Rotary polishing

[seb799]

I know this have been covered a lot in other threads but there are many thing that I don't understand with the vocabulary or the code of the products mentionned.


I own a Makita rotary polisher. I bought it but never really had the chance to use it with good products. I have a yellow compounding pad and a black finishing pad but i'll throw them away anyway.

I came across the products during many forums searches :

- Menzerna Intensive Polish
- Menzerna Super finish
- Menzerna Power Gloss
- Ultrafina (Don't know if it's the pad or the polish) by 3m?

- Orange CCS pad
- White CCS Pad
- Grey CCS pad
- Blue 3M pad

I have red a lot that I would need to have both a PC and a Rotary but I don't have the money yet for both.

What is the best way to get a hologram free finish?. I have worked in a dealer and I was using a random pad with 3m polish and I thought it was the way to polish a car UNTIL I came accross this website....

I have started a part time detailing business and I mainly do Interior work and waxes but I want to start offering swirl removal and paint correction. Of course, I'll practice first as I know the risks.

So my question is, does anyone has a combination of polish and pad for swirl removal without causing the holograms and have a nice finish? Any info on the Ultrafina?


Sorry for the long explanation, I have a lot of questions and am confused by all the products and the fact that everything seems designed for the DA

[AeroCleanse]

3M Ultrafina is a polish, similar to Menzeran 85RD in terms of it being a finishing polish.

The best way to get a hologram free finish is to use the lowest speed with the finest polish and softest pad. Make sure you keep the pad flat.

There are products that are made for rotary, mostly heavy cutting compounds. But you can use products on rotary or DA.

Practice helps a lot as well.

[C. Charles Hahn]

Technically Ultrafina is a polish, but 3M does make a pad designed to work with it that also carries the "Ultrafina" name. The foam is light blue like the liquid so it's easy to match up pad/product.

Ultrafina is a part of the Perfect-It 3000 line. The other products in the line also are color-coded and have matching pads available from 3M.

Just thought I'd elaborate a bit.

[DLB]

3M Ultrafina is a polish, similar to Menzeran 85RD in terms of it being a finishing polish.

The best way to get a hologram free finish is to use the lowest speed with the finest polish and softest pad. Make sure you keep the pad flat.

There are products that are made for rotary, mostly heavy cutting compounds. But you can use products on rotary or DA.

Practice helps a lot as well.

Good advice here.
In order to get hologram free with your rotary, you will want to have most of the holograms and defects removed after your second polishing step. That way, when you go to finish polishing (unless you are going to do a 4-step polish job) you have minimal stuff to correct.

The Ultrafina or Menzerna PO85rd will not remove heavy defects. I typically like to finish out with the 85rd on a small diameter Blue CCS pad at low speed on the rotary - and I have a PCXP. This is of course only when you are trying to achieve maximum shine. Most people want a 2 step polish with a wax as the third step. So tailor your polishing to the customer.

DLB

[seb799]

Good advice here.
In order to get hologram free with your rotary, you will want to have most of the holograms and defects removed after your second polishing step. That way, when you go to finish polishing (unless you are going to do a 4-step polish job) you have minimal stuff to correct.

The Ultrafina or Menzerna PO85rd will not remove heavy defects. I typically like to finish out with the 85rd on a small diameter Blue CCS pad at low speed on the rotary - and I have a PCXP. This is of course only when you are trying to achieve maximum shine. Most people want a 2 step polish with a wax as the third step. So tailor your polishing to the customer.

DLB

On a 3 step polishing with the waz as 3rd step, would the PO85rd be the 2nd step?
Or :
- Menzerna super intensive polish on orange or white ccs
- Menzerna PO85RD on blue or black ccs?
- Wax
And would this remove most of the swirls on a moderate swirled car?

What about the 106Fa ?


What are the pads sizes that I should buy?
And how much of each ?

[seb799]

Thanks for the answers by the way

[DLB]

OK - let's take this a step at a time.

Let me preface by saying I am not a Menzerna expert - I generally stick to Meg's 105/205. I have some limited use experience with the Menz line, and do use the PO85rd regularly. So my below statements are very general, and based on level of cut that is dictated by the manufacturer. I have however used the Wolfgang twins several times, and these are supposedly the same thing as the Super Intensive Polish and Super Finish.

First you need to understand the cut of the polishes you are planning on working with. The polishes themselves rank like this in terms of cut (most cut to least cut):
- Menzerna Power Gloss
- Menzerna Intensive Polish
- Menzerna Super finish
- Menzerna PO85RD (or 3M Ultrafina)

Now, any polish is going to react differently on different vehicles. This is why there isn't a one size fits all prescription.

GENERALLY speaking, the Power Gloss is going to be a heavy cutting compound, and will only need to be used on pretty serious corrections (Basing this off of what I have read and understand about that product, not first hand experience). So typically you would probably start out with the Intensive Polish and then finish with the 106fa (aka Nano Polish and Super Finish). After that, wax.

The PO85RD or Ultrafina step is not always necessary, and usually not even desired by people. I know with the WG Finishing Glaze [Menz Super Finish] you can finish it out pretty darn close to perfect. The long work time and pad selection allow this.

Decide that those are the polishes you want to use, and get familiar with them and how they cut. Not every car is going to use the same process, but you should have a pretty good idea what you are going to attack it with.

Pad selection is really kind of personal preference. Just read and take a stab at a few.
To start with, I would order only 1 of the different kinds in their respective cuts, and experiment and see what works best for you. You can't go wrong with having an extra pad of any kind on hand. I can explain further if needed.

Personally, I like the Lake Country HT pads. On rotary the Kompressor's are a popular choice as well. Eventually, you will need at the least 3 of each cut, even more is preferable (most people don't buy 15 to start though, so I am keeping it realistic here).

Added Edit - Also remember, you can adjust cut of the same polish by switching the pad. (Such as using a lower cut polish on a high cut pad). The paint you are working on will usually be the determining factor of these results.

Hope this helps. Welcome to the board as well.

DLB

[seb799]

Thank you for this great response!

Would it make sense if I start with :

6 Lake country 7.5" ccs pads :
2 Orange
1 White
2 gray
1 Blue

Menzerna :
Super Intensive polish
Super finish Nano 106FA
PO85RD (Should I get it?)

With a 6" backing plate

Is a pad rejuvenerator important? Like those XMT 2 bottles kit, or can I simply clean the pad and mist it with quick detailer when I need it?

Should I also buy smaller diameters pads for tight spots?

I am kind of on a budget here and with everything listed above I am almost at 200$ Wich is pretty much the max I can pay for right now.

Am I missing something ?

Edit : I don't plan on some serious correction but mainly moderate swirls removal with a nice glossy finish

[Rsurfer]

For moderate swirls try Menz Power Finish, it will finish down nicely.

[seb799]

For moderate swirls try Menz Power Finish, it will finish down nicely.

Even on black paint ?

I will be doing a black chrysler 300