Swirls galore

[rossmeister]

Greetings once again!

I'm having a slight problem with swirls while applying Natty's Blue Paste to my 'soft' Honda paint. I apply using a yellow foam hand pad. Pad is kept slightly damp. Perhaps I'm rubbing too hard? Or maybe I didn't get the paint as clean as I thought and I'm picking up some dirt particles and rubbing them into the paint.

Any ideas of what I'm doing wrong?

:smt100

 

[Gus-Gus]

have you tried using the white micro fiber pads that Steve has? Im not sure how abrasive the yellow foam pad you have is.. when i apply wax i dont use any pressure i just let the product and the pad do the job.. are you applying it with circles or are you doing straight lines?

 

[sscully]

Got a manufacture of the yellow pad, or is it one of those round pads ?
- Some of them I find to be pretty rough on the surface.

I use the Red hand pads that Steve has in the store, I would call them on Par with the Lake Country Red pads.
- Watch the manufacture, they do not all use the same color codes for pads.

Which Honda paint do you have that you call soft ?
- My sisters 2001 Honda Civic in silver was pretty stout paint, I had to use a MF cutting pad to get some of the defects out of it, a White LC pad would not do the job ( or at least very fast, few days with the white pad would have worked ).

It has not been detailed in the 10 years she owned it.

Example of the defects

 

[Pockets]

Like others have said it might be in the pad .... I would suggest using a microfiber applicator pad even over the red pad if it's that soft ..... I just experienced this on an infinity and I went to point out a defect and bam finger put lots of little scratches in it (keep in mind this was cleaned paint) it was unreal how soft it was.

 

[rossmeister]

have you tried using the white micro fiber pads that Steve has? Im not sure how abrasive the yellow foam pad you have is.. when i apply wax i dont use any pressure i just let the product and the pad do the job.. are you applying it with circles or are you doing straight lines?

Sorry for the confusion regarding the yellow pads. Should have said I'm using Pinnacle yellow hand applicator pads (the round ones):


Sadly, (or dumbly) during my latest NBP application, I used circles instead of straight lines. Now the swirls and scratches are even more pronounced. Now I understand why circular application is not recommended.

Got a manufacture of the yellow pad, or is it one of those round pads ?
- Some of them I find to be pretty rough on the surface.

I use the Red hand pads that Steve has in the store, I would call them on Par with the Lake Country Red pads.
- Watch the manufacture, they do not all use the same color codes for pads.

Which Honda paint do you have that you call soft ?
- My sisters 2001 Honda Civic in silver was pretty stout paint, I had to use a MF cutting pad to get some of the defects out of it, a White LC pad would not do the job ( or at least very fast, few days with the white pad would have worked ).

It has not been detailed in the 10 years she owned it.

Example of the defects

I think I'll use your suggestion of cutting the red oval hand pads into quarters and using little to no pressure to apply. I have a three-quarters full tub and hate to see it go to waste.


I now have a '12 Honda Civic in Crimson Pearl. Thus far I've applied two coats. As soon as spring arrives I'll have to do a full clay and polish session. The car was sitting on the dealer's lot for gosh-knows-how-long and I know that beneath the surface, the paint is filthy.

Like others have said it might be in the pad .... I would suggest using a microfiber applicator pad even over the red pad if it's that soft ..... I just experienced this on an infinity and I went to point out a defect and bam finger put lots of little scratches in it (keep in mind this was cleaned paint) it was unreal how soft it was.

I was thinking of either your round MF applicator pads or the Indigo pads sold by AG, the rectangular ones. And I think I'll have to back-down on the pressure used. I may have been applying way too much pressure when applying. Like Gus Gus says, use no pressure and let the applicator do the work.

Thanks for all of the feedback. I really appreciate the help!

 

[heck]

This is just my thinking and I may be wrong. Did you clay the car before polishing? It is possible your draging trash inbedded in the paint across the surface.

 

[rossmeister]

I was going to do a full clay and polish as soon as the weather gets warmer. I think that may be the cause of my swirls and scratches. Embedded dirt is scratching my finish, that plus I'm rubbing the wax on a little too hard. I'll have to change my approach and use a different applicator pad as well. The red oval hand pads cut into sections, as recommended by sscully, sounds like a good idea.

For the time being I'll continue using OCW. Gotta protect the finish.

BTW, since my car is parked outside 24/7, is a weekly or twice monthly application of any kind of LSP overkill? Will there be excessive build-up?

As a side note, I used the Garry Dean Wash Method, and I like it. About the only drawback is that it uses up more MF's. Guess I'm gonna have to stock up on some. Any recommendations?

Thanks for the reply, Heck!

 

[Gus-Gus]

Ross have you tried the waffle weave towels Steve sells? I use one per car and i usually only have to wring it out one time.. as far as the marring and scratching.. i was under the assumption that you had clayed and polished the car.. so yeah.. thats a game changer right there...