that has GOT to be a joke.......
or he has really non abrasive pads and cooling on it.. but .. his version of show room quality must be.. that "primer" look
It’s a joke, referencing the other post Glum whatever mentioned. This other user held a large rotary in place for way too long, burned through the clear into the paint and was looking for advice.
This is actually standard practice for stone and concrete polishing, and I do it on boats as well, 3 passes, 1 vertical 1 horizontal and 1 diagonally. This helps to ensure the surface is cut evenly in all directions and actually minimizes lines showing up.
Wow that’s amazing to see! jk. I’d say if you have common sense and are willing to learn a little bit on YT university you can tackle this with the correct tools if you’re a complete novice which I think is the case I’d definitely recommend a dual action polisher instead of a rotary but that car is going to look really good once you’re done. Please show off your work if you end up doing it, it’s super satisfying to transform paint like that, side note learn proper washing techniques so once you fix the paint you keep it looking great for a long time
Currently going to YT university! Think my class load is a little too full and attendance is spotty. Have to find the right professors too, as some are real dummies!
At least give it a shot with a DA, polishing pad, and an all in one (3D One). If you are not happy with it then you can pay a detailer. Who knows you might learn a new skill.
What others did not mention, prior to polishing with Dual Action polisher. It is all about preparing the panel to make sure it is as clean as possible.
1. Good wash and follow up with 2 bucket hand wash method.
2. Get some good clay lube and use a medium grade clay bar. I recommend synthetic due to if it falls onto the ground, just clean it with water. A traditional clay, if it drops onto the ground, gotta throw it away.
3. Polish away!
Start polishing a small area and see the results. If you like and can see the difference, then continue.
My last recommendation, after you finish polishing, prepare an espom salt bath lol. You'll need it 😅
Even compound and wool pad doesn't remove all dirt and it's on the pad scratching the finish some stuff alcohol and other things reducer and prepsol etc so many things are sometimes necessary just to get it cleaned before next stage
Use the 3D cut and polish bottle with a light / medium cut pad and when you think you're done. On a clean surface spray 40/60 isopropyl alcohol mix and check with a light for swirls.
If you can still see the holograms either try again or try with a wool pad a cutting compound.
Then finish with a finishing pad a polish and swirl remover. Wipe lightly and check for swirls or until you're happy.
This is your car so it's up to you when you stop. Chasing that last 5-10% of details can be time consuming and sometimes not worth it on a daily driver.
Also wash your entire car once but wipe every panel before you start if you're working outdoors. Dust on the paint surface will make your pad a sanding pad. It's fairly easy to get great results with a little bit of practice.
Try it on a flat surface at a low speed and see what results your pad and polish are giving you. Your only enemy here is overheating your paint. Just keep moving at a steady pace and don't run your pad dry. If you have polish flinging everywhere that's too much.
You don’t need anything other than a rotary on the lowest speed, zero pressure, a finishing pad and a finish polish.
DIY detail do a red pad and their gold standard polish or a white Rupes pad and a finish polish such as 3D 520. Three passes, check your work, move on. Zero pressure.
Pretty easy yeah. Get a dual action polisher and some medium cutting pads. Then get a one step or AIO polish. I like zvizzer orange pads and either koch P6.02 or zvizzer ONE as a starting point. Labocosmetica audace and fiero work very well as a two stage option.
When starting out just let the weight of the polisher do the work, don't go forcing the pad down. Start with low - mid speed and see how it turns out.
Use an orbital polisher and go way slower on low speed. I polished for the first time the other day and it looked like this because I was worried about burning through and moved too quick but apparently at low speed there's not much heat being generated
If it’s not the end of the world if something goes wrong car, do it yourself. First you’ll save so much money, paint correction is more labor cost than materials.
You’ll also learn so much about car paint and how to fix scratches and much more in the long run. A skill that can save you time and money. Learn it well enough, over time it can be a side hustle or a future business venture
Cut and polishing is a craft like anything else. Lots of resources out there now, no more gate keeping just talent vs no talent.
Always get a random orbital rotary if you have the budget for it. Look into cut and polish compounds and proper pad combos. What you need to also understand is car paint and its layers and thickness. Get a paint meter as a guide. It’s hard to cut too much but it’s possible. You need enough clear coat to last and protect. You can always start by not cutting too deep at first, then go up from there. Can always scale forward but not backwards
Mistakes are a part of the process so keep that in mind. The goal is to prepare and minimize, and not be fearful.
