HELP! Ultimate Compound harsh on BMW clearcoat

[Atalanta]

Re: HELP! Ultimate Compound harsh on BMW clearcoat

***** ="sucked" The System didn't like me saying that the "clearcoat just sucked it up"?

[Atalanta]

Re: HELP! Ultimate Compound harsh on BMW clearcoat

Uploaded images of hazed hood after UC. Tried to remove with UP. Marring would just **** up the UP white abrasives and embed. Used Blackwax to remove a lot of it. Shine and gloss is from Blackwax with a microfiber pad and drill DA.

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/2671/medium/IMG_07734.jpg

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/2671/medium/IMG_07643.jpg

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/2671/medium/IMG_07783.jpg

Additional coats of Blackwax were then applied by hand and topped with Beadmaker.

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums/photopost/data/2671/medium/IMG_07602.jpg

[Old Bear]

Re: HELP! Ultimate Compound harsh on BMW clearcoat

Possibly others will chime in.
It is difficult to tell from images and there are any more experienced folks than I on this forum.
This looks a lot like the beginnings of clear coat failure, that I saw on my 9 year old daily driver that parked in the California sun.
I hope I am wrong.
Possibly the CC microcracks are being filled by the oils in the black wax.

[Old Bear]

Re: HELP! Ultimate Compound harsh on BMW clearcoat

This is an image of a vehicle that is showing a little more than the first hints of clear coat failure.
I hope for you that it is not CC failure.

[Old Bear]

Re: HELP! Ultimate Compound harsh on BMW clearcoat

When using microfiber pads, the longer fibers work to provide some cut. Depending on the paint, you may get haze from them, that you might not get with a foam polishing pad.

[Atalanta]

Re: HELP! Ultimate Compound harsh on BMW clearcoat

When using microfiber pads, the longer fibers work to provide some cut. Depending on the paint, you may get haze from them, that you might not get with a foam polishing pad.

The BMW clear coat was clear before using UC, DA Drill and the Megs Foam Burgundy pad. The hazing showed up after when I was wiping it down. The burgundy pad was grabbing the clearcoat.

Blackwax and the micro-fiber cleaned up the hazing a little.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: HELP! Ultimate Compound harsh on BMW clearcoat

Atalanta, have you tried the 3-In-1 Wax yet? Don't let the color of any product cause you to believe that it's going to behave a certain way. Color is meaningless, we could make things look like a Skittles rainbow if we wanted and it would mean zilch.

In my job I get to travel the world and work on cars with paint systems as varied as the cultures in the countries I visit. I've done multiple tests in Europe, Latin America and Asia where we compare 3 different pro compounds on both microfiber and foam pads, laying out a grid of 6 spots to buff on. We then do this on multiple cars at the same time to show differences in how paint behaves. The results are all over the map when it comes to which combination of liquid and pad yields the best result on a given paint. Sometimes the finish is flawless after compounding, sometimes there's a bit of haze, sometimes there's a lot of haze. In the course of these demos I've seen a given compound and pad come in dead last in finish quality on one paint, and then finish out flawlessly and just crush the others on a different car. When people ask me why we make so many different compounds when they basically all do the same thing (and in truth, they do all do basically the same thing), I tell them about this testing.

Heck, in Russia a couple of years ago everyone was asking what was the most aggressive liquid and pad combo to use on a DA, and I finally asked why everyone in Moscow wanted to know this same thing. They told me "because that's the most efficient process". I was later challenged to a "buff off" by the lead detailer at a very high end detailing center in Moscow. We had been doing demos on a new Bentley Continental GT, in black of course, and I got a feel for what this car liked and didn't like. So the Russian guy took his long throw, high priced DA polisher and his secret sauce Russian compound along with some bizarre Chinese microfiber pads, and did a test spot for me. I did a spot right next to him with a microfiber finishing disc and a finishing polish - NOT a compound - and a shorter stroke Meguiar's MT300 DA. The finish was almost flawless with the approach I used, but his was still in need of a second compounding step and a follow up polish to remove the haze. 35 Russian detailers were stunned at the result. I reminded them of all the testing we had done on the car earlier and how the paint reacted to each process. They just couldn't believe that a less aggressive approach was the better way to go, by a huge margin, than what they all figured was the standard process.

