Infamous M105/M205 combo; why do I need M105?

[flaco]

M205 on a white compressor with the rotary is magic. I swear there is a genie living in my buffer when those three come together. I love the 105/205. I think what makes them unique is their non-diminishing abrasives.

OK so here I go beating the dead horse again...why do you need 105?

[ASPHALT ROCKET]

I understand...and I'm not faulting Meguiar's at all regarding marketing/etc. I think they've marketed both products well.

I am specifically talking about detailers that push the combo and I don't understand why.

I still can't believe there'd every be a need for a detailer to use M105, unless he/she is wetsanding with 1500 grit...but hey, do whatever suits you. I don't need 105 in my arsenal.

And yes M205 would be aggressive enough if a body shop finished with 2000 grit. I did it easily on paint that was 2 years old, so I know fresh paint would be a snap. However, a lot of body shops finish with 1500 grit so I could see leaning towards 105 in that situation, even though I think I could remove 1500 grit scratches almost as easily with M205 (I still need to do that experiment).

There will always be a need for 105, but not on every car. 205 is not strong enough to remove some defects no matter what pad you use. Plus when you run into a hard clear coat with defects and 205 once again will not remove them you will need 105. Also just because paint is two years old does not mean it is going to be a breeze to work on.

[flaco]

There will always be a need for 105, but not on every car. 205 is not strong enough to remove some defects no matter what pad you use. Plus when you run into a hard clear coat with defects and 205 once again will not remove them you will need 105. Also just because paint is two years old does not mean it is going to be a breeze to work on.

Excellent point. I have not tried M105 on very hard paint yet.

Cheers

[ASPHALT ROCKET]

Don't forget by using different pads you can "adjust" the cut M105 has and finish nicely, then 205 can come in a do a little clean up. Then if you are like me and feel 205 just doesn't have that little extra, follow it up with UF.

[switerajaya]

Remember, the target market for these products are body shops where they're sanding and buffing fresh paint. After sanding they will need an aggressive cutting compound to use with a wool cutting pad on a rotary buffer to cut-out the sanding marks.

M205 would not be aggressive enough for the initial cut.

Always evaluate the surface then match the right product to the job.

Then can it be done with 205 (just longer process)? or it can't be done at all using 205, and using 105 is a must?

Thanks, Mike.

[sgtmillhouse648]

But time is money Especially for those charging by the job. My car uses a very hard clearcoat after I repainted it. There is no way that I could get by simply with 205 for sanding out sanding scratches. It actually took 105 with a wool pad to remove 2000 grit sanding scratches. No way in hell 205 would have done it in a timely manner.

[Mike Phillips]

Then can it be done with 205 (just longer process)? or it can't be done at all using 205, and using 105 is a must?

Thanks, Mike.

I didn't read all the way through this thread but I think I pointed out that M205 is designed to be a "finishing polish" for use after the heavy cutting and polish has been done by M105.

As such, that is as a "finishing polish" and the chemist knowing that used correctly, M105 will take a finish from 0 to about 90% of a show car finish, (0 = worst case scenario), then M205 only has to be aggressive enough to refine the results created by the M105, that is because M105 will create so close to an LSP ready finish... M205 doesn't need to be very aggressive and it's not...

So the answer to your question and to anyone wondering, the M105/M205 is a Tag Team system where M105 does the heavy lifting, or heavy cutting in this case and M205 finishes the job off...

Keep in mind that because M105, (and M205), are SMAT products, you can stop any time during the cutting process and move onto the polishing process, unlike a diminishing abrasive product you don't have to work M105 till the abrasives have broken down... you can just stop buffing when you're happy with the level of correction you have created...

I'm not sure as I haven't read either of these two articles since writing them but I think I cover this in one and maybe both... from my list of articles that can be found in my Signature Line,


The SMAT Pack - Everything you ever wanted to know about Meguiar's SMAT products...

The Aggressiveness Order of SMAT Products - This might surprise you!


Also even if you're just a weekend detailer working on your own cars... "products" are like "tools" and it's always nice to have more than one tool in your tool box.

Most anyone into detailing their own cars should have an aggressive product, a medium cut product and a finishing polish or two plus a couple of waxes or paint sealants...

[ICEMAN]

i bought the combo, but i know i wont use 105 a lot. I bought the 105 b/c i know i will have cars that will have defects that will be worse than what 205 can cut. So i might not use 105 on the entire car, more like on the bad spots, and use 205 on the entire car.

[Jumpingbean]

Try using just M205 on a Mercedes with a ceramic clearcoat. You'll be there all day! Even M105 takes multiple passes IME.

[BillH]

I don't know about the finer points of a base coat/clear coat car as I haven't done one yet, but I am using M105/M205 on a Mustang that was painted with lacquer a long time ago. I had read that the M105 works very quickly but I didn't realize just how quick that was. On the first panel I did, I thought I had burned the paint. There was what looked like curved ridges of material that was not removable by hand rubbing with M105. I gently rubbed them with 3000, went over it again with M105 and everything is fine. Apparently it was M105 that had dried on the surface? I now pay close attention and when the surface suddenly starts to shine I stop, and apply more material. No problems since and I am about 3/4 done with the machine polishing of the car. (Would have been done sooner but 95 to 100 degree days in a non AC shop).