# Tiny swirl mark after polish



## HOW5ER (Aug 11, 2009)

I've spent a lot of time detailing my 2014 Transporter but now feeling pretty crap about the results, my story is below if anyone can be bothered reading and helping.....

I used an LED tripod throughout it seemed all good after my 50/50's, I really enjoy using a green lake country pad with Scholl S20 black so decided even if I just got it 80% I'd be happy as I was enjoying the work, I decided that the green pad wasn't quite good enough later so I changed to a LC orange pad to get it a tad slicker, anyway I thought all was okay till I saw my work in the sun  I seem to have corrected the paint from all the defects but left marks with the machine, I have tiny fine marks all going the same direction which are only really visible in the sunlight.

I very rarely get time to detail so haven't used my DA in around 2yr so technique probably isn't best, I may not have been cleaning the pad enough or should I have been using a spray of water between sets on the pad  could it be my pad is knackered??

I work offshore so the van will be left on the drive for the next 2 weeks while im away, the amount of time and effort Ive put into the van over the past 2 weeks leave just doesn't seem fair atm :wall::wall::wall:


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## atbalfour (Aug 11, 2019)

That's holograms for you. Could be a few reasons for them and hard to diagnose remotely but Scholl S20 is a good one step product so unlikely to be that. 

The good news is that they don't take much to remove, sounds like you've done the leg-work and a quick pass with a softer finishing pad will remove them and likely bump up the gloss too. Wash it down after you get back and dive straight in


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## HOW5ER (Aug 11, 2009)

Thanks for the reply Atbalfour!

I was about to give it a try this morning with a black megs pad but after seeing what I've achieved I think maybe it's time for me to give up, I'm absolutely shocked how poor a job I've managed to achieve here, I'll let the pics do the talking, absolutely dog poo.


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## Ultra (Feb 25, 2006)

A picture may help, i'm guessing that the pad may had something trapped on the surface and left marks that look like pigtails dunno to many variable to think of.


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## HOW5ER (Aug 11, 2009)

Ive added some of the 50/50's that were taken at night with the LED tripod, I actually thought I was getting somewhere...........


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## HOW5ER (Aug 11, 2009)

http://imgur.com/5zgSezp




http://imgur.com/pSLL6n0


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## HOW5ER (Aug 11, 2009)

http://imgur.com/8cVTOXU




http://imgur.com/8cVTOXU


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## Ultra (Feb 25, 2006)

Your being to hard on yourself, those marks look to be cloth/wipe induced not buffer trails, i was expecting much worse than that.


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## HOW5ER (Aug 11, 2009)

Its hard to see how bad it actually is mate, the camera doesn't show what its like with the naked eye.....Ive spent pretty much 14 days of offshore leave and this is what Ive achieved.

Im doing something wrong but just dont know what? maybe ill throw the pads away and try new ones....I also polish outside, could it be dust or sand etc being blown onto the pad/paint


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## SteveTDCi (Feb 8, 2006)

As above it looks like cloth marks, what are you wiping it down with ?


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## Jonny_R (Oct 23, 2012)

Have you waxed the van since you finished?

Some waxes can gas off and leave holograms that are easily fixed with a second buff with a QD

Also do you use a panel wipe when buffing the polishing residue? Really helpful to check your work as you go and check none of the swirls and marks are being hidden by polish residue.

Looks to me like you just need a second stage refining with something like S30 and a finishing pad.


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## HOW5ER (Aug 11, 2009)

Jonny_R said:


> Have you waxed the van since you finished? *Yes mate, I used a few different waxes to see how they each performed and see which one I preferred, the panels that seem worst I used Megs NXT*
> 
> Some waxes can gas off and leave holograms that are easily fixed with a second buff with a QD*Ill wait till it cools down a bit and try some Blackfire QD to see if it makes any difference :thumb:*
> 
> ...


 *Would the green lake country go well with the S30? for some reason I have quite a few green and orange LC pads*


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## HOW5ER (Aug 11, 2009)

SteveTDCi said:


> As above it looks like cloth marks, what are you wiping it down with ?


I wipe off the polish with a MF then wipe the panel down with IPA before I put on a sealant or wax.....


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## atbalfour (Aug 11, 2019)

Good news is that they take little to no effort to remove with the right pad combination.

I'd suggest you thoroughly wash your pad or pads and buy new MF towels.


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## HOW5ER (Aug 11, 2009)

atbalfour said:


> Good news is that they take little to no effort to remove with the right pad combination.
> 
> I'd suggest you thoroughly wash your pad or pads and buy new MF towels.


Got me thinking I may have been using brand new MF's that I haven't washed?


