First attempt with M105 and M205

M

Majestic

New member
Hi I am new to car detailing and I went all out and got almost everything for detailing.

Now I am stuck on this part and am unsure what to do.

The test subject seems to have barely noticeable scratches on the hood but since I wanted to just try and polish the car to have no scratches what so ever I went along and used the M105 with the PC speed setting at 3. I also used the LC orange flat pad. I put a couple of dabs on the pad and smeared it into the pad.

I did about 1/4 the hood, about 6 - 8 passes with mild - moderate pressure. After I was done I wiped off the excess residue with a MF towel. I examined the work and I still saw some light scratches.

So I thought that the M205 would get rid of those light scratches. So I used again the PC on a speed of 3 with LC white flat pad. Same thing dabbed a few drops of M205 onto the pad and smeared it around the pad. I did about 6-8 passes again with mild to moderate pressure and cleaned off the excess with a different MF towel.

I examine the hood again and I still see some very light scratches.

I then proceeded to repeat the process of using M105 again and still the light scratches are still there.

My question is what am I doing wrong. The scratches are barely noticeable unless you stand there and really examine the car closely. Am I nit picking at the scratches or should I just continue on and finish and wax the car?
 
I ain't no expert, but I think I'm on solid ground in pointing out that speed 3 on your PC isn't fast enough to effect the kind of paint correction you are looking for. Bump it up to speed 5 or even 6. With M105/M205 you need to apply steady moderate to firm pressure--but not enough to stop the pad from rotating. You might even take a black sharpie or magic marker and mark a straight line on your backing plate so you can tell whether the pad is rotating or not.

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With M105/M205 you will also want to prime the pad with product. Check out this thread on pad priming. After that, you will only need to use a two or three pea-size dollops of product per panel.

I'm not acquainted with the LC pads, so I cannot comment on your choice. I'm sure that the experienced detailers will chime in and correct my comments. Good luck!
 
There ya go majestic - first response nails it and then 3 pro's confirm. I love this place!

I move the machine so slow at times it's like I can "feel" the paint. The slower the better sometimes.
 
Agreed on the advice above.

In general there are several mistakes that first time users have when DA polishing.

Moving too fast- You have to move the machine across the paint slowly. The sound of motor, the vibration of the polisher, etc can make it sound and feel like you could be causing damage. New users tend to move the machine across the paint far too quickly. Even experienced users can get caught up doing this.

Slow down to go faster: Focus on moving the machine no faster then 2-3 inches per second.

Working too big of an area- Working a large section (larger then a 2 foot square) is tempting and easy to do if we don't focus on the task at hand. The 2x2 section quickly grows to 3x3 or 4x4 as we try to increase speed. Allow the polish to work over a smaller area in a more concentrated fashion and keep the working sections small.

Pressure: Use enough pressure to compress the pad and eliminate most of the internal movement in the pad, but don't use enough pressure to the point that pad stops rotating. Firm, even pressure, through out the buffing cycle is keep to getting the best performance from DA polishing.

If you are using a 6.5 inch or larger pad you may want to consider using speed 6 on the Porter Cable. On speed three the machine will simply not generate enough centripetal force to spin a larger diameter pad and a large amount of polishing action is lost.

Your best bet, IMO, is too work a test section or spot in the paint. Try M105, Orange Pad, speed 5, slow arm movements, etc. Focus on keeping the pad rotating at a steady rate, but not too fast. Inspect the paint. If you are still not pleased with the results, increase speed to 6 and pressure slightly (as the pad will rotate faster and have more internal loading). Inspect.

Sometimes it is the little tweaking of everything that makes a huge difference.

If you still are having difficulty, shooting me a Private Message and I'll send you my cell phone. We will get your car looking right!
 
Todd nailed it. I was guilty of it when I first started and the PC really will get you moving fast since it is so noisy. The best thing you can do is to use the slow arm movements as mentioned and use a sharpie to mark the backing plate like mentioned above as well, this lets you see when the pad begins to stop moving when you apply too much force.

If you follow all of Todds recommendations, you should be set for a swirl-free finish or very close to it! Good luck and post some pictures when your done! :)
 
Well thanks everyone for the replies and tips, I guess for the amateur inside me I skipped this part because i got fed up by not removing the minor scratches and was taking up so much time just for my 2' x 2' test area.

I will try this again in the near future. So basically I just did a wash, clay, finish, wax. Only for the exterior.

I have no idea how all you professional detailers do it but it took me close to 3 hrs just to wash the car. Then another 3 hrs to clay the car with many breaks in between. So tired after all that I had to go to bed and the next day I tried to polish the car but got fed up with that I just put on the finish, waited 8 hrs then put wax on.

Thats me not even doing anything for the interior !!!

I can just imagine that doing everything for me would take 3-5 days !!!! WOW

Anyways I need to take a detailing break and maybe concentrate on the interior. I have a few before pics and will take some after pics in a few minutes and post in the shine and show. Saddly it was just a half assed job.
 
Majestic said:
I have no idea how all you professional detailers do it but it took me close to 3 hrs just to wash the car. Then another 3 hrs to clay the car with many breaks in between. So tired after all that I had to go to bed and the next day I tried to polish the car but got fed up with that I just put on the finish, waited 8 hrs then put wax on.
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Haha.... well, it sounds like you're a perfectionist!!! (you're just like us!!!!:hurray:)

When you're doing customer cars and working by the hour, it's like running a marathon... strong steady pace, never stop until you're done!!!! (Not really!)

It's like anything else, the more you detail, the better and faster you'll get.:wink:

BTW... I hate doing interiors!!!:banghead:
 
Luster said:
BTW... I hate doing interiors!!!:banghead:
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haha I haven't even started with the interior, since I am just doing my own car I am just going to take it slow and maybe wash one window a day or something :P

I took some pictures in the sun but I swear the sun masks all the tiny scratches. Maybe the sun was too bright or something. I guess you just gotta be here to see the scratches, and I need a new camera, I just have a point and shoot digital camera

Once i upload the pictures to the computer and take the time to post them you can all see what i am saying
 
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