hi all, I recently polished a red car with a rotary, LC green pad and Meguiar's Ultimate Compound. It did a fairly good job of removing random spider webing and swirls, but under full sun now I can see buffer trails. What is the best course of action to remove these? Should I use the same things I'm using but with less pressure? Or do I need a milder polish and pad?
buffer trails
- Thread starter jupiter
- Start date
imported_WCD
New member
From my experience, that's too much "power" for removing webbing and such. After rotary and compound, you need another step to remove the "trails" left by the rotary.
SpoolinNoMore
New member
WCD said:
Agreed. I'd follow up with a milder polish (205, DCP) and a lighter pad before LSP'ing to remove buffer trails.
SpoolinNoMore
New member
jupiter said:
I would invest in a DA if you have the money (Griot's 6" DA) as they can finish very nicely and safely. Megs ult polish is a glaze so it will have some concealers, I'd stick to 205 for proper finishing and correction.
SpoolinNoMore
New member
jupiter said:
PCs are notorious for excessive vibration. The Griot's model is insanely less vibration and has more power (plus a lifetime warranty).
autoaesthetica
New member
Its also important to note that UC has non-diminishing abrasives, so the abrasives are the same size at the end of your polishing as they were at the beginning. Couple that with a relatively aggressive pad, and *if* you are working on soft paint, chance are it will hologram. Its not your fault, just a combination of situational and tools. A DA would be a good choice here, but using something of a diminishing nature(if you can't get a DA) is just fine to remove those holograms.
..and just for the record, 205 has non-diminishing abrasives too, albeit smaller than UC. Some paints simply can't be finished down with 205 completely perfect because of that no matter how proficient you are with the rotary - so just keep this in mind
.
Mike
..and just for the record, 205 has non-diminishing abrasives too, albeit smaller than UC. Some paints simply can't be finished down with 205 completely perfect because of that no matter how proficient you are with the rotary - so just keep this in mind
.Mike
Accumulator
Well-known member
jupiter said:
I forget regarding the Ultimate Polish (IIRC it's similar to the M205), but M09 is completely different and will do far more concealing than correction. I'd sure skip that one if you want to really remove the trails.
Finishing with M205 might be tricky, and be sure to strip the oils to see if you've really attained perfection (as opposed to just hiding the trails). Don't rely on something like IPA to strip the M205 oils either, they can be a huge challenge to clean away.
Some people can finish out 100% OK with a rotary *IF* they use the right pads/products. I'm not one of those people and I finish with some kind or random orbital (the Griot's is very, very nice).
JohnKleven
New member
Finish down with some Menzerna Super Finish or 85rd and you should have no problems.
Accumulator
Well-known member
jupiter said:
Yeah, it does...but they're overstating its corrective ability IMO. Not just "IMO", but IME too. It's abrasive, but it's soooo gentle as to close to "functionally nonabrasive" in most cases and I'd be amazed if it *removed* those trails more than it concealed them.
And that's leaving aside the whole issue of how reliable info from their customer service reps is
jupiter said:
It has very little correction ability, IMO. If you are going to use a rotary, you need to step up to professional level products like Meguiars #105/205 or Optimum OHC/OHP and probably also invest in 3M Ultrafina and a blue Ultrafina foam waffle pad. There are no cheap shortcuts to leaving a hologram free finish when using a rotary.
I didn't read your replies until now, and I ended up buying a bottle of #9 at the store. I guess I wasted $14? Anyway, I reduced the holograms some but some are still visible at certain angles. I'm looking for 95% perfection so this isn't satisfactory.
Wow this hobby is turning into a money pit. OK, I want to do this the right way.. What do you recommend:
1. Stick w/ the rotary but use Menzerna Final Polish or Super Finish w/ white or blue pad.
2. Get a GG polisher, and use Meg #205 or what I have now or (your recommendation?).
Wow this hobby is turning into a money pit. OK, I want to do this the right way.. What do you recommend:
1. Stick w/ the rotary but use Menzerna Final Polish or Super Finish w/ white or blue pad.
2. Get a GG polisher, and use Meg #205 or what I have now or (your recommendation?).
White lexus 23
New member
I agree 100% with scottwax. i would just buy the 3m ultrafina / ultrafine and the blue pad that might be the only thing you need to follow what you have already done. id get those two things before you drop any money on a pc and all that menzerna.
Accumulator
Well-known member
White lexus 23 said:
jupiter- I, OTOH, would get the Griot's and finish polish with that instead of the rotary. I can't finish out 100% hologram-free with a rotary (but I've never tried Ultrafina either) and I'm not interested in "mastering" that approach since even some of the *best* rotary experts (e.g., Mike Phillips) say they can't always finish out perfectly with one either.
My approach or the one advocated by Scottwax and White lexus 23? That one's up to you
But either way, I don't see that M09 being of any help.
Accumulator said:
I'm leaning toward getting a bottle of Menz Super Finish and some LC or B&S blue pads, then doing a test section w/ a rotary. If it doesn't work then Plan B is to get the Griot.
The thing that makes me hesistant about the 3M is supposedly the Ultrafine polish doesn't work on DA's, and their blue pads require the adapter. So if I invested all this money on 3M and it didn't work for me, it becomes a $95 paperweight. With the Menz & normal pads, at least I can use them w/ a DA
autoaesthetica
New member
Ultrafina is good, but it doesn't quite have the power to get out COMPOUNDING holograms, only the slight tracers that follow medium(ish) polishing on darker colors or softer paints.
I think superfinish(or powerfinish and 85RD or UF) is a good idea. Enough cut to eliminate substantial marks, but also another addition to your arsenal that will be used again.
I think superfinish(or powerfinish and 85RD or UF) is a good idea. Enough cut to eliminate substantial marks, but also another addition to your arsenal that will be used again.
autoaesthetica said:
Correct. Ultrafina is the THIRD stem in the process after compounding and polishing. If you have done a good job with the polishing step and left only minimal holograms, Ultrafina will do a great job removing them permanently. Skip the polishing step and lotsa luck.
autoaesthetica
New member
Scottwax said:
..and to add to Scott's post here for Jupiter Its probably worth noting that it also depending on the depth of the hologramming you are dealing with. Ultimate compound is probably a little more aggressive than M205, which its own can leave some slight tracer 'grams'. But properfinishing and feathering can leave you A LOT less work.
If you could finish down UC a little better or with a different pad(some green foams can be notoriously harsh) its probably pretty good that ultra fina, maybe with regular polishing pad(w007, Lc white foam) could probably be your final step.
..but again this is all an ideal situation and not something to chance again.
I would look into 3M machine polish(if you insist on 3M) or like you mentioned, Superfinish from Menz
.Mike