Advice on produts and pads.

Ancient_1

Ancient_1

Member
So far I have done about half the car with fg400 with a mf cutting pad, I also have 3d cut tom use and may try that on the other half of the car. My goal is to get it's paint as close to being jeweled with the products and equipment that I have. One of the plans is to keep with the menzerna products and follow 400 with 4000 with a polishing pad and for the final step 3800 with a finishing pad.

My second thought was to use adapt with a polishing pad after the compounding stage and follow with either aat 502 or finish+ on finishing pads.

The pads I have at my disposal are mostly LC. I have their HD polishing pads in both polish and finis also in both 6" and 7'. The pads I have been using most on this caR are the thinpros 5" which I have both polish and finish. For cut I use the Megs MF cut pads since the Audi paint is pretty hard.

I feel the biggest problem is being able to see the imperfections I did find that one set of lights would show some but barely and only on some sections.

Here are a couple pics I took of the hood before and after the fg400
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I am asking advice since I experienced he 3d Compounds
and have heard many good things abut them on here.

I just figured with the German paint the Menzerna trio would be the way to go
 

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Welcome to the Forum O, Ancient_1 ! :)
Hope your time here has been great, and we are happy to have you join up..

What kind of machine are you using on this Audi, and how many years experience do you have with it ?

Sounds like you have experience with both foam and microfiber and that is very good..

Menzerna compounds originally developed in Germany for German cars ( especially Mercedes), will always work great on your Audi..

I have worked on a lot of Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, and Volkswagen vehicles, mostly Black paint, and they all have very good quality paintwork..

Audi paint is especially nice and very evenly painted..
It looks like your correction with FG400 turned out pretty good ! Are you happy with the result ?

I like that Menzerna actually makes their own compounds including the milling of the products in the compounds that do the actual correction work, so they have total control of the quality and the outcome, which in my experiences give excellent results every time...

And yes there are a few new companies out there now that are supposed to be good also... They may also be good on German hard paint...
Dan F
 
As far as how long I have been doing this in years would be just about 6 but only 1 car twice a year. It was my baby but for me more as a second car since they are getting scarce. I did not try for full correction since it was pretty good shape after the 1st year and a switched to fine polishing twice a year and after the 4th year it was basically defect free.

Here is a pic of it after it was defect free and coated with 2 layers of jetseal.

Wagon%202.jpg

And re is a pic of my equipment other than a bunch of pads and towels, I love the eagle edgeless for most things I do to the paint and have about 30 of them.


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As far as being satisfied with the 400 I won't know till i get it out at night and look at it under some street/security lights which are the only ones that I can trust to show the defects to me. The main problems I have with my polishers is keeping the pad flat but I do handle the curves pretty good tho.

Your advice would/is greatly appreciated.
 
If you want to stick with Menz, Power Finish (2300) and Super Finish (the one that starts SF - hate to new names) are generally my 2nd & 3rd step Menz products- if I need that many. Don't do many 3 steppers any more... products have come a long way.
 
both the 4000/3500 and the 3800/4500 start with SF I also have si2500 but didn't think I would need any other between the 400 and 4000.

I don't care how many steps it takes me I just want to get it as good as I possibly can with my lack of knowledge and skill. It nay take me a month to do where some of the top gyus here could get better results in a day or maybe 2.
 
Shouldn't need both on one car, though. Use whichever product that removes the marring from the previous step. Both finish out nearly the same on all but the softest paints. And Audi generally isn't.
 
the 4000 clears it up nicely with a polishing pad. I just want to see if I can get it a little better following it up with the 3800 and a finishing pad. I just don't know if I use the thin pro with no cut or the HD which has just a little cut and if I do test spots will I tell the difference.
I really would like a finish that would give a good Merlin shot on a silver car.
 
I wouldnt bother with HD Cut on that car. That product doesnt offer much cut, especially on harder clear. I think the menz combo is your better bet unless you have the 3D AAT compound. That stuff will cut through anything.
 
The 400/4000 combo should give excellent results. Use the 4500 to clear up any remaining haze. Though on really hard paints 4500 may have minimal effect. Glad you chose the microfiber cutting pad with 400, excellent choice. Make sure you clean the pads often or you may be installing new flaws with the used pads. Try the 4500 with a microfiber finishing pad and then try a soft foam pad also with 4500 as a follow up . I know it is a lot of work, but you are looking for that Merlin shot. Enjoy!
 
That Buick War-Wagon is Beautiful !!!! Wow !!!

Looks like you have lots of experience going on - that is all great...

What are you using to clean all your pads with ? Do you have lots of each type of pad ?

Yes, you have to keep the pad flat on the panel; to keep it flat around curves, concaves, etc., you just adjust at your wrists and arms to keep the pad flat..

Let's talk about the speed/s you are using - tell us about that...

