marks in paint using meguiars

[Hap]

i thought id polish my old mans car its a new vectra SRI, its a diamond black colour. i was washed the car and dried it off. Anyway i use gold class on my Alpina so i thought id give it quick once over.

i was shocked to see that once i buffed the polish off you could actually see the swirl marks of where i had been applying the polish if you know what i mean...in one light it looked fantastic nut other light u could see the marks, i used the meguiars applicator pad and a cotton cloth to buff?

any idea, could my meguiars be at the end of shelf life? had it few yeasr now?

hap

[TaitRacing]

obvious question but...was the applicator cloth/pad in mint condition? And what motion did u use when putiing it on?

[c76jon]

its down to the cloth used not only for application of the wax/sealant but also due to what you washed it with and dried it with

use only the very best microfibre for all the above

you should never use a circular motion to apply or remove

john

[E30BeemerLad]

its down to the cloth used not only for application of the wax/sealant but also due to what you washed it with and dried it with

use only the very best microfibre for all the above

you should never use a circular motion to apply or remove

john

So bin the sponge applicator pads then?

Also, how do you apply it if not in a circular motion? Same for removal also.

Also, (i'll shut up in a minute) why not a circular motion when this is what an orbital buffer does?

Not questioning your methods or knowledge Jon, just curious as I have obviusly been butchering my painf for years

[c76jon]

circular motion by a porter is not the same

porter will spin but it does so off centre and materials used in pad construction,speed etc

the spinning off centre allows the pad not to be concentrated in one area so less heat build up at centre of pad

this can make product "dry" out too quick and create potential burn/extreme abrasiveness

the porter does not suffer this problem

porter will stop spinning if too much pressure is applied

average joe with a "mop" will but massive swirls in paint due to fixed head spinning and no reduction of speed due to pressure applied

i dont like the sponge applicators at all

usually ones provided in with product are cheap and nasty and quite abrasive

microfibre(good not poundland shite)applicator pads are the best imho

the marks that are being made here are on a black car

they are no different to ones made on all colour cars but black will show them up the worst

on a light coloured car these may not be noticeable until very close inspection

dark coloured cars are the hardest to obtain perfection as everything shows up

if i apply by hand then its done in a backwards and forwardsmotion

back of bonnet to front of bonnet if that makes sense

removal the same tho circular is okish on final buff you must make sure cloth used will not under any circumstances mark surface otherwise you are back to where you staerted

[Hap]

the pad is the spongy one u get with the meguirs polish, not that bad condition, the cloth was 100% cotton. the car was washed with autoglm shampoo and leathered off dry.

i have read not to use circular motions too.

what is microfibre applicator pads...do meguirs do them? what cloth is best for the buffinhg?

[Steviec]

Ive had the above happen before but I thought it was just because the car was too hot?
I always polish in a circular motion, and use the meguires aplicator pads and normally never have a problem and my car is met blue. I have now moved over to using the meguires foam pads wrapped in microfibre towel and I find that a little easier.

Next time I do polish the car though, ill try to not buff in a circulaer motion and see the finish that gives me.

[Hap]

Spoke to Meguiars...they said i had too much polish on the pad and surface of the car thats why it shows up? is that right?

[c76jon]

always use best quality microfibre

to wash
dry
apply and take off

anything else will leave marks

its all dependant on how exact you want things

if you want totally no marks ie swirls,micro marring,cobwebs etc then sponges and chamois need to be binned

not buffing in a circular motion willnot improve finish

it will simply reduce the introduction of marks etc to paint/laqer surface

if this is done with microfibre then it will mean you will not mark the surface

tho if they exist and i assure you they do on 99% of cars then these need to be removed before flawless finish is achieved

the marks will not be caused by heat

they are caused by whats in contact with the paint scratching surface thtas why its so important to use non marking material

jon

[c76jon]

Spoke to Meguiars...they said i had too much polish on the pad and surface of the car thats why it shows up? is that right?

cant see the logic

wether 1 micron of polish on paint surface or 3 inches(thick)

will have no bearing on what polish is in contact with paint surface

more or lesspiled on top of each other will not make polish more or less abrasive

may be damage was there before application from previous swirls introduced with sponges etc and application has enhance finish and they are now more visible

as i have said before any flaws in paint surface will be enhanced by application of sealant/wax etc because thats what its supposed to do....enhance your paint finish but if that finish has swirls already and they arent removed then they will be made to show up more ...if that makes sense

my money is on cloth.too many times ive seen damage caused or being caused by so called car cleaning cloths

but as far as meguiars reasons are i fail to see how amount of product makes a difference to whether it scratches the surface or not

jon

[Steviec]

I may be wrong but I dont think he was originally on about scratching the paint its more a case of 'staining the paint', thats the best way I can think of as describing it.
Applying too much polish makes sense I suppose, cos when you get it, its like you havnt removed it properly.