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I have a 2 month old Nebula Grey NX and I just did my first polish application after a hand wash. I used Liquid Glass. The first coat went on perfectly with the applicator showing nothing but the color of the polish. The next day I did another coat but this time the applicator also had dark grey, the color of the paint. Is this normal? It doesn't seem to have hurt the surface at all but seeing paint rubbing off is a little unsettling.
I read that polishes actually removes what's on the surface. So is it even safe to polish a new car's paint?
You sure your finish was not dirty or had something on it and it looked like the paint was rubbing off? You would definitely notice if your CC came off and there would be signs of it before hand like a milky appearance and flaking, CC would not just come off a new vehicle unless there was a major error or contamination in the original painting process.
It is safe to polish clearcoat/paint as long as you know what you are doing and you don't do it all the time but you are taking a little bit of cc off to get rid of swirls and scratches when you polish.
Try testing this again in selected spots. It might be possible that your new car was damaged and resprayed prior to delivery and that repaired area was not clear coated. If you find an area that is leaving your pad discolored, take it to the dealership and demonstrate this. They should correct the problem. FWIW, I own a Nebula Grey RX350 and it doesn't discolor my pads so this is not normal or something caused by a tinted clear coat.
Your nebula grey paint is clear coated from the factory. There should be no reason for any of the base coat to be on your applicator. You definitely have something over your clear since you say this is a brand new car. Either way the dealer needs to resolve it.
You sure your finish was not dirty or had something on it and it looked like the paint was rubbing off?
I'm sure, because as I said I had washed it the day before and put on the first coat. There was no discoloration on the pad after that. Then the next day I wiped it down (again, nothing on the cloth) and put on the second coat. That's when I saw dark grey on the pad.
Originally Posted by UDel
It is safe to polish clearcoat/paint as long as you know what you are doing and you don't do it all the time but you are taking a little bit of cc off to get rid of swirls and scratches when you polish.
Ooh, I don't like the sound of anything removing even a little of the clearcoat.
Did you clay bar the paint after the wash? Most dealerships don't know how to detail a car and slap some cheap junk on there.
I like to start fresh with a new car and clay bar the whole thing to get everything off the paint.
Did you polish by hand or polisher?
I probably should have done a clay bar. Didn't think it was necessary on a new car. Can I still do it after the polish? Matter of fact, how do I remove a polish anyway?
Don't take any offense to this, but It is quite obvious by your responses that you're not too familiar with the detailing process, so hopefully I can help to clear some things up for you.
The general steps of the exterior detailing process are as follows, and in this order...
Clean Wheels & Tires
Wash Exterior
Decontaminate Exterior (using Detailing Clay and/or Various Chemicals)
Paint Correction & Polishing Process (if needed) to remove surface defects and enhance gloss
Paint Protection - Apply a wax, sealant, or coating of your choice
Cleaning wheels & washing the car are rather self explanatory, but if you're not familiar with the three bucket wash method, please CLICK HERE.
Moving on to decontamination... I have already written 2 articles covering the basics of this process, so for the sake of saving time, please check them out using the following links.
Now we are on to the paint correction & polishing process. This is perhaps the most technical and difficult part of the process. First, let me start off by addressing the fact that, by definition, compounds and polishes are liquids which contain abrasives that are used to remove a fine layer of material (clear coat paint) in order to level the surface and therefore remove imperfections/defects in the paint which will produce a glossier finish. Understand when we are talking about removing clear coat, it is on a microscopic level. When done properly, paint correction & machine polishing are extremely safe, and your vehicle can and should be polished many many times throughout your ownership to keep it looking its best.
Working with a machine will always yield better results than working by hand, and I actually believe dual action polishers are safer than working by hand in many respects as the variables (speed, downward pressure, etc) are much more easily controlled when working with a machine.
If you want more info on paint correction, tools required, recommended products, technique, etc, I would be happy to help.
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To answer your initial question, if you are in fact seeing color on your pad as you are working, you are either....
Working with single stage paint or tinted clear coat (not likely here)
Burning through the clear coat (also highly unlikely given the fact that you are working by hand with a light polish and on a new vehicle)
Removing bonded and/or embedded contamination from on top of or within the paint (more likely as you say you did not clay the vehicle prior to polishing... which should always be done unless you check for contamination and there is none)
... however you described the applicator as turning dark grey, the same color as the paint, which is not what you would see if you were simply lifting bonded contamination.
What color is the liquid glass product? Is it white? Can you take a before picture of a clean applicator and then an after photo of what it looks like? Can you please post some photos of the paint finish in the area where you were seeing color transfer? Does the paint look dull?
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Back to the detailing process...
Regardless of what vehicle you drive, it is incredibly important to maintain a healthy layer of protection on your paint. Most all modern vehicles are clear coated. This clear coat does NOT mean your car is protected. The clear coat protects the base coat and provides a glossier finish, however once the clear coat is damaged beyond a certain point, the only way to repair the damaged areas is to repaint them completely. It is much easier and cheaper to properly protect your clear coat than it is to have to deal with repairs and repainting.
There are 3 basic categories of paint protection on the market these days: waxes, sealants, and coatings. I will go into some detail on these below, but I encourage you to please ask me if you have any further questions. All of these products serve the same general purpose - protect your paint - however they are all unique in their properties.
Each product creates a sacrificial barrier on top of your paint to help protect it. This barrier layer means that harmful contaminates such as bug splatter must first eat through the layer of protection before it can start to damage your paint.
Waxes - These are products typically based on natural ingredients such as carnauba wax. Wax provides a very thin, short lived barrier on the surface. A true natural wax will provide protection for an average of 6-8 weeks, and should be applied very regularly to maintain adequate protection. Duration varies greatly depending on your environment, and if you are someone who does not enjoy regularly detailing their vehicle, I would suggest using another type of paint protection.
Sealants - These products are an evolution of the natural wax. A polymer sealant is a liquid product that is based on synthetic polymers rather than natural waxes. These products work just the same as waxes do in that they provide a thin barrier on top of your paint, however a polymer sealant is considerably more durable with most of them lasting between 4-6 months instead of weeks. Most of these products are very easy to apply either by hand or machine, and are recommended for added durability compared to waxes. Some people claim a wax provides a "warmer glow", so if you wish, you can top a sealant with a wax.
Coatings - Ceramic Paint Coatings are the latest evolution in paint protection. These coatings provide a layer of protection that is hundreds of times thicker than the average layer of wax. This barrier is also incredibly chemical resistant, and harder than most clear coats when fully cured. These products last for years, not weeks or months, when properly applied and maintained. There is no doubt that a paint coating provides the absolute best protection. There are some downfalls to a coating, too... they are rather expensive, they require a tremendous amount of prep work, and they are not as easy to apply as traditional waxes or sealants. For this reason, it is often recommended to consult a professional detailer to have a paint coating installed unless you're well versed in the cleaning, decontamination, and paint correction processes required before installing a paint coating.
Sorry for the late reply. These are the two applicators. The one below is after the first coat. It's the same color as the Liquid Glass polish. The one above is after the second coat and it's got what looks like Nebula Grey Pearl mixed in. Again, the first coach was after drying off the first wash. The second coat was the next day after wiping the car down. In between it was sitting in the sun for a bit and then garaged.
05-31-16, 08:01 PM
Paint rubs off on first polish of a new NX
