Decided to spend the weekend on my car, dreaded BMW Jet Black paint. After I stripped the old wax, clayed, and washed again, I pulled the car out in the sun. The whole car looked smeary. So I did one door with Menzerna Super Intensive Polish (SIP) & LC orange pad using my Flex, pulled it out in the sun and the one door looked great. Did half of the side of the car with SIP & orange pad, pulled it out again, it looked great. Proceeded to do the entire car with SIP & orange pad. I normally use a green pad, but I was trying to get out some small scratches, and just kept using the orange pad because the results were good. Next I applied Power Lock (PL) with a red pad and a PC. I applied it to one half of the car, wiped it off, and then did the other half of the car. When I pulled it out in the sun, there were smears everywhere. Almost as bad as when I began. Ugh. Do I have to strip the car and start over again? I wonder if I should have left it on longer, or if it is just my fincky Jet Black paint. I had planned to put another coat of PL on tomorrow then top it off with Pete's 53.
I think that may be the problem. Most sealants should be buffed after at the minimum 30 min. I usually let most of my sealants haze over for around 45 min to an hour.
So, do I do the wipedown to correct the problem, or do I try to buff it with a microfiber again, or do I strip and start over?
I would say as well. I have used it three times so far without any issues. It comes off fairly cleanly - no smearing.
I would IPA wipe and reapply. Give it atleast an hour to dry before buffing. Usually tackle wheels and tires during this break.
I've never had powerlock smear on me before. Either you have bonding issues, or wiping it off too early. Try another wipe down before removing it and starting again. You can leave powerlock on for ages and it's still easily removed.
I had smears with power lock once as well, I traced it down to me applying too much product and then using too small of a buffing towel to remove it. I found it to be a fantastic sealant once I starting using the less is more approach and applying multiple coats after an hour of curing time.
My vote is that if he just used SIP on an orange pad, theres holograms that are what he's calling "smears" also, if he didn't do an IPA after polish, before PL, then I doubt the PL will cure correctly.
Also, I don't know if anyone else does this, but I use about 10 towels to to remove a coat of wax/ sealant...once all that residue gets into a towel, you're gonna get to a point where the towel is too impregnated with product to wipe a panel completely clean.
This is how Mike Phillips applies Menzerna Powerlock go to 21:40. [video=youtube;3xJH_MGgbLw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xJH_MGgbLw[/video]
