Fine hairline flecks/scratches

[Willsy1980]

As title really, as the meaty part of the meet/show season approaches, what is the best fine compound/finisher for use with a DA polisher to remove those annoying ultra fine scratches/swirls/flecks that inevitably accumulate over time.

Not deep but visible when the sun catches them just right. Tried Maguires compound and finish neither worked. Autofinesse Triple masked a few but doesn't really seem to polish them out. Tried a firm black pad and a softer yellow pad with at least 8 passes on 4 different areas same result....

 

So, detail guru's point me to something that works please   

[ilogikal1]

Scholl S30+, on a light cut pad (Tangerine Lake County Hydro-Tech) is a perfect combo for soft Nissan paint.

[Willsy1980]

Much appreciated. Will get that combo and give it a go  

[The Bounty Bar Kid]

80 grit sandpaper 😝

[Willsy1980]

On 09/04/2022 at 06:21, The Bounty Bar Kid said:

80 grit sandpaper 😝

Wasn't brave enough to start with an 80, but the 120 seems to have removed some. Got an amazing metallic effect in places now  

[Willsy1980]

On 08/04/2022 at 16:07, ilogikal1 said:

Scholl S30+, on a light cut pad (Tangerine Lake County Hydro-Tech) is a perfect combo for soft Nissan paint.

As a side on this, I know pressure is subjective and will vary depending on the size of the gorilla holding the tool....

But what would you suggest pressure and speed wise ? 

Just enough so it doesn't bounce or hop or enough to slightly compress the pad on say a 5 or 6 speed ? Is faster better ?

[ShortPaul]

Hi will when i bought my nismo i took it to a professional detailer he measured the thickness of the paint and it was really thin, he said he wouldn't want to machine polish it any more than once due to the paint be so thin, maybe take it to an expert for advice 

[ilogikal1]

As you say, it varies really, but the short answer is; enough.

You want to keep the pad flat and even on the surface at all times, but not bog the machine down. You also need enough to properly work the polish - which varies a lot depending on a lot of variables.

 

S30+ is an oily, diminishing polish so it can (and should) be worked pretty hard (and applied sparingly); personally I start with light-to-moderate pressure and then progressively reduce the pressure as I work the polish. I tend to end with mostly just the weight of the machine to finish the last pass or two.

Speed is a similar process - essentially (once your pad is primed), 4-5 to thoroughly work the polish, but again I like to reduce it (a straight step down rather than prgressively) to 2.5-3 for the final pass or two (assuming you're a DAS-6 based DA - if not, aim for around 4000-5000 rpm to work).

 

As you've said, it can be subjective though, so you might find faster speeds and less pressure works better for you - as a general rule, if you're turning the speed up you can (should, if necessary) reduce the pressure to manage the panel temperatures from getting too high to work the polish thoroughly enough.

There is (almost*) no wrong answer though really, lighter pressure and slower speeds essentially just mean you have to work the polish for longer - either more or slower passes - and vice versa.

*Almost meaning you can apply too much pressure, which will bog down the machine and increases the risk of causing damage, so if the machine is struggling, you're applying too much pressure for the speed setting.

[Willsy1980]

19 hours ago, ShortPaul said:

Hi will when i bought my nismo i took it to a professional detailer he measured the thickness of the paint and it was really thin, he said he wouldn't want to machine polish it any more than once due to the paint be so thin, maybe take it to an expert for advice 

Yeah the paint does appear to be quite thin, my main aim is to get it 70-80% better I don't think high 90's is possible without too much risk. Lucky they are really fine marks and nothing that requires a heavy cut. To be honest they are not really noticeable, but I know they are there and it bugs me