The biggest thing ever with any machine is to get Pad Rotation - as much as possible - with downward pressure to help the pad break down the product, clean, correct, and clarify the paintwork...

Is that orange handle machine a Griot's machine? I know the other one is a Porter Cable,, right ?

There is a great thread around here on how to set up some really nice LED lights using photography stands...
But you can also get some standard halogens on stands from H/Depot, Walmart, etc., and that will help a lot..

And of course, being able to hang a few 4 foot or longer fixtures from the ceiling will do wonders for helping you totally see the paintwork better..

You are doing great !!! That Buick is Beautiful !!!
Dan F
 
To clean my pads I use a brush and do it with a spinning pad which I do after each section. After I get two or three panels done I switch to a clean pad. I used seven pads for the compounding with the fg400. As for the other pads I don't have as many just 5 of each polishing and finishing but I most likely will only get half of each step done a day. I worked in concrete construction (poured concrete foundations) for over 35 years and it has taken a toll on my body.

As far as speeds go I have been at around a 4.5 for the compounding and will move up to 5.5 to 6 for the polishing.

Yes that is a GG6 but the other is a Torq 22d which I have a 5" back plate on. If I would run out of pads before I am done for the day I could just put the 6" plate on since I have plenty of 6" pads also.

As far as lighting goes I have enough for what I am doing even tho I have to move them as I go 2 sets of the double leds and a single on the floor. I plan on painting the walls a gloss white and the floor a light gray some time this summer and then I will put in a few of the double 4' leds two on each side and one on each end.

Here is a shot of my progress so far.

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In the pic I did try the adapt on the right side hood (left in the pic). I also was wondering about polishing the clear bra. I had planned on doing it with essence since that is what is on it now topped with reload and I am sure the WGUC will have a problem with the reload and I know of no way to remove it without polishing it off. But if I could polish the clear bra with like the 4000 I would just do that and then coat with the uber.
 

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Is the clear bra hazy? Why do you want to polish it?

Im not sure, but I'd gotten the impression Lear bra isn't supposed to be polished
 
Ancient_1 -
Crete guys, bricklayers and ironworkers have to the toughest guys I have ever met... :)

Great info on your reply - thanks -

Looks like you have it all dialed in for your needs and great plans for the future...

I like to keep the working surfaces moist - just enough - to allow the product to work through its entire cycle, and not throw up a bunch of annoying dust before its done...

Since this means my foam pad is moist, I like to keep a small white towel on my cart, so I can wipe the pad off really well, cleaning it pretty good, allowing me to look at what color the gunk is that came off that spot...

Yes, painting all the walls and ceiling white will really help reflect light on your vehicle.. I always make it a point to do that...

Regarding the Clear Bra, If its all scratched up (and I have never seen one that was not), you can do some limited work on it to help that out..
But it will be limited and you have to be careful because its plastic and plastic does NOT release heat very well and certainly never as fast as metal does...

Mind the pressure you put on it and of course, never leave it one spot long enough so it creates a lot of heat..

Perhaps slow your speed/rotation down until you can see if the results are positive or not, and always, always, work from the back of the long edge toward the edge, so you don't shove a bunch of stuff up under the edge...

I have done I don't know, about 100 of them, using a Rotary, and have always improved them to a point; then it's not going to get better... Its soft plastic film..

The finer compound will always be my choice, and perhaps that Essence product which has some correction and hiding ability might work as well...
I have not tried the Essence product, but years before it came out, Sonax Perfect Finish was doing about the same thing, and it worked really well for that need..

Anything you put on it as your LSP is going to come off the Clear Bra first, because it just doesn't adhere well to plastic compared to paintwork on metal or fiberglass, etc...

Good Luck !
Dan F
 
Mary B said:
Here's my advise.. sell me that wagon, WOW:o
Click to expand...

Mary B - I know !!!!! :) I love those wagons !!!!

When I was married I had a 2003 BMW Wagon that had all the M5 equipment in it and on it and it was an incredible ride !
The 4 tailpipe tips sticking out the back like the M5 made it look really great...

Since it was the last year they were making this E39 platform, they added a few things to the V8 engine and that wagon flat kicked butt...
Sorry to lose that baby in the divorce, and then she sold it to someone else instead of me... :(
Dan F
 
Here is a little update on my progress. I backed it out of the garage into the sun to check on how my polishing looked in the sun (something we haven't seen much of) so far. I haven't be working on it all week since mon because the temp in my garage ranged from 37 to 45 degrees and don't know if the low temps would affect the polishing and like it to be above 50 so that I could work in a t-shirt and not have to wear a sweatshirt. I am thinking it will look better once it gets the Uber coating applied since it's just bare paint now.

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Ancient_1
She's Beautiful !!!!!
Great job !!!
When you can pick up little tiny things like those baby leaves on that tree clearly, then you are about as clear as it's going to get..
Wow - you did it !!
Dan F
 
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