Ultimate Compound - Whats The Proper Technique By Hand?

[clickityclack]

I`ve read a bunch of good things about Ultimate Compound, but its also followed by, "only if you work it right".



So I bought the item and to spot test it, I followed the directions on the label and it looked pretty good right after i applied it. Seeing as how i didnt clay my car yet, I waited the following day to do the whole car. When I looked at the test spot it looked pretty hazy again and lost that shine from the day before.



Did I apply it wrong? Did I not work it in long/hard enough.



Whats the proper way to use Ultimate Compound by hand? How Do I "work it" properly?

[Lumadar]

That seems very strange. It shouldn`t change over time. Did you wipe all of the residue away after you used it the firs time?



In my experience when working on a clayed and clean paint surface (what it should ideally be, but not required that it be clayed) I worked the product in a combination of circular and straight lines (generally harder, more forceful straight lines at first, followed by circular motion second, gradually decreasing pressure), and I stopped after the foam pad began to squeak on the paint (indication that the paint was clean, and it was foam on paint).



That for me has yielded LSP ready results every time, but I have only used it on 3 vehicles so far. Worked great for removing sanding marks after touch-up paint work.

[shadow85]

I`ve read a bunch of good things about Ultimate Compound, but its also followed by, "only if you work it right".



So I bought the item and to spot test it, I followed the directions on the label and it looked pretty good right after i applied it. Seeing as how i didnt clay my car yet, I waited the following day to do the whole car. When I looked at the test spot it looked pretty hazy again and lost that shine from the day before.



Did I apply it wrong? Did I not work it in long/hard enough.



Whats the proper way to use Ultimate Compound by hand? How Do I "work it" properly?

Welcome to Autopia!



I believe you need to use a finishing (less aggressive) polish after the ultimate compound to sort of bring the gloss back. Try using something like swirl-x or scratch-x (version 1) to finish after ultimate compound.

[RonMexico]

I believe you need to use a finishing (less aggressive) polish after the ultimate compound to sort of bring the gloss back. Try using something like swirl-x or scratch-x (version 1) to finish after ultimate compound.

Correct. At least that is what I had to do.



What color is the vehicle you are working on clickityclack?



Also, I`ve found that it needs to worked for a good couple minutes per application with some evenly applied moderate pressure to make sure it finishes down good. Unfortunately I don`t any good tips on how to do this as I`m still working on my swirl induced hacking technique.



Doing correction by hand is not fun or easy, but it is doable.

[clickityclack]

Welcome to Autopia!



I believe you need to use a finishing (less aggressive) polish after the ultimate compound to sort of bring the gloss back. Try using something like swirl-x or scratch-x (version 1) to finish after ultimate compound.

Yeah, I figured thats what i had to do. Do I apply the finish polish right after the UC or do I wait a while?

[clickityclack]

Correct. At least that is what I had to do.



What color is the vehicle you are working on clickityclack?



Also, I`ve found that it needs to worked for a good couple minutes per application with some evenly applied moderate pressure to make sure it finishes down good. Unfortunately I don`t any good tips on how to do this as I`m still working on my swirl induced hacking technique.



Doing correction by hand is not fun or easy, but it is doable.

My car is a "medium brown" car. Dont really know the exact color. Here`s a picture. You can see the oxidation on the backside of the car. I took this picture right after application. The area went back to a similar shade as the rest of the rear door the next day.







How much product did you use per application? Meaning a tablespoon per 1ftx1ft section? I dont think I applied it long enough or used enough product.

[shadow85]

If think, if you feel paranoid, you can wipe down with 50/50 alcohol/water to be sure all the UC is off. Not really necessary as long as you wipe the UC clean with MF. Then I guess you can go ahead with the finishing polish to bring up the gloss.

[Accumulator]

clicketyclack- Welcome to Autopia!



I haven`t used the Ultimate Compound, but I have used the very similar M105 (by hand). IME things just don`t look right until after the follow-up with a milder product (or two).



I can`t explain why things looked good one day and hazy the next, but *maybe* it was some kind of polishing oil residue that dissipated over time; Meguiar`s products are often kinda heavy on the "Trade Secret Oils" (which is one reason people often do that alcohol wipe-down). I`d guess that a product made for consumer (as opposed to pro) use, by hand, is likely to have lots of those oils in it to make it user-friendly. But that`s just a guess as I don`t *really* know about the Ultimate Compound.



There`s no need to wait between polishing steps. Think of it like sanding wood- you`re just using a finer grit of sandpaper to get a better finish (after using coarse stuff to do the heavy work).

[frito]

Yep the UC does seem to have a heavy oil. It does finish very nice however. I used Swirl-x to follow then LSP. Good performace on my car.