Hey guys, ran across this thread at the meguiars forum. He tried to use ultimate compound and this is what happened. Be careful when attempting to do this on your own guys

Ultimate Compound messed up my paint - Car Care Forums: Meguiar's Online




Heres another one a guy tried using scratch x by hand.

http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29900

 

There is a proper way to do it by hand, but it's definitely not in a circular motion. That's funny to me. Sucks for them.

 

Bwahahah, thats funny. How in the heck does someone do that. I have never had that problem with hand polishing. I use Turtle Wax ICE on mine.

 

Well turtle wax ice is wax, this is a compound polish. Polishing removes swirls and scratches indefinately by removing a top layer of clear coat. Wax fills them in so you don't see them. You'll never have this problem with wax. Polishing is best done by machine.

 

Polish by hand not good, but I use ScratchX by hand all the time and it works fine. I went to the Meguiar's detailing class in Irvine and that's how Mike taught us to use it. And always add wax after

 

looks like most black fits ive seen haha

 

Lol unfortunately your right. Hondas already have soft paint as it is and will get swirled if you look at them the wrong way. Having black paint is like a whole another part time job. Check out this black GD3 I did a couple days ago.

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/fit-...black-gd3.html

 

What he said. Compound is very Abrasive and grainy and will cause swirling exactly like you see in the pic. He can fix it w/ just a few moree more steps. I use it only when needed in a small area that needs it due to scrathes and such. When it is used there are additional steps one must take in order for it to be effective.

clay bar -> compound -> cleaner wax -> polish x2 -> carnauba wax to protect the work.

 

Close but not exactly what you see in this picture is fingertip marring and the compound caked on. Compound needs heat created by the friction of a buffer to fully break down. He was using it by hand which wasn't creating enough friction to fully break down the compound. He was also applying so much pressure that he was actually scratching the surface more.

Compounds and polishes are abrasives like you mentioned and all they do is remove a microscopic layer of clear coat, revealing the fresh unsratched clear coat underneath. Compounds are more agressive than polishes and will remove more defects but will leave the surface hazy and unclear. To remove that you will need to follow with a mild finishing polish. A cleaner wax or a second polishing pass isn't necessary. Although for max results start with an agressive compound, follow with a mild polish, then with a finishing polish that has no cut or abrasives to jewel the paint to a high gloss. Of course I always recommend this be done with a machine and a 3 phase polish like this including wash and clay and then applying protectant after the polishing can take about 2 days.

 

Wow, I would cry if my car looked that bad!

 

Same here- that is funny just because it is so stupid. Sorry for the car owner- should have had better sense. "Leave it to the Pro's"- not on your life.

 

not reading instructions FTL!! i bet he did it in direct sunlight or something.

 

I bought Scratch X but I never felt comfortable to use it on my car by hand. I have found that washing, claying and waxing seems to make it better.

Cat :x

 

You don't need to clay the car often unless you live in a highly polluted area. Most people recommend once per year or every 6 months for bad areas with lots of fall out. Also claying removes wax so your just throwing your money away I you do it too often.

 

Not all compounds need to be broken down anymore. But he definitely was using too much pressure, and doing to large of an area. You're not supposed to let compounds dry. It takes away the lubrication so it's like dry sanding your paint in a sense.

 

also keep in mind the pad density.

the hardness of the pad is as effective as the polish itself.

i work in the polish (by hand or by buffer) until it is dry
because it has diminshing abrasives. if you dont work in
the polish until they are dry, the abrasives are not completely
broken down.

if you are scared of polishing consider trying the PrimaAmigo.
it is a filler type glaze and it can hide some of the more
significant swirls before waxing. and it is SUPER EASY to
apply by hand and remove.

 

I know what compund polish is and thats my point and that is why I only use a wax designed for hand polishing. Why a person would use a compound polish by hand, I don't know. Thats why it is funny to me. I personally have never had to use anything more than hand wax because I wax/ polish if you will, every few months. I have had two black cars and that worked well with them. Having a white car now makes it easier, lol. I hope for the person who owns the car pictured, that the swirls will come out.

 

I think your still confused. Wax and polishing are still 2 completely differet things. Polishing is the process that removes a microscopic layer of clear coat to remove the scratches or swirls that are in that layer of clear coat. If you polish every months then you will have no clear coat in about a year. Polishing should only be done once every few years. Theres very few polishes available in stores. Compounds are just a heavy form of polish. Hand polishing just means that instead of using a buffer to apply the polish your using your hand.

Also the car pictured doesnt have swirls. He removed the swirls when used the compound. But caused fingertip marring (what you see) by how much pressure he applied on the pad and not wiping it off immediately.

Also as mentioned glazes are an awesome option for people that want to hide the swirls and scratches, especially black cars.

 

yah.. also, compound typically refers to a polish that is coarse.
(kinda like a 1000-2000grit polish).

 

No, I don't think I'm confused. I know the difference. No I am not a "Car Detailer", but I do know the difference. You are reading the word polish and assuming that I am talking about the type of product used. I am simply using the word polishing or to polish as in to make smooth or glossy with friction. The same way I would polish a set of shoes. Kind of like burnishing.