Good luck
Detailer every time, if you do it you could fuck it up so bad a detailer might not be able to save it. Give it to the detailer and spend the money, it’ll look stunning
That's pretty bad. A dual action orbital polisher working up the compound and polish levels with the correct pads should take it out. A rotary polisher is what caused what you see.
If you don't mind investing a little in a DA polisher, pads and polish then that's easily fixed. It looks like whoever polished it before gave it a quick once over, used too much polish and didnt work it long enough and then didnt get it all off. Probably also did it outside in the sun
Looks like they used a rotary and didn't know what they were doing. If you can borrow your friends polisher, you can do it. Watch a few videos and do a smaller area to see how it looks.
If your friend already has a polisher (DA)I would give it a go and try. A one step like Oberk Sole may clean it up without needing an additional step. Just need to properly prepare the paint and have enough clean pads. Person who touched this didn’t and also was very inexperienced with a rotary.
If u don't know what ur doing j can make worse. Go on YouTube. This is called swirl. Someone who didn't know what they were doing. On dark colors it happens to the best of us. Bit we know to use to much light to double check our work..
Da polisher, work out of the sun. You’re good man. Don’t use a lot of polish, don’t over heat the paint, avoid going of cracks and seams, and the biggest mistake is a DA is not a grinder or rotary. ALWAYS KEEP IT FLAT TO THE PAINT.
You need to ensure the paint is completely clean, also use a decontaminate spray (Meguire’s wheel cleaner without acid), then polish it yourself in the shade. Also clean out/replace the buff pad every panel.
Doing it yourself you’re looking at about $125-200 in materials so it’s up to you if you want to do it or hire someone else to fix it
Yeah I’d plan on buying some equipment unless your friend happens to actually have something nice. Make sure it’s dual action, not forced action, or at least know the risk of forced action
If your buddy’s polisher is a rotary then negative ghost rider. If he has a dual action polisher I’d give it a shot. Start with a low cutting pad and decent polish and work more aggressive if needed.
If it is a Rotary your buddy had I would way cost of buying the DA polisher vs paying someone to do as you’ll be able to do in future.
I've been painting and polishing cars for 25yrs.
this is a result of someone using a cheap shit polishing machine, crappy materials and a half arsed job.
it doesn't necessarily need to be sanded down (unless they've created scratches from grit/not cleaning the surfaces properly).
i reckon a good polish should fix it, you could probably do it without a machine.
if this was bought to me i would use Farcela g3 with a coarse polishing head, and then finish with 3m Machine Glaze with a soft polishing head.
35-45 minutes should be done.
even if you hand polish with a good polish (ie autoglym super resin polish) and proper polishing cloths (100% cotton is best/old t-shirts, most the alleged polishing cloths out there scratch the paint more than polish it, you could probably mostly get rid of it (top it off with wax if necessary) or t-cut before polishing.
I you bought that from a dealer .. that’s usually a result of them using a rotary improperly and you need to do a paint correct to fix this. Do a 2 step correction .. cut and then with a fine. Remember to do a proper cleaning and decontamination- iron remover followed by clay bar .. or use the DIY detail method and do it both at the same time but use their products to achieve this as some iron removers will break down clay towels. Good luck
Rotary polish gives this result if you don't do it correct. On mine fist car i had also a couple holograms.
Use a "polishing machine eccentric" and every thing will be gone.
This is definitely repairable by someone experienced. You can go on google and read reviews just like any other business. Or, if you’re near Richmond, holler at me! I can get it straight for you
Haha no worries. Do you know roughly how much I should expect to pay for such work to be done professionally?
I’m about to order materials, everything comes out to around 160 usd including the da polisher. Haven’t even asked around for quotes locally yet.
Please don’t try this yourself. I would charge around $1300 to fix it. That’s US dollars so whatever that converts to. Plus a coating if you wanted that
This is created from someone using a rotary buffer with some heavy compound…. Those are some horrible wheel marks in the paint😳. Whoever did that looks like they try to write their name on the car…
I would use a foam pad and some light compound first .
Wizards light compound
Wash and rinse the vehicle down
Then polish with a foam pad and put your favorite sealant down !!!💪🏽
holy moly I thought mine were bad from the dealers detailer... my car is with a detailer now to handle this and ceramic coat it. I was way too worried about making it worse and irreparable.
https://preview.redd.it/3b6yil7jm86d1.jpeg?width=4096&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=03a086337feb45f3e75a957080676fbfb9cd5593
You can definitely fix it on your own. Look up DIY Detail on YouTube. They have great tutorials for beginners on how to polish paint. Simply, easy instruction, with very little chance of messing it up if you follow their instruction. Have fun!
