Black 2008 Volvo

[bam3715]

I'm pretty new to detailing and have been working with a black VW Passat this summer with satisfactory results. We just picked up a 2008 Volvo with black paint. The paint is full of swirls and stains, thus today I pulled out my Flex 3401 and a 5" orange hybrid Lake County pad and started on a small test on the hood. I started with Meguiars M105 and hit it 6 times, inspected and hit it 6 more times. I then used a 5" blue hybrid LC pad with 205 and then a white hybrid LC pad with 205. It turned out okay, but took forever.

Is Volvo's paint considered "hard"?
Is there a better pad to cut this paint?

I spend 6 hours on the hood and I'm only 3/4 of the ways done!

Thanks in advance for your advice.

[jankerson]

Yeah the 5.5" Flat Yellow Cutting Pad (Or the CYAN HT) with M105 on Speed 5 with heavy pressure should cut it down quicker.

Then go with the Orange 5.5" Flat Pad (Or Tangerine HT) and M205 after.

Or Megs MF cutting pad and M105 or M101.

Finish with Megs MF finishing pad and M205.

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

Welcome to AGO.

The orange hybrid pad is the most aggressive foam pad offered from Lake Country. See post number two.
Lake Country Hybrid Aggressiveness Pad Chart - Autopia Forums - Auto Detailing & Car Care Discussion Forum (http://www.autopiaforums.com/forums/detail-institute-presented-autopia-carcare-com/39383-lake-country-hybrid-aggressiveness-pad-chart.html)

Also M105 is very strong as we all know. What was your overall technique with the compounding step? Was the pad primed?

[bam3715]

I used a pad conditioner and then put three dime size dots of 105 on the pad. I would add more 105 each time that I moved to a different section. Each section was about 18"x18". My flex was set to speed 4 to 5, probably closer to 4 and I was placing quite abit of down force pressure. I have been moving the machine pretty slow; about 1/4" per second. The results were very good, but it is slow going. I didn't know if a wool pad or a different technique would produce better cutting.

I have some Lake County 5.5" hydro pads that I could try using. Don't have any of the flat pads.

[bam3715]

On day two, I tried some of my hydro pads, though I think the orange hybrid pad cut slightly better. I did increase the down pressure and that seemed to work well though still took forever. Thus two days ( 12 hours) I got through the hood, a front fender and half of a door.

The paint was severely scratched, which is why I had to work these areas so hard.

Do you think a rotary would be a better fit for severely scratched hard black paint? I currently don't own one but would rather buy one than spend 20 plus hours finishing this Volvo.

[jankerson]

On day two, I tried some of my hydro pads, though I think the orange hybrid pad cut slightly better. I did increase the down pressure and that seemed to work well though still took forever. Thus two days ( 12 hours) I got through the hood, a front fender and half of a door.

The paint was severely scratched, which is why I had to work these areas so hard.

Do you think a rotary would be a better fit for severely scratched hard black paint? I currently don't own one but would rather buy one than spend 20 plus hours finishing this Volvo.


I would say keep going as the correction step takes the longest.

After that is done the rest will be a breeze. :xyxthumbs:

The problem using a rotary would be adding to the work of correcting the hazing and holograms left from the wool pad.

Figure you are over half way done using the DA in the correcting stage.

The CYAN HT pad would cut even faster if you could get one....

[bam3715]

I did try the cyan hydro pad, but felt like the orange cut better. I'll give it another shot.

I can't complain about the finished results... just the time! LOL

[bam3715]

I thought I would update this thread. I picked up some Wolfgang Uber Compound and thought I would try this in place of the Megs 105. What a difference this made. Using my Flex 3401, orange hybrid pad and the Uber, I was able to cut thru the swirls in a fraction of the time as before. The Uber stays workable for a very long time and allows the pad to move smoothly and as said before, it cuts very quickly. I may never use the M105 again after this.