Polish Recommendations

[imported_fugaz15]

I`m looking to buy some new polishes (a cutting polish and a finishing polish) and it seems like M105 & M205 are by far the most popular.



I would be mainly using the polishes on a 2008 Accord, and with the soft Honda clear and paint I`m afraid the M105 may be too abrasive. Any recommendations?

[termigator]

Unless your Accord`s color is Taffeta White, the paint will be "not very hard." What you need for your Accord depends more on the current condition of the paint. If you have heavy swirling, then you might need M105, although I have found Ultimate Compound to be a excellent and cheaper substitute. If not, you can get away with M205. M205 can remove a surprising amount of swirls and scratches.



Personally, I like Menzerna`s Super Finish (PO106fa) a lot better overall. From all the complaints I`ve read in various forums, M205 can be a little tricky to finish down to LSP-ready levels. I`m not saying it can`t done. Just that a lot of people are having problems doing it. I have yet to read any complaints about Super Finish. It finishes down great on my red Prelude VTEC and black Acura TL. :)

[getcha]

I think a couple of us have had trouble M205 on certain paints when working with in via rotary, sometimes it leaves very faint trails but again this is only on certain paints, not everything. Otherwise, M205 on a DA is a fantastic product. Leaves a great finish on white and black LC pads on all different paints..

[imported_fugaz15]

It`s Polished Metal Metallic - should have mentioned.



The overall paint condition is pretty good - minus the rock chips. No major paint damage at all.



How abrasive is Ultimate Compound compared to M105?



Because of the soft (or rather "not very hard") paint, I try to limit polishing as much as possible. So I limit a polishing the entire car to once a year (after winter, in prep for summer) and other than that, I only polish paint defects as needed.



I`ll definitely look into getting the Super Finish. Thanks for the suggestion

[termigator]

Ultimate Compound is basically the OTC version of M105. It has a little less cut that M105, but finishes down about the same. I like it a lot because it`s much less expensive than M105 and I`ve yet to come across a situation where UC`s cut was inadequate. Of course, I do have a bottle of M105 ready to go if that situation arises. It just hasn`t happened yet.



From your description of the paint, I would personally just use Super Finish and have UC (I`ve used UC right after wetsanding with 2000 grit sandpaper, BTW)just in case Super Finish doesn`t cut it. I doubt you`ll need it, but at least you can pick it up at any local auto store or Walmart.



You never mentioned how you were going to apply the polish. DA? Rotary? Hand?

[imported_fugaz15]

Polishing by hand is absolute insanity! I have a porter cable DA (7424xp).



Super finish and UC it is. I appreciate the advice. Maybe down the road I`ll move to m105/205, but we`ll see if I need it.



On a side note, any glazes you can recommend for the Honda paint? I was using Danase Wet Glaze which was amazing, but it`s not available any more...

[termigator]

You won`t be disappointed with Super Finish. IMO, it`s the best and most versatile polish out there.



Haven`t used any glazes that much. I haven`t had much luck in making my cars look any better with glazes, but I haven`t given up on them yet.



You might want to look into Poorboys` glazes. They have White Diamond for light colors and Black Hole for dark colors. I talked to the Poorboys` rep at DetailFest and he said their glazes are not oil based, so sealants won`t have any problems bonding to them. Don`t know it that will be an issue for you, but I thought I`d just let you know.

I do have Black Hole (unused) and I`m going to give it a whirl on my Prelude the next time I wash her.

[imported_fugaz15]

That`s one of the reasons why Danase`s Wet Glaze is/was so great - it paired very nicely with their sealant.



I`m interested to hear how the Poorboys glaze works on the Prelude - definitely keep me posted!

[imported_BobbyG]

The compound that you begin with it really dictated by the finish defects needed to be corrected. M105 is a great compound and has its place as an aggressive cutting compound. M205 is a fine polish with additional lubrication that really brings out the shine and depth. Menzerna`s PO85RD is another fine finished polish that I typically use after M205.