Test Run

**HBblazer** · 03-02-2004, 01:42 AM

Ok, i bought my pc, dacp, #9, and swirlfree polish, I went out and bought a hood at the junk yard to practice on. (very good idea) I got a lot of the swirls out but there is still a lot of them and a lot of very tiny scatches. ALso, it you look very closely at the paint it looks like there is millions of timy bumps and i dont know if this it the paint job or if it is something i did? Here is what i did, please let me know how to make it better. ( preferably without buying new products)
washed the hood,clayed, then i applyed #9 with the pc at speed 5(megs yellow pad), multiple passes, then i tryed Dacp also at 5 with the red pad, multiple times. and I also used the swirlfree polish. WHAT THE HECK, i worked the stupid hood for at least an hour and there still there. if you wait untill you cant really see the polish before you stop the pc, is that what they mean by working it in untill dry? Please give me LOTS of advise, thanks, also, Do i need to go more agressive? what else is there?

**Don** · 03-02-2004, 06:02 AM

Before you beat yourself up, it could very well be the paint on the panel. Junkyard parts aren`t the most well cared for. Are you sure they`re bumps? they could be pits from being "sandblasted" by kicked up road dirt.

You could also be buffing the #82 TOO much. The DACP buffs to a powder fairly easily, but the 82 stays "wet" much longer and you could be reintroducing micro swirls.

The deeper scratches MIGHT be beyond the PC and require a rotary to fix, OR you could just add one more product to your arsenal such as a medium or heavy cut cleaner. Definately though, practice with THOSE on your junkyard panel

**HBblazer** · 03-02-2004, 08:28 PM

well maybe bumps arnt the best word to descibe them, there kinda like little groves going every which way, they are very uniform , so im guessing its just the paint, so , ill keep going and see what i can do

**Don** · 03-02-2004, 08:34 PM

Originally posted by HBblazer
well maybe bumps arnt the best word to descibe them, there kinda like little groves going every which way, they are very uniform , so im guessing its just the paint, so , ill keep going and see what i can do

Kind of sounds like you hit an area that was improperly repaired (bondo not sanded as smooth as it should have been)

**jstn** · 03-02-2004, 08:35 PM

i think the bumps you are talking about is orange peel. i really dont know what to do about that.

**HBblazer** · 03-02-2004, 08:42 PM

hey, orange peel is EXACTLY what it looks like, thanks for helping clear that up

**kimwallace** · 03-02-2004, 08:55 PM

The best way to smooth out orange peel is to wet sand with 2000 - 2500 grit wet and dry paper and then buff out the sanding marks ... I have never tried thos with a PC though ... I have always buffed out the sanding marks with my rotary. You have nothing to lose with the hood so I would give it a try in a small area. I would buff using Meguiar`s Compound Power Cleaner to start and then work down to finer polishes.

**CharlesW** · 03-02-2004, 10:05 PM

Your lack of satisfactory results may be a combination of things.
While I am by no means an expert, several things raised a question in my mind.
1] DACP with a cutting pad. Seems like a fairly aggressive product with a fairly aggressive pad. I don`t happen to use DACP, but since it is a polish, I think I would use a polishing pad, not a cutting pad. Several people have said they can go from DACP with a polishing pad right to their finish product. :dunno
2] #9 Swirl Remover 2.0 with the polishing pad would seem to be a good combo. IMO, it should be used after the DACP, rather than before.
3] Swirl Free Polish? Is this Meguiar`s #82? If it is, it would seem to me to be duplicating the Meg`s #9.

FYI, on Meguiar`s abrasive scale of 1 to 10.
#83 Dual Action Cleaner/Polish = 6
#9 Swirl Remover 2.0 = 3
#82 Swirl Free Polish = 3

It is very possible that your practice panel was beyond hope when you started.

#9 with a polishing pad and the PC at 4.5 has worked good for me. One thing that would make a difference is the fact that my paint is not in real bad shape when I start.
A typical procedure for me would be; #9 with a polishing pad, Klasse AIO with a polishing pad, 4 Star UPP with a finishing pad.
The PC speed would be 4.5 for all three.
FWIW, for me, only the #9 really needs the PC. The AIO and the UPP are very easy to hand apply.

Charles