Ceramic Clear Coats

[jw]

I just purchased a Makita roatary buffer and one of the first details i'll be doing is Black Mercedes with the Ceramic Clear Coat. I have Megs 105, Menz SIP and 106ff. I have 4 and 6.5 inch yellow, orange, and green, and white pads. I also have a 6.5 Purple Foam Wool pad. Since this clear coat is so tough does it mean it's harder to burn the paint as well?

[charlesaferg]

Naw, at those temperatures it won't matter - the polish isn't even in the picture anymore. If you're using traditional polishes and not something made specifically for the purpose of working with ceramic clears, you'll probably end up working it for much longer than those specific polishes. Even the polishes from Menzerna have longer working times, those clears are touch stuff.

Do you have more than one of each pad? I wouldn't trust having just one, especially if you have to switch out for some reason (too much polish loaded in the pad, embedded dirt removed from the paint, dropped on the ground, etc...)

[jw]

I do have more than 1 pad of each color. I'll be Using Menzerna SIP and P0106ff which are designed for ceramics. So I'll have to work them longer? HOw do I know when its been long enough?

[Legacy99]

Originally Posted by jw

I do have more than 1 pad of each color. I'll be Using Menzerna SIP and P0106ff which are designed for ceramics. So I'll have to work them longer? HOw do I know when its been long enough?

When the polish starts to break down it will become translucent. I do notice some light dusting shortly after. If you need more working time just put a dap of OP on your pad.

[jwgarrison]

Just a question concerning the topic. How do you know if you've got ceramic clearcoat? I've been working on my black suv (Ford Expedition) and it is a pain to get any of the defects out.

[SuperBee364]

Originally Posted by jw

I do have more than 1 pad of each color. I'll be Using Menzerna SIP and P0106ff which are designed for ceramics. So I'll have to work them longer? HOw do I know when its been long enough?

I would recommend using the PFW pad with the SIP. In the dry desert air where I'm at, I can't ever get SIP to break down all the way before it dries up. Normally, you want to work it until it goes completely clear. However, if it starts to dry up on you before it goes clear, stop. Wipe off the residue, and re-apply if necessary. If you would like to be able to work the polish until it is completely and correctly broken down, add about 1 oz of 106 to 5 ounces of SIP. This will make the SIP much easier to work, give it a very long working time, and reduce the correcting power of the SIP a bit. Don't add *too* much 106 to it, though, because it will *really* start to reduce SIP's bite.

106 is also a bit different. It does go clear when it's broken down, but what you are *really* looking for is for it to go very, *very* oily looking. Like you just sprayed vegetable oil on your paint. 106 will start off looking hazey, then about 1.5 to 2 minutes (YMMV) later, it'll go clear. Don't stop yet. Keep working it. After it goes clear, it will gradually start to look oily. When it finally looks like just a layer of oil on your car, it's done.