My car was professionally detailed about a year ago. It has oxidized a bit and has some light scratches and swirl marks in its single stage red paint. I tried a few test patches and found that AIO removes the oxidization pretty well and brings up a deep shine, but leaves the little scratches. So, I tried the same area with Meg's 80 with an orange pad on a PC, and it did not do much on the scratches. When I re-applied AIO to the area I tried to polish, the paint is ever-so-slightly less clear and deep. Any ideas? Wrong pad? Wrong polish?
meg's 80 ?
- Thread starter Tom86951
- Start date
JasonD
New member
I'd say correct polish, wrong pad, and maybe even wrong process.
First, the orange pad ( I assume you are referring to either the Sonus DAS or LC) is a cutting pad, so you need to use a polishing pad instead. Using a pad that's too aggressive will leave some marring and/or hazing behind that will need to be polished out.
Second, If you don't work the polish long enough, it won't break down and will leave a haze on on the finish, kind of like using a pad that's too aggressive.
Here's what you can do. If you find that you have scratches that won't come out using a polishing pad and #80, you can actually use a cutting pad with #80 (as compared to using a more aggressive polish) to get them out, but you will have to go over the car again with a less aggressive pad to remove the haze.
I'd start with making sure you are using the correct amount of polish, and working it for the proper length of time with a polishing pad to see what you can or can't get out. If you *still* see scratches or are not happy with the finish, just polish some more with a more aggressive pad or polish.
This will take a bit of figuring out but after some experience you will know what to do right away and not have to go through this. It's all about learning the process.
First, the orange pad ( I assume you are referring to either the Sonus DAS or LC) is a cutting pad, so you need to use a polishing pad instead. Using a pad that's too aggressive will leave some marring and/or hazing behind that will need to be polished out.
Second, If you don't work the polish long enough, it won't break down and will leave a haze on on the finish, kind of like using a pad that's too aggressive.
Here's what you can do. If you find that you have scratches that won't come out using a polishing pad and #80, you can actually use a cutting pad with #80 (as compared to using a more aggressive polish) to get them out, but you will have to go over the car again with a less aggressive pad to remove the haze.
I'd start with making sure you are using the correct amount of polish, and working it for the proper length of time with a polishing pad to see what you can or can't get out. If you *still* see scratches or are not happy with the finish, just polish some more with a more aggressive pad or polish.
This will take a bit of figuring out but after some experience you will know what to do right away and not have to go through this. It's all about learning the process.
The pads are from autogeek -- I think they are wolfgang pads. It was a kit that came with 2 white pads, 1 orange and 1 black.
Shall I try again with the white (polishing) pad? How much 80 should I use? I had the PC set to 3.
Should I wet the pads at all before applying the polish?
Shall I try again with the white (polishing) pad? How much 80 should I use? I had the PC set to 3.
Should I wet the pads at all before applying the polish?
detailthis
New member
I would definitely set the PC to 5. If the pad is freash you might want to mist a little bit of QD on it. Use a nice size star or ring on the pad, don't be shy. Work the product until it is translucent. Do not buff until it is dry. If you find the product is a pain to remove, you did not buff long enough. I found that the Meguiar's polishes are a little tricky, they'll get the job down as long as you work them just right. Good luck :xyxthumbs
JasonD
New member
Okay, judging purely from your questions, I think I see what happened to you, which was two things.
1) You were using the cutting pad. That pad combo is made by Lake Country, orange being the most aggressive, and black being the least aggressive.
2) You had the PC on too low of a setting, and probably didn't work it anywhere near long enough for it to break down at that slow speed.
Here's what to do:
Use the white pad, which is your polishing pad and mist it with water before you do anything. Take your #80 and put
a nice blob, circle, x, or whatever design you want and smear it around the pad using your fingers. This is called priming the pad and will hep reduce initial marring from a dry pad.
Once you get the pad primed with some polish, start polishing no more than a 2 foot by 2 foot area at a time. Start off on speed 4 just to allow the pad to prime some more, adding polish to the pad as needed. You can tell you need more if the polish disappears on the surface. Don't polish a dry surface.
After a minute or two, the pad should be plenty primed and you should have enough product on the pad to polish an area for a few minutes before it starts to dry on you. Once you get here, you can crank up the speed on your PC to 5, and polish away. I like to stay on speed 5 because it gives you a little bit longer working time than using 6, but you will encounter some stubborn areas that will need the higher speed.
Polish the area very slowly using overlapping passes. You shouldn't be moving the machine all over the place, but using steady, slow, consistent motions. I like to do front to back passes, and then side to side passes. If you correspond the time used to make these passes with the right amount of product, you should finish a full pass at the same time as running out of product.
Once this is completely done, you can then move to your AIO, again with a white pad and follow the same procedure.
If after #80, you still see some scratches or defects, don't be afraid to polish those areas again. Sometimes it takes several very slow passes to get the job done.
1) You were using the cutting pad. That pad combo is made by Lake Country, orange being the most aggressive, and black being the least aggressive.
2) You had the PC on too low of a setting, and probably didn't work it anywhere near long enough for it to break down at that slow speed.
Here's what to do:
Use the white pad, which is your polishing pad and mist it with water before you do anything. Take your #80 and put
a nice blob, circle, x, or whatever design you want and smear it around the pad using your fingers. This is called priming the pad and will hep reduce initial marring from a dry pad.