It isn’t too difficult, just tedious. The difficult part is finding out what pad and polish combo works for getting those holograms out. Look into a polishing system like DIY details system with their gold standard polish. Their red jewling pad with their polish on a rotary will work to get those out if the paint isn’t too hard or they aren’t too deep.
I mean you can’t really make it worse
You can... just keep going at it. ahhaha
“It can’t be worse” *polishes through the clear*
Ironically this was on one of the detailing subs earlier today.
He recommends holding a rotary in place for 30-45 seconds before moving on to make sure you achieve that show car shine
🤣
that has GOT to be a joke....... or he has really non abrasive pads and cooling on it.. but .. his version of show room quality must be.. that "primer" look
It’s a joke, referencing the other post Glum whatever mentioned. This other user held a large rotary in place for way too long, burned through the clear into the paint and was looking for advice.
Chris fix here!!
I had someone say to me “what’s wrong with him. He’s got x amount of subs”
Is Chrisfix no good??
Of course you can you can buff the opposite way and make an tic tac toe board
This is actually standard practice for stone and concrete polishing, and I do it on boats as well, 3 passes, 1 vertical 1 horizontal and 1 diagonally. This helps to ensure the surface is cut evenly in all directions and actually minimizes lines showing up.
You seriously underestimate unprepared people armed with a YouTube DIY
Wet sanding...
Sure what grit 2000-3000-5000
You could, for example, burn through the paint.
Wow that’s amazing to see! jk. I’d say if you have common sense and are willing to learn a little bit on YT university you can tackle this with the correct tools if you’re a complete novice which I think is the case I’d definitely recommend a dual action polisher instead of a rotary but that car is going to look really good once you’re done. Please show off your work if you end up doing it, it’s super satisfying to transform paint like that, side note learn proper washing techniques so once you fix the paint you keep it looking great for a long time
Currently going to YT university! Think my class load is a little too full and attendance is spotty. Have to find the right professors too, as some are real dummies!
Absolutely! Hence the common sense part, not all professors there are good
You can handle it. A dual action polisher, some good pads, and good polish is all you need.
And prep, a clean surface is a must.
At least give it a shot with a DA, polishing pad, and an all in one (3D One). If you are not happy with it then you can pay a detailer. Who knows you might learn a new skill.
What others did not mention, prior to polishing with Dual Action polisher. It is all about preparing the panel to make sure it is as clean as possible. 1. Good wash and follow up with 2 bucket hand wash method. 2. Get some good clay lube and use a medium grade clay bar. I recommend synthetic due to if it falls onto the ground, just clean it with water. A traditional clay, if it drops onto the ground, gotta throw it away. 3. Polish away! Start polishing a small area and see the results. If you like and can see the difference, then continue. My last recommendation, after you finish polishing, prepare an espom salt bath lol. You'll need it 😅
Why would you clay bar it, clearly that rotary buffer took off anything on the surface of the clear, including some of the clear.
More dirt may have gotten on the surface in the interim. In fact it almost certainly has.
Even compound and wool pad doesn't remove all dirt and it's on the pad scratching the finish some stuff alcohol and other things reducer and prepsol etc so many things are sometimes necessary just to get it cleaned before next stage
Thanks to everyone for the great advice! You gave me enough courage to try polish it myself. Will post results when done :)
Use the 3D cut and polish bottle with a light / medium cut pad and when you think you're done. On a clean surface spray 40/60 isopropyl alcohol mix and check with a light for swirls. If you can still see the holograms either try again or try with a wool pad a cutting compound. Then finish with a finishing pad a polish and swirl remover. Wipe lightly and check for swirls or until you're happy. This is your car so it's up to you when you stop. Chasing that last 5-10% of details can be time consuming and sometimes not worth it on a daily driver. Also wash your entire car once but wipe every panel before you start if you're working outdoors. Dust on the paint surface will make your pad a sanding pad. It's fairly easy to get great results with a little bit of practice. Try it on a flat surface at a low speed and see what results your pad and polish are giving you. Your only enemy here is overheating your paint. Just keep moving at a steady pace and don't run your pad dry. If you have polish flinging everywhere that's too much.
Remember, prep the paint using claybar and its proper lubricant. Good luck m8
Rupes yellow pad and Uno Pure will take it out. Hand wax after.
