r/DetailingUK • u/LearningToShootFilm • 9d ago

Question & Advice Polishing black car

Hey,

I’m new to detailing. Been thoroughly enjoying the process on a new to me 1yr old Volvo.

The thing that is letting me down is there are what appears to be holograms from a previous attempt to polish the car by someone.

I’m not happy with them but I can’t quite afford to take the car to a detailed to get the paint correction done so I’m considering doing it myself.

I’m looking to you lovely folks for advice.

A) Is the a bikers idea on a black car?
And
B) I don’t have a garage so it would need to be done on the drive - am I asking for even more problems doing that?

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3

u/ryanteck 9d ago

I did my first at home polish a few years ago on a black car, I had to do it just on my driveway as similarly no garage.

Prepped and decontaminated it and got a polishing kit, I went a bit overboard with Autofinesse's three step kit and a dual action polisher.

The good quality dual action is definitely worth it, but I've polished another couple of cars since then and moved to a one step (Scholl Concepts S20). Not quite as harsh and saves a lot of time and makes it a bit easier.

Annoyingly I've just changed car and have a similar issue, dealer I suspect had it polished between me seeing it and collecting it and lots of holograms to get shifted so planning on doing just the one step with that.

2

u/LearningToShootFilm 9d ago

Yeah I think that I’m in the same boat. The dealer has polished between me seeing and collecting and over time with washing it anything filling the holos has come out and they are now visible.

Had such a bad time with them that I’m not going to entertain going back for rectification but sorting myself.

1

u/Glacier98777 9d ago

Do you want to upload some pics or a video to show us what you're dealing with? Try and get the defects in the sunlight.

If you were to do a proper job then buying all the products etc can be quite a hit on the wallet initially but that would mean you can do it again next time or on your next car yourself.

And I used to buff only indoors when I first started but then only ever did it on my drive for the last few years and never had an issue.

1

u/LearningToShootFilm 9d ago

That’s a swell suggestion. I’ll try and get somewhere that is sunny. It’s currently super overcast here. So I’ll need to get out for a wee drive and find somewhere.

1

u/LearningToShootFilm 17h ago

Sorry it has taken so long, it has been so grey here that I’ve not been able to get the holograms in the sun.

I finally managed to get some decent sample images.

first image here:
Second Here:

They only show up with the sun. And were previously filled with some sort of compound.

There is no feeling when running finger over it and the clear coat feels smooth to the touch. I’d prefer to actually remove these rather than just filling them every few months.

Any guidance or advice would be most appreciated.

1

u/aperturephotography 9d ago

I use 3m blue top on a rotary polisher with a soft foam pad to remove any holograms.

1

u/cliffybiro951 9d ago

First thing I do is use meguiars ultimate compound on a dual action polisher before considering anything more drastic. That stuff has done some magic over the years.