One way to use M105 successfully...

[SuperBee364]

This is a repost of a post I made in Rob`s 1957 Ford Pickup C&B. It`s one technique to successfully use M105. Thought it might get a bit more visibility out here in the Detailing Product forum than in a C&B. Hope it might help shallow out M105`s steep learning curve. Note that this *is not* the *only* way to use 105, just one way that works well for me. (And I`m not a very smart man). If I follow this technique to a T, it works pretty darn well.



Paste:



One technique that seems to work pretty well with M105:



Apply about a three inch strip to the paint



cover the strip with the PFW. Move it in a *little* circle before turning on the buffer. Just enough of a circle to coat the pad.



Turn on the buffer, go straight to 1.5k RPM, and immediately spread *and work* the compound *at the same time*. DO NOT PRE SPREAD THE 105 AROUND BEFORE YOU WORK IT. It`ll already have flashed over before you even get a chance to work it. You *must* spread it as you work it. Keep the buffer head moving slowly, and always into a fresh area. *Don`t go back and rework the same spot more than one very brief additional pass*. If you`re going to do a second pass, do it *immediately* after the first. Don`t go into a new area yet, just go back on the area you just did, make a second pass, then move on to fresh paint. Slowly start counting to ten as soon as you turn on the buffer. When you hit ten, *regardless of where you are at*, STOP. You are *done*. Grab some QD, spritz in on the work area and use an MF to remove the 105.



I`ll see if I can make this a bit more clear.... let`s say that the area to be polished consists of three "rows". Apply the strip of polish to the start of row one. Put the PFW over the top of it, and gently move it in a small circle to spread the polish around the pad. Spin up the rotary, and start counting to ten. Move the buffer head through row one. If row one needs another pass, *do it now* before moving on to row two. After second pass of row one, start moving through row two. Once you have come to the end of row two, do a second pass through row two, if it needs it, now. Then start on row three. By now, you`ll be getting darn close to your ten second limit. No matter where you are when you hit ten, stop. You want to finish *before* it starts to flash over. Ten seconds is a good place to stop. Remember, you don`t need to break this stuff down, so STOP!



To get an absolute time, do a test area, and work it til it flashes over. Count the whole time. Remember the number you got to when it flashed, then subtract a few seconds. That`s your working time for the polish for the day. Never exceed that number.



Even if the polish hasn`t flashed over, you still should use a QD to remove the residue. The abrasives in 105 don`t break down, so it is still highly abrasive when you remove it. The additional lube in the QD will keep you from marring the paint when you remove the residue.



The best success I`ve had with 105 so far has been to only do one pass through each row, with a ten second work time. Then, after removing the residue, do a visual inspection. If an additional pass is needed, start a new application, and again do one pass through the work area. Second applications/passes are seldom needed. In that one pass (ten seconds worth), you will have removed as much clear as a full minute`s worth of buffing with M95. It`s also much better to take your time and evaluate whether a second pass is needed when you`re not on a ten second decision clock. Don`t get in the habbit of just doing a second pass without determining if it needs it first. Don`t let the one pass, short work time, and great finish fool you; you just removed a boat load of clear in that one pass.



OK, one last thing to clarify... as you do each row, keep moving the buffer head the same direction: toward the end of the row. If you`re going to move left to right through your row, keep the buffer head moving to the right *all the time*. *Don`t* go back to the left unless you have determined that you *need* a second pass. If you do need a second pass, then once you have reached the end of the row, move the buffer head back toward the start of the row, again without ever changing direction. Keep it moving to the left. DON`T EVER MOVE YOUR BUFFER HEAD IN ANY DIRECTION EXCEPT TOWARD THE END OF YOUR ROW. Anytime you go back over paint you just buffed, you just doubled the amount of clear removed. You`ll end up with not level clear if you inconsistently move the pad back and forth. Start at the beginning of row one, then without ever changing direction, go to the end of row one.



Well, by now I either helped, or totally confused you. Hope I helped.



Edit: Forgot to mention... shake the bejesus out of the M105 bottle. At least two minutes straight. Also, this technique is *not* my original work.. it`s just a bunch of help that other Autopians wrote, that I bunched together into a technique that works quite well. If it hadn`t been for my fellow Autopians, there is *no way* I ever could have figured this stuff out. Thanks, guys, once again I`m using a great new product, and it`s all *your* fault.

[Pats300zx]

Awesome writeup SB. Bookmarked



I used some 105 this weekend and there is a huge learning curve. This will help immensely.

[Accumulator]

SuperBee364- Actually, I found that *VERY* informative and easy to follow :xyxthumbs



Actually makes me think that I might kinda *like* the odd characteristics of M105 as I`m sorta partial to short working times.



(Oh, pedantic note regarding learning curves: steep = good as it means more learning over less time. Learning is the "Y" and time is the "X" when these things are graphed: "degree of learning *over* given period of time". Sorry, it`s a teacher-thing and I know it sounds counter-intuitive..just one of my pet peeves having explained it seemingly every semester.)

