Acid Etching... Compound, DA buff etc... no help

Hi... First time post. I've posted over at the Meguiars forum before about my car but no one seems to help.

My problem... I have a Black 2002 Saab that I've owned in NYC for the last 2.5 years. Before I got it, it was in NC and FL. While I owned the car I washed it at the car wash only. Never by hand and never waxed. It's parked outside 24/7. I've been noticing how dull the paint looks so I decided to do something about it.

I clayed the entire car. Took 3 or more hours. So many contaminants. Unreal. Ever after that it wasn't "smooth as glass" as they suggest.

I used Meguiars "Ultimate Compound" with the yellow "Soft Buff 2.0 Polishing" pad with a New Meguiars DA buffer. It did a great job at removing all the little scratches but it didn't do much to the water spots. It made the water spots less obvious but they're far from gone. I can see an obvious scratch ring where the water spot used to be. They're all over the hood and top of the car. Some water spots are still very visible and some have been reduced to just etched rings. The doors and sides seem fine.

I went to the part store and picked up something that I thought would be more aggressive. I used another new yellow pad with Fine Cut Mirror Glaze, but that did about the same as the Ultimate Compound. I couldn't get anything more aggressive so I gave up getting out the water spots. I noticed both the UC and the Fine Cut were unable to smooth the paint like claying was able to do. Not cutting much if it's not removing the surface contaminants.

Long story short, I went over the car with UC, SwirlX (both with a Yellow Polishing pad). I followed up with Deep Crystal System Polish , then Nxt Generation Tech wax (both with a black Finishing pad).

The car looks really good for a few feet. But looking at the top and hood drive me nuts. I can't get a clear suggestion on what Compound or product would be best to tackle this problem.

I need to fix this and I'd like to not buy a rotary buffer. I want to use my DA buffer too.

I was thinking about wet sanding the paint (hood and top only), then buff it to a shine. I'm new to wet sanding but pretty comfortable with using my DA buffer. Pretty simple to use. It's been raining here for 3 days but tomorrow I might be able to wash it and get some good pictures.

Also, the paint has been feeling rougher... almost as if I need to clay bar it again. Is it possible after just a month? I think the paint is so pitted it needs to be wet sanded...

Please help!!
Thanks

Joe

 

This may help you:

http://www.detailingbliss.com/forum/f8/water-marks-water-spots-removal-8046.html

 

if you wet sand 2000 then 3000 you should be able to use the DA with UC to correct it. I would def try a spot first before doing the entire car. Also 3m has a rubbing compound that comes in a black bottle with a silver top(napa, auto zone) that might be more aggressive than the UC. Your process is good with the yellow on the first two and black finishing pad on the second two.

How does it look in direct sun light?

 

You seem to be headed in the right direction. I would suggest a coarser pad first off, as the yellow is just a polishing and not a compounding pad. I would suggest the Megs burgundy with one of your polishes ( I'm not familiar with Megs products ) and if that doesn't do it, step up to a compound with the Megs bugundy. That combo should get rid of the water spots. Then follow up with the Megs yellow and one of your polishes to get rid of any marring left by the compound. Hope this helps.

 

You can also use vinegar right?

 

Hmm, the Kevin Brown Method would be worth a shot.

 

Someone told me about M105 from Meguiars. It even mentions acid etching in the product description. I wonder if my DA can handle it. It doesn't mention the best way to apply the product but it does show a rotary on the front of the bottle. I wonder if these spots will cause me to buy a rotary.... Ugh. I'd hate to get into a new line of pads, backing plate etc... Ugh.

And... if I do the wet sanding or the harsher compound, can I skip the clay process? I wonder why my finish is already getting noticeably rougher.

In the direct sunlight it looks pretty good... Maybe a few light scratches but not perfect (besides the water spots). I'll try to get pictures... most likely next weekend.

 

Here we go... I washed the car today just to take some pictures. It's going to rain tomorrow....

http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/5370/pictures053.jpg

http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/581/pictures051s.jpg

http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/6416/pictures052o.jpg

The stains are gone I noticed... just the etching is left. A quarter is in the picture for reference. All the pcitures were from various areas on my hood. I wonder if compounding will level things out enough.

 

Those marks look pretty deep :yikes:

I would suggest first trying the M105 for a few passes (it is a very heavy compound that finishes amazingly well) before wet sanding.

You don't need to buy a rotary, but I wouldn't chase those marks too far without a paint guage... Trust me, you don't want to burn through your clear coat trying to get a perfect finish.

Good luck though, post up some pictures after you've taken your next swing at this, ok?

:support: