Swirls and Hologram on Black Sapphire

Luongo · 04-12-2006, 04:59 PM

I had the hood of my car lightly scratched up by some jerk at a parking lot. I took it to a body shop to have it buffed. They used rotarty buffer to get rid of the scratch. The scratch was gone but they left swirls and holograms on the hood instead!!!

So I took the car to a guy who uses Random-Orbital buffer, and this is what I am left with. You can still see the swirls and the hologram under direct sunlight.

I am pissed off and feel ripped off, but I won't be going back to this guy again.

Am I being too anal about this? Should I just give up and live with it? I've read about Zaino Z-PC applied with Porter-Cable random-orbit sander with foam pads. Do you think I can get rid of this nasty mark on my hood? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!!

Don Nguyen · 04-12-2006, 05:49 PM

They're many different grades of polish/scratch removers out there that you can use to help your situation. I would definatly reccomend spending maybe that extra 100 bucks or so to get a PC buffer which will save you the agony of having to take your car to other detailers and having them mess up your paint. We do not carry the PC buffer but you can get that at many places, maybe even your local hardware store may have it.

You can visit here on out site for a variety of waxes/polish/detailing acc/and many more. There is even a detailed how to section on how to keep your car in top shape.

link: http://www.**********s.com/gdept.asp?dept_id=13

Enjoy!

-Don

Chesmu · 04-12-2006, 07:17 PM

that being said, I have jet black... we have to live with swirls. but i think the cool factor is worth it.
BTW, what do you mean by hologram? 'Cause I think I can see the virgin mary and baby in your hood......

Luongo · 04-12-2006, 07:31 PM

This would be a good example of a "hologram". Mine is not as #$%^ed up as this...

e90rocks · 04-12-2006, 08:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bertuzzi

This would be a good example of a "hologram". Mine is not as #$%^ed up as this...

I wasn't sure what you meant either. I assume you're referring to the broad marks on the right side of the hood. BTW, although I see your swirls, that sky reflection is quite beautiful. I don't see the Virgin Mary, though. I see my angry Dad with a belt... AHHHHHHHHH!

Y'all (on this forum) have made me so afraid of swirls (I have jet black) that I have only washed my two month old car by hand once, the rest of the time depending upon "no touch" drive throughs. I just do the wheels periodically to keep the brake dust under control. The result is a car that is not as clean as it looks, but zero swirlage at this time. I do own wax and a rotary buffer, but haven't tried it yet. (will practice on the Camry first...

).

blackie · 04-13-2006, 06:04 AM

e90Rocks: you should definitely read the sticky guide on washing and waxing in this forum by DavidN. There's great tips and if you follow his advice I think you can have a clean car and no swirls!

bimmernotbeamer · 04-13-2006, 07:55 AM

You can fix it yourself no problem with a PC polisher, foam polishing pad, and good polish like Zaino ZPC.

Luongo · 04-13-2006, 01:43 PM

Thanks for the input, guys!
I picked up a Porter-Cable random orbital polisher (7336) at Lowes for $92 and ordered a bottle of Zaino Z-PC (I have some left over Z2 and Z5 to seal the hood with after polishing). Also, a Lake Country orange light cutting pad, a white polishing pad and a backing plate are on order.
Is the Porter-Cable fairly easy to use? Any tips on how to tackle this job? Any chance I could make this worse???

NaTuReB0Y · 04-13-2006, 01:44 PM

swirls....all good.......give the car character!

bimmernotbeamer · 04-13-2006, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bertuzzi

Thanks for the input, guys!
I picked up a Porter-Cable random orbital polisher (7336) at Lowes for $92 and ordered a bottle of Zaino Z-PC (I have some left over Z2 and Z5 to seal the hood with after polishing). Also, a Lake Country orange light cutting pad, a white polishing pad and a backing plate are on order.
Is the Porter-Cable fairly easy to use? Any tips on how to tackle this job? Any chance I could make this worse???

The PC is easy to use. No worries. If you haven't seen it yet, I have my PC usage instructions up top in the detailing 101 thread.

