Megs Ultimate Compound, then Poli-Seal?

[Puckywuckums]

Mike:

Will be doing a car soon. Honda with some pretty bad swirls. Would starting with Megs UC with an orange pad, then going to Poli-Seal with a white pad be a good idea? The only other in-between I have is Griots #3 polish, and I wasn't too happy with it the last time I used it. Was going to top off with Collinite Super Double Coat.

Thanks!

[bmwgalore]

Yup, that sounds good.
The Double Coat is great on Canadian winters, you gonna love it.

Just keep in mind Honda paints are VERY thin, do not over do the compound step!
Also, some Honda colors are Very soft, so be very careful when wiping stuff off the paint.

When applying Double Coat, make sure the applicator is damp, and try to apply it very thin, otherwise it will be hard to remove, and since the paint is soft, you will inflict swirls by trying to remove the concrete hard wax... That's why a damp [but not wet] applicator in important.

[Mike Phillips]

Mike:

Will be doing a car soon. Honda with some pretty bad swirls. Would starting with Megs UC with an orange pad, then going to Poli-Seal with a white pad be a good idea?

The answer to your question comes down to you and your expectations for a quality finish?

Meguiar's Ultimate Compound finishes down like a polish on most paints and the "average" person looking at the difference in before and after if you buff out a neglected, swirled-out finish would be amazed.

Someone that really knows how to inspect paint might be less impressed.

The color of the car will also affect the appearance of the end results. A dark color will show everything where a light color or a light metallic finish won't show everything even if defects remain.


I teach and encourage people NOT to put show car finishes on daily drivers for friends, family and customers because they won't appreciate it and they normally don't and won't take care of it to maintain it like you give it to them. This means it will just go downhill and return to the condition it was before you worked on it.

Instead, underpromise and over deliver.

Don't promise to create a 100% swirl free finish on a daily driver.


That all said, "yes", chances are very good that using UC and following with Optimum Poli-Seal with either a polishing pad or a finishing pad will leave a beautiful finish.

The BEST thing to do would be to do a TEST SPOT, something I've been teaching people on the Internet starting in at least 1994 when I started out posting on the Usenet Newsgroups, rec.autos. misc and rec.autos.tech. (most people don't even know what this is LOL)


Read this article, it explains what and why... make it a "Best Practice" that you use for EVERY car you've never previously buffed out and thus have no idea how the paint will react.

How To Do a Test Spot
(and why it's so important)



I cover this in detail in my how-to book too...


Paperback




Let us know how the results from your test spot turn out...

[Mike Phillips]

If you're detailing cars for money, even if just on the side, read these two articles...


A few tips on starting a part-time detailing business
Match your services to your customer



The difference between a swirl and squirrel


For clarification...

This is a Squirrel



These are Swirls

[Puckywuckums]

Thanks for the responses.

Again, like the Mazda I did, this is a car owner that NEVER washes his car, so I think if I spit on it and buffed it with my underwear he'd be happy. But unlike the Mazda (white), it's a dark green, so it will show more defects

This time I am getting paid.

Will do the test spot and go from there.

Thanks again.

[Mike Phillips]

Thanks for the responses.

Again, like the Mazda I did, this is a car owner that NEVER washes his car,

And if "northing's changed", that is if this car owner hasn't all of a sudden decided to take ownership of the washing process then the car will be back to the state it's in now sooner or later.

Not that's that's a bad thing, it's just about evaluating your customer and matching your services to the individual.

This time I am getting paid.

Yeah! Nothing wrong with a little green for all your hard work...

Will do the test spot and go from there.

Thanks again.

I've been buffing out cars all my life and I ALWAYS do a Test Spot on every car I work on and you can see this in all the threads on any forum I've ever posted one of my personal car detailing projects or any project where I've led a team of people.

It's important.