Well obviously I break the polish down guys.

 

I do a panel at a time. I apply the product on a low speed setting so I don't get sling. Than I move up into the speed I want, I find going really slow and being patient with it helps more than anything. I go super slow, overlapping the last pass by 50%, once I've done the entire panel like that I'll go back over it a few more passes just not as slow. It's always worked for me. I promise you the key is to go slow and be patient.

 

I decided to tackle the hood of my Titan tonight.

It's black, so imperfections stand out really bad...

I tried first with just a white pad & polish and got no results, then gave the orange pad & optimum compound 2 attempts and while it improved, there was still a bunch of swirls and fine scratches. I gave it a shot with Hyper Compound & a yellow cutting pad and got some good results. While not perfect, it was a dramatic difference.

Maybe I just need to understand that it's not reasonable to try making every vehicle come out as flawless as my car does whenever I do it. [&:][8D]

 

Well, if your paint is THAT bad, then you might need a rotary. Don't forget though that if the more cut your compound has, the more swirls of it's own it's going to leave. You need to follow up your compound with a final polish. It may take a little while, but you'll get there.

 

Well, any black paint that I've seen, if it gets washed 10 times without the 2 bucket method & the right soaps...it's absolutely hammered.

The compound isn't leaving behind any swirls, the straight line scratches that were in the clear to begin with are still there, just lightened up significantly but I can still stand back and see them from 10 feet away. I must be crazy. Do you see stuff like that?I'll find my face a foot off the paint going "GOD DAMMIT WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!!!!" feeling my blood pressure soar to the sky because I found more light scratches. I think I just need a lesson on what's reasonable and what's not to leave behind??

I actually ordered a 32oz Menzerna Finishing Touch Glaze which is loaded with fillers so I don't have to be this crazy picky about my black vehicles, I've fully polished my Cobra twice and used light polish a few more timesafter that, I really don't want to keep polishing it until I have itcleared.Juztang, I wish you carried it, I would have had it 2 days after I ordered it instead of waiting for over 7 DAYS ALREADY and it's only coming from Florida! UGH!

 

Dan I'm with you...i actually had this conversation with Justin a couple of days ago. I used the orange cutting pad with poorboys SSR 2.5 and then a white pad with SSR1 but I can still see very light swirls. My blood pressure soars as well. I feel your pain man. It's impossible to wash this car without putting swirls into it. Maybe you and I are too picky? I get little swirls just from removing the product i think. Also I have to wash my car outdoors and pollen is HORRIBLE here right now. As soon as the wash mitt touched the car, even after it was watered down, it swirled up bad. As soon as I wash the car down the pollen covers it. I can't even dry it.........STUPID BLACK CAR!!!! Everytime I look at it I start seeing red.

 

A lot of people hate the world FILLER, but....if I go at the rate I am now, I'll be grinding metal on my car before the summer season is over.

I invested in some Menzerna Finishing Touch Glaze, everything I've read says that it is loaded with oils & fillers to hide all those imperfections.

I don't have the time that a lot of people have to put in a 6 hour detailing job. So, I need results with the time I have! I'm just going to spring for the rotary. I went looking at Home Depot and a few other places and liked the feel of the Makita and Dewalt.

 

It wouldn't be a bad idea to get a paint depth gauge as well to see how thick it is now and keep an eye as you're going to make sure you're staying smooth. I think it would be a valuable tool for learning a rotary.

 

Good idea I didn't even take that into consideration.