Hey guys so I am in the middle of detailing a Honda Fit. The paint appears to be very thin as there are marks from bird poop that will not come out as it appears to have eaten through some of the clear or paint.

I just used a test spot of 80 on the hood and it basically removed all the swirls however there are holograms left over which I haven't really ever seen before with 80. I am going to try going back over it with 09 to see if it takes those out. My guess is that it is such thin paint that the 80 is working almost like 83 and need a less aggressive form to take out the holograms. I am going to see what just 09 by itself does.

Anyone know of why the holograms are appearing.

Side note, How do you clean your DA Pads?

 

I dont see why paint thickness would have anything to do with whether or not a combo leaves holograms. Honda paint is SOFT, thats probably why you're getting holograms. Going over it with #9 is the last thing you want to do. It doesnt have abrasives, so you wont be doing anything except hiding the holograms for a short period of time.

Either go over it with 80 and a finishing pad, or use a finishing polish (not a glaze), with a finishing pad. Also make sure you're doing alcohol wipe downs.

 

Dan hit the nail on the head, listen to him.

 

Ok so I went back over the paint with 09 (sorry that was before I read your post) It got rid of most of the holograms on the test area, but there are still a few. I did a separate area with just 09 and that removed swirls but added holograms too.

You said using 80 with a finishing pad or a polish with a finishing pad. I have megs 07 polish. Would that work? Or should I do 80 with the finishing pad or do 09 with the finishing pad? (the bottle says 09 has some cut???)

 

Make sure you are using enough product, and enough speed. you want to make sure you are not dry buffing.

 

I am putting an X on the pad side to side Speed at 5 doing about 5 to 7 passes. Can too many passes do this?

 

Well you didnt remove anything, just helped to hide the holograms. #9 is basically a glaze. Go ahead and wipe the test area you did with alcohol. I bet the holograms come back.

I dont know what products you have, so its hard to recommend something. If you dont have anything less aggressive then 80, then use it with a finishing pad, a pad with NO cut. If you DO have something less aggressive then 80, then use it with a finishing pad, a pad with NO cut.

An X on the pad is too much polish. I dont know why people keep recommending to use that much. I highly doubt you're over working the polish if you're using that much with a PC. 5- 7 passes should not be too much with the PC no matter what. But, yes over working or under working can cause marring or holograms.

PM me if you need more help.

 

That said, how much do you use?

I have always kinda glooped it on there till I thought it looked sufficient...good reason why I either end up adding a touch more or thinking "now why the he!! did I put this much on there?"...:o

Thanks.


BTW-- to those who dont know Dan's reuputation-- he REALLY knows his *****. Listen to the guy. Dan the Man.

 

I only use a few drops directly on the paint.

 

Gotcha. Thanks!

 

Ok so Unfortunately I went to using m80 on the 9006 pad which has no cut to it at all. I still had minor holograms. I guess that m80 overall was too strong for the paint. So I stopped and put some m26 over the whole car since I had clayed the whole thing that way it could have some temporary protection. I am going to try working on it again next weekend.

Dan, I will have to try to find some of the 3M Ultra Fine to use on the car. I think I am gonna take the owner of the car up with me on Thursday to the Meguiars open garage and see what products of theirs they recommend. Also there are some spots on her paint from bird poo and water droplets that I could not get out after vigorously clay barring the areas. Any suggestions as to what to do with those (I am also gonna ask the Meguiars guys when her car is up there)

Kinda Disappointing that I couldn't go ahead using the m80 on the rest of the car (stupid holograms ) because it removed practically all of the swirls and really brought out the fleck and almost a bluish tint that you couldn't see in the black car before.

Looks like I will have to tackle that next weekend.

 

Does anybody in DFW think Mike Phillips should host a detailing class/open garage here once in a while? I would LOVE to have that benefit that Andrew has...

 

#80, almost definitely, will get it but, like Dan has mentioned, Honda is notorious for very soft paint. What I'd suggest is using this vehicle as an experimentation vehicle. While #80 may not be the best choice here, following with a product more like #81 may be the better product to follow with because of it's removal - rather than hiding - qualities.

Also, I'd offer the theory that there's a potential that too much downward pressure has been used on the PC... this will, especially with the higher cut products, cause that halogram look. While I rarely see it with #80, I certainly know of the condition that you're experiencing.

As for the bird bomb spots, it's tough to call it sight unseen but, most will 'spot treat' a problem area like that with something a tad more aggressive. Not sure about your comment about 'thin' paint but, if that is the case, you'll want to be exceedingly careful getting too aggressive on a bird bomb etch. While clay will get some bird bomb spotting(the type that sit on top of the paint), it won't remove most as bird poo is characteristically acidic and thus etches in to the paint. In short, the etch is like a very deep, hard to remove, scratch that requires the detailer to get to the bottom of the etch in order to reveal flat, unetched, paint. Bird bombs can be VERY difficult to impossible to remove... detailer-beware.

 

Does anyone know what kind of bird poo is NOT acidic? I have only seen a few (ie: I can count it on one hand) times when there is poo etching on paint-- and only on paint that has been 100% neglected. 3x at Wally Hell and once on my Mom's XTERRA... Even Dad's F250 PSD doesnt have any-- it gets washed apprx 1-2x per year maximum...much less detailed...

Maybe I am blessed... Dont get me wrong, I am NOT complaining-- just curious.

I also found a similar situation with water spotting... I guess my city is fortunate with water. Our water spots come off with a normal wash or with QD spray even if left on there for a month or so; the adjacent city has water that will leave water spots from hell after a few minutes that are a PITA to remove...

Guess there is someone above looking out for my truck....

 

Haha yeah it could possibly be that I am using too much downward pressure and causing the holograms. Mike should be able to tell if I am using too much pressure and also what type of treatment will fix (i possible) the bird poo spots. I wonder if seagulls have very acidic poo or something, because I live by the ocean and we have lots of seagulls.

F150sport, if you are a member of MOL and get a reasonable group of people together from DFW, they will fly Mike or someone else out and have a class for you guys. There are some guys from Austrailia who are trying to do that too haha