some questions about 105/205

W

WRXINXS

New member
Hello All,



I just bought a PC7424XP with orange Lake Country CCS pads. I have a 2003 Midnight Black Pearl Subaru Impreza WRX (Soft Paint). I have a bottle of Meguiars 105 and 205. I have light to moderate swirling on my paint. I really want to only go over each panel one time. Will the 205 and orange pad be enough to remove the swirls? If I try it and it is not enough to remove them can I use the 105 only and not follow up with 205, or will that cloud my paint? Should I be looking into another product If I want to go over each area only one time? Such as 1z Einszett paint polish or hd uno 4.0? I have never polished by machine so maybe it will take me less time than expected to just buck up and do the 105 followed by 205. One last question guys, after I wash, clay, and polish should I apply a pure polish before I put down wax/sealant?



Thanks,

Drew:wof:
 
Hey Drew :).



I sent a message over to you in regards to the hand polishing question.



The same rules basically apply when working by machine polisher. To quickly get your 105 with no f/u question out of the way: typically M105 on really anything soft like Subaru paint will haze a bit on you.



Eitherway I would start with M205 on the orange since that is the only pad you have and see where it gets you. If you decide to polish with 105, keep in mind it will work quickly as the paint is so soft but more than likely will definitely need a finishing pad and finish polish hit.



The paint, probably never having been polished before should respond very quickly to the 205, my only concern with it being a black color is could it be a bit sharper with a finishing pad? Might it leave a little haze? Maybe.



M205 works best with moderate constant pressure, slowing the machine down from 6-to5ish as you begin to finish out the polish, same constant pressure - lifting up with 205 will more than likely slightly scour, leaving the finish not as sharp. The issue isnt so much the polish as it is the tendency of the pad to finish.



Wiping the paint with IPA, or your paint cleaner before wax or sealant will be fine.
 
wrxinxs said:
.. If I try it and it is not enough to remove them can I use the 105 only and not follow up with 205, or will that cloud my paint?
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Whilie some here have finished out OK with M105, I can't do it, and I'm working on harder clear than yours. So no, I don't think you'll be able to use only the M105. The M205 step goes fast though, no biggie as far as time/effort if you let the M105 do all the serious work.



Should I be looking into another product If I want to go over each area only one time? Such as 1z Einszett paint polish or hd uno 4.0?
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You'll probably have to do more than one time even with the M105, but if you mean "if I only want to use one product, as many times as that takes" then that's something you can try with UNO. I still kinda like the 1Z PP, and it's not a bad choice as a "just do it once, a quickie job to make things a little better"-type product. But on your paint I wouldn't expect it to turn out nearly as well as with the M105/M205 or UNO.

I have never polished by machine so maybe it will take me less time than expected to just buck up and do the 105 followed by 205.
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Well, to be honest, I think it'll take longer than you expect. Sorry, but it just does for most people. But I don't think you oughta chuck the M105/M205 in favor of something else before you've even tried them.



Note that you'll need to use something milder than the LC orange pads for the final passes with the M205 (or with most anything else for that matter).



One last question guys, after I wash, clay, and polish should I apply a pure polish before I put down wax/sealant?
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No, just go straight from the polishing to your LSP (Last Step Product, i.e., wax or sealant). As noted, you might want to strip off the oils that M205 leaves behind, but if you're just using wax (as opposed to sealant) then it's your choice whether to do that or not. Look at it in the sun and see if the oils are causing any "rainbow" effects, if so, then you'll need to strip them off. OR, if you use a sealant, note that many/most of those won't bond all that well to an oily surface, so you should probably strip the M205 oils off for that reason.



Oh, and Welcome to Autopia!
 
I do use a sealant do I just get a spray bottle and put in 50% rubbing alcohol and 50% water and spray on and wipe off?
 
You have to make sure you get it all. I like to recommend spraying onto the section, allowing a couple seconds of dwell time, wiping it off with, then flipping, misting once more quickly and wiping dry.



Sometimes certain polishes on certain paints can leave some residue which is a bit stubborn.



Distilled water as well, sometimes you might need to play with the mix 40/60, 70/30 sometimes work better in certain situations, I always use its straight up then final wipe with meguiars final inspection
 
I find IPA to be only marginally effective on M205 oils, at least on the paints I work on. Used straight (potent, but flashes off quickly) seems to work a bit better than diluted (longer dwell time before flashing, but too weak), but it's still not my idea of effective. TOL's PrepWash works a lot better.



