M-205 vs Ultimate compound

[dman533]

I know I`m comparing apples and oranges in that UC is a diminishing abrasive compound and M-205 is not. My situation is this I have a 2009 Saab and given the weather in the northeast, and against my better judgement I took the car to a car wash. Bad move, because now I have swirls from ONE washing. Anyway I"m looking for a one step fix if that`s available. Using a Porter Cable DA (not the XP) would I be better off using the M-205 or the Ultimate Compound, for the light swilrs? I have both the LC orange and white pads, along with the black polishing pad. Any suggestions?

[MattZ28]

UC is not a diminishing abrasive compound; it is closer to #105 than it is #205. UC/SwirlX are "milder" consumer version of #105/#205 and all utilize SMAT.

I would try #205 with an orange pad, and if that doesn`t work, step up to Ultimate Compound with a white polishing pad.

[glen e]

one pic says it all:

[dman533]

Again 10-14 lbs. of pressure and six passes on each 2x2 section. That is one horizonal and one vertical three times with 50% overlap. Right?

[embolism]

best to do a 2x2 test spot starting with the least aggressive combo you think might get the job done and get more aggressive if required. Once you are happy with the process and combo on your test spot, then you can replicate it on the entire car.

I actually like to see my initial combo not have enough cut the first time, that way I know that I am justified in being more aggressive. If I just went straight to an aggressive pad and compound, then the swirls would indeed come out, but they might also have come out with a less aggressive combo, thereby saving the precious clearcoat.

with smat abrasives like in UC and 205, there is no set number of passes required. Same logic as above, save as much clear as possible. Using SMAT, if you can get the swirls out using less passes then do so.

[Todd@RUPES]

UC is not a diminishing abrasive compound; it is closer to #105 than it is #205. UC/SwirlX are "milder" consumer version of #105/#205 and all utilize SMAT.

I would try #205 with an orange pad, and if that doesn`t work, step up to Ultimate Compound with a white polishing pad.

Excellent advice.

Ultimate Compound is from Meguiar`s new line of abrasive polishes that use a similar non diminishing abrasive grain. M205, particularly when paired with the orange pad is capable of doing correction while leaving a great finish.

[addysdaddy]

When doing a test spot I found one of the more difficult challenges was to view the effected areas in the proper lighting. Take caution and time to adjust the lighting correctly. What seemed to help was to position the light a 12 o`clock with the light aimed at a 45 deg angle to the surface and moving your f.o.v. to the 6 o`clock position and bend down to almost the same height of the paint surface. I`m saying this because initally when I did a test spot the #205 with an orange pad seemed perfectly suited for the job until I changed the light. It was at that point I realized that UC was needed with a #205 follow up.

[Merlin]

...I"m looking for a one step fix if that`s available. Using a Porter Cable DA (not the XP) would I be better off using the M-205 or the Ultimate Compound, for the light swilrs? I have both the LC orange and white pads, along with the black polishing pad. Any suggestions?

I`ve had great success with Ultimate Compound (UC).
It is NOT as abrasive a M105 and has a lot less flashing, very little splatter, longer work time and in general a much easier product to use than M105.

Followed up with Ultimate Polish (UP) they make a very good combo and less aggressive for removing swirls than the classic M105/M205 combo.

I`d use the UC with the orange (or possibly white) pad and the UP with the white (possibly the black) pad depending on aggressiveness needed.

I`ve even combined 50/50 a little UC on the pad with M105 to reduce flashing, splatter and increase work time.
IMHO the UC/M105 combo gives me the M105 correction power without a lot of the the M105 challenges.

[glen e]

I can get one to two more clean passes when using UC by misting it a bit with water.