Ultimate Compound messed up my paint

[3Fitty]

Re: Ultimate Compound messed up my paint

Sweet Jesus, that is terrible. Was there something on the paint or was this car ever repainted?

[charlest25]

Re: Ultimate Compound messed up my paint

I used a new pad and tried to use the technique in the video. It was washed and dried. I did not apply any thing else to the car. I was thinking about going back over it.
Any suggestions?

I have a 2006 civic and I did the whole car. I don't know the type of paint but I am going to post a link to the picture again. Hope it works.

[Justin Murphy]

Re: Ultimate Compound messed up my paint

Wow. That's a mess.

How much product did you use on the pad and how long did you work it in before stopping?

I used Ultimate Compound last week with a machine (G110) and it had a long work time. It would have to be worked longer by hand to finish off nicely. If you don't work it long enough, you will just scour the finish and not work the compound into a polish to finish out nicely.

[charlest25]

Re: Ultimate Compound messed up my paint

Fixed it for ya...

Thanks for fixing the link but I posted with the pic again before I saw your post. It only looks like that in full sun. When it's in the shade it look good.

[gsxr310]

Re: Ultimate Compound messed up my paint

Wow! why didn't you try a test spot first? and what led to your decision in using the Ultimate Compund? remember to always start w/ the least aggressive product.

[akimel]

Re: Ultimate Compound messed up my paint

Charles, I know you must be very upset by the results of your first polishing session. But don't lose heart: your car's paint can be corrected and dramatically improved. You'll just need to set aside another day to wash and polish your car, but this time follow the instructions Mike P. has offered.

1) Use a less aggressive product, such as SwirlX.

2) Also get yourself some foam applicators. They are often not easy to find locally. I never find them at auto stores, though I have been told that marine products stores sometimes carry them. I finally had to order mine through Auto Detailing Solutions. Also get yourself some Supreme Shine or Ultimate Wipe microfiber towels. I have learned the hard way not to use inferior microfiber towels on my paint surface.

3) Do a test spot! As you have now learned, it is so important to do a test spot in order both to determine if you are using the right product and to refine your technique. By doing a test spot you avoid the calamity you now face. Once you can get your test spot looking the way you want it to look, then you can start to work on the entire car.

4) Work patiently over a small area at a time. It will take time, but eventually you will have polished the entire car, and it will be looking great. All it will then need is a coat of wax.

Good luck!

Cheers,
Al

[gb387]

Re: Ultimate Compound messed up my paint

Adding to the above post... keep in mind products like Ultimate Compound, SwirlX even cleaner waxes need to be 'worked' and this can take some time by hand. This is so the product can properly break down and give you the intended results.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Ultimate Compound messed up my paint

As Al said, don't lose heart as you can easily fix this, we just need to tweak your technique a little...

Look at the section on the hood below, this was another member's test spot, in this case you can see they taped off a square section to do the test spot but you don't actually have to use painter's tape and tape off a section, you just want to make your test spot section about this size.




To clear up your car's paint, all you need to do is work a section about the size you see above using a foam applicator pad and a less aggressive product like any of the below listed products and use a smooth, circular overlapping action with your hand, working each section for about a minute. Then when you move onto a new section, overlap a little into the previous section.

Use soft microfiber polishing cloths to remove the leftover residue after working it as compounds and paint cleaners shouldn't be left to dry.


Deep Crystal Paint Cleaner
ScratchX (either version 1 or the new ScratchX 2.0)
SwirlX


After re-cleaning the paint you'll want to apply a coat of wax or a paint sealant and then let this coating dry before you remove it.

To rub out a car this size by hand and then wax it should take you about 3-4 hours. It's not a quick process as the cleaning step must be done carefully with good technique. In the picture below you can see where red paint accumulated more where the fingertips pushed on the applicator pad, this because we tend to apply more pressure with our fingertips when applying a product. Instead, when you're working a paint cleaner or a compound focus on the task at hand and try to apply pressure of the length of your fingers as you hold the pad and move it over the paint and not just the fingertips. The idea being to spread pressure out over a greater area of the face of the pad.




