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What did I do wrong? - AKA Holograms

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  • #1

    What did I do wrong? - AKA Holograms

    I decided to give my friends car a detail but even though the overall outcome was great I could still see holograms and some swirls in the paint. What are they and how did I cause them?

    The steps I used were:
    1. Wash (Meg Gold Class)
    2. Clay entire car
    3. UC entire car with rotary at 1800 and some yellow waffle pad I bought from repco. (I'm in Australia so Meg products not as easy to get)
    4. Washed again
    5. Hand polished with some older Meg polish (not sure of name)
    6. Hand applied Meg yellow wax

    What can I do different to help for the next car. I really want to be able to change any car like you guys do - to an immaculate, flawless, reflective beast of a car!!
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  • #2
    Re: What did I do wrong? - AKA Holograms

    Mate, some will point out that rotary application of Ultimate Compound is not ideal. What car are you dealing with? What type of paint? Knowing the type of car you are working on could give some of us an idea of the hardness of the paint.

    There are two possibilities that may be linked to the holograms. UC may have caused them, or UC was unable to remove the holograms and swirls that were there in the first place. Knowing whether you've created the holograms during the process or that you were unable to remove them could help you troubleshoot the problem.

    Not too long ago I lended a hand to someone who has a black IS350. The poor guy used the entire bottle of M83 only to realize that he was creating more holograms than removing them. Of course his application was incorrect as well, not taking advantage of the DAT. I think he used heavy polishing pad when he should be using a light polishing or a finishing pad on the car's soft paint.

    Since you're from Australia and you use the word "Beast" to describe this car, I guess it's a VXR?

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    • #3
      Re: What did I do wrong? - AKA Holograms

      Ha, I called her a beast as she came to me in such a bad state! The car is a late 90's Nissan Pulsar with paint respray after hail damage a few years ago. The colour is a metalic blue. (I am only a new member, is there a restriction to uploading images?)

      After the first wash the paint was extremely scratched but no signs of holograms, so I am to blame for that unfortunately.

      Thanks so much for your input!

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      • #4
        Re: What did I do wrong? - AKA Holograms

        So you believe you created the holograms. Then I suspect they were induced by Ultimate Compound. It is a common phenomenon on some paint, really.

        Here's what I suggest you do. Others may disagree with my methodology, but giving it a try would not hurt.

        Abandon the rotary for a moment. Use masking tape to make a square 30cm x 30cm. Apply Ultimate Compound by hand using cloth or foam applicator within the square previously created. Wipe off the area and inspect whether you are removing the holograms you previously created.

        If the holograms are removed, work the entire car by hand using UC.

        If hologram is induced, try the same method in another area using another less aggressive polish (or cleaner which is what they are called).

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        • #5
          Re: What did I do wrong? - AKA Holograms

          holograms induced by use of a rotary are pretty common.
          It's takes a pretty skilled and experienced rotary user not to create them and even then it still occurs a lot. For this reason a lot of rotary users will compound the heavy defects out with a rotary but than move to the use of a DA polisher machine such as a PC or Flex for the polishing steps.
          Most non-professional users who are not used to a rotary on a daily basis to really get skilled enough on the machine tend to stick to a DA machine for all steps rather than use a rotary buffer at all.
          If you have a DA unit I'd recommend going over the car again with that rather than the rotary. If you don't have a DA than I'd second the_invisible's suggestion of going over the car by hand instead of the rotary but trying to get all those holograms out effectively by hand could be a lot of work depending on just how bad they are.
          What am I, fly-paper for morons?

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          • #6
            Re: What did I do wrong? - AKA Holograms

            A lesson well learnt. The car is gone now but it is someone's who I work with so if I see it getting worse I will 'borrow' it for a hand polish.

            So can you get amazing results with the DA and hand polishing? I am keen to learn as much as possible as I can. There are a lot of people willing to let me 'practice' on their cars. I used to detail professionally but now looking on here I am ashamed at what I called professional! I am used to the rotary but obviously struggle with what paint and when to use certain products.

            Intend to spend hours reading up on as many posts as possible.

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