Todd@RUPES
Just a regular guy
Getting a better finish from Meguiar's M205 Ultra Finishing Polish.
Meguiar's M205 Ultra Finishing Polish is an extremely fine, non-diminishing abrasive polish which is designed to remove light buffing marks and swirl marks while creating a high-gloss finish. The non-diminishing abrasives make this a unique finishing polish which may require tweaking to common polishing techniques in order to get the best possible finish.
“Shorten your work time considerably”
As opposed to many finishing polishes, you will achieve a better result when using a short work time with Meguiar's M205 Ultra Finishing Polish.
Why? When using most traditional finishing polishes (which have abrasives that break down) you have to work the polish for a while to get the best possible result. Aluminum oxide (commonly used) abrasives are like a bushel of grapes stuck together, known as abrasive clusters. As you polish friction causes these grapes separate (the abrasive diminishes). Once the abrasive cluster has fully broken down (all of the grapes are separated) the polish cannot become any finer. These grapes are called the 'primary crystal abrasive'. A common misconception is that if you keep polishing you can reduce the abrasive to almost nothing, but this isn't the case. Aluminum Oxide is a 9 (diamond is a 10) on the Mohs Scale of Hardness. You can break them apart but you cannot eliminate them.
Meguiar's M205 Ultra Finishing Polish uses a non-diminishing abrasive, which means it is made of primary crystals instead of clustered primary crystals. Working it longer will not improve the surface quality because you are already starting with a fully diminished polish. There is no benefit in working the polish longer, in fact it is detrimental.
This is because as you polish paint (even with micro-fine abrasives) you are removing a small amount of paint from the surface. This abraded paint contaminate the abrasives and act like an adhesive that temporarily binds the abrasives together (the opposite of diminishing) which will reduce the quality of the finish.
Since Meguiar's M205 is fully broken down and abraded paint will reduce the quality of finish, you will generally get best results from using a short work time. Polish until the desired result is achieved then stop, generally 20-30 seconds per section.
“Keep pressure on the dual-action polisher through out the buffing cycle”
It has been a common suggestion to reduce pressure on your last pass or two over a working area. While this practice has benefit when using a rotary polisher that moves the pad in a circular fashion it has some unwanted results when using a dual-action polisher. While it is arguably more important when using a non-diminishing polish such as M205, to achieve maximal results when finishing with a dual-action polisher maintain firm and consistent pressure through out the polishing cycle with any finishing polish.
Why? One of the benefits of a dual-action polisher is that they move the pad across the paint in two distinct patterns, an orbital motion and a circular motion. This random action, if used correctly, is beneficial to the polishing process for a number of reasons. The pad is always in a constant state of acceleration, both positively and negatively. When downward pressure is reduce the pad will begin to absorb the orbital motion, much like a blob of Jello jiggling on itself. This causes on even pressure between the contact area of the pad and the paint which can result in an uneven finish. Keeping even pressure on the machine ensures that a higher percentage of the beneficial orbital-motion is transferred through the pad, to the paint.
“Use a slower speed for your finishing cycle”
To achieve the highest gloss possible with Meguiar's M205 Ultra Finishing Polish you will want to set your random orbital dual-action polisher to a lower speed setting, perhaps speed 3-4. If you are trying to correct minor swirl marks or buffer marks as well as final polishing, start your buffing cycle at speed 5-6 then reduce the speed to 3-4 for the final 2-3 passes over the working area.
Why? When a higher orbital speed is used on a random orbital polisher, the pattern created by the two patterns becomes more violent. Dual Action polishers create a curly-q pattern as a result of the two movements. With a slow orbital speed and firm pressure the pad will rotate slowly, which results in gently curved curly-q's. When high speed or light pressure is used the pad rotates faster, which results in the curly-q pattern being pulled tight as the pad rapidly slows, stops, pivots 180 degrees then accelerates again. Any attached abrasives are ground into the paint.
For an analogy consider you are walking in a straight line but want to do a 360. You can gently turn to one direction and continue to walk in a curved pattern until you complete your turn, which point you should be back were you started with little drama. OR you can stop, pivot sharply on your heel quickly, and with a little luck and balance continue on your way. If you had abrasives attached to your feet you would obviously cause little damage as gently walked in a circle, but you would create some abrasion as you pivoted on your heel.
“Clean your pad often”
To achieve the highest possible finish with Meguiar's M205 Ultra Finishing Polish it is ideal to clean the polishing pad after each panel, and when dealing with extremely soft or hard to finish paint, in the middle of a pass.
Why? As mentioned earlier abraded paint residue will reduce the performance of Meguiar's M205 Ultra Finishing Polish, or any other polish. Meguiar's M205 seems to be more sensitive to it. Cleaning the pad with compressed air, a pad brush, or a microfiber towel pressed against the pad will offer the best benefit to achieving a high gloss finish.
On difficult (to finish) or soft paints you tend to remove more material which makes cleaning the pad more important. Cleaning the pad half way through a buffing cycle can make a huge difference in the finish achieved on difficult paints.
“Conclusion”
Many of the tips and suggestions above are beneficial to finishing with a dual-action polisher and any finishing polish. Meguiar's M205 Ultra Finishing Polish can certainly be more sensitive to technique than other finishing polishes and there are certain paints that will not finish 100%. Before reaching for another ultra fine polish give the tips above a try. The benefits of a quick working cycle can pay huge dividends when attempting to create a flawless finish.