Moral of the story - don't judge a book by it's cover (or a compound, polish or cleaner wax by it's color), and don't think you need to get really aggressive to fix everything. Yes, some paints need to be hit pretty hard, but a lot of them don't.

Give 3-In-1 Wax a shot. Yellow foam, moderate pressure, and let it work for a bit before you stop buffing.

[Atalanta]

Re: HELP! Ultimate Compound harsh on BMW clearcoat

Moral of the story - don't judge a book by it's cover (or a compound, polish or cleaner wax by it's color), and don't think you need to get really aggressive to fix everything. Yes, some paints need to be hit pretty hard, but a lot of them don't.

Give 3-In-1 Wax a shot. Yellow foam, moderate pressure, and let it work for a bit before you stop buffing.

Hey MIke...Which explains why the Blackwax and microfiber was able to clean it up. I have the hood and the rest of car all layered up Blackwax, Beadmaker, UPW and Quickwax right now and it's 37 degrees outside. The car really seems to like the Blackwax except it pretty much falls off when the snow melts. It was warmer today so lets see if the warmer temp gets it to stick on better. Was just posting pictures for reference.

The local stores out here don't have the 3n1. Have to order product on Amazon. Will let you know. Thanks

[drumdan]

Re: HELP! Ultimate Compound harsh on BMW clearcoat

Possibly others will chime in.
It is difficult to tell from images and there are any more experienced folks than I on this forum.
This looks a lot like the beginnings of clear coat failure, that I saw on my 9 year old daily driver that parked in the California sun.
I hope I am wrong.
Possibly the CC microcracks are being filled by the oils in the black wax.

I'm with ya on that one.

[Atalanta]

Re: HELP! Ultimate Compound harsh on BMW clearcoat

I'm with ya on that one.

I think the UC and burgundy pad was too aggressive. The car came from Florida in 2009 and the clearcoat on the bumpers was already falling off here and there. Right now the car is kinda in pieces as I'm restoring trim.

I just found this...https://www.theragcompany.com/optimu...orer-ccr-9-oz/

[drumdan]

Re: HELP! Ultimate Compound harsh on BMW clearcoat

I think the UC and burgundy pad was too aggressive. The car came from Florida in 2009 and the clearcoat on the bumpers was already falling off here and there. Right now the car is kinda in pieces as I'm restoring trim.

I just found this...https://www.theragcompany.com/optimu...orer-ccr-9-oz/

I just read that product wasn't "supposed" to work for that application, but people will be experimenting with it.

Hard to sleep on UC. I struck through some paint the first time I used it on a random orbital polisher, with those green pads.

[Atalanta]

Re: HELP! Ultimate Compound harsh on BMW clearcoat

I just read that product wasn't "supposed" to work for that application, but people will be experimenting with it.

Yes it does and yes they will.

Hard to sleep on UC. I struck through some paint the first time I used it on a random orbital polisher, with those green pads.

Wasn't sleeping. Luckly I didn't compound the rest of the car. Instead brought out the 5000 grit and wet sanded it. That Blackwax in the pictures is over 5000 grit wetsanding.

[Atalanta]

Re: HELP! Ultimate Compound harsh on BMW clearcoat

Ok got it's sunny here now. Still experimenting cautiously with the hazing and the products I already have. Got the Drill DA out with the yellow meg's pad and the BlackWax and worked it at around 1000 rpms. The Blackwax does wonders with the yellow pad, acts like a totally different product. Nice long open time, super smooth. Also tried PolishAngel Master Finish...with orange pad...wow! magic! Will let you know a little later how it goes.