# oh no...i did it all wrong!!!



## balz (Feb 18, 2010)

so, i machine polished for the first time...

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=275127

decided to wash the car today as it was filthy with road grime fro a torrential rain fall.

did not use the my snowfoam/karcher combo as i felt lazy, but i did use the 2bm with my noodle mitt gliding gently on the paintwork as you would.

shined my halogens and found that i inflicted quite some swirls from 1 damn wash!!!

however i took my washmitt home to give it a good wash with hot water which turned instantly black (even tho i rinse and wring it in cold water after each use.)

was this the culprit even if i washed gently or was my machine polishing poor?

its so frustrating...


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## stangalang (Nov 27, 2009)

90% of marks on a cars paintwork is from washing so yes probably. Did you rinse it before washing or just do it dry? And how did you dry it afterwards?


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## balz (Feb 18, 2010)

stangalang said:


> 90% of marks on a cars paintwork is from washing so yes probably. Did you rinse it before washing or just do it dry? And how did you dry it afterwards?


hi. yes i did and dried it with a chamois


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## stangalang (Nov 27, 2009)

Hmmm, could be either the wash OR dry stage then. Looking at the detail you made a big improvement to the paint so I "assume" you have introduced more marks as a posed to not removing them initially. What protection did you use after polishing? A ceramic/quartz based coating may offer some resistance to swirls?


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## balz (Feb 18, 2010)

stangalang said:


> Hmmm, could be either the wash OR dry stage then. Looking at the detail you made a big improvement to the paint so I "assume" you have introduced more marks as a posed to not removing them initially. What protection did you use after polishing? A ceramic/quartz based coating may offer some resistance to swirls?


paint was sealed with sonus sfx4


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## stangalang (Nov 27, 2009)

balz said:


> paint was sealed with sonus sfx4


Maybe worth trying Cquartz or similar. This could help prevent further marking. I am a wax man myself but can not deny that coatings are very functional


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## balz (Feb 18, 2010)

thanks.

its so frustrating and embarassing...


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## stangalang (Nov 27, 2009)

balz said:


> thanks.
> 
> its so frustrating and embarassing...


No no, you mustn't get embarrassed! Do something, learn from it, get better! It may be as simple as your MIT was contaminated, your paint may be uber soft who knows, just try something new and report back, perhaps others can benefit from your findings

Frustrating, well yes it is lol but we all been there


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## Mr Face (Jan 22, 2009)

balz said:


> thanks.
> 
> its so frustrating and embarassing...


There isnt anyone here who hasnt done the same, you can only mitigate some risk, there isnt a 100% guarantee with anything :thumb:


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## balz (Feb 18, 2010)

stangalang said:


> No no, you mustn't get embarrassed! Do something, learn from it, get better! It may be as simple as your MIT was contaminated, your paint may be uber soft who knows, just try something new and report back, perhaps others can benefit from your findings
> 
> Frustrating, well yes it is lol but we all been there


i suppose this is the product you mentioned

http://cquartz.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=48&Itemid=54

its an opel corsa and yes i know that paint is soft, but this is too much.

will try using a new mitt and trying it on my corsa which i corrected a week after.

hopefully its just the dirty mitt.

many thanks for your help


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## wanna veccy (May 7, 2009)

basically what stang has said but you may be better off getting a wool mitt rather than a noodle mitt,imo the noodle's themselves aren't dense enough to keep any grit off the panel,it's just an awfull feeling that i can share with you, that you get the car looking mint then you go and inflict swirls galore with just one wash, :detailer: just remember to keep all your gear clean in order to keep the car clean.


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## Wheelzntoys (Jan 28, 2012)

You use grit guards?

I personally would not use a chamois, I blot with waffle weave and use MF with a drying aid like GG Speed Shine or DW Aqua Wax.


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## balz (Feb 18, 2010)

wanna veccy said:


> basically what stang has said but you may be better off getting a wool mitt rather than a noodle mitt,imo the noodle's themselves aren't dense enough to keep any grit off the panel,it's just an awfull feeling that i can share with you, that you get the car looking mint then you go and inflict swirls galore with just one wash, :detailer: just remember to keep all your gear clean in order to keep the car clean.


i have a meg's mf one



Wheelzntoys said:


> You use grit guards?
> 
> I personally would not use a chamois, I blot with waffle weave and use MF with a drying aid like GG Speed Shine or DW Aqua Wax.


the only problem is that here in malta we do not have this stuff incl grit guards. i even had to buy my da kit from the uk (sad lol)


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## balz (Feb 18, 2010)

i think cquartz is similar to opticoat or is it not?


