Holographic marks after detailing (prior to getting Mach E)

[pacman7474]

My Mach E comes next month and I've been hearing horror stories about taking it to the automatic car wash. The one I usually use has rails. I decided I wanted to try to detail my Mach E myself by hand so I wanted to practice on my current car. After my first full compound/polish/wax session I've notice some holographic waves in certain areas around my car. I don't want to screw up my new car so I'm trying to understand what I did wrong, and what I can do to fix it.

Does anyone have any experience with this?

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[ChasingCoral]

No experience with that but if you want to take care of the finish get set up for a two-bucket wash and forget the automatic car wash.

 

[pacman7474]

No experience with that but if you want to take care of the finish get set up for a two-bucket wash and forget the automatic car wash.

Which is why I'm getting experience with detailing myself. I should have no trouble switching to hand wash once my car arrives. I just don't want to screw up anything if I start detailing it as well.

 

[NewGuy]

Compound can be pretty dangerous stuff if you don’t know what you’re doing. I recommend you visit the forums at a site like autogeek where some detailing professionals or serious hobbyists can help you out.

 

[connoisseurr]

To understand the basics of a great home detail, go watch some Chemical Guys or Adam’s Detailing videos on YouTube. You’ll get a better understanding on the wide variety of products available, when and how to use them, and most important - technique!

 

[joebruin77]

I've notice some holographic waves

What kind of polisher are you using? Holographic marks are usually induced by a rotary polisher. A DA, or Dual Action, polisher is a lot less likely to induce these marks.

To get rid of holographic marks, you usually have to use a polish and a polishing pad. My new favorite polish is Dr. Beasleys NSP line. These unique polishes do not require an IPA wipe before you apply a ceramic coating or ceramic spray sealant.

As others have mentioned, I definitely recommend visiting autogeekonline.net. Lots of professional detailers and enthusiasts post really helpful info. Here is an example of some posts that came up when I did a quick search:

https://www.autogeekonline.net/foru...learning-polish-cars.html?highlight=holograms

https://www.autogeekonline.net/foru...inflicted-into-paint-using-rotary-buffer.html

https://www.autogeekonline.net/foru...mend-me-new-polishes.html?highlight=holograms

 

[pacman7474]

@joebruin77, Thank you. I actually started with Meguiar's Scratch X kit first which sounds like my problem. After that I polished and waxed by hand. My wife said she'll get me the Chemical Guys TORQX polisher for father's day. The scratch X just used a drill attachment. The car I was testing on hadn't had a real detail job since I bought it in 2013. For my first try I thought I did pretty good with the exception of this issue. At least I'm getting experience before I get my Mach E.

Thank you all for your advice.

 

[joebruin77]

@joebruin77, Thank you. I actually started with Meguiar's Scratch X kit first which sounds like my problem. After that I polished and waxed by hand. My wife said she'll get me the Chemical Guys TORQX polisher for father's day. The scratch X just used a drill attachment. The car I was testing on hadn't had a real detail job since I bought it in 2013. For my first try I thought I did pretty good with the exception of this issue. At least I'm getting experience before I get my Mach E.

Here is a helpful chart from Autopia Car Care that ranks all of the Megiuars compounds, polishes, glazes, and cleaner waxes in order from least aggressive to most aggressive. As you can see Scratch X is rated 6 out of 10, which is only 2 notches down from Ultimate Compound, rated at 8 out of 10. By comparison, Ultimate Polish is rated 3 out of 10.

You didn't really make a mistake. If you think of Scratch X as similar to a compound, you basically did the first step of a 2-step process. You just need to do the second step using a polish. If you like Meguiars products, their Ultimate Polish is great. Just make sure to use an IPA wipe to completely clean the paint of any polish residue before applying your wax or sealant.

Just a couple other suggestions:

1) The guys on autogeek suggest first doing a small test area on the car to see if you get the desired results. Always start with the least aggressive pad and compound/polish combo. If that combo doesn't give you the desired results in your test area, try a slightly more aggressive combo of pad and product. Once you get the desired results, then you can use that same pad and product combo for the rest of the car.

2) You don't necessarily have to do a 2-step process. There are products that are a compound and polish in one product. So your paint enhancement may only need a one step process. Examples of a good one step product are 3D One and Turtle Wax Hybrid Solutions Pro 1 and Done.

3) My first DA polisher was also a TorqX from Chemical Guys and it is a good machine. I think the most popular DA polisher on Autogeek right now are those made by Griots Garage. The main advantage of the Griots Garage polishers is that they come with a lifetime guarantee, so you may want to check them out.

Have fun and good luck!
Joe

 

[Murse-In-Airy]

I think you hit it there @pacman7474 The scratch-x kit with that drill attachment lacks the random orbit of a dual action sander. So it can make some linear problems.
I’d go back over that with a dual action/random orbit polisher. 6” or 7” so the contact patch is more spread out. A fine grit foam polish pad and some gentle polishing compound should help you out.

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