Meguiar's M205 Ultra Finishing Polish is an extremely fine, non-diminishing abrasive polish which is designed to remove light buffing marks and swirl marks while creating a high-gloss finish. The non-diminishing abrasives make this a unique finishing polish which may require tweaking to common polishing techniques in order to get the best possible finish.
“Shorten your work time considerably”
As opposed to many finishing polishes, you will achieve a better result when using a short work time with Meguiar's M205 Ultra Finishing Polish.
Why? When using most traditional finishing polishes (which have abrasives that break down) you have to work the polish for a while to get the best possible result. Aluminum oxide (commonly used) abrasives are like a bushel of grapes stuck together, known as abrasive clusters. As you polish friction causes these grapes separate (the abrasive diminishes). Once the abrasive cluster has fully broken down (all of the grapes are separated) the polish cannot become any finer. These grapes are called the 'primary crystal abrasive'. A common misconception is that if you keep polishing you can reduce the abrasive to almost nothing, but this isn't the case. Aluminum Oxide is a 9 (diamond is a 10) on the Mohs Scale of Hardness. You can break them apart but you cannot eliminate them.
Meguiar's M205 Ultra Finishing Polish uses a non-diminishing abrasive, which means it is made of primary crystals instead of clustered primary crystals. Working it longer will not improve the surface quality because you are already starting with a fully diminished polish. There is no benefit in working the polish longer, in fact it is detrimental.
This is because as you polish paint (even with micro-fine abrasives) you are removing a small amount of paint from the surface. This abraded paint contaminate the abrasives and act like an adhesive that temporarily binds the abrasives together (the opposite of diminishing) which will reduce the quality of the finish.
Since Meguiar's M205 is fully broken down and abraded paint will reduce the quality of finish, you will generally get best results from using a short work time. Polish until the desired result is achieved then stop, generally 20-30 seconds per section.
“Keep pressure on the dual-action polisher through out the buffing cycle”
It has been a common suggestion to reduce pressure on your last pass or two over a working area. While this practice has benefit when using a rotary polisher that moves the pad in a circular fashion it has some unwanted results when using a dual-action polisher. While it is arguably more important when using a non-diminishing polish such as M205, to achieve maximal results when finishing with a dual-action polisher maintain firm and consistent pressure through out the polishing cycle with any finishing polish.
Why? One of the benefits of a dual-action polisher is that they move the pad across the paint in two distinct patterns, an orbital motion and a circular motion. This random action, if used correctly, is beneficial to the polishing process for a number of reasons. The pad is always in a constant state of acceleration, both positively and negatively. When downward pressure is reduce the pad will begin to absorb the orbital motion, much like a blob of Jello jiggling on itself. This causes on even pressure between the contact area of the pad and the paint which can result in an uneven finish. Keeping even pressure on the machine ensures that a higher percentage of the beneficial orbital-motion is transferred through the pad, to the paint.
“Use a slower speed for your finishing cycle”
To achieve the highest gloss possible with Meguiar's M205 Ultra Finishing Polish you will want to set your random orbital dual-action polisher to a lower speed setting, perhaps speed 3-4. If you are trying to correct minor swirl marks or buffer marks as well as final polishing, start your buffing cycle at speed 5-6 then reduce the speed to 3-4 for the final 2-3 passes over the working area.
Why? When a higher orbital speed is used on a random orbital polisher, the pattern created by the two patterns becomes more violent. Dual Action polishers create a curly-q pattern as a result of the two movements. With a slow orbital speed and firm pressure the pad will rotate slowly, which results in gently curved curly-q's. When high speed or light pressure is used the pad rotates faster, which results in the curly-q pattern being pulled tight as the pad rapidly slows, stops, pivots 180 degrees then accelerates again. Any attached abrasives are ground into the paint.
For an analogy consider you are walking in a straight line but want to do a 360. You can gently turn to one direction and continue to walk in a curved pattern until you complete your turn, which point you should be back were you started with little drama. OR you can stop, pivot sharply on your heel quickly, and with a little luck and balance continue on your way. If you had abrasives attached to your feet you would obviously cause little damage as gently walked in a circle, but you would create some abrasion as you pivoted on your heel.
“Clean your pad often”
To achieve the highest possible finish with Meguiar's M205 Ultra Finishing Polish it is ideal to clean the polishing pad after each panel, and when dealing with extremely soft or hard to finish paint, in the middle of a pass.
Why? As mentioned earlier abraded paint residue will reduce the performance of Meguiar's M205 Ultra Finishing Polish, or any other polish. Meguiar's M205 seems to be more sensitive to it. Cleaning the pad with compressed air, a pad brush, or a microfiber towel pressed against the pad will offer the best benefit to achieving a high gloss finish.
On difficult (to finish) or soft paints you tend to remove more material which makes cleaning the pad more important. Cleaning the pad half way through a buffing cycle can make a huge difference in the finish achieved on difficult paints.
“Conclusion”
Many of the tips and suggestions above are beneficial to finishing with a dual-action polisher and any finishing polish. Meguiar's M205 Ultra Finishing Polish can certainly be more sensitive to technique than other finishing polishes and there are certain paints that will not finish 100%. Before reaching for another ultra fine polish give the tips above a try. The benefits of a quick working cycle can pay huge dividends when attempting to create a flawless finish.
