Changing Products:

[SVECobraR]

Hey guys i didn`t really know where to post this so i dedcided to post it here. Anyway this is my first new thread, and this is my first question. Yesterday i was working on my cobra with Megs #85, #83, #82 with megs wool pad, buff and shine light cutting pad and lake country polishing pad. This was my first time using megs, i`ve only really heard bad things about it here, and i have mixed results. The final outcome just looks great, but the process, especially removing the residue is just completely insane. So far i`ve only done all three steps on the hood, to see how it would look, and it took me longer to remove it after #85 #83 then it has to remove product off an entire car. That stuff just burns on like its burning the clearcoat. Anyway i think i`m going to go back to my SSR 2.5, chemical guys pro polish and optimum polish (in that order) combo. My question is i have extra foam pads but no extra wool, how can i clean it and use it real quick or how long do i have to wait inbetween cleaning and usage. Thanks guys - Berj.

[White95Max]

I clean all my pads in a bucket of warm water and Dawn. Just massage the product out of the pad with your hands, and rinse it really well. Then you can either sandwich the pad between two MFs to soak up the water, or put the pad on the PC and turn it on to speed 3. That will spin-dry most of the water out.

[Accumulator]

.. put the pad on the PC and turn it on to speed 3. That will spin-dry most of the water out.



If you have a rotary, I`d spin-dry them on that instead. My pads fly off the PC so often that I quit using it to dry them. They never fly off the Cyclo or the rotary (well, at least not yet).

[NEW AGAIN]

First what kind of equipment was been used with the product [high speed/da polisher] also sound like your technique is off just a little, Did you protect the windshield? with a an old sheet and what about taping off? You work the product too much. As for the removal of product from your pad you would need a spur pad cleaner washing is not needed. Buy more than one pad that helps alot.

[SVECobraR]

Well i know how to clean my foam pads, i use the same technique, but instead i use a very diluted solution of simple green 10:1 water to simple green to spray the pads. But yeah i`m using a chicago electric rotary, i didnt protect the windshield, and i don`t tape off. I`ve been buffing for about 6 months and i`ve only burned 1 hole. No holograms, nothing. But i thought i might be working the product too much because the meguiars stuff breaks up real quick, but it just feels weird, i can`t tell if all the swirls were gone (sick overcast). Any other suggestions, thanks.

[White95Max]

What color is your Cobra?

[SVECobraR]

black, it had super swirls, now not much of anything. But i did notice that the paint looks greyish under fluorescent lights.

[NEW AGAIN]

Dewalt 443 a much better DA than porter cable hands down. As for technique this is what i did i went to a body shop explain to them what I need an I have a left fender now pratice pratice Have the fender stand up as it would on a vehicle and take your time nice overlapping strokes one direction Use a light to see your progress. Also check out a-bay or e-bay for a better high speed Dewalt 849 is my choice has the rpm on the nob cant go wrong.

[JeffM]

Someone correct me if i am wrong, but isnt #85 the DIAMOND CUT?????????



If it is, i would pop over to MOL and get the 411 on diamond cut and a wool pad before you do much more polishing.

[Louie]

I`ve used Meg`s #2 Fine Cut (reformulated for PC) and a Lake County yellow compound pad with great results, even on black cars. I haven`t run across anything that I can`t get out with a little patience. Usually not enough to require polishing out any haze, but sometimes I`ll follow with Meg`s #9 Swirl Remover and LC white polishing pad. I used this combo to remove hand applied compound swirls (looked like someone took scotchbrite to the finish) on a dark blue car without too much trouble. I`ve heard that #83 / #80 is a good combo, especially with a PC.



#85 is their Diamond Cut for rotary use only and is probably their most aggressive product. When used with a wool pad can be pretty aggressive. Not sure how bad your finish was, but I would have started with something a little milder and worked at it. Meg`s cleaner / polishes from most to least aggressive are: #83, #80, #82, #9.



Not sure if you used a rotary or PC as #85 is for rotary only and #83 was made for PC use, but I`m sure there is some flexibility, though I do not thinks the #85 would really work well with a PC.



If a finish is oxidized, sometimes I`ll use a chemical cleaner first, even Meg`s DC1, then #2, and so on. I haven`t had any problems with residue with any of their products. Not to be critical, it almost sounds like you are using an excess of product and not allowing enough time for the abrasives to break down.



I`d try the rear trunklid (or other virgin area) using only #83 on a polishing or cutting pad (not the wool) to see how that does using less product, on a smaller area. I`d ditch the #85 for the moment. It may take a little longer but you may get the result you are looking for. Follow up with #82 on a polishing pad and you should be ready for your LSP.

[SVECobraR]

The car had alot of swirls, so yeah i did use diamond cut with a wool pad. And i had no problems, and i don`t think i removed the product to early because the product was drying up real quick. It looked as if i had burned through my clearcoat but i hadn`t. It was just the way the product dried, maybe i over used the product. But i used all three steps with a rotary and then followed with poor boys pro polish with blue carnuba on a pc with a polishing pad.

[JeffM]

Just take it slow. 83 and a med cut pad on a pc can remove quite alot of swirls, even more with a rotary.



If i had to guess, i would say Diamond Cut would be reserved for extremely experienced people.