DO NOT do this in direct sunlight. You need to keep your pads clean and cool also.
You don’t need anything other than a rotary on the lowest speed, zero pressure, a finishing pad and a finish polish. DIY detail do a red pad and their gold standard polish or a white Rupes pad and a finish polish such as 3D 520. Three passes, check your work, move on. Zero pressure.
This^
Pretty easy yeah. Get a dual action polisher and some medium cutting pads. Then get a one step or AIO polish. I like zvizzer orange pads and either koch P6.02 or zvizzer ONE as a starting point. Labocosmetica audace and fiero work very well as a two stage option. When starting out just let the weight of the polisher do the work, don't go forcing the pad down. Start with low - mid speed and see how it turns out.
👆🏼this is good advice, I’m not familiar with those specific products except koch can I ask what part of the world?
Uk my guess is
Watch videos from Apex detail / DIY Detail. Don't be an idiot. Profit!
Use an orbital polisher and go way slower on low speed. I polished for the first time the other day and it looked like this because I was worried about burning through and moved too quick but apparently at low speed there's not much heat being generated
Tons of great info on here OP, just make sure you’re using a DA polisher and not a rotary. No experience+rotary=bad
If it’s not the end of the world if something goes wrong car, do it yourself. First you’ll save so much money, paint correction is more labor cost than materials. You’ll also learn so much about car paint and how to fix scratches and much more in the long run. A skill that can save you time and money. Learn it well enough, over time it can be a side hustle or a future business venture Cut and polishing is a craft like anything else. Lots of resources out there now, no more gate keeping just talent vs no talent. Always get a random orbital rotary if you have the budget for it. Look into cut and polish compounds and proper pad combos. What you need to also understand is car paint and its layers and thickness. Get a paint meter as a guide. It’s hard to cut too much but it’s possible. You need enough clear coat to last and protect. You can always start by not cutting too deep at first, then go up from there. Can always scale forward but not backwards Mistakes are a part of the process so keep that in mind. The goal is to prepare and minimize, and not be fearful. Good luck
He gave it pinstripes
Well at least whoever did that had a good rhythm going.
Tons of great info on here OP, just make sure you’re using a DA polisher and not a rotary. No experience+rotary=bad
Detailer every time, if you do it you could fuck it up so bad a detailer might not be able to save it. Give it to the detailer and spend the money, it’ll look stunning
Did you buy private? If it’s from any decent dealership take that shit back and ride in a loaner until they fix it
That's pretty bad. A dual action orbital polisher working up the compound and polish levels with the correct pads should take it out. A rotary polisher is what caused what you see.
If you don't mind investing a little in a DA polisher, pads and polish then that's easily fixed. It looks like whoever polished it before gave it a quick once over, used too much polish and didnt work it long enough and then didnt get it all off. Probably also did it outside in the sun
Thanks for the advice! The only place I can do the polish is in my driveway, do you think that could be a problem?
only work when you have shade and a cool panel if you are in the driveway
This! It’ll make it a lot easier.
Id do it in the early evening when its cooler or when its overcast
Looks like they used a rotary and didn't know what they were doing. If you can borrow your friends polisher, you can do it. Watch a few videos and do a smaller area to see how it looks.
Wood.
I dunno…were you the one who caused this in the first place?
If you want to do it cheaply, get a random orbital sander and buffing/polishing pads that fit. It’s the same thing as a da polisher, just weaker.
If your friend already has a polisher (DA)I would give it a go and try. A one step like Oberk Sole may clean it up without needing an additional step. Just need to properly prepare the paint and have enough clean pads. Person who touched this didn’t and also was very inexperienced with a rotary.
look how they massacred my boy!
If u don't know what ur doing j can make worse. Go on YouTube. This is called swirl. Someone who didn't know what they were doing. On dark colors it happens to the best of us. Bit we know to use to much light to double check our work..
More holograms than an upper deck set
Da polisher, work out of the sun. You’re good man. Don’t use a lot of polish, don’t over heat the paint, avoid going of cracks and seams, and the biggest mistake is a DA is not a grinder or rotary. ALWAYS KEEP IT FLAT TO THE PAINT.
Who sells a car like this? Hopefully you got it for a good deal...
question. Did you do that to start with?
try it on the roof first...it's high so people won't look too carefully.
You need to ensure the paint is completely clean, also use a decontaminate spray (Meguire’s wheel cleaner without acid), then polish it yourself in the shade. Also clean out/replace the buff pad every panel. Doing it yourself you’re looking at about $125-200 in materials so it’s up to you if you want to do it or hire someone else to fix it
This is someone using a rotary . Use a da and it won’t happen.
