I worked today, and like every saturday I work, I parked my car in the prep bay, go inside to tell the boys & girls where they can find me if they need me and then I detail my car.

Well, I washed and dried the car, and then grabbed the DeWalt, but I did not look to see how it pad was rigged.

LESSON #1on what not to do
Grab a high speed polisher and don't check the pad assembly before laying it on your hood and turning it on!

Yes Sir! Somebody put on some funky plastic pad lock and yes it spiralled groved my hood about 18". So, I didn't have a lot of money on me, and I knew Scratch X wasn't going to wipe this one out, and I bought a can of Turtle Wax's Rubbing Compound.

LESSON #2 on what not to do!
Get cheap when working on your car!

YES Sir! I started applying this $2.99 compound with the cheap applicator came with it. Rubbed it on and when I wiped it off... I had half a hood full of DEEP scratches!

SO... Not only do I have a spiral grove running up my hood, but a bunch of DEEP scratches too!

LESSON #1 on HOW TO DO IT RIGHT!
Go to your favorite auto supply store andget a sanding block, some 2000 grit wet sandpaper, a bottle of Meguiar's #1 Medium-cut, a bottle of #2 - Fine-cut, a bottle of #3 Scratch and Swirl Remover, a bottle of Machine Glaze, and a bottle of #7 Showcar polish. I had this stuff, so all I had to do was drive home.

STEP #1: WET SAND DAMAGED AREA
Have a bottle of water with a very light mix of Meguiar's Crystal wash. load your paper into the block and wet it down and then spray the area you plan to sand. Keep the bottle in your left hand, and sand using light pressure back and forth while keeping the area wet (18"x 18x") is a big area to work at one time. After every10 strokes, spray and wipe off and inspect. If the scratch is still visible, repeat until the scratch is gone.

In my case, one small spot was so deep, I actually started removing paint (about the size of a dime). Not a big deal for me, black car, a quick shot of paint and we are ready to continue. No custom mixing or metal flake to contend with.
Light Sand, Quick shot of clear and another light wet sand. Well, if the spot was bigger, even black has to be mixed, but because it was so small, I just went with off the shelf black.

Continue wet sanding until all damage is removed.

STEP #2 - APPLY #1 Medium-cut to remove sanding scratches.
Using a Purple Meguiar's foam pad WITH A VELCRO Backing Plate, Attach pad to high speed polisher. Again working in small sections is good. Set RMPs on polisher to 1800 and rock and roll. Apply product to the damaged area and pick it up on the wheel. Medium pressure at first and then slowly ease up on the pressure until you are just letting the weight of the polisher to the work. Wipe area down, and then inspect. Continue until the entire damage area has been worked.

STEP #3 - APPLY #2 Fine-cut to remove the scratches from the #1 Compound.
Clean pad or put on a new pad, and process is the same as above.

At this point your repaired area should be looking quite good. If not or deep scratches are still present.Go back and work that area.

STEP #4 - APPLY #3 Scratch & Swirl Remover
Change pads to a Meguiar's Yellow pad.

The process is the same as above.

STEP #5 - APPLY Machine Glaze
I like to do this using a yellow pad and then again with a Tan Buffing pad.

STEP #6 - APPLY #7 Showcar Glaze
I use a TAN pad

I just finished doing step 1, because I had to paint, let it dry, sand it, and shoot clear, let it dry and sand it again.

But I ran one small spot through the process and you cannot ever tell -- it looks perfect. I plan to take ph

 

Sounds good, but wow i should post this scratch i have on my hood it isn't good, but i knew it was there when i purchased the car ...

 

wow, first the towels, not this... you just can't get a break can you? i hope your luck turns around quick

 

This is great info. I think one of the mods should also move a copy of this to the DIY section.

 

No kidding. You simply aren't having luck on this at all.

You might want to bring it to a professional detailer and see what they use and they can do if this keeps up. Once you see what you like just buy the same stuff.

 

Yeah, I know... But the guy that lives across the street owns a Detailing Company & a Jet's Pizza.

But all I did was borrow some of his equipment (Makita Polisher and a Porter & Cable high speed Orbitor)

I promised picture of the process, but my daughter took off with my camera for the homing float building. But I took pictures of the end results. It came out BEAUTIFULLY! While I did the grove repair and paint job myself, Bob (my neighbor from across the street) stood over my shoulder when I used the high speed, and then took off towatch the football game, while I used the high speed orbitor to put the Scratch & Swirl, Machine Glaze, and Showcar Glaze on.

PICTURES
http://www.yourhealingprayer.com/repair.htm

 

very nice job black... where did you learn to do all this? from the neighbor?

 

Vita, my first REAL job at 16 was doing car recon for North Brother Fords. I learneda lot back then, that I use throughout my life.

But I just got back into it, and seriously asked a lot questions, watched every instructional video I could find on the various websites, including Meguiar's, and read about it from folks like you. Then I practiced --through doing it. People will tell you, I wash and detail my car probably 4-5 days a week. The freakin thing is a sheet of glass.

But when I damaged the hood, I washed the whole car down with "Dawn" dishsoap, which will eat all the wax off your car. Then I used Meguiar's #3, #6, and #7 on the whole car after I finished the hood. The shine is incredible! It has never looked so good. I think the secret was the Porter & Cable high speed orbitor. I bet it would look even better yet, if I had done it all with the high-speed Makita, but I didn't have the pads for it.

Oh, I use a new pad and wipe towel with each product. I then place the product, pad, and towel into there own baggie and then put all three in itsown plastic bag. No guessing what pad and towel goes with what product. I have a stack of fresh 100% terry cloth towel (100% cotton loop and backing) when the one in the bag gets dirty.

The only product I use that is difficult to use is the NXT Tech wax. Wipe it to early and it streaks. So you have to be patient and sometimes it takes 30-minutes for it to completely dry and then you still have to use three towels to complete a car. If you don't, it will streak the car. It is a LOVE/HATE relationship with that wax. It leaves a great shine, just a REAL bad in the butt to work with.

 

the friend i mention with the black cobra 'stang... he warned me when I bought my car to avoid black... so did my dad, they were both right.

 

lol... sounds like you are learning the hard way how to detail black! That old school compound is JUNK! Not good for anything on todayspaint finishes. I have my own everything for my black car. from the wash bucket to thebuffing and polishing pads.Contamination can definitely slow down the process. Always clean any pad you use for buffing whether it is wool or foam before use.Continuous running water will stop unwanted scratches from popping up during the wetsanding process. If it hasn't happened yet, it soon will. A water bottle isgood but used mostly for spot nibbing with 2000 or finer plus the ole pump hand will get tired quick...lol. There are many different ways to get the same results. You just have to find what works for you.