Black Navigator.. combo?

[Accumulator]

Thanks for the feedback. That was pretty much the thoughts I was going for. I'm debating between the orange and yellow pad with the 105, as I believe the yellow is little stronger? or do I have them backwards?



Blue pads? that is a better choice then black?



I'm still little hazy on the order they go in, I believe it is: yellow,orange,white,green, blue/black?

I too get confused about all the pads on the market these days, and there are different green foams out there too.



I don't like yellow foam cutting pads and I don't think that they have many fans here at Autopia.



I'd recommend orange cutting pads instead, and if you need more cut than that then I'd look at the PFW pads and also the cutting pads from Meguiar's.



I'm not sure when you're supposed to use a blue pad instead of a black one, and I can't help but wonder just how much of a functional diff there really is. But then some products and paints just respond better to one combo than to another.



Work a *SMALL* test spot until it looks the way you want it. Do the aggressive combo until the flaws are gone (or as good as they're gonna get), and then use the milder combo to refine things. Don't switch to the milder combo too soon. Don't do the rest of the vehicle until you've proven to yourself (via that test spot) that everything is gonna work out OK, and remember to inspect your work under good lighting; you don't want some surprise cropping up once you finish the whole vehicle and pull it out into the sun.

 

[2BTAMED]

Thanks Accumulator once again!



I got the PC picked up, now just waiting for the restocking of 105/205



I think I'm going to get myself some orange,white,black pads in both the 5" and 4" pads



I understand the test spot process, and I also realize I'm thinking it might take a few passes to reach the correction I want/best I can get with the PC



Should be interesting, test my abilities out on my truck first, then switch over to the car when I'm satisfied

 

[Accumulator]

I got the PC picked up, now just waiting for the restocking of 105/205



I think I'm going to get myself some orange,white,black pads in both the 5" and 4" pads..

That should work out fine.



Study up on how to prime the pads properly and remember to clean/replace them frequently when using the M105.

 

[2BTAMED]

That should work out fine.



Study up on how to prime the pads properly and remember to clean/replace them frequently when using the M105.

Will do, Thanks for all the help! will post up after giving it the first go through

 

[2BTAMED]

UPDATE



Accumulator hoping you can chime in here for me.



Well I decided to get my feet wet and give the combo you gave me a go as some of my supplies arrived. Did the hood of the navigator late last night, so didn't want to do anymore, but completed it in all steps 105 yellow 4" - 205 white 4' - Collinite 845



First impressions, m105 works very well, it tends to dust and dry rather easily, so I found myself have to re apply frequently but it worked out very well. Had to do a few passes in each section of the hood, but it came out good. All hazing, marring, scratches, etches, halo's are now removed and the reflection is great, and after the 845 application it even has a almost subtle wet look.



I also was able to see the limitations of the PC in regards to cutting capabilities, as there are some scratches I thought that would be removed but were not. Guess wetsanding is in my future



The experience has left me with a few questions:

- Is there any other combo, perhaps yellow pad? that I could use with the PC to remove the other pesky scracthes I'm seeing that were not removed with the orange/4"/M105 combo?



- If I were to polish the chrome of my grille with say 205 or something little less abrassive, that would be fine or no?



- Lastly, I'm going to do some very fine wetsanding of my headlights to get rid of some light scratches/pitting..the 205/yellow combo with 4" pad should handle that quite easily no?



Thanks!

 

[black03mach]

UPDATE



Accumulator hoping you can chime in here for me.



Well I decided to get my feet wet and give the combo you gave me a go as some of my supplies arrived. Did the hood of the navigator late last night, so didn't want to do anymore, but completed it in all steps 105 yellow 4" - 205 white 4' - Collinite 845



First impressions, m105 works very well, it tends to dust and dry rather easily, so I found myself have to re apply frequently but it worked out very well. Had to do a few passes in each section of the hood, but it came out good. All hazing, marring, scratches, etches, halo's are now removed and the reflection is great, and after the 845 application it even has a almost subtle wet look.