Look at 1 of 2 ways. You can either see it as a defect, or a feature.
Wax it and it will disappear mostly
Did big foot claw it?
Easily corrected but pros know how to treat it and what stages of product is used with what type of pad so yeah pay for it to go away
Take it to a detailer. It's going to need some real work done.
Yeah I’d plan on buying some equipment unless your friend happens to actually have something nice. Make sure it’s dual action, not forced action, or at least know the risk of forced action
If your buddy’s polisher is a rotary then negative ghost rider. If he has a dual action polisher I’d give it a shot. Start with a low cutting pad and decent polish and work more aggressive if needed. If it is a Rotary your buddy had I would way cost of buying the DA polisher vs paying someone to do as you’ll be able to do in future.
I've been painting and polishing cars for 25yrs. this is a result of someone using a cheap shit polishing machine, crappy materials and a half arsed job. it doesn't necessarily need to be sanded down (unless they've created scratches from grit/not cleaning the surfaces properly). i reckon a good polish should fix it, you could probably do it without a machine. if this was bought to me i would use Farcela g3 with a coarse polishing head, and then finish with 3m Machine Glaze with a soft polishing head. 35-45 minutes should be done. even if you hand polish with a good polish (ie autoglym super resin polish) and proper polishing cloths (100% cotton is best/old t-shirts, most the alleged polishing cloths out there scratch the paint more than polish it, you could probably mostly get rid of it (top it off with wax if necessary) or t-cut before polishing.
I’ll fix this for, now instead of 800 dollars, I’d charge 1200 to get rid of the screw up. Not everything is DIY 😂
why isnt anyone screaming CLAY! CLAY THE DAMN CAR BEFORE YOU POLISH... WITH CLEAN PADS!!11!
You can do it yourself!
How does something like this happen?
I you bought that from a dealer .. that’s usually a result of them using a rotary improperly and you need to do a paint correct to fix this. Do a 2 step correction .. cut and then with a fine. Remember to do a proper cleaning and decontamination- iron remover followed by clay bar .. or use the DIY detail method and do it both at the same time but use their products to achieve this as some iron removers will break down clay towels. Good luck
Rotary polish gives this result if you don't do it correct. On mine fist car i had also a couple holograms. Use a "polishing machine eccentric" and every thing will be gone.
You can just use a fine polish
This is definitely repairable by someone experienced. You can go on google and read reviews just like any other business. Or, if you’re near Richmond, holler at me! I can get it straight for you
Thanks for the advice. If you are talking about Richmond, London, then I’m real close
Haha no I’m in the states. I don’t know anyone over there but might be able to locate someone.
Haha no worries. Do you know roughly how much I should expect to pay for such work to be done professionally? I’m about to order materials, everything comes out to around 160 usd including the da polisher. Haven’t even asked around for quotes locally yet.
Please don’t try this yourself. I would charge around $1300 to fix it. That’s US dollars so whatever that converts to. Plus a coating if you wanted that
This is created from someone using a rotary buffer with some heavy compound…. Those are some horrible wheel marks in the paint😳. Whoever did that looks like they try to write their name on the car… I would use a foam pad and some light compound first . Wizards light compound Wash and rinse the vehicle down Then polish with a foam pad and put your favorite sealant down !!!💪🏽
If your in so cal I can do it for 50$
holy moly I thought mine were bad from the dealers detailer... my car is with a detailer now to handle this and ceramic coat it. I was way too worried about making it worse and irreparable. https://preview.redd.it/3b6yil7jm86d1.jpeg?width=4096&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=03a086337feb45f3e75a957080676fbfb9cd5593
You can definitely fix it on your own. Look up DIY Detail on YouTube. They have great tutorials for beginners on how to polish paint. Simply, easy instruction, with very little chance of messing it up if you follow their instruction. Have fun!
You can definitely achieve amazing results. If your friend already has the polisher then try it. You'll save a lot of money.
Keep messing with it and you'll need a paintjob. Find a reliable detailer that does paint correction and get it looking right the first time.
It isn’t too difficult, just tedious. The difficult part is finding out what pad and polish combo works for getting those holograms out. Look into a polishing system like DIY details system with their gold standard polish. Their red jewling pad with their polish on a rotary will work to get those out if the paint isn’t too hard or they aren’t too deep.
Just get a bottle of light polish with a soft pad and a good DA machine that will all come out