Luongo · 04-15-2006, 01:17 PM

I am posting better pictures of the hood under direct sunlight. The Zaino Z-PC and polishing pads will arrive in a few days, but I am getting worried whether I can completely remove the horrible swirls and buffing trails.
As for the guy who butchered my car, I requested a full refund in writing. If I do not get the refund in a few days, I'll post his name and his business name. I'll also post these pictures on every automotive and detailing forums that I can find.

larryn · 04-15-2006, 02:48 PM

That sucks, especially the last picture. I had similar swirls on my car, from when they replaced/painted my hood when the car got damaged on re-delivery from my ED. I used Griots clay, Fine Hand Polish, followed by Best of Show wax. It totally removed all swirls and spiderweb micro-scratches. I have the Porter Cable polisher, but decided on doing it by hand, which was surprisingly easy. I was done in about 90 minutes.

Good luck with yours, and please post how the Zaino products worked for you!

wamy · 04-15-2006, 03:20 PM

same case in here . took my car to tint it and the guys from the company cleaned the car for me

and left me with some bad ass swirl marks

. luckilly when i polished the car most of the marks were gone and left with some of them . maybe i will polish it again and c the results . good luck with you car

supernova · 04-15-2006, 10:00 PM

OMG. HOW SAD. THESE SWIRLS AND SCRATCHES

ga-bmwdrvr · 04-17-2006, 03:51 PM

Wow! Those holograms look awfull. That guy with the rotary did not know what he was doing. You should be able to get rid of most of it with the PC. Not sure if the Z-PC will be aggresive enough. Let us know how it turns out.
On another thread I had posted a link to a video about using a PC:
http://melncal.com/detailing/polish.../Buffing768.wmv

FlyingFinn · 04-18-2006, 02:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidN

You can fix it yourself no problem with a PC polisher, foam polishing pad, and good polish like Zaino ZPC.

I have seen many different kinds of polishing pads and I'm a bit confused which ones to use. I have seen orange or yellow color pads which look like regular sponge and black ones which have kind of corrugated surface. I have understood that the yellow ones are used first for remowing swirls with some abrasive polish and the black ones for finishing with non abrasive polish. Is this correct?

Luongo · 04-19-2006, 02:02 PM

I finally got all the stuff together and spent some time working on the hood.

Washed, clayed and dried as usual. I used Zaino Z-PC only with orange cutting pad and white polishing pad. I spent total of maybe 30 minutes for the whole job. As someone stated, Z-PC alone may not be abrasive enough to completely level all the scratches. Even with 2 passes with orange pad and 3 passes with white pad, I still have some scratches left from the original incident at the parking lot and from the rotary butcher job. However, the hologram (or buffer trail) is almost completely gone and I am very excited with the final result.

Of course it is not perfect, but for someone using Porter-Cable for the first time, I am very proud of my accomplishement. To top it off, I was able to get the refund from the second detailer. I'll put that $50 towards Valentine One.

aphall · 04-19-2006, 02:09 PM

Wow! What an improvement! Gives me confidence to go and buy and try myself.

ga-bmwdrvr · 04-19-2006, 02:20 PM

Excellent work! Better than the detailer

mds82 · 04-19-2006, 02:24 PM

I knew the ZPC would do the trick - just dont use it too often because it is an abrasive - make sure you go over with with a few coats of yor favorite polish / wax once your done!!!!

Luongo · 04-19-2006, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ga-bmwdrvr

Wow! Those holograms look awfull. That guy with the rotary did not know what he was doing. You should be able to get rid of most of it with the PC. Not sure if the Z-PC will be aggresive enough. Let us know how it turns out.
On another thread I had posted a link to a video about using a PC:
http://melncal.com/detailing/polish.../Buffing768.wmv

That video gave me the confidence to tackle the job myself. Anyone not familiar with Porter-Cable random orbital polisher MUST watch that video!!! Thank you very much for posting it.

bimmernotbeamer · 04-19-2006, 03:00 PM

Good job!! Your hood looks a million times better.

Menzerna IP or ZPC on a yellow pad should do the trick if ZPC and an orange pad is not cutting it for you.