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## HOW5ER (Aug 11, 2009)

Heres some pics of the pad I was using, is it knackered?? cant get them to upload without them being massive?



http://imgur.com/hD4BK5H


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## HOW5ER (Aug 11, 2009)




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## Jonny_R (Oct 23, 2012)

HOW5ER said:


> *Would the green lake country go well with the S30? for some reason I have quite a few green and orange LC pads*


Dont tend to use LC pads so not sure what the colours correspond to but ideally your going to want a finishing pad which tend to be commonly black across the various pad manufacturers


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## Paul.D (Jun 26, 2013)

Hi 
A couple of questions,
How many passes did you make before before wiping down the residual?
The lake county orange pads are fine I have just finished a black Golf using S20 black and orange pads. The only difference is I was using a rotary not a da. It looks to me like you have not worked the polish enough for it to break down to refine the holograms. Possibly used too much product. You only need 2 pea size drops on a 4" pad. And 3 on a 5" pad.
You need to work it until it goes almost oily to look at, then it pretty much done.

The other question is what sort of panel temperatures are you buffing in if it's warm to the touch it's too hot it will dry too quickly and not break down.


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## HOW5ER (Aug 11, 2009)

Jonny_R said:


> Dont tend to use LC pads so not sure what the colours correspond to but ideally your going to want a finishing pad which tend to be commonly black across the various pad manufacturers


Cheers mate, the green LC is next to the black finishing pad I believe, it's nice and soft just not quite as soft as black, I do have a black megs pad and I have some poor boys ssr1 I could try instead of the s20


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## HOW5ER (Aug 11, 2009)

Paul.D said:


> Hi
> A couple of questions,
> How many passes did you make before before wiping down the residual? _ I was using 5 passes with the orange pads_
> The lake county orange pads are fine I have just finished a black Golf using S20 black and orange pads. The only difference is I was using a rotary not a da. It looks to me like you have not worked the polish enough for it to break down to refine the holograms. Possibly used too much product. You only need 2 pea size drops on a 4" pad. And 3 on a 5" pad.
> ...


 _I worked in the shade so panels would not have been too warm up here in Scotland, the product seemed to work fine and it all looked good until the bloody sunlight hit it :/_

1 other thing Ive been considering is how the van attracted pollen and dust, I think due to static my van was pretty much yellow every morning, could the van have been so static it was causing pollen etc to stick to it almost as soon as the MF left the panel??

Really appreciate all the comments and information, so big thanks to all!


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## Paul.D (Jun 26, 2013)

HOW5ER said:


> _I worked in the shade so panels would not have been too warm up here in Scotland, the product seemed to work fine and it all looked good until the bloody sunlight hit it :/_
> 
> 1 other thing Ive been considering is how the van attracted pollen and dust, I think due to static my van was pretty much yellow every morning, could the van have been so static it was causing pollen etc to stick to it almost as soon as the MF left the panel??
> 
> Really appreciate all the comments and information, so big thanks to all!


Possibly if you wipe it over with a quick detailer does it disappear ?
Have you put a lsp on it yet ? That might cover the problem ?


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## HOW5ER (Aug 11, 2009)

Paul.D said:


> Possibly if you wipe it over with a quick detailer does it disappear ?
> Have you put a lsp on it yet ? That might cover the problem ?


Yes mate LSP has been applied, I wiped the whole left side of van down with ipa/water then applied my LSP with a foam pad..... I think I'll need to invest in a better light so I can see more of what's going on as I can't see this unless the morning sun when low in the sky is hitting the panel directly.


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## chris chappell (Jun 6, 2007)

It may be that this is the original marring that you have never corrected in the first place as it does look very extensive and the result of quite a few washes. Could it be that the paint is hard and your pad, polish, technique are not touching it?????
Try a small area with a more aggressive set up and see if that cures it.


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## Jonny_R (Oct 23, 2012)

chris chappell said:


> It may be that this is the original marring that you have never corrected in the first place as it does look very extensive and the result of quite a few washes. Could it be that the paint is hard and your pad, polish, technique are not touching it?????
> Try a small area with a more aggressive set up and see if that cures it.


Was thinking this myself. Vag paint is traditionally hard as rock and you may just be filling in the deep swirls with the S20 and orange pad.

That way it looks great until light hits it a certain way.

Although if your IPA wiping it down after polishing then any filling phenomenon should be getting removed when you IPA wipe down.


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## atbalfour (Aug 11, 2019)

If it was me I'd be replacing that orange pad if you have any doubt - hard to tell from the photo but there is a chance that some of the cell structures have been damaged, certainly around the working edges. I'm always so conscious of that impacting the finish I achieve whether that's a reduction in the pad's performance or actually inflicting holograms.


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