Technique for removing scratches with PC

[budman3]

A PC takes a lot of time to break down polishes ... that's the nature of the beast. Not breaking down polishes properly won't yield nice results.

[toyotaguy]

get M105....its well worth it...its my new go to compound for defect removal via PC...some low-pro orange LC pads and M105 is an awesome combo for the PC

[justinschmidt1]

Originally Posted by toyotaguy

get M105....its well worth it...its my new go to compound for defect removal via PC...some low-pro orange LC pads and M105 is an awesome combo for the PC

hmm...can you buy m105 at any parts stores or do I need to order it online?

[seche]

Sweet, I am gonna get some m105. I found that Optimum Compound II doesn't quite finish the job properly even after 4-5 passes. Like everyone is saying, the PC is slow to get the job done. Would a yellow LC CCS pad be worth it? or Orange should do? Also what polish would be recommended? I did the optimum polish and it was ok but not all that great with the PC.

[xjonmo]

how does M105 compare to Menzerna PG?

[superchargedg]

Originally Posted by xjonmo

how does M105 compare to Menzerna PG?

M105 is to me a better polish then menz pg.The m105 is tough to learn(at least the old formula) but it finishes down really well.You can actually spend some time polishing with the m105 and stop and wipe the panel off and see how you are doing.

With the menzerna polishes they have to break down first before you can see the results but with the non-diminshing abrasives in the Megs products that is not the case.But i still love and still use my menzerna products.

[Accumulator]

Originally Posted by seche

Sweet, I am gonna get some m105. I found that Optimum Compound II doesn't quite finish the job properly even after 4-5 passes. Like everyone is saying, the PC is slow to get the job done...

Depending on the paint and what you're trying to correct, you can end up doing a lot more than 4-5 passes no matter what you're using, and that includes M105 even with wool pads and/or aggressive foam cutting pads.

Would a yellow LC CCS pad be worth it? or Orange should do?

That's hard for anybody to answer as we just don't know about your situation. Yellow cuts more than orange. PFW cuts more too. Small 4" wool pads from Cyclo (made by Edge) cut quite a bit more and are about as aggressive as you can get with a PC.

I myself generally prefer using wool when orange foam won't do the job. The 3.5-4" PFW is pretty neat and IMO worth a try. It won't wow everybody, but it's still something you oughta try out just to see if it'll work for you. Note that PFW pads wear out pretty fast, so don't buy just one of them.

Also what polish would be recommended? I did the optimum polish and it was ok but not all that great with the PC.

Eh...I'm not a fan of Optimum polish either. Having finally tried M205, I found that it's almost as special/wonderful/etc. as M105, so I'd recommend that. Note that I was predisposed towards *not* being favorably impressed with M105/M205. I was a very hard sell...but having worked with them I'm convinced and I'm no longer recommending the other stuff I used to.

[bufferbarry]

Originally Posted by Accumulator

Heh heh, well, you're not the only guy who's done that!

IMO most people oughta probably stop wetsanding at the "gee, I haven't really done *anything* much yet..." point. By the time you work out the sanding scratches you end up doing more correction anyhow.

On the small pads with a drill, I've never tried it. Just remember that it'll basically be an awkward version of a rotary. Keep the speeds *down low* and try to keep the pad flat. Plan to repolish by PC as holograms/etc. are kinda likely. I myself would stick with the PC/4" and just plan to get a Flex or a rotary at some point (and in the meantime, I'd try to just not worry about the remaining marring that the PC/4" doesn't get ).

lmao oh man accumulator good thing you don't work with me. I love to see how far I can push a piece of paper! lol

[bufferbarry]

When looking into pads there are so many varibles that exsist. From size to color, wool or foam? The thickness of pads. I'll ty and give you some info based on my knowledge. First off i'll start off with wool pads. mainly there are 3 major types varying in color depending on manufactor. The first is a 4ply wool pad designed for heavy compounding. Next is a 100% wool also designed for compounding, but will finish down a little better. The third is a wool and synthetic blend these pads are made made for polishing, these are great for refinement. Keep in mind the shorter the pile the more faster the cut. Now lets move onto foam. When using a foam pad with a d/a type polisher like pc7424, flex3043, udm, and so on for your compounding stages you want to use a smaller pad like a 4 inch pad. for polishing and waxing its ok to bump up to a 6 inch pad if desired. now lets break the foam variances down. First off never go with color. what you need to look at is ppi. ( pores per inch. generally most start off at 50ppi and go up to 90 ppi 50 ppi would be your compounding pads and 90 ppi would be your lsp pad. 50ppi can be very aggresive and often do more harm them good. i would recomend using something like a 60ppi pad.

[Accumulator]

Originally Posted by bufferbarry

lmao oh man accumulator good thing you don't work with me. I love to see how far I can push a piece of paper! lol

Wooh-hoo, wouldn't you and I make for one [messed]-up team?!? LOL...I'd be all stressed out about how much clear we're taking off and you'd be reaching for something more aggressive! We'd be the Laurel and Hardy of detailing

But seriously, every time I look at those panels on my M3 that're gonna need reshot I think how I shoulda quit sooner. Yeah, they still have many microns of clear over the basecoat but when the light is *just right* they don't look the way they oughta; I can tell where they're thin. Nobody else would see it (nobody *does* see it, and they're trying), and I dunno if they'll actually fail with UV exposure, but I just can't stand knowing that they look "off" under certain circumstances so I'm gonna have 'em reshot.

For that matter, I can tell where ebpcivicsi and I have really hammered my Yukon too. The ETG says things are still sorta OK, but I can tell if I really work at inspecting it.

Thinned clear that I can notice simply drives me nuts. Once things start getting well under ~100 microns, metallics often look "off" to me. That bugs me a lot more than the chance of cc failure; I never park outside much anyhow.

[bufferbarry]

yeah accummulator i here ya there you do need to know when to stop. from my understanding the uv coating goes throughout the whole clear. maybe im wrong here, but that what i was always told. nothing like sanding something as thin as a sheet of notebook paper huh!

[Accumulator]

Originally Posted by bufferbarry

.from my understanding the uv coating goes throughout the whole clear. maybe im wrong here, but that what i was always told.

As best I recall, the guys at http://www.autoint.com (specifically Ron Ketchum) say that the UV protection comes from something like the top 40% or so of the clear. Since they work with the manufacturers so much I figure I'll go by what they say.

I've seen a surprising amount of cc failure on heavily-corrected cars so I'm kinda nervous about it when it comes to *my* rides Heh heh, especially after messing up my M3 trying to work Autopian-style miracles on it Wish I could get the thin clear issue to show up in pics so I could show you what I'm talking about; I *barely* got all the marring out too, no wasted clear

I'm so paranoid about this that I ETG every used car I look at and I won't touch anything that's already been thinned a lot. I recently passed on a *NICE* P71 Crown Vic because it read <3.5 mils in so many places, the seller couldn't believe it (he thought his wetsand/buff job would sell the car..I woulda probably bought it with the scratches still in).

nothing like sanding something as thin as a sheet of notebook paper huh!

Heh heh, I really do just *love* the way you're able to work within those kind of tolerences...The way you control aggressive paper is so [darn] impressive

Ya know, that "it's so thin to begin with" thing is one reason why I often think that people here who are really *hammering* their paint would be better off wetsanding it. With really aggressive compounding stuff happens fast and it's not always easy to know what's going on under that spinning pad, but with a piece of sandpaper in your hand you should have things under pretty good control.

Heh heh, people gotta remember that they'll be taking off more clear when you remove those sanding marks, and that's why I tell newbies to quit before they think they oughta.