04-12-2006, 04:59 PM	#1
Luongo Lieutenant 134 Rep 463 Posts Drives: 2018 Porsche Carrera T Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Chicago, Illinois iTrader: (2)	Swirls and Hologram on Black Sapphire I had the hood of my car lightly scratched up by some jerk at a parking lot. I took it to a body shop to have it buffed. They used rotarty buffer to get rid of the scratch. The scratch was gone but they left swirls and holograms on the hood instead!!! So I took the car to a guy who uses Random-Orbital buffer, and this is what I am left with. You can still see the swirls and the hologram under direct sunlight. I am pissed off and feel ripped off, but I won't be going back to this guy again. Am I being too anal about this? Should I just give up and live with it? I've read about Zaino Z-PC applied with Porter-Cable random-orbit sander with foam pads. Do you think I can get rid of this nasty mark on my hood? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!! Attached Images
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04-12-2006, 05:49 PM	#2
Don Nguyen Banned 67 Rep 1,334 Posts Drives: '99 M3 Vert, '95 M3 Coupe, 964 Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Irvine, CA iTrader: (4)	They're many different grades of polish/scratch removers out there that you can use to help your situation. I would definatly reccomend spending maybe that extra 100 bucks or so to get a PC buffer which will save you the agony of having to take your car to other detailers and having them mess up your paint. We do not carry the PC buffer but you can get that at many places, maybe even your local hardware store may have it. You can visit here on out site for a variety of waxes/polish/detailing acc/and many more. There is even a detailed how to section on how to keep your car in top shape. link: http://www.**********s.com/gdept.asp?dept_id=13 Enjoy! -Don
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04-12-2006, 07:17 PM	#3
Chesmu Brigadier General 89 Rep 3,011 Posts Drives: 2013 X6 Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Phoenix,AZ iTrader: (2) Garage List 2006 330i [0.00] 2006 330i [0.00]	that being said, I have jet black... we have to live with swirls. but i think the cool factor is worth it. BTW, what do you mean by hologram? 'Cause I think I can see the virgin mary and baby in your hood...... __________________ "Teach the ignorant. Ignore the stupid."
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04-12-2006, 07:31 PM	#4
Luongo Lieutenant 134 Rep 463 Posts Drives: 2018 Porsche Carrera T Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Chicago, Illinois iTrader: (2)	This would be a good example of a "hologram". Mine is not as #$%^ed up as this... Attached Images
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04-13-2006, 06:04 AM	#6
blackie Enlisted Member 1 Rep 46 Posts Drives: Sapphire Black 325i 06 Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Vancouver, Canada iTrader: (0)	e90Rocks: you should definitely read the sticky guide on washing and waxing in this forum by DavidN. There's great tips and if you follow his advice I think you can have a clean car and no swirls! __________________ Sapphire Black 325i '06 \| Lemon Dakota Leather \| 6 speed manual \| Standard Canadian Spec
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04-13-2006, 07:55 AM	#7
bimmernotbeamer Lieutenant 28 Rep 581 Posts Drives: N/A Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: N/A iTrader: (0)	You can fix it yourself no problem with a PC polisher, foam polishing pad, and good polish like Zaino ZPC.
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04-13-2006, 01:43 PM	#8
Luongo Lieutenant 134 Rep 463 Posts Drives: 2018 Porsche Carrera T Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Chicago, Illinois iTrader: (2)	Thanks for the input, guys! I picked up a Porter-Cable random orbital polisher (7336) at Lowes for $92 and ordered a bottle of Zaino Z-PC (I have some left over Z2 and Z5 to seal the hood with after polishing). Also, a Lake Country orange light cutting pad, a white polishing pad and a backing plate are on order. Is the Porter-Cable fairly easy to use? Any tips on how to tackle this job? Any chance I could make this worse???
	Appreciate 0 Quote

04-13-2006, 01:44 PM	#9
NaTuReB0Y Powered By 36DD 337 Rep 7,369 Posts Drives: 2006 E90 Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Inland Empire iTrader: (12)	swirls....all good.......give the car character! __________________ 2006 E90 330i Jet Black \| 20" WORK VS-XX \| FK452 \| H&R Sport on Koni Yellow \| REMUS QUAD
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04-15-2006, 01:17 PM	#11
Luongo Lieutenant 134 Rep 463 Posts Drives: 2018 Porsche Carrera T Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Chicago, Illinois iTrader: (2)	I am posting better pictures of the hood under direct sunlight. The Zaino Z-PC and polishing pads will arrive in a few days, but I am getting worried whether I can completely remove the horrible swirls and buffing trails. As for the guy who butchered my car, I requested a full refund in writing. If I do not get the refund in a few days, I'll post his name and his business name. I'll also post these pictures on every automotive and detailing forums that I can find. Attached Images
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04-15-2006, 02:48 PM	#12
larryn Lieutenant General 2148 Rep 10,176 Posts Drives: '97 332ti, '21 X5 45e, '16 GT4 Join Date: May 2005 Location: Seattle iTrader: (2)	That sucks, especially the last picture. I had similar swirls on my car, from when they replaced/painted my hood when the car got damaged on re-delivery from my ED. I used Griots clay, Fine Hand Polish, followed by Best of Show wax. It totally removed all swirls and spiderweb micro-scratches. I have the Porter Cable polisher, but decided on doing it by hand, which was surprisingly easy. I was done in about 90 minutes. Good luck with yours, and please post how the Zaino products worked for you!
	Appreciate 0 Quote