Once you get the pad primed with some polish, start polishing no more than a 2 foot by 2 foot area at a time. Start off on speed 4 just to allow the pad to prime some more, adding polish to the pad as needed. You can tell you need more if the polish disappears on the surface. Don't polish a dry surface.
After a minute or two, the pad should be plenty primed and you should have enough product on the pad to polish an area for a few minutes before it starts to dry on you. Once you get here, you can crank up the speed on your PC to 5, and polish away. I like to stay on speed 5 because it gives you a little bit longer working time than using 6, but you will encounter some stubborn areas that will need the higher speed.
Polish the area very slowly using overlapping passes. You shouldn't be moving the machine all over the place, but using steady, slow, consistent motions. I like to do front to back passes, and then side to side passes. If you correspond the time used to make these passes with the right amount of product, you should finish a full pass at the same time as running out of product.
Once this is completely done, you can then move to your AIO, again with a white pad and follow the same procedure.
If after #80, you still see some scratches or defects, don't be afraid to polish those areas again. Sometimes it takes several very slow passes to get the job done.
Dave N
My PC goes to 7...
I've gotten good results from using #80 with an orange power pad. I start out at 4 and work the #80 in for several passes (both up/down and side/side). Then I crank the PC up between 5 or 6 and go over the area for several more passes. The speed I shoot for is when the PC kicks into "warp drive" -- you can hear the motor get noticeably faster somewhere between 5 and 6. As stated previously, there should be just a little polish left on the surface and it should come off easily. I've used the #80/orange pad combo on several cars without having to follow up with a less aggressive pad.
Thanks everyone for all your advice. I'll give it another shot in the morning, using the white pad, higher speed, more meg 80. I tried using a but of 80 by hand with a terry cloth towel and noticed that the hazing is even worse that way. Not sure what that means, but the haze does seem related to how it is applied.
Accumulator
Well-known member
Tom86951 said:
Could be you just like the "Meg's glaze look" that the #80 leaves better than the "clean-paint synthetic look" that the AIO leaves. I do too, at least on certain paints (such as most single-stages). I'd just apply your LSP after the #80. Note that the #80 does a bit of "hiding", so using a paint cleaner like AIO will make some marring appear to "come back" because it cleans off the fillers/oils.
What others have said about removing the marring- #80 is sorta mild. Takes multiple passes to remove significant marring.
It means that the terry/#80 combo is a lot more aggressive than the foam/#80 combo. Terry is usually only a good idea for aggressive polishing; it'll often leave marring of its own that you'll have to remove. The idea is that the terry-marring is less severe than the scratches you wanted to get out (think "different grades of sandpaper").
FWIW, I *never* use terry for anything like that. Just too abrasive for the paints I work with (and those include some awfully hard ones
).
atticdog
New member
how does #80 compare to gepc?
more agressive? both contain fillers right?
more agressive? both contain fillers right?
JasonD
New member
#80 is a mild polish, GEPC is a paint cleaner. Even though both are extremely mild, GEPC is the more mild one out of the two since it doesn't have any abrasives at all.
I don't consider either of these two products to have *fillers*, but when I say that I mean that they don't act like glaze. I don't know about GEPC, but #80 does have some oils in it, and that quickly comes off when followed by a paint cleaner like AIO, GEPC, etc.
I don't consider either of these two products to have *fillers*, but when I say that I mean that they don't act like glaze. I don't know about GEPC, but #80 does have some oils in it, and that quickly comes off when followed by a paint cleaner like AIO, GEPC, etc.
atticdog
New member
thanks for explaining that
what would be the purpose following #80 with a paint cleaner be?
what would be the purpose following #80 with a paint cleaner be?
Accumulator
Well-known member
atticdog said:
To remove the oils that #80 leaves behind. They might not be "fillers", but they *do* hide minor marring and they can interfere with the bonding of some LSPs.
JDookie- The GEPC *does* have a little bit of (functional, not just on the ingredient list) abrasive in it- try it on some very soft single-stage sometime
Heh heh, I only know stuff like that from years of messing around on the Jag 
Trouble is that people think it'll "remove swirls" or otherwise behave like a more aggressive product.Ok, well I tried the meg 80 with a white pad at 5 on the PC and on a side panel with less oxidization. The results were much better. Couple of questions:
What does it mean when the meg 80 sticks to the paint and is hard to rub off?
On the hood, it still does not seem to be getting a deep as it could -- a bit of haze under the shine. Do I need to get something more aggressive? Suggestions?
I put AIO on the door after polishing and it looked great. I then tried to follow up with the Klasse sealant and it smeared up and made a mess. I barely used a few drops in the whole door. Had to use more AIO to clean it up. What did I do wrong?
Does the Klasse sealant (silver jug) give a glassy looking shine? The door looked glassy with the sealant, rather than deep and ceramic like with just the polish and AIO. Is that normal? Does anybody want a glassy looking finish?
What does it mean when the meg 80 sticks to the paint and is hard to rub off?
On the hood, it still does not seem to be getting a deep as it could -- a bit of haze under the shine. Do I need to get something more aggressive? Suggestions?
I put AIO on the door after polishing and it looked great. I then tried to follow up with the Klasse sealant and it smeared up and made a mess. I barely used a few drops in the whole door. Had to use more AIO to clean it up. What did I do wrong?
Does the Klasse sealant (silver jug) give a glassy looking shine? The door looked glassy with the sealant, rather than deep and ceramic like with just the polish and AIO. Is that normal? Does anybody want a glassy looking finish?
detailthis
New member
Usually when it's a pain to wipe off, you need to buff a little longer.