[SuperBee364]

Thanks, guys, I really hope it helps.



Accumulator, that totally makes sense... I guess I just keep saying "steep" as meaning bad, cause that seems to be the common usage, even though it is incorrect. It`s kinda like "You`ve got mail". The correct way to say it, even though it sounds funny, would be "You`ve mail", which is a contraction of "You have mail."

[Accumulator]

SuperBee364- Heh heh, just get me going on "common usages"



I (and that`s I of the dunno/oughta/gotta colloquialisms) simply :hairpull over stuff like "I could care less" and the learning curve thing twists my tail in the same way. Thanks for not taking offense at Mr. Grammarian.

[SuperBee364]

*sigh*... a different day, a different car, and different results...Yesterday, I did half of my horizontal panels with M95, leaving the second half for today and M105.



Today I got *much* different results using 105 than I did previously. Before today, I was getting an excellent finish from M105 from *one* pass. This *did not work* on my car. One pass left me with holograms galore and some very very light swirls. So I started doing just one "row". I`d move the buffer left to right until the end of the one row, then right to left until I was back to the start of the row, which made two complete passes. This left a very nice finish. Noting that I still had some working time left after the second pass, I moved to an area that had some pretty nasty defects. Once again, I did one row, but this time squeezed *three* passes out of it. It`s very cool today, overcast, rainy, very high humidity. I was able to get 15 seconds working time out of the M105. Anyway, the finish that was left after the third pass was truly a beautiful thing. I still believe that in order to keep from having uneven clear coat, you should move steadily in one direction to the end of your row before reversing direction, but it appears that (at least on some clears), doing more than one pass will leave you with a far better finish.



With other polishes, I never really worry too much about overlapping a new application area into an old one. In fact, I kinda made sure I *did* overlap to keep from missing anything. However, 105 has so much cut that I *really* didn`t want to overlap application areas at all. To prevent this, I kept a small piece of blue masking tape stuck to my apron. (Yes, I wear an apron when I detail. Sheesh.) Then I`d put the blue tape down immediately after lifting the buffer head so I knew *exactly* where I stopped.



I was able to get six total applications from each PFW pad. That`s giving it a light misting of FK1 425 before the first use, and spurring it after each application.



This M105 technique is gonna be a work in progress for a while, I think.

[imported_Denzil]

Thanks for that insight Supe! I`m glad to have an Autopian like you to throughly express your experiences with new polishes. :chuckle:



I think my Edge wool pads will be coming back soon this week and the old 5 series is going to get the M105 treatment. Learning M105 will probably be a chore. I got a taste of it when I detailed the shower doors this past weekend. :hmph:

[SuperBee364]

Thanks for that insight Supe! I`m glad to have an Autopian like you to throughly express your experiences with new polishes. :chuckle:



I think my Edge wool pads will be coming back soon this week and the old 5 series is going to get the M105 treatment. Learning M105 will probably be a chore. I got a taste of it when I detailed the shower doors this past weekend. :hmph:

LOL! I do the same thing, although most recently the shower doors were cleaned with my new steamer.

[imported_shine]

Thanks for the tips Supe! Great post.

[Rob Tomlin]

I`m really glad that you posted this here too Supe, so others are more likely to see it. Excellent write up, and as I said, after working with the M105, so much of your post makes sense.

This M105 technique is gonna be a work in progress for a while, I think.

Exactly the conclusion that I came to as well:



http://www.autopia.org/forum/click-b...d-f-100-a.html



We all just need to keep honing our skills on this stuff, keep notes, and post the results here. I still think the humidity had a negative impact on my experience with M105.

[imported_Denzil]

Here`s the thread I made about those shower doors, hehe.



So how`d the steamer and the shower doors work out? I suppose I should try it myself on the other shower doors that aren`t in so bad of a condition.

[Junebug]

Thanks Bee, after reading more and more about 105, I conclude I made the right decision to sell mu quart after trying (and failing) with it. I just don`t have the patience!

[SuperBee364]

Here`s the thread I made about those shower doors, hehe.



So how`d the steamer and the shower doors work out? I suppose I should try it myself on the other shower doors that aren`t in so bad of a condition.

Great! I couldn`t believe that it actually removed the majority of the hard water stains. I normally have to clean my shower glass with a phosphoric acid based cleaner to get the hard water marks out. The steamer made quick work of it. There was just a touch of hard water marks left, but not much.

Thanks Bee, after reading more and more about 105, I conclude I made the right decision to sell mu quart after trying (and failing) with it. I just don`t have the patience!

JuneBug, you would loooooove Meguair`s M95. It is really a great compound. Works just like any other polish you`ve used: work until it goes clear, and remove. Easy peasy. Doesn`t dust, splatter, jump, hop, spit. It`s the easiest to use compound I`ve seen. It`s as easy to use as Menz FPII (if you`ve tried it, you know it`s about *the* easiest polish in the world to use).

[salty]

Supe did you do any mixing of 105 and 95?