What is the proper pad and product to use between these two steps?

[AliMusa]

I have an orange pad being used with meguiars ultra finishing polish and I have a blue pad being used with turtle wax nxt wax. I have a white pad as well but is that the correct pad to use between polish and wax? And if it is correct, what product do I use with it? Also, if the ultra finishing polish doesn't work well, what's a better option to use?

[zmcgovern45]

There is no definitive answer to these types of questions. The possibility of product/pad combos are endless, it is solely dependent on what you need to accomplish.

IMO you would not need to follow up Meg's UP with anything before applying wax unless you have very soft paint and the UP is leaving marring behind. The orange and white pads can both be used very effectively with UP depending on the level of cut you need... obviously orange light cutting pads have more cut than white polishing pads.

-Zach

[AliMusa]

There is no definitive answer to these types of questions. The possibility of product/pad combos are endless, it is solely dependent on what you need to accomplish.

IMO you would not need to follow up Meg's UP with anything before applying wax unless you have very soft paint and the UP is leaving marring behind. The orange and white pads can both be used very effectively with UP depending on the level of cut you need... obviously orange light cutting pads have more cut than white polishing pads.

-Zach

What if the UP is leaving marring behind? What pad and product would I need then?

[zmcgovern45]

What if the UP is leaving marring behind? What pad and product would I need then?

You would need a finer finishing pad like a black finishing pad, blue fine finishing pad, or crimson ultra fine finishing pad and possibly an ultra fine finishing polish like Menzerna Sf4500.

[mwoolfso]

I have an orange pad being used with meguiars ultra finishing polish and I have a blue pad being used with turtle wax nxt wax. I have a white pad as well but is that the correct pad to use between polish and wax? And if it is correct, what product do I use with it? Also, if the ultra finishing polish doesn't work well, what's a better option to use?

I'll stay within the Megs Ultimate line to answer your question. As already mentioned the combinations of product and pad are numerous. That is why you need to lock-in your process with a test spot.

If MegsUP/Orange is not working well then depending on what "not working" means you would consider MegsUP/White or MegsUC (the compound) with Orange.

In a very traditional sense this would be the process that you could start off with on your test spot:

1. MegsUC with Orange
2. IPA
3. MegsUP with White
4. IPA
5. Sealant/Wax approach (in your case Turtle Wax is what you mentioned)

Now it's possible that "not working" could mean that whatever paint system you are working on does not react well to the Megs Ultimate line. I know for a fact on my VW, that using Megs Ultimate would increase my level of effort by a factor of 5; which is why I use Menzerna to make any correction/maintenance work time sensitive.

[Mike Phillips]

Here's a saying...

More pads is better...

That is, having extra or plenty of pads on hand is better than trying to buff out your car with just a few pads.

One thing to keep in mind, if you cross-contaminate products on a single pad you'll never really be able to troubleshoot where any problems are coming from.

Dedicated a single product to a single pad when doing any testing to dial in a process that will create the show car finishing you're looking for. Thus if you only have a few pads... more pads is better.


:)

[AliMusa]

Thank you for the responses! So I'm going to try the Ultra Finishing Polish with the Orange pad and if that doesn't get the swirls/scratches out, I'll clean the pad and try the Compound with the orange pad and then use the Polish with the white pad. Sound correct?

[Mike Phillips]

So I'm going to try the Ultra Finishing Polish with the Orange pad and if that doesn't get the swirls/scratches out, I'll clean the pad and try the Compound with the orange pad and then use the Polish with the white pad.

Sound correct?




Yes.


:xyxthumbs:

[AliMusa]

Yes.


:xyxthumbs:

Thank you very much :). Do you have any other recommendations for products that may work better or alternatives in case the products I've mentioned don't work well?

[Mike Phillips]

Thank you very much :). Do you have any other recommendations for products that may work better or alternatives in case the products I've mentioned don't work well?


Ultimate Polish is actually a very good fine cut polish, it's a SMAT product and sometimes SMAT products are a little more difficult to get to finish out perfect on soft paints.

Menzerna SF4000 is a fine cut polish that's always finished out perfect on soft paints for me...


:)

[erichaley]

Since pad colors aren't universal, could you please specify -- for others that may come across this thread -- exactly which pads you're using?

[AliMusa]

Ultimate Polish is actually a very good fine cut polish, it's a SMAT product and sometimes SMAT products are a little more difficult to get to finish out perfect on soft paints.

Menzerna SF4000 is a fine cut polish that's always finished out perfect on soft paints for me...


:)

Sorry for so many questions, but do they sell SF4000 locally in stores?

[AliMusa]

Since pad colors aren't universal, could you please specify -- for others that may come across this thread -- exactly which pads you're using?

Sorry, I forgot to specify and I'm unsure about how to edit my post. I'm using Lake Country Flat Foam pads in Orange, White and Blue.

[erichaley]

No need to apologize. :)