I also was able to see the limitations of the PC in regards to cutting capabilities, as there are some scratches I thought that would be removed but were not. Guess wetsanding is in my future



The experience has left me with a few questions:

- Is there any other combo, perhaps yellow pad? that I could use with the PC to remove the other pesky scracthes I'm seeing that were not removed with the orange/4"/M105 combo?



- If I were to polish the chrome of my grille with say 205 or something little less abrassive, that would be fine or no?



- Lastly, I'm going to do some very fine wetsanding of my headlights to get rid of some light scratches/pitting..the 205/yellow combo with 4" pad should handle that quite easily no?



Thanks!

I'm not accumulator, but yellow is going to be the most aggressive you can go on a PC.



as for the chrome grill i think you could do 205, but just becareful as its not chrome on metal but some kind of chrome plated plastic (my f150 has it) i use an AIO with light abrasives/cleaners on my chrome trim to get it looking good



as for wetsanding the lights id step up to 105 with an orange to get all the marks out and refine with 105 white and m205 white

 

[2BTAMED]

I'm not accumulator, but yellow is going to be the most aggressive you can go on a PC.



as for the chrome grill i think you could do 205, but just becareful as its not chrome on metal but some kind of chrome plated plastic (my f150 has it) i use an AIO with light abrasives/cleaners on my chrome trim to get it looking good



as for wetsanding the lights id step up to 105 with an orange to get all the marks out and refine with 105 white and m205 white

I was informed that the yellow foam or 4" size are not any better then the orange pads, perhaps the 5.5" yellow?



Thanks for the chrome confirmation,



Thanks again for confirming my thoughts on the wetsand process, thats pretty much what I was thinking

 

[black03mach]

the smaller the pad the more cut on a pc, so a 4 inch yellow is more aggressive than a 5.5 yellow.



Since your having a hard time on deeper marks search the "Kevin Brown Method" or "KBM" to get tips on how to properly use m105 on a PC (which might improve the results i.e get the deeper stuff out.) Also, sometimes some deeper defects do take more than two passes to fully remove or to round off the scratch so they don't catch the light as much.



hope that helps!

 

[Accumulator]

UPDATE.. Did the hood of the navigator late last night, so didn't want to do anymore, but completed it in all steps 105 yellow 4" - 205 white 4' - Collinite 845..it came out good. All hazing, marring, scratches, etches, halo's are now removed and the reflection is great, and after the 845 application it even has a almost subtle wet look...

Glad things went well. Good move, concentrating on just one panel :xyxthumbs

I also was able to see the limitations of the PC in regards to cutting capabilities, as there are some scratches I thought that would be removed but were not. Guess wetsanding is in my future

I myself wouldn't wetsand it, I'd rather live with the flaws and have thick(er) clear. Seriously...this gets into my "Beware the Curse of Autopia!" rant...Spend enough time here and you can start to think that perfection is always attainable and that nothing less is OK.

The experience has left me with a few questions:

- Is there any other combo, perhaps yellow pad? that I could use with the PC to remove the other pesky scracthes I'm seeing that were not removed with the orange/4"/M105 combo?

The 3.5"-4" PFW have a little more cut than the orange. I hear Meguiar's now sells their burgundy cutting pads in 4", those would also be more aggressive. I'd use either of those instead of yellow foam.



I'm assuming that you did six/eight tries with the M105/orange.



And if those can't get a flaw out after a reasonable number of passes, I'd live with said flaw. Even on *very* hard clear, those are plenty aggressive enough for anything that (IMO) really oughta be done.



There's the SurBuf approach, but I'd rather you get more experience before you try those pads.

- If I were to polish the chrome of my grille with say 205 or something little less abrassive, that would be fine or no?

Hard to say. I've had wonderful results with both M105 and M205 on chrome. But I've had cases where even M205 was just a bit too abrasive too.



