I messed up big time

A

agleam0fhope

New member
So I am a total noob at machine polishing. I spent two weeks reading this forum inside and out... watching videos, reading, doing product research. I orderd the PC along with Menzerna IP and FP and LC orange white and grey pads...



I taped off my whole car. its a 2007 Nissan 350Z in color San Marino Blue. I started with the FP and orange pad. Still had some scratches that weren't coming out... switched to the IP. Much better results. I did the passenger door and it turned out great. Did the passenger fender... all good. Started on the passenger side of the hood and after doing the whole half of the hood realized to my utter horror, that some how i burned the edge of the frickin hood...



I dont understand... i havent been able to find much out about how hard the Nissan Clears are but i dont get how that happened... Is IP that aggressive?



I hate to have to admit this but i need to know what i did wrong so i can muster up the courage to continue on the car...





thanks.... I have the sickest feeling right now... my brand new car... jacked up.
 
Burning paint with the PC is a bit of a task. How long were you holding the machine in that particular area?



Could you post a picture or two? Did you try following up with FP on a white pad afterwards?
 
Yeah here is a pic...
My2007Nissan350Zpolishing008.jpg
...



I had some scratches by the top of the headlight that i was working on... but never did i sit in one spot and just let it go... was i putting too much pressure on it?
 
agleam0fhope said:
So I am a total noob at machine polishing. I spent two weeks reading this forum inside and out... watching videos, reading, doing product research. I orderd the PC along with Menzerna IP and FP and LC orange white and grey pads...



I taped off my whole car. its a 2007 Nissan 350Z in color San Marino Blue. I started with the FP and orange pad.



It's was just an normal day in Lake Country, perfect for driving a Nissan 350Z, but one man took a turn a turn into The AbraSive ZoNe



Still had some scratches that weren't coming out.
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IMHO if a light polish on a soft pad won't get rid of it, its not worth chasing. And certainly not with a machine. Loss of clearcoat is permanent.



.. switched to the IP. Much better results.
Click to expand...



That's because you were reducing the clearcoat that much faster...



I did the passenger door and it turned out great. Did the passenger fender... all good.
Click to expand...



Remember, the clearcoat is about as thick as a single sheet of paper.



Started on the passenger side of the hood and after doing the whole half of the hood realized to my utter horror, that some how i burned the edge of the frickin hood.
Click to expand...



How much is burned? This might not be too expensive to fix, or perhaps you can even fix it yourself. I would put some tape on the panel ASAP.



I dont understand... i havent been able to find much out about how hard the Nissan Clears are but i dont get how that happened... Is IP that aggressive?
Click to expand...



It must be.



I hate to have to admit this but i need to know what i did wrong so i can muster up the courage to continue on the car...



thanks.... I have the sickest feeling right now... my brand new car... jacked up.
Click to expand...



Well, what did you expect would happen? The paint on a edges/corners of a panel is thinner than on the center of a panel. Thats why you tape them off.



You were working with an agressive compound on a hard pad. This is your first time using a PC, so you don't yet have a sense of feel for the machine or what various compounds can do.
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GoudyL said:
[quote name='agleam0fhope']So I am a total noob at machine polishing. I spent two weeks reading this forum inside and out... watching videos, reading, doing product research. I orderd the PC along with Menzerna IP and FP and LC orange white and grey pads...



I taped off my whole car. its a 2007 Nissan 350Z in color San Marino Blue. I started with the FP and orange pad.



It's was just an normal day in Lake Country, perfect for driving a Nissan 350Z, but one man took a turn a turn into The AbraSive ZoNe







IMHO if a light polish on a soft pad won't get rid of it, its not worth chasing. And certainly not with a machine. Loss of clearcoat is permanent.







That's because you were reducing the clearcoat that much faster...







Remember, the clearcoat is about as thick as a single sheet of paper.







How much is burned? This might not be too expensive to fix, or perhaps you can even fix it yourself. I would put some tape on the panel ASAP.







It must be.







Well, what did you expect would happen? The paint on a edges/corners of a panel is thinner than on the center of a panel. Thats why you tape them off.



You were working with an agressive compound on a hard pad. This is your first time using a PC, so you don't yet have a sense of feel for the machine or what various compounds can do.
Click to expand...



... thanks for that... i know its fixable... honestly i hadn't read anywhere about anyone taping of the corners of panels... my bad.
 
kaval said:
Burning paint with the PC is a bit of a task. How long were you holding the machine in that particular area?



Could you post a picture or two? Did you try following up with FP on a white pad afterwards?
Click to expand...



Heres a pic... unfortunately its down past the primer... unbelievable... I wasn't sitting in one spot at all.... i just think i pushed too hard.
My2007Nissan350Zpolishing008.jpg
[/B]
 
kaval said:
Burning paint with the PC is a bit of a task. How long were you holding the machine in that particular area?



Could you post a picture or two? Did you try following up with FP on a white pad afterwards?
Click to expand...



