Hi guys, new to the forum and the detailing world. A few weeks back I decided to undertake the task of polishing my car, after watching lots of youtube videos it looked like a piece of cake. So I decided on the m105/205 combo with the PC 7424xp. I started on my side passenger side door with the m105 and a orange 5.5" hexagon pattern pad. Initially I believe I was working the polish too long, and using too much pressure as I was not seeing any results. Not to mention Im working outdoors, but was sure to be in the shade (TEMP was between 50-60f). After getting my car in the sun I noticed severe holograms and buffer trails, since then I have been trying to fix what I have done by reducing the work time and really trying to keep the pressure constant, and whatever Im doing is not working, hologram city! I'm taking my car to a pro because cant stand to see her like this, but I would still like to learn how to do this polishing thing. So any insight as to what Im loosing in the translation here would be grateful.
What did I do?
- Thread starter ilirg
- Start date
Nth Degree
New member
"Everything looks easy when someone else is doing it." --One of my customer's favorite sayings.
You should not be seeing "holograms" but DA hazing from the polishing. From you photo it looks more like a towel issue. The lines look long and straight.
Where are you located? Perhaps you can be pointed in the right direction.
You should not be seeing "holograms" but DA hazing from the polishing. From you photo it looks more like a towel issue. The lines look long and straight.
Where are you located? Perhaps you can be pointed in the right direction.
Accumulator
Well-known member
irilg- Welcome to Autopia! Sorry to hear you're having trouble, IMO the M105/M205 twins aren't always as user-friendly as one might expect.
Some sorta-random thoughts follow, the solution(s) to your problems should be among them:
-IMO it looks like you're working too large an area. I *DO NOT* do the "usual" 2' x 2' area with these products (at least not with M105), way too big. Scale it back and work small areas at a time.
-DON'T work the M105 very long, even with a small area of operation. You want (make that "need"
) to wipe if off before it flashes/"dries".
-Remember that these products do not break down; they're always full-on abrasive even when you buff them off. I always use a little spritz of M34 Final Inpsection (don't use a "less clean" QD that leaves lots of stuff behind for this) when I buff off M105 residue.
-Proper pad priming is crucial, especially with M105. Research "the Kevin Brown Method" to see how it oughta be done.
-I myself wouldn't worry much about using too much pressure. As long as the pad is still rotating I wouldn't worry about that, at least not for the initial/aggressiw work with the M105.
-If your car has the typically hard GM clear, don't be surprised if it takes a *LOT* of passes with the M105 to do the initial/aggressive work. I don't mean just three or four. Just don't overdo it; better imperfect original paint than overly-thinned clear that'll fail after a few years in the sun.
-M205 leaves a *LOT* of Trade Secret Oils ("TSO") behind, which can conceal serious issues that then appear to "come back" later after the oils dissipate. I always use something like PrepWash to clean them off, and no, IMO stuff like IPA won't do it.
-Ignore everything you see/read on the internet regarding how quick and easy this work can be. Allocate, say....an hour for the M105 work on that door and see how it goes. Then do two or three passes with the M205, but remember that those TSO will conceal a *lot* of hazing/etc.
Some sorta-random thoughts follow, the solution(s) to your problems should be among them:
-IMO it looks like you're working too large an area. I *DO NOT* do the "usual" 2' x 2' area with these products (at least not with M105), way too big. Scale it back and work small areas at a time.
-DON'T work the M105 very long, even with a small area of operation. You want (make that "need"
) to wipe if off before it flashes/"dries".-Remember that these products do not break down; they're always full-on abrasive even when you buff them off. I always use a little spritz of M34 Final Inpsection (don't use a "less clean" QD that leaves lots of stuff behind for this) when I buff off M105 residue.
-Proper pad priming is crucial, especially with M105. Research "the Kevin Brown Method" to see how it oughta be done.
-I myself wouldn't worry much about using too much pressure. As long as the pad is still rotating I wouldn't worry about that, at least not for the initial/aggressiw work with the M105.
-If your car has the typically hard GM clear, don't be surprised if it takes a *LOT* of passes with the M105 to do the initial/aggressive work. I don't mean just three or four. Just don't overdo it; better imperfect original paint than overly-thinned clear that'll fail after a few years in the sun.
-M205 leaves a *LOT* of Trade Secret Oils ("TSO") behind, which can conceal serious issues that then appear to "come back" later after the oils dissipate. I always use something like PrepWash to clean them off, and no, IMO stuff like IPA won't do it.
-Ignore everything you see/read on the internet regarding how quick and easy this work can be. Allocate, say....an hour for the M105 work on that door and see how it goes. Then do two or three passes with the M205, but remember that those TSO will conceal a *lot* of hazing/etc.
Wow, thanks for the help guys. I do think I was working the 105 way too long, I did a test section yesterday on my beater xterra with the 105, I did one pass and it looked great with none of the holograms. I wish I would have tried it on the xterra first before I did my camaro lol. I'm setting up an appointment with Phil from detailers domain to correct the paint on my camaro. In the mean time I'll keep practicing on the beater until I get it right.
Jesstzn
New member
Try the Optimum line .. has longer working time and no dusting.
Jesstzn
New member
Don't the moderators even read or look at this site any more? All kinds of spamming going on and nothing done about it .. or is it acceptable? Getting to the point where I'm stopping following posts because most the time when I receive a notification its for a spam entry.
Accumulator
Well-known member
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-time="1384050513" data-cid="1427839" data-author="ilirg">
Can you guys recommend a more newbie friendly polish? Im finding the m105 to be very difficult to work with, especially with the learning curve of someone just getting into machine polishing.</blockquote>
IMO the M105 is about as user-friendly as such products get and its learning curve shouldn't be all that bad. It's just a "small areas with repeated *brief* work intervals" type of product. You might look into their more aggressive product (M101? M100? Sorry, I forget...) but note that these aggressive products should only be used very infrequently so IMO it oughta be worth just dealing with getting the hang of it.
(Note that IMO if you need to polish out marring annually, let alone more often, then something is very wrong somewhere Just do the correction and then keep it nice.)
For the M205, I've come to utterly despise it due to the oils and I greatly prefer HD Polish (also prefer 1Z High Gloss over M205 and that's what I used before trying the HD stuff).
The Optimum line never worked out all that well for me.
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Jesstzn">
...Don't the moderators even read or look at this site any more...</blockquote>
IIRC the spam is related to the new format and the guy whose job it is to fix such stuff is away at the moment.
Can you guys recommend a more newbie friendly polish? Im finding the m105 to be very difficult to work with, especially with the learning curve of someone just getting into machine polishing.</blockquote>
IMO the M105 is about as user-friendly as such products get and its learning curve shouldn't be all that bad. It's just a "small areas with repeated *brief* work intervals" type of product. You might look into their more aggressive product (M101? M100? Sorry, I forget...) but note that these aggressive products should only be used very infrequently so IMO it oughta be worth just dealing with getting the hang of it.
(Note that IMO if you need to polish out marring annually, let alone more often, then something is very wrong somewhere
Just do the correction and then keep it nice.)For the M205, I've come to utterly despise it due to the oils and I greatly prefer HD Polish (also prefer 1Z High Gloss over M205 and that's what I used before trying the HD stuff).
The Optimum line never worked out all that well for me.
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Jesstzn">
...Don't the moderators even read or look at this site any more...</blockquote>
IIRC the spam is related to the new format and the guy whose job it is to fix such stuff is away at the moment.