Help me fix my mess...

I think most polishes are clear coat safe. It's frustrating, but consider it may not be your fault. Light holograms like that happen easily. All it takes is a light layer of dust and someone running their hand over it or bumping up against it. That very easily could've happened before you got the car.

I would just wash it and go over that panel again with the same pad and polish combo. That might knock it out. Also, 6 might be too fast? Try 4.5 or 5

For what it's worth, I spent all day polishing my car last week, and it turned out great. Then a few days later I noticed a similar hologram on the hood. It looked like someone ran their hand over it.

its caused by uneven pressure, make sure you put even pressure on the pad when polishing. make sure you are following the curvature of the car when polishing. Do small panels at a time, max 2'x2'. crappy towels or leftover polish does not cause hologram, its the actual polishing process. stick with the porter cable, also work the polish till it "flashes" before wiping it off. Google polish flash if you are not familiar with it.

Bill1975 said:

Also, 6 might be too fast? Try 4.5 or 5

Click to expand...

Yeah, I realized this AFTER the fact and won't make that mistake again

I also picked up some Menzerna FG400 & SF3500, and plan on tackling it in the spring time

So, I polished my car for the first time last week. I noticed that I had some holograms on the hood, similar to what you have. I washed and polished the hood again, unfortunately it was cloudy all day so it was impossible to tell if it helped. But, I did go over it at a slower speed. Hopefully the sun will be stronger tomorrow and I'll get a better view. It's frustrating, though, that's for sure.


Fwiw, I'm using a PC 7424 XP on 4.5, with a flat Lake Country white pad and Optimum Polish II.