Detailing Woes (pics)
 

I've been planning a correction session on the Subaru for a while now and made my first attempt today with the Dewalt a meguiars yellow pad and meguiars #80 Speed Glaze. My results were less than satisfying so I bailed out to take advice.

The car basically requires all over correction as the body work is riddled with swirl marks and light scratches (light IMHO, but clearly too heavy for my approach). I should also say I have no frame of reference, what I regard as light swirls or heavy swirls could be a world different from what an experienced detailer would consider them.

First off I washed the car with a strong detergent to lift any old wax/sealant. The car was clayed a few months ago and has done less than 1000 miles since and is stored under cover so I skipped that stage (passed the fingertip test).

They key cause of the scratches is a (alifdjlakljflsj**£LKJF) of a cat that climbs up on the car and sits on it in the carport (I'll be working on this problem separately!) As you can see in the first picture there is vertical scratches just above the bodywork crease line where his paws struggle for grip as he jumps up. These are very naked eye visible even in light conditions not ideal for viewing swirls and scratches. The bonnet is also quite bad with them as you can see in some of the other pictures.

Last night I watched a number of difference demonstration videos of the PC and dewalt in use and applied a circle of #80 Speed Glaze to the yellow pad and spread it around the area to be treated. I then put the dewalt on speed 2 and worked it around to spread the product evenly before putting it up to about 4.5 to work it. I used about 15-20lb of pressure (yes I actually pressed down on scales last night to gauge this) and made slow overlapping motions as I moved up/down then back and forth with the pad flat on the panel. I worked the product for about 3-4 minutes until there was nothing more than a hazing look (panel still cold to touch). I buffed off with a mircofiber towel and checked the results.

The panel was certainly improved with less swirls and a generally brighter look but there was still significant swirls and scratches that would be observed in normal light let alone garage forecourt type lighting. It also wasn't anywhere near as bright and shiny as I hoped. I tried again with a little more pressure, more product and more work but the result was the same. I've included some 'after' pictures where you can see there has been improvement but the results are not satisfactory. I then applied my vanilla hand glaze again using a yellow pad (is this the correct pad for this product) and worked it for around 3 minutes until evenly spread and hazy. I buffed off and it perhaps helped a little with the shine but didn't hide much.

I basically seek guidance and where I go next? Is Subaru paint known to be hard? I'm surprised that #80 hardly made a dent. Should I up the pad aggression, the polish aggression or both? Do you think my technique is wrong (i.e. should a yellow pad and #80 have blitzed that damage?).


Many, many thanks in advance :)

Pictures

Cat paw scratches clearly visible

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...y/IMGP2241.jpg


General swirls visible in the sunlight

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...y/IMGP2243.jpg


Bonnet after correction, definite pass on the girlfriend test

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...y/IMGP2250.jpg


Closer inspection with use of flash shows swirls and scratches do remain

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...y/IMGP2256.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...y/IMGP2257.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...y/IMGP2258.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...y/IMGP2260.jpg

scooby paint is hard but it looks like you have made a good start on them. see what PB says he is always a save bet

You certainly seem armed with the knowledge but perhaps not the correct polish ?

I achieved good results recently using Menzerna intensive polish form PB, but then again I didn't have a cat dancing on my bonnet.

There's a damn cat that keeps attacking mine as well:mad: too many little scratches from the little sh1t, just got to save up for a PC now to correct them.

You got a good start on those swirls :) , I'll be interested to know how you get on with other polish

You are doing everything right... but your product choice is way too light for the job in hand. If you favour Meguiars products, then stepping down to #83 on the same pad would work a lot better. However, the best choice, IMHO, would be Menzerna Intensive Polish RD3.02, again applied using the yellow pad you have (or possibly even a Lake Country CCS Light Cutting Pad if needs be). This will make all the difference; Subaru paint is generally on the hard side, and #80 is really only useful as a light finishing polish/glaze. See this link for the RD3.02 description on the site...

Menzerna Intensive Polish (PO85RD3.02)

:)

Thanks PB :)