imported_Picus
08-27-2006, 12:39 PM
Hey guys. I will start with the rough G. The car is an `03 with 78k km on it. The owner bought it at 72k km and at the time wasn`t really aware of what issues to look for on paint. His description of it leads me to believe the dealer may have glazed it heavily before delivery. In any event the paint was in very bad shape; lots of swirling, and more importantly a ton of really deep horizontal marring (I`m thinking snow brush or bear attack). The headlights were weird too; I think someone cleaned them with acid (seriously), they had this strange divot/texture thing going on; very hazy.
Having recently purchased a bunch of hi-temp compounds (light cut, medium cut, heavy cut, and extreme cut) I decided to give EC a try on this car. My thoughts on this product pretty much mirror what most other users have mentioned; it cuts extremly well and leaves a very nice finish (not lsp ready, but significantly less micro marring than PG for example), however when used alone it dries up much too quickly. I used some Optimum Polish with it and it pretty much became perfect in terms of usability and results. On this car I I did need a second compounding step, however I can see how on most EC/yellow or orange followed by 106ff would be sufficient.
I pretty much feel similarly on all the hi-temp compounds. Light cut has a bit more bite than FPII, finishes down similarly and works much longer (spreads extremly easy), only downside is like all the hi temps it can be tough to remove if not fully worked. Medium cut is similar in aggressiveness to OC/Menz IP (perhaps a bit more), however it leaves reasonably micromarring on all but the hardest paints. Heavy cut is akin to SSR2.5 or maybe even PG-lite. Like EC it leaves less micromarring than equivilantly aggressive compounds. It`s workability, like EC, is a tad tough - it likes to gum up pads.
Anyway, the main event. 9 hours total:
Wash with ONR
Clay
Hi Temp EC/OP /yellow @1500
Hi Temp Med Cut/yellow 4" pads via PC (I did this step to get some of the random super deep marring on the hood, roof, and rear deck)
106ff/grey @1200
Zaino Z5pro
Megs WB on wheels (pretty bad brake dust)
Hi Temp Grape Dressing on tires (I like this, it`s not water based unfortunately, but as a result it lasts a long time and is very easy to use).
Sun wasn`t out, but halogens will tell the story.
Quickly; `06 G35 coupe. Light marring on hood and rear deck. Wash, Clay, HT Light Cut/white, RMG/Souveran. Owner gave me a cool compliment on this one "All my driving, highway included; in the rain, I am pleasantly surprised to see very little build up on the car. The visual pop is still very evident! A Swiss watch maker would learn a thing or two from you, great work!"
I thought that was nice. :)
BMW 550i. Dealer installed swirls; wash/clay, Menz FPII/white, AJ Prime Strong/white, Z5pro, Z6, Z2pro, Z6, Z2pro, Z8. Why all the Z? I wanted to see how how long it took, just personal curiosity. FWIW, the entire process took 3.5 hours. Sorry for lame pics, couldn`t move the car. :/
Having recently purchased a bunch of hi-temp compounds (light cut, medium cut, heavy cut, and extreme cut) I decided to give EC a try on this car. My thoughts on this product pretty much mirror what most other users have mentioned; it cuts extremly well and leaves a very nice finish (not lsp ready, but significantly less micro marring than PG for example), however when used alone it dries up much too quickly. I used some Optimum Polish with it and it pretty much became perfect in terms of usability and results. On this car I I did need a second compounding step, however I can see how on most EC/yellow or orange followed by 106ff would be sufficient.
I pretty much feel similarly on all the hi-temp compounds. Light cut has a bit more bite than FPII, finishes down similarly and works much longer (spreads extremly easy), only downside is like all the hi temps it can be tough to remove if not fully worked. Medium cut is similar in aggressiveness to OC/Menz IP (perhaps a bit more), however it leaves reasonably micromarring on all but the hardest paints. Heavy cut is akin to SSR2.5 or maybe even PG-lite. Like EC it leaves less micromarring than equivilantly aggressive compounds. It`s workability, like EC, is a tad tough - it likes to gum up pads.
Anyway, the main event. 9 hours total:
Wash with ONR
Clay
Hi Temp EC/OP /yellow @1500
Hi Temp Med Cut/yellow 4" pads via PC (I did this step to get some of the random super deep marring on the hood, roof, and rear deck)
106ff/grey @1200
Zaino Z5pro
Megs WB on wheels (pretty bad brake dust)
Hi Temp Grape Dressing on tires (I like this, it`s not water based unfortunately, but as a result it lasts a long time and is very easy to use).
Sun wasn`t out, but halogens will tell the story.
Quickly; `06 G35 coupe. Light marring on hood and rear deck. Wash, Clay, HT Light Cut/white, RMG/Souveran. Owner gave me a cool compliment on this one "All my driving, highway included; in the rain, I am pleasantly surprised to see very little build up on the car. The visual pop is still very evident! A Swiss watch maker would learn a thing or two from you, great work!"
I thought that was nice. :)
BMW 550i. Dealer installed swirls; wash/clay, Menz FPII/white, AJ Prime Strong/white, Z5pro, Z6, Z2pro, Z6, Z2pro, Z8. Why all the Z? I wanted to see how how long it took, just personal curiosity. FWIW, the entire process took 3.5 hours. Sorry for lame pics, couldn`t move the car. :/