If the grille is chromed plastic, I'd stick with something more gentle than M205.

- Lastly, I'm going to do some very fine wetsanding of my headlights to get rid of some light scratches/pitting..the 205/yellow combo with 4" pad should handle that quite easily no?

Probably not. Remember that M205 is a finishing polish.

 

[2BTAMED]

Thanks guys for the replies.



I actually did numerous tries with the orange 4" and M105 combo, and some of the finer scratches just wouldn't go away, and to me it just seemed like they should have. I will look into the KB method, thank you.. and I will look into the options you also mentioned Accumulator, PFW.. thats wool correct?



I have no intentions of dabbling into wetsanding on paint, maybe a little with a super fine grit but nothing expansive at all... headlights though I do not have a problem with



I guess its like you said, just got to live with the flaws... though even before I started with this that was hard to do.



I must say though, doing a navigator with all 3 steps, it takes forever lol

 

[Accumulator]

Thanks guys for the replies.



I actually did numerous tries with the orange 4" and M105 combo, and some of the finer scratches just wouldn't go away, and to me it just seemed like they should have. I will look into the KB method, thank you.. and I will look into the options you also mentioned Accumulator, PFW.. thats wool correct?

Right- Purple Foamed Wool. Safe and easy enough, don't worry.



But when you say "finer scratches" I sorta wonder...I'd probably stick with foam. I assume you're 100% certain that they are *old* scratches and not something you're causing with the polishing Sometimes you just have to try different (if seemingly similar) approaches and find what works best. Yeah, I know that's not much help.

I have no intentions of dabbling into wetsanding on paint, maybe a little with a super fine grit but nothing expansive at all...

IMO the sort of flaws you wetsand away aren't the sort of flaws you ougtha worry about, at least not now, in this case.

I guess its like you said, just got to live with the flaws... though even before I started with this that was hard to do.

Heh heh, see...that's that old "Curse of Autopia" [messing] with you

I must say though, doing a navigator with all 3 steps, it takes forever lol

Oh sheesh, no doubt! I really sympathize with you...what a job. (Says the guy with the bought-very-used Carbon Metallic Yukon XLD )



See why washing properly (i.e., not inducing new marring) is so important? You sure wouldn't want to do this again any time soon, huh?

 

[2BTAMED]

Okay, I just wanted to be sure, think I will pick up a few wool pads with my next order.

Well maybe "fine" scratches wasnt the best word choice, as the fine or light ones are gone, along with the swirls. I guess they are most likely scratches that dont look to deep to my eye, but are in reality just a bit to much for the PC to correct. I'm 99% postive i am not inducing any scratches with the PC myself, as the paint is looking 100x better when I'm through, and with the 4" foam pads, using lubrication and ensuring they are clean, I'm quite certain im not inducing anything extra



Yeah wetsanding im not worrying about like I had mentioned, maybe down the road with more experience and once I've gotten myself a rotary, but I will continue to do headlights/tails as that does not worry me



haha, I think I was cursed before autopia, but even more so now, as I have a hard time living with any type of flaw



Yeah I'm still not finished the navigator completely, as it takes quite a while when your new to this, using 4" pads and requiring multiple passes of 105, but hope to get done soon though, and will most likely step up to the 5.5" on the sides as the correction is not as extreme as the front and rear, from what ive noticed so far

Really looking fwd to doing the car, as its shorter and has nothing but micro swirls, so it should be a breeze( i hope lol)

 

[Accumulator]

2BTAMED- By the time you get to the car, it oughta seem like a piece of cake compared to the Navigator!



Heh heh, I'd work on that "hard to live with any flaws" bit

 

[2BTAMED]

haha, I worked on my brothers truck a little, its a low rider, and boy was that nice



I'm not to sure that will ever change, its just a part of me with everything I do, doesn't help I make every car I own into a show car, so the paint always has to follow suit, so imperfections annoy me to no end