Suggestions for super soft re-cleared car (205 is even hazing!)

**MusicMan** · 11-11-2011, 10:53 PM

Whats up all,

I recently went to a body shop to do a re-painted 2010 Camaro...this was not a Macco repaint...this was about a 10 grand repaint. BLACK, FULL black, not GM black, with burnt orange metallic stripes down the middle...very sweet ride.

To make a long story short, the shop sanded and buffed it with wool, of course leaving the usual swirls and holograms wool tends to leave. The owners wanted the swirls removed by us.

We used: Megs 105 on a Megs Cutting Micro-fiber pad. Took out swirls great but left a very obvious haze (used with Flex 3401, not rotary)

Followed by Megs 205 on a LC Hydro Tech Tangerine Pad. Removed haze on MOST of the car, but a few spots still wanted to micro-mar up on me.

For the record, i used D300 on this car after its FIRST repaint (was first repainted about 2 years ago) and even D300 hazed. This is the only car/paint to actually

HAZE from D300. Every factory clear i ever used it on it finished down beautifully.

So my question is what polish on this re-clear would finish down nicest. Im talking i`m looking for perfection here. This guy has easily dropped over 100k into his car...maybe closer to 150k just in mods so we gotta have this thing looking right. He wants us back out to take out the few tracers that were left from the sanding (it was done by hand by the shop), i figure on feather sanding any that are left, spot compounding and then doing a final polish pass on the entire car.

ALSO, any suggestions for a great sealant and then excellent topper wax? Something that helps resist static/dust would be ideal as dusty *** Arizona gets black dirty in the blink of an eye.

**wascallyrabbit** · 11-12-2011, 09:43 AM

uno v4, hd speed (coming soon), menz po85rd. use something other than the 3401 for finishing. the rotary would finish the best (i`m not quite able to do hologram free yet). nitro seal, bfwd, os, fk1000, poxy are all nice sealants. i don`t usually top most the sealants with wax just doesn`t seem to really help with the looks all that much for me.

**SuperBee364** · 11-12-2011, 10:09 AM

You may want to try Menz FPII (AKA Micro Polish) on a no bite pad. Try it with a DA to start, but as FPII has so very little cut, you may have to change to a rotary. Ultrafina (by rotary) is also great on soft paint. Either polish would be a great choice. Have yet to see a paint too soft for either polish to finish out perfectly on. If the clear is butter soft, 85rd might not work well. You`ll probably want to stick with a DA if you go with 85rd.

**Leadfootluke** · 11-12-2011, 10:09 AM

Maybe even look into Opti-Coat if the paint is going to be that susceptible to marring, however you won`t get the same look as certain sealants or waxes.

I ran into the same thing you are experiencing too with a repaint. Insanely soft. I use a Crimson Hydrotech with M205 to finish down. However, M205 isn`t exactly a "finishing" polish like 85rd and others are.

**Thomas Dekany** · 11-12-2011, 12:08 PM

This is the only time I suggest a rotary to finish. Your issue isn`t the product, it is the machines.

**lostdaytomorrow** · 11-12-2011, 04:10 PM

po85rd is good to finish on finicky paint from what I`ve seen and experienced. I`ve never used a rotary because I don`t have one yet, but I also have never polished a repaint either so YMMV I guess.

I`d put souveran on it to look awesome and wet, but it will attract dust like crazy like most carnaubas so it all depends if he wants it looking good for one day or for a while.

**SuperBee364** · 11-12-2011, 05:07 PM

Originally Posted by lostdaytomorrow

po85rd is good to finish on finicky paint from what I`ve seen and experienced. I`ve never used a rotary because I don`t have one yet, but I also have never polished a repaint either so YMMV I guess.

I`d put souveran on it to look awesome and wet, but it will attract dust like crazy like most carnaubas so it all depends if he wants it looking good for one day or for a while.

With a DA, yeah, 85rd plays pretty well with soft paints. But on a rotary, not so much. It`s really hard to beat FPII and Ultrafina on butter soft clears.

Both UF and FPII are so very gentle that you really need a rotary to get much action out of them.

**Woody Wax** · 11-12-2011, 07:07 PM

Wills,

Just out of interest, Iâ€™d be curious to know what brad of clear they used in the repaint if you happen to know.

The only respray job I have done of late is my own truck of which the clear is so soft you can watch it mar as the wind blows.

I would normally finish down with UNO with no problem and on the odd occasion 85rd on finishing pads, I recently had the same problem as youâ€™re describing where nothing would finish down perfectly without leaving marring. Thanks to a suggestion on here I ended up using an Orange pad with 85rd which did the job nicely.

If memory serves me correct you donâ€™t have a rotary, I used a DA in the above scenario and it worked just fine.

