Another Meguiars M105/M205 thread

[robwoodgto]

I did not want to hijack another's thread but would like to get some opinions here:

I have UC and believe it is very user friendly and works quite well but there were some water spots that the UC did not seem to want to get rid of even after 2 complete cycles of 6 passes. This is when I moved to the M105, so today I used M105 with Thin Pro Orange pad and PC7424XP on my black Acura MDX. Started out with a 2' X 2' area but noticed by my 3rd pass the dusting started to get really bad and by the 4th to 5th pass tiny scratches started to appear. So, I assumed this was due to the spent product as well as my technique (possibly too slow of an arm movement) and decided to decrease my area to approx 14" X 14" and leave my arm movement of about 1" per second the same. I immediately noticed that I could get to the 5th/6th pass with minimum dusting. I also noticed no more tiny scratches. I would have went to the spraying a mist of water method to increase the work time and decrease chances of spent product scratching my paint but decreasing the area size worked well for me. Then used M205 with Thin Pro White pad and the finish came out really nice.

BTW, I primed the pad for both the M105 and M205.

My questions are:

1. Is the standard 2'X2' area subjective based on the product being used and the type of paint? Meaning, is this always a trial and error based on each scenario?

2. In situations like these if staying in the Meguiars line and moving to the M100 with the PC and Orange pad provide different results?


Thanks,
Ron

[Marc08EX]

Ron,

The 2' x 2' is a suggested working area when compounding and polishing. That's actually the maximum area you want IMO. I usually work in an 18" x 18" area. You can change it based on how much you want to concentrate removing the defects you're after.

Everything is trial and error. Paint systems are different from one another so we can't just say that M105 and a LC orange pad would work. Or M100. Yes it could work but only a test spot will definitely let you know the results of that combo for your paint system. Have you tried D300 or a microfiber pad?

The tiny scratches you're experiencing could be hazing or micro-marring from the compounding step. That's normal for paints that are soft. That's what the finishing polish step (M205/White pad in your case) is for. It will remove those tiny scratches and refine the gloss. But it's good that you were able to reduce those tiny scratches from happening with a change in your compounding technique.

In the end, the products (liquids and pads) we have are just tools inside our toolbox. The more products you have, the wider variety of paint systems you can tackle.

I hope this answered your questions.

[robwoodgto]

Have you tried D300 or a microfiber pad?



No to D300, Yes to mf pad. My next order to Autogeek will consist of a bottle of D300. I have the DMX6 Xtra Cut disk MF and used it last week with 105 on my Sienna. Came out great. But did not notice the tiny scratches before applying the 205, but probably due to it being silver. I will be ordering 5" mf pads because I have bought a 5" backing plate and been moving to 5" foam pads. After I am finished with the MDX, I will be polishing my mom's Camry and was planning on doing that with D300/M205 with mf pads. The M205 and even my UP provides me with fantastic results. When I use the UC I can say it works well too. It is just with the M105 that I have noticed a learning curve.




The tiny scratches you're experiencing could be hazing or micro-marring from the compounding step. That's normal for paints that are soft. That's what the finishing polish step (M205/White pad in your case) is for. It will remove those tiny scratches and refine the gloss. But it's good that you were able to reduce those tiny scratches from happening with a change in your compounding technique.


Thank you for clarifying the possibility of the tiny scratches being due to the compounding stage. No matter how many threads I read...and I have read many I still did not really know what micro marring/hazing really looked like until I started actually doing the steps. Also, the MDX is a black metallic paint and the scratches (micro marring) is only visible when looking at the paint under a light. It is the craziest thing. I asked my wife and a neighbor to look at the paint and all they could say was how beautiful it looked...not to mention how slick it was. But, once I showed them under the light they could see the scratches and just could not believe it. My wife even asked me if I was buffing the car too much. But, after polishing the are gone now.

Thanks,
Ron