Melbourne Red Paint Correction

[oogabooga]

Was hoping to get some input from the more experienced detailing group here as I will be attempting to paint correct my car for a second time. The first time was a fail... I took all of the steps below and didn't really see any difference at all in the paint (not better and luckily not worse). My paint has a lot of spider-webs and some deeper scratches (I'm not an expert but I know that I don't have any scratches or marks that can't be corrected with a machine -> I've seen far worse corrected on YouTube).

I'm a complete newbie to this so I believe my technique, etc. is what caused the lack of results the first go-around.

Here are the steps I took below and plan to take again:
1. Washed car w/ two bucket method & Adam's soap
2. Physical decon w/ clay bar
3. Chemical decon w/ Iron-x
4. Gyeon prep
5. Menzerna 1000 compound on a Chemical Guys Hex Orange pad using a Griot's 6" DA polisher... this dusted A LOT and was hard to work with. It also didn't appear to have any effect on the spider webs/swirls so I switched to Menzerna 2500 on the orange pad just to finish off the car... at this point I just wanted to be done and I was not getting any difference between the 1000 or 2500 compounds in terms of cutting.
6. Gyeon Prep again
7. Jescar PowerLock
8. Jescar Color Lock Wax

I have since purchased a bunch of Rupes Course Wool 6.5" pads and plan to try the job again w/ the Menzerna 1000. Any ideas on what went wrong the first time and important pointers for this next attempt? I suspect I might not have put enough pressure on the machine while using it or I did not hit the same area enough times? I've heard that the MR paint is quite hard and might take a lot more effort to cut. My arm speed was about 1" per second and I worked in cross hatches, etc. etc.

[M_Chronos]

There are a lot of products out there that can make more efficient use of your time but I feel increasingly less sure I am using many of these products to their fullest without the specific knowledge that goes with them. The tried and true that yields results:

Wash and clay
50/50 isopropyl wipe down
Meguiar 105 using a methodical, thorough buffing pattern, regularly clean / blow out pads
50/50 wipe
Megs 205 using a methodical, thorough buffing pattern, regularly clean / blow out pads
50/50 wipe
Gloss sealant

[oogabooga]

Thanks. Do you have any input on pressure applied to the machine as you're working? I've heard different things... the last source I watched referenced ~15+ pounds of pressure while keeping your pad spinning?

[M_Chronos]

I have no idea how much pressure I apply. It's a good amount, the pad spreads out and you can definitely see the pressure on the larger panels. It shouldn't be free wheeling and you shouldn't be putting your whole body weight into it either.

[Sp00nFedFilms]

Without looking at your paint I can tell you BMW paint is hard! Your problem is the orange crappy pad. Pickup a Meguires Microfiber Cutting Pad and try some Sonax Perfect Finish. With a good hand it can be a single step correction.

[rcracin]

For rookies such as us, I find that Menzerna is too difficult to work with. I use the Meguiars 105/205 combo. The 105 on an orange pad should get most swirls out. You won't be able to remove spiderweb cracks with detailing. That needs a repaint. I use 205 on a white pad to finish.

Also, for an orbital machine, 5"+ pads are too large. You won't get any heat in it. I use 4" Lake Country pads on my orbital machine.

[JPWEraser]

It's hard to burn paint with a DA but it's a remote possibility. You shouldn't be imposing much pressure on the DA as it loses its effectiveness - DAs lose rotational speed when you bind them up with excess surface friction.

One problem I have with your method is you did a chemical decon AFTER you did a mechanical decon. Should be the other way around. You want to take as much off of the surface of the car as you can before any mechanical action.

There is nothing wrong with the orange pad. It's hard to recommend a process without seeing your paint and metering it. I would recommend to start with the least aggressive combo you can and work from there. I think you'll find that your correction results using this method are better than you thought they would be. In all my years of detailing most people are highly pleased with a 80-85% correction (max 2-3 passes on a less aggressive combo). When you go chasing a 90%+ correction you have to go more aggressive and then the follow up passes are mostly correcting the marring left by the aggressive pass anyways.

Less aggressive is good until you have the experience and tools built up to make an informed decision on your correction plan.

[admranger]

Originally Posted by rcracin

Also, for an orbital machine, 5"+ pads are too large. You won't get any heat in it. I use 4" Lake Country pads on my orbital machine.

My Rupes has enough torque for a 5” pad easy. My Porter Cable can’t power through it.

[SoCalRPM]

Agree with most of the input here -

Do Chem decon first and then physical.

Menzerna products are definitely more for an acquired skill level. Mequiars correcting compound with their microfiber disk seems like a good choice. Also, hate on their advertising all you want but the Chemical Guys v36 is a decent one-step approach.

Also, maybe I missed it but your process left out a polish step I think(?). Don't forget that compounding will remove larger swirls while creating smaller ones, essentially. If you use an aggressive compound, you will need to polish afterwards to remove the compounding haze.

One-step solutions aren't as aggressive so you can get away without and all-in-one product.

For your technique, and pressure questions, etc... I just suggest watching lots of YouTube. The more you watch, the more little helpful hints you will be able to pull out. Some videos are long and may be redundant but you need to watch them to be able to uncover the knowledge nuggets you seek!

If you haven't already, check out:

- Pan the Organizer

- Ammo NYC

- Obsessed Garage (he did like a 10 part series in our cars)

- Apex Detail

- Dallas Paint Correction

- Hell, even the Chemical guys "how-to" videos are somewhat helpful, too

Hope that helps some.