Originally Posted by
Stokdgs
AdamB - Welcome to the Forum !
Thank you for providing much background info and the picture.. This really helps us help you better...
I have almost 20 years experience with Meguiars 105, 205 and then later 101, using a Makita 9227 Rotary... The 105 product needs additional moisture, as it wants to dry up quickly, and never finish breaking down... I have successfully used it on many, many, pretty destroyed Autos, and an entire Cessna Airplane..
It works really great, but it needs help for it to finish breaking down to almost nothing, and it leaves a really nice finish for what it is...
If your vehicle came into my shop and I already know that your vehicle`s paint is on the hard side, I measured the Total Thickness, and it was way over 100 microns of Total Thickness, I would have put on a Lake Country Purple Foam Wool Pad, some M105 or 101, and cleared that paint up pretty quickly, and finished with M205, or perhaps Optimum Hyper Polish on a Lake Country White Foam pad.. The result would be very flat, clear, and glossy... But, I do this all the time...
Not seeing how deep the worst scratches are, they may or may not have all come out, but they would have been way, way, diminished...
I would measure all the paintwork first, get the baseline nbr of microns for each section, compound, measure, see if I removed off X nbr of microns, do the math, and decide how many I will risk removing to get the desired correction you wanted to see..
I specialize in all Black Painted vehicles, so this is really not hard for me to get the correction the Client wants to see vs removing too much clearcoat, because I measure after Every Pass...
You will be so much happier to get away from C/Guys paint correction products...There are more efficient products that work faster and leave a nice finish..
Meguiars 105 or 101 may be a pretty big order for a beginner at this, but it is not impossible to learn how to use them.. Again, they need some additional moisture, as you are going, so they do not dry out too quickly, and if you find that balance, they will finish all the way to the end, leaving very little residue and a very nice finish, ready for the next Polish step, and then you are done...
The great recommendations for the Griot`s compounds are spot on.. A lot of Detailers have used both of the compounds very successfully and they also produce beautiful finishes if worked correctly... I would recommend them over Meguiars for those who have no one around to watch you and advise you...
The Ultimate Key to all of the paint correction and polish on any paintwork is always going to be Pad Rotation... The more you get, the better and faster the work will go... This is why I have never stopped using a Rotary, but I also learned on a Rotary when I was a kid, so I see no need for me to ever change...
So in conclusion, consider getting the Griot`s products mentioned previously, they should be sold here at the Autopia Store, and you will be fine...
My most favorite all-around Polish for awhile now has been Optimum Hyper Polish, and it is great... This product does not break down completely and will continue to polish as long as you keep going, so bear that in mind.. I have heard of some people that did not mind that, and eventually ran through the clear coat with it..
There are a lot of other newer products out there, and perhaps they are also great too... I just have no need to go out and try them, because, I do not need them...
Don`t know how many pads of each you have but for a vehicle that size, and Black, I would probably use over a dozen to correct it and perhaps half as many to polish it after... Everyone`s process is different, so you have to be flexible, every vehicle`s paint is different, some soft, some sticky when heated, some medium, some hard as heck... You just have to continue to experiment and find what works for the desired result You want to see...
You will need a good foam pad cleaner... I have had excellent results with Lake Country Snappy Clean Powder, that you just mix in a 5-gallon bucket of water; throw the used pads in there, let them soak while you work, when you are ready, work the pads in the water, take them out, rinse them well, dry them and they will be perfect for the next time you use them... Any dish soap, etc., is probably fine too, but some have junk in them that takes a lot longer to rinse out...
The people who make these excellent foam pads, made this pad cleaner, so why would it not be really good??? Yeah, that`s what I thought...
Glad you watched videos, just remember that there are a lot of good And bad ones out there...
There are a lot of really great, experienced, Detailers on here that also do this for a living...Their expertise and advise is worth a look and a listen...
Dan F
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