^^^



I'm with kaval on this one. IP + LC orange via PC isn't really all that aggressive of a combo.
 
agleam0fhope said:
[quote name='GoudyL']



... thanks for that... i know its fixable... honestly i hadn't read anywhere about anyone taping of the corners of panels... my bad.
Click to expand...



Don't worry, this is usually a mistake everyone makes once (sometimes more than once). Although what exactly were you taping if not the edges of the panels? :nixweiss
 
GoudyL, I have to agree with the others that IP/orange on a PC isn't that aggressive a combo (unless it was 4" pads...OP, what size pads were you using?) Also, I don't know anyone that tapes panel edges with a PC, only with a rotary. Taping trim off is a different story.
 
When you say "burned the edge" can you actually see that the paint is gone and was your pad blue after you did this? Or is it really really hazy looking. I've used 3M compound with the orange pad and it's never come close to damaging the paint. Some pix would really help.
 
yeah man I don't think you burnt the clear. I did a 350 the other day with 105 and the Flex and had no issues. I worked on the hood with a rotary and foamed wool and had no issues.(don't take that as being arrogant) I find it VERY hard to believe you were able to burn the paint with a PC. Please if you can post a picture.
 
Jakerooni said:
Are you sure it's the paint that burned up and not the product scorching on the paint?
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Beat me to it... although it's usually/mostly with rotary, it happens that polish will get caked onto paint at edges as you go over them because a bit too much product is on the pad at the time and if you push down it tends to get 'stuck' like in the photo... you might have burned the cc but the pic looks exactly like caked on polish as well...



I have no clue how you could've burned the paint even if you sat down on the PC and polished over it... as for IP, it's usually (well almost never) that a polish will actually burn the paint, it's the action of the machine/pad... with rotary, you get heat and you can burn the paint, regardless of what polish is being used... with the PC, I honestly have polished tons of times over edges (I only tape edges if there's a large difference panel to panel) both with PC and rotary, and although I don't lean into it over the edges I never had anything close to an 'oops'...



Get some grease & wax remover, or QD, or isopropyl alcohol and try to remove that... or just use your finger nail lightly to see if it starts coming off...



Again you might have burned it and I might be talking nonsense but it definitely looks like it
 
agleam0fhope- If you did indeed take off the paint there (it's not really a "burn" but rather a "cut-through), then it's one *VERY* unusual occurance. That might be small consolation at this point, but seriously, to do that kind of damage with a PC/orange/IP is *SO* unusual that you shouldn't beat yourself up over it.



Yeah, paint is thinner on edges. Yeah, I'd be careful on edges especially with aggressive combos via rotary. Yeah, there's something to be said for taping uneven panel gap edges even when working via PC (and I do it when I think it's justified). Yeah, you gotta respect the PC/4" orange approach. But *NO* it's not normal for a medium-aggressive combo like yours to do that on a modern car in decent condition.



If you did indeed cut through, IMO the paint was already unusually thin there before you started.



A *GOOD* painter can touch that up so you'll never notice it. Hey, [stuff] happens. And there's just no way to overstate how unusual this is. Please don't let this make you all paranoid about using the PC/orange combo....just let it be a lesson about uneven panel gaps and edges; bet you won't do it again ;)
 
I definately agree with this one... Your CC is most likely safe, from what I could see in that picture... Try not doing such a large area at one time. Small amount of product to keep things moist and do about a 2foot by 2foot area at a time. Once it gets dry then you get the buildup like you did. Also be very careful on areas where the panels are plastic! That is where most people are going to have burn problems.
 
ok ill bet this is what truley happened! you said this is a new car to you. now its a 2007 which means its probaly a new used car. I saved this photo and enlarged it. lets forget about compound build up for a second. that is a burned edge. now if you look even closer at the paint the hood and the fender metallics are off. also the clear in the hood is flatter then the fender. now if you look closer the body line does not line up. so im guessing this hood was previously painted before your purchase. now someone sanded this hood and buffed it out with a rotary and burned that edge. they said oops and probally did a good job touching it to the naked eye. now as you came across it with your pad and product it removed the old touch up. in my 11 years at this, i have never seen anyone burn something with a pc. And trust me i attack paint very aggresive at times!
 
Thanks guys for all the replies...



well i wiped down with IPA... unfortunately it is through to the metal... i realized what i did. I was using way way too much pressure... also i was working on some scratches by the headlight and must have went over it too much. IDIOT move, I know. But i called my paint shop that i deal with a lot, and he said he can probably do something with it for a reasonable deal.



So yeah i am really mad at myself, but i am glad that i did it on my car and not someone elses. I spent about four hours out workin on it this morning and just used the weight of the machine or a little more and it worked out great. Im a bigger guy, i guess i didnt realize how much pressure i was putting on it...



Thank you again for all your help.





I do have one more question. What do you guys do to get in tight around emblems or like where my spoiler meets the decklid? obviously by hand, but what material?
 
I think barry nailed it... I can almost bet anything if you went over the edge right next to the burn through with the same combo it'll do nothing... I've gone over way too many edges with the rotary, edges that differed in height, and never had that happen... with the PC I've gone over similar edges with pressure and nothing... good luck with the fix
 
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