little pressure behind them was marring the surface. The Target edges marred a little but required a lot of pressure to do so.

I wasnt intending on diluting the polish, I needed to remove the leftover product and since its water based that was the suggested way.

I wasnt intending on diluting the polish, I needed to remove the leftover product and since its water based that was the suggested way. What other way could I use to remove the leftover product without making the product cause marring ?

Ive been at it for almost 2 weeks, and Im just about to throw the towel in and get a pro. I had some success last night using Meguiars ultimate compound (aggressive, I know) applied with a 4" uber-soft red finish pad, wiped with a microfiber and then Klasse AIO over it. I was hoping the Klasse AIO was just cleaning the surface so I could apply Gtechniq C1, but that is not the case. So I might just need to stick with my normal products (Finish Kare 2180, pink wax, etc), or find a pro that can fix the screwups and apply C1 also.

philter25

iTrader: (4)

Where are you located?

Is the red in the picture your polish residue?

To be completely honest, if you want to be ****, all you have to do is breathe on these dark cars and they will show minor swirl marks.

when I polish, I usually only have a little bit of flash when im done. I re-wash the entire car with a good sudsing shampoo to take off the remaining polish and then I use a waffle weave towel to dry the car, and then some QD with a good microfiber towel to get anything else off before I apply sealant.

I can usually get the entire car 95% perfect, but I know that as soon as I drive around and a leaf touches the car, its getting a very fine scratch.

Chris11LE

Im located in southwest CT.

The red is actually metal flake. Malbec Black is black with red/purple metal flake, as you can see it looks really flaky (no pun) in the sun. In the shade the car looks perfectly black.

D_Nyholm

iTrader: (2)

To me, it looks like residual polish left on the car. Did you try wiping it down with a QD concentration of ONR? Also, what pad are you using? I noticed on one of my black cars if I don't follow up with something finer than a white pad and Nano, I will get slight, slight marring.

Chris11LE

Thats actually one of the explanations Ive come up with.....the marring might actually be in a layer of something (polish residue, old wax/sealant, etc) thats left on the car.

I did a beading test after I did a chem guys citrus wash and polished the car. The water still beaded, as if something was still on there.

I was using a water based polish that should leave no fillers or oils, enough so that the paint is directly ready for something like Gtechniq C1, yet it still beaded.

Im starting to wonder if the dealer had put something on the car during prep/delivery that I havent fully removed yet and the marring is more of a smearing of "something" than anything else.

Im taking it to a pro tomorrow, and part of the process is for him to completely degrease the paint (I assume with some APC or something). I would be interested to see the results....Im leaving the car with him but it would be cool if he could try it on a small spot while Im there (I know, probably annoying with me watching, so I wont push the issue). It would make my April if it turned out just to be a mess of wax/sealant/polish residue.

cruzmisl

I use Meguiar's Final Inspection spray to help get rid of any oils/residue and it works very well.

TOGWT

It could be oil residue or fillers from the polish, or silicone. Post polish use a diluted 1:10 isopropyl alcohol (IPA) wipe down or you could try adding 10% P21S Total Auto Wash to the above and se if that helps.

FWIW if it is indeed silicone residue it’s a bear to remove; Hi-Temp's Prep Wash is a water-based paint and pad cleaner designed to remove all traces of silicone, which accumulate in crevices, around handles, wiper arms, on trim, luggage racks and aerodynamics.

Prep Wash flows into these hard-to-reach areas and dissolves the build-up. Prep Wash also cleans polishing pads; spray your pads with the product and watch it dissolve the build-up.