04-15-2006, 03:20 PM	#13
wamy Wamy 11 Rep 248 Posts Drives: e90-325i- monaco blue Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: ksa iTrader: (0)	same case in here . took my car to tint it and the guys from the company cleaned the car for me and left me with some bad ass swirl marks . luckilly when i polished the car most of the marks were gone and left with some of them . maybe i will polish it again and c the results . good luck with you car
	Appreciate 0 Quote

04-15-2006, 10:00 PM	#14
supernova Private First Class 2 Rep 195 Posts Drives: E92 Coupe Black Metallic Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Miami, FL iTrader: (0)	OMG. HOW SAD. THESE SWIRLS AND SCRATCHES __________________ click it for myspace
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04-17-2006, 03:51 PM	#15
ga-bmwdrvr First Lieutenant 21 Rep 327 Posts Drives: E21 320i, E90 330i Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Georgia iTrader: (0)	Wow! Those holograms look awfull. That guy with the rotary did not know what he was doing. You should be able to get rid of most of it with the PC. Not sure if the Z-PC will be aggresive enough. Let us know how it turns out. On another thread I had posted a link to a video about using a PC: http://melncal.com/detailing/polish.../Buffing768.wmv
	Appreciate 0 Quote

04-19-2006, 02:02 PM	#17
Luongo Lieutenant 134 Rep 463 Posts Drives: 2018 Porsche Carrera T Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Chicago, Illinois iTrader: (2)	I finally got all the stuff together and spent some time working on the hood. Washed, clayed and dried as usual. I used Zaino Z-PC only with orange cutting pad and white polishing pad. I spent total of maybe 30 minutes for the whole job. As someone stated, Z-PC alone may not be abrasive enough to completely level all the scratches. Even with 2 passes with orange pad and 3 passes with white pad, I still have some scratches left from the original incident at the parking lot and from the rotary butcher job. However, the hologram (or buffer trail) is almost completely gone and I am very excited with the final result. Of course it is not perfect, but for someone using Porter-Cable for the first time, I am very proud of my accomplishement. To top it off, I was able to get the refund from the second detailer. I'll put that $50 towards Valentine One. Attached Images Last edited by Luongo; 04-19-2006 at 02:37 PM..
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04-19-2006, 02:09 PM	#18
aphall Captain 34 Rep 776 Posts Drives: 330i rec'd 2/17/06 Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Los Angeles, CA iTrader: (2) Garage List 2006 BMW 330i [0.00]	Wow! What an improvement! Gives me confidence to go and buy and try myself. __________________ JB \| BBS CHs \| Blacklines \| HO40 \| ACS Rep Roof Spoiler \| H&R Sport \| Hartge Rep Lip \| OEM Strut Bar \| M-Tech Rear
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04-19-2006, 02:20 PM	#19
ga-bmwdrvr First Lieutenant 21 Rep 327 Posts Drives: E21 320i, E90 330i Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Georgia iTrader: (0)	Excellent work! Better than the detailer
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04-19-2006, 02:24 PM	#20
mds82 Major General 364 Rep 5,842 Posts Drives: 2006 325xi Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: South Central Connecticut iTrader: (40) Garage List 2006 325xi Snow Pics [0.00] 2006 BMW 325xi [0.00]	I knew the ZPC would do the trick - just dont use it too often because it is an abrasive - make sure you go over with with a few coats of yor favorite polish / wax once your done!!!!
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04-19-2006, 03:00 PM	#22
bimmernotbeamer Lieutenant 28 Rep 581 Posts Drives: N/A Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: N/A iTrader: (0)	Good job!! Your hood looks a million times better. Menzerna IP or ZPC on a yellow pad should do the trick if ZPC and an orange pad is not cutting it for you.
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