As long as the oils aren't so bad as to cause pseudo-holograms, I'd just use a wax that's M205-friendly. Or some sealant like M21 since all Meguiar's stuff is supposed to be compatible.
 
So use the distilled water/rubbing alcohol (just the rubbing alcohol you get at a pharmacy?) And then final inspection could I use Meguiars quick detailer instead of final inspection? I was thinking about using collinite 845 afterwards.
 
wrxinxs said:
So use the distilled water/rubbing alcohol (just the rubbing alcohol you get at a pharmacy?) And then final inspection could I use Meguiars quick detailer instead of final inspection? I was thinking about using collinite 845 afterwards.
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I'd use the IPA from the drugstore straight. With a few applications it might get all the oils unless your paint is problematic in this regard.



I use M34 Final Insptection when buffing off the polish residue as it helps minimize micro-marring (remember that the M105/M205 never "break down" so the product will always cut, even when you're buffing it off).



The regular QD leaves stuff behind (at least IIRC) so I wouldn't use that instead of the M34. M34 leaves a tiny bit of somethinb behind too, but it's made to *NOT* cause issues in that regard and IMO it's the right stuff to use for this.



The 845 shouldn't have any problems with the M205 oils. Just pull the car into the sun and make sure the oils aren't so awful as to cause the pseudo-holograms and if all is well I'd probably just wax it without worrying about stripping the oils off 100%. If you do get the pseudo-holograms, use the IPA to clean 'em off and to ensure that they really *were* just artifacts from the oils as opposed to some kind of micromarring that needs to be taken care of.
 
Yep the regular Isopropyl from the drug store, get 91% it will last you longer.



Usually OTC quick detailers have a glossing agent in them, that could in some cases(I dont think with 845 it will) hinder some bonding. The purpose of Final Inspection in my case is that it doesnt leave anything "shiny" behind and was actually made for the purpose of lifting anything oily or residuey behind so you could get a good idea of your surface. You might be able to find FI at some places, but you will be great with just the IPA afterwards to inspect.



845 isnt terribly finicky with anything in my experience with it, I think thats why its so popular. To be brutally honest, if it came down to the wire, and you were running out of time, if you applied 845 without doing an IPA wipe 999 times of 1000 you will be fine and wouldnt experience any issues with durability or anything else.
 
Accumulator said:
Note that you'll need to use something milder than the LC orange pads for the final passes with the M205 (or with most anything else for that matter)
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I almost had all the same questions as the OP. I have the LC Tangerine Pad with M205 and was hoping to do the same as the OP (use just m205 and be done). When you say you will need a milder pad, do you mean even if we decided to use the Tangerine pad and M205 as the only polishing step?? Or only a milder pad if going from 105 down to 205?? So 105 should be used with what type of pad, finishing pad? Im kinda confused on pads and with them being pricey I wanna get it straight before pulling the trigger, im sure the OP as well.



Which pads go best with each step??
 
The paint is ultimately going to dictate what you can and cant do. Hardness, defect severity and depth of defects will almost limit you to "1 and done" with 205, but I would say the MBP WRX definitely has a chance, as long as its finished down correctly.



The tangerine is the polishing foam, so if the paint is soft enough you can get some very nice correction, perhaps a little more heavy pressure to start, then backing off to moderate pressure as you approach your finish.



"Pads with each step" is a highly variable question, ultimately limited by the finish left on the paint from the previous step, if any. For example, if you have hard paint and choose 105 on a light cut pad, the finish is probably pretty sharp after, so M205 on a polishing foam should sharpen it up nicely, on soft paint, the 205 on polishing foam would refine the haze from M105 but potentially could leave a need for a 205 on a finishing pad type situation.



That said, a verrrrry common 1 step polish is M205 on orange, it cuts well, finishes sharp on most paints and is easy to work with.
 
Mike,



I'm thinking of trying M205 on a green polishing/finishing or white polishing and seeing if that will be enough. But you are saying that if it is not enough that tangerine with M205 might finish down OK without the need for M205 on a finishing afterwards?
 
wrxinxs said:
..[might]..tangerine with M205 might finish down OK without the need for M205 on a finishing afterwards?
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M205 on the very similar Griot's polishing pad finishes out OK for me, but I wasn't using it on really soft clear either.
 
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