Cheers Daniel

**SpoolinNoMore** · 11-12-2011, 07:26 PM

I had the same thing happen on a factory black Toyota. D300, 105, 205, UNOv3, and DCP all failed (with different pads, foam and MF) however UC was the only thing I got to finish down haze-free. Some things just act really funky with eachother, however it may be the DA and not using a rotary (I didn`t have access to one on my Toyota experience so that may have remedied the issue as well).

**MusicMan** · 11-13-2011, 12:44 AM

Originally Posted by Woody Wax

Wills,

Just out of interest, Iâ€™d be curious to know what brad of clear they used in the repaint if you happen to know.

The only respray job I have done of late is my own truck of which the clear is so soft you can watch it mar as the wind blows.

I would normally finish down with UNO with no problem and on the odd occasion 85rd on finishing pads, I recently had the same problem as youâ€™re describing where nothing would finish down perfectly without leaving marring. Thanks to a suggestion on here I ended up using an Orange pad with 85rd which did the job nicely.

If memory serves me correct you donâ€™t have a rotary, I used a DA in the above scenario and it worked just fine.

Cheers Daniel

Daniel, the owner said they used PPG clear on it. I do now have a rotary, got myself a Makita and just received my order of about 3 different backing plates to use with it lol. So the time has come to learn the big boy. 205 worked on most of the car pretty well, the damn back QP and part of the bumper just hazed up on me, but i have had lots of recommendations to give 85rd a shot so i might just do that.

I appreciate all the other info everyone offered. I think i can get the hang of the rotary on the flat panels like hood, trunk and roof pretty fast...but im a little nervous about the vertical panels. Any links/vids/write ups on that would be nice as it seems most are just showing you how to use it on the hood. I keep wanting to give it a try on the weekend butttt then it decides to rain and be super cold :-\...maybe tomorrow will cut me a break.

**Phishy4** · 11-13-2011, 01:23 AM

i did a test panel on a friend of mine`s truck that recently had a repaint, and it was probably the softest paint I`ve ever worked with. 205 was visibly hazing, even with a black pad. I tried a run with my PC, a black pad and menz 106FA and it finished out perfectly.

**Woody Wax** · 11-13-2011, 02:13 AM

Originally Posted by Wills.WindowsAndWheels

Daniel, the owner said they used PPG clear on it. I do now have a rotary, got myself a Makita and just received my order of about 3 different backing plates to use with it lol. So the time has come to learn the big boy. 205 worked on most of the car pretty well, the damn back QP and part of the bumper just hazed up on me, but i have had lots of recommendations to give 85rd a shot so i might just do that.

I appreciate all the other info everyone offered. I think i can get the hang of the rotary on the flat panels like hood, trunk and roof pretty fast...but im a little nervous about the vertical panels. Any links/vids/write ups on that would be nice as it seems most are just showing you how to use it on the hood. I keep wanting to give it a try on the weekend butttt then it decides to rain and be super cold :-\...maybe tomorrow will cut me a break.

Wills, I normally don`t have any problems with PPG clear. it`s DNA that`s causing me grief at the moment and I`ve just found out about 2 other cars with DNA clear that are having problems. Nice work on the Makita (I guess I should pay more attention lol)

The one bit of advise I will give you about using a rotary is do not fear using it, just respect it. If you respect it then it will look after you.

85RD will normally do the trick just fine.

Keep us posted with how you get on.

Cheers Daniel

**gigondaz** · 11-13-2011, 08:10 AM

In my country, I do lots of Hondas and these hv extremely soft clears.

IMO, 205 is very sensitive to technique, speed and pads used.

On ultra soft clears, even buffing off the residue using a new MF could produce fine scratches!!!

If I were in your position, depending on what machines and products you have, this is what I usually do:

205 with rotary

FPII with rotary

3M UF with rotary + LC black pad

106FF/FA with Megs Yellow Pad + flex DA

Don`t buff off as it might marr!

Switch to PC, use a fresh yellow pad with PO85RD.

Megs UC with Megs Yellow Pad + flex DA

Megs Swirl X with Megs Yellow Pad + flex DA (don`t buff off)

Mega Swirl x with Megs Finishing Pad + PC.

**MusicMan** · 11-13-2011, 11:01 AM

Originally Posted by Phishy4

i did a test panel on a friend of mine`s truck that recently had a repaint, and it was probably the softest paint I`ve ever worked with. 205 was visibly hazing, even with a black pad. I tried a run with my PC, a black pad and menz 106FA and it finished out perfectly.

Were you finishing with a DA or a rotary?

**MichaelM** · 11-13-2011, 08:09 PM

If I were in your shoes I might add in a middle step to the areas that are giving you fits. Maybe 105 or SIP on a softer pad. For finishing I like FPII as well. I`ve never had any issue with that product. I like it with a blue pad and a DA style machine.