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## Bigcheese1664 (Mar 25, 2012)

Personally I would ditch the chamois and get some nice soft drying towels and try the pat technique instead of dragging anything over the paintwork.

Also a +1 from me for looking at a sealant, I've just used Wolf's Hard Body at the weekend and it gives a super slick finish and hopefully a bit of swirl resistance as is claimed.


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## stangalang (Nov 27, 2009)

balz said:


> i think cquartz is similar to opticoat or is it not?


Similar in the job it does, but chemically very different. Opticoat is a very very good product and just as good at reducing marring


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## balz (Feb 18, 2010)

thanks


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## tom-225 (Aug 30, 2009)

This is why people need to learn to detail properly. Its pointless corecting a car if you cant maintain it properly.


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## Juicy Jen (May 4, 2010)

Did you use a panel wipe ie. Eraser after polishing?


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## Foxx (Jul 5, 2011)

balz said:


> hi. yes i did and dried it with a chamois


I would point the finger of blame here - much better to dry with a nice soft (preferably microfibre) towel, and use the "pat down" method rather than just scrubbing away at the car. A chamois will just scrunch any contaminants on the surface right into the paint, same way that a sponge will, causing the swirls like stealth sandpaper. A fluffy MF cloth will at least (hopefully) have less contact with the paint and (hopefully) pick up any contaminants away from the surface via capillary action, taking them away from the paint 

I always say, the first thing to do on the road to detailing is bin the sponge and the chamois and invest in a good mitt and towel


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## traplin (Feb 22, 2012)

did you do an ipa wipe down after you corrected the paint? when i was correcting my mrs black car I thought i had it sorted until i washed it. realised the polish was part correcting part filling so not all swirls were being removed at the time


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## traplin (Feb 22, 2012)

tom-225 said:


> This is why people need to learn to detail properly. Its pointless corecting a car if you cant maintain it properly.


oh greatest one...born with complete knowledge of detailing bestowed upon him!


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## balz (Feb 18, 2010)

tom-225 said:


> This is why people need to learn to detail properly. Its pointless corecting a car if you cant maintain it properly.


many sarcastic thanks for that!



Juicy Jen said:


> Did you use a panel wipe ie. Eraser after polishing?


no i did not...



Foxx said:


> I would point the finger of blame here - much better to dry with a nice soft (preferably microfibre) towel, and use the "pat down" method rather than just scrubbing away at the car. A chamois will just scrunch any contaminants on the surface right into the paint, same way that a sponge will, causing the swirls like stealth sandpaper. A fluffy MF cloth will at least (hopefully) have less contact with the paint and (hopefully) pick up any contaminants away from the surface via capillary action, taking them away from the paint
> 
> I always say, the first thing to do on the road to detailing is bin the sponge and the chamois and invest in a good mitt and towel


didnt know that the chamois would harm the paintwork...



traplin said:


> did you do an ipa wipe down after you corrected the paint? when i was correcting my mrs black car I thought i had it sorted until i washed it. realised the polish was part correcting part filling so not all swirls were being removed at the time


no m8, you could be right



traplin said:


> oh greatest one...born with complete knowledge of detailing bestowed upon him!


thanks


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## Foxx (Jul 5, 2011)

balz said:


> didnt know that the chamois would harm the paintwork...


Well not in of itself, but it has no way to lift any particles off of the surface, so it's just going to push them around the paint, and they will create any swirls or micro-marring


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## bazves (Mar 24, 2011)

By telling use that you did not do an IPA wipe down after polishing, that may indicate that you haven't infact inflicted any more swirls, but you didn't actually remove them all in the first place.

IPA/Eraser/Panel wipe applied post polishing will remove any polish oils that may be masking remaing swirls and will show you how effecting your polishing has been


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## balz (Feb 18, 2010)

Foxx said:


> Well not in of itself, but it has no way to lift any particles off of the surface, so it's just going to push them around the paint, and they will create any swirls or micro-marring


yeah stupid me. and i always wash the car INSIDE the garage to cut down on dirt particles...



bazves said:


> By telling use that you did not do an IPA wipe down after polishing, that may indicate that you haven't infact inflicted any more swirls, but you didn't actually remove them all in the first place.
> 
> IPA/Eraser/Panel wipe applied post polishing will remove any polish oils that may be masking remaing swirls and will show you how effecting your polishing has been


good point. could you pls point me to the right products?


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## balz (Feb 18, 2010)

btw, the new swirls are really fine...nothing compared to the old swirl city and rds....but yes they suck....


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