When you're working on a clear coat you won't see the above kind of paint transfer to your applicator pad because the paint is clear, regardless, when you're working any kind of compound or paint cleaner to a clear coat finish you are in fact removing clear material or clear particles of the clear coat paint, you're eyes just can't see it. The above picture just drives home the point that it's very easy to create pressure points when working by hand.

Ultimate Compound is an aggressive product and a little more care must be taken when working over your car's paint.

[akimel]

Re: Ultimate Compound messed up my paint

One question for Mike and the others who are experienced with Ultimate Compound: Could the hazing that Charles unintentionally created have been caused by rubbing the compound after the surface had become dry?

I understand that with all the new products (SwirlX, ScratchX 2.0, M205, Ultimate Compound) it is important to always make sure a wet film is present, always to work wet and never to polish to a dry buff. Am I right about that?

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Ultimate Compound messed up my paint

Could the hazing that Charles unintentionally created have been caused by rubbing the compound after the surface had become dry?

Possibly, hopefully Charles will update us as to where he's at and chime in on your question...

I understand that with all the new products (SwirlX, ScratchX 2.0, M205, Ultimate Compound) it is important to always make sure a wet film is present, always to work wet and never to polish to a dry buff. Am I right about that?

Anytime you work to a dry buff you lose lubrication, so that's usually not a good thing when working on paint.

[roushstage2]

Re: Ultimate Compound messed up my paint

Probably a short version: I'd say that's a possibility especially if the product hasn't been broken down all of the way. You don't want to go to a dry buff with any cleaning product really as it can cause marring because there isn't the lubrication anymore to keep it from doing that.

[roushstage2]

Re: Ultimate Compound messed up my paint

Curious:
What was the weather like?
Did you work in the sun or the shade?
How hot was the paint?

Noticed Mike and I typed at the same time too, lol.

[akimel]

Re: Ultimate Compound messed up my paint

Adding to the above post... keep in mind products like Ultimate Compound, SwirlX even cleaner waxes need to be 'worked' and this can take some time by hand. This is so the product can properly break down and give you the intended results.

Adding to the above post... keep in mind products like Ultimate Compound, SwirlX even cleaner waxes need to be 'worked' and this can take some time by hand. This is so the product can properly break down and give you the intended results.

Probably a short version: I'd say that's a possibility especially if the product hasn't been broken down all of the way. You don't want to go to a dry buff with any cleaning product really as it can cause marring because there isn't the lubrication anymore to keep it from doing that.

The above quotations raise a question about how long one should work Ultimate Compound or any of the new super micro-abrasive polishes. My understanding is that the new polishes do not need to be broken down, like the diminishing abrasive polishes do. If one does not break down a diminishing abrasive polish, one risks hazing; but this is not the case with the new polishes, at least so I understand. Their cut remains uniform, thus allowing one to polish for a while, stop, wipe off, and inspect--and repeat if necessary. The non-diminishing nature of the super micro-abrasive technology thus allows for a "polish and inspect" technique that is not appropriate for the diminishing abrasive polishes. We do need to worry whether we have properly broken down SwirlX or Ultimate Compound. We can polish for a couple of passes and then evaluate our result. If the defects are removed, great; if not, we can repeat again. But hazing due to shorter work time should not be a problem for us.

Please correct me if I am wrong (as I no doubt am). Thanks!

Cheers,
Al

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Ultimate Compound messed up my paint

Please correct me if I am wrong (as I no doubt am). Thanks!

Cheers,
Al

That's a pretty good summary... I'm confident this has been discussed a number of times, it will just take some time for people to get used to working with these new products.

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Ultimate Compound messed up my paint

A good "Best Practice" for any product applied by hand or machine aggressively to remove defects is after working it aggressively spend a little time working the the surface with a few lighter passes to bring your results to a higher quality finish.

When cleaning and polishing paint, there are other factors that determine the end-results besides just the product, some of these other factors would include your pressure, your application material and how long you work the product...

I know first hand from interacting with literally thousands of people at our Saturday and Thursday classes that there's a lot of confusion as to how to specifically apply and wipe off different categories of products, that is specifically and exactly how to move your hand or move the tool when applying and working different products.

If you work the product correctly you get the results you're looking for and hoping for, if you don't then usually you get frustrated. We understand this and it's always our goal to help anyone having problems to understand what to do and how to do it correctly and hopefully see them through to success.