MF Pads and Finishing

S

Shawn F.

New member
I know the whole microfiber pad questions have been blown out of the water here and asked MANY times but I do have a specific one that is more just on peoples opinions here... I will use the vehicle I detailed today as an example which is a late model VW GTI... I used Optimum MF Cutting pad with Compound II and Hyper spray compound (used the compound II for more aggressive areas) followed by the MF Polishing pad and Hyper Spray Polish. This combo removed most of the scratches and hard water spots with ease but did not fully remove the deep scratches (this is a good thing for me as I did not want to cut too much clear). Now here is an issue with the MF pads that most already know about and I am still trying to perfect with the foam pad, and that is that the MF pads do not finish very well... After going over a panel 2-3 times with the polishing pad and hyper spray polish there were still very very light ribbons or halos (some call them others things I do not know).

Now here is my question... What steps do you take to remove these and finish off the surface? I used a black/grey LC foam pad with Optimum Finish Polish and it took a little longer to remove them but ended well. If I were to do it again I may go with LC white pad and polish then black pad and finish but not sure.



What are your guys' opinions here? I am hoping to learn something new here or a better technique than having to use 4 or 5 steps and eliminate from having to use the LC white pad to correct these very light halos left from the previous buffing steps. Also I did notice on some panels where I JUST did the MF polish pad and spray polish it left these very light buffer trails. Surface was clean, pads were brand new and facility dust free so these can be factored out.
 
Hey Shawn. I just use the Megs Cutting Disc with D300 and follow up with green B&S pad with Scholl S30 typically. I find the MF discs don't finish down well enough either. The D300 cuts very well and finishes down well enough that a finishing polish like S30 / 106FA will clean it up and add sufficient gloss.
 
I have never used Scholl S30 or any of those polishes... How are they compared to Optimum, Megs or Menzerna? Right now at my disposal I have Optimum, HD Polish and Turbo Wax swirl removers as well as 3M Ultrafina and Ultrafine.

As you can probably tell, I am a huge Optimum fan but sometimes have to resort back to my 3M Ultrafine to finish things off right depending on the paint and how soft it is.
 
detailfanatic said:
Hey Shawn. I just use the Megs Cutting Disc with D300 and follow up with green B&S pad with Scholl S30 typically. I find the MF discs don't finish down well enough either. The D300 cuts very well and finishes down well enough that a finishing polish like S30 / 106FA will clean it up and add sufficient gloss.
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I've also had good luck using 106 on green B&S pads after cutting with MF. I'm not familiar with the Opt polishing pads, although I hear they finish better than the Megs MF polishing pads. FWIW, I'm not that familiar with Optimum polishes either so I can't speak to that.
 
Thanks for clearing this up Mike... I guess my best option is to use the White LC pad and a polish then a black and a finish polish. Kind of seems that using the Optimum MF Polish pad defeats the purpose if I am going over it with the white LC pad but oh well. Would be nice to cut one step out. As for the Optimum polishes, they are top notch. They are my number one go to polish and compound. Their sprays are amazing and I was hesitant to try them at first but once I did I was surprised and love them. No dust and a little goes a LONG ways. The sprays used with their MF pads are great. Sure you still need Megs, Menzerna, HD or 3M for those specific jobs but 85% of what I do I use all Optimum polishes and sealant.
 
Shawn, just use your Ultrafina or Optimum Polish on a Black pad. The Optimum Compound finishes down quite well so shouldn't need an aggressive pad to clean up.
 
I can't imagine how you can finish with a MF pad. I HAVE to use foam to finish, it's not a choice, it's a must. IF anyone can finish just as well with a MF pad, I'd like to know how and what products were used.
 
RZJZA80 said:
I can't imagine how you can finish with a MF pad. I HAVE to use foam to finish, it's not a choice, it's a must. IF anyone can finish just as well with a MF pad, I'd like to know how and what products were used.
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Its got to make you wonder how we use to finish with wool and a rotory back in the day!
 
:behindsofa::behindsofa::behindsofa::behindsofa::behindsofa: I bet it wasn't a pretty picture!!!!!!!! :D:D:D:D:D



Barry Theal said:
Its got to make you wonder how we use to finish with wool and a rotory back in the day!
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Great info guys. I finished one today with white pad and Hyper Spray polish and then Ultrafina on a green CCS Lake Country pad. I do not know why but it seems that the white pad NEVER rids of halos/buffer trails and sometimes even adds them very slightly. Truthfully I have never used the green CCS pad until today and it finished better and easier than the black pad IMO...



I used to use the foam/wool pad for compound, hit with white pad and polish then finish with black pad and finish polish on 85% of my jobs but now I have so many other pads and techniques I sometimes get lost and need to get back to the basics. Last few times I went back to my old way it just didn't work quite well and took MUCH too long.
 
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