Detailing two tone paint

I have a 2005 Mustang GT that was repainted at some point. It’s black with 2 silver semi metallic painted racing stripes. I would like to polish the car using a DA polisher. There are some swirl marks and scratches I want to remove.

My question is do I need to polish the two colors separately? Will the colors bleed into one another if I polish them at the same time? I’m using Meguiar’s mirror glaze ultra-cut compound, ultimate compound and finishing polish. I may only use the mirror glaze ultra-cut compound on the bad spots and not the whole car. I have to see.

Thanks

 

I've always polished right over different colors and stripes, clear coat or not. If the paint is dry it can't "bleed into one another". If using an abrasive polishing compound some color may be visible on the other painted area but that is just the fine particulate polished off and should be cleaned off before proceeding to the next step finer grit. Important is the cleaning between steps and using a fresh pad on your polisher.

You want the surface absolutely clean before proceeding to the next step. Even a tiny bit of abrasive remaining from the previous step will scratch and cause swirl marks.

 

The paint is below the clear coat so technically your wheeling out the clear, not the color!

 

Thanks I feel a little better now. However, I have a feeling that when the car was repainted it was an inexpensive job with cheap paint and no clear coat. Would that make a difference?

 

It doesn't make a difference. Hardened/cured paint does not bleed. It is a solid. You can sand it and little bits of the colored dust can end up on other surfaces but there is no "bleeding". The important think is to thoroughly clean the surface and use a fresh pad when changing to your finer grit polish.

 

Thanks for all your information. It will make the job much easier.