Clear Coat too hard?

[KenVette57]

Hi All... I finally got around to detailing my Corvette. I used Meg 205 with CCS pink light cut pad. Slow passes, up and down side to side twice. After I was done still had the spider webbing although not as bad. I read somewhere that GM clear coat is harder than others. Should I go more aggressive to Meg 105 with the same pad or go with a more aggressive pad with Meg 105. Any other product suggestions?

Thanks for the help

[c8n]

Pink pad? Do you mean orange perhaps?

[rmagnus]

Vette CC is hard as nails. Yea you're going to need more cut.

What polisher and pad size are you using now?
What condition is the paint in?
Can you post some pics?

Most DA's are going to require a yellow pad CCS in this case since thats what you're using and M205 first. If not satisfied try a compound M105, M101 etc. To go more aggressice than this you'll need a mf pad or a wool pad.

[The Guz]

Vette CC is hard as nails. Yea you're going to need more cut.

I have to agree. The clear on my 02 SS and my dad's 02 Z28 is very hard. When I did my 02 SS I used M105 on a orange LC pad with multple passes followed by M205 on a white LC pad. On the 02 Z28 I ended up going with meg's MF cutting pad with D300. That made my whole life easier. It had much better cut with less passes. I ended up following that with M205 on a white LC pad.

[Mike Phillips]

[I read somewhere that GM clear coat is harder than others.

Correct. The clears on Modern Corvettes is very hard.

I remember when I first joined CorvetteForum back in 2002 all the detailing gurus on that forum were always talking about how SOFT the clear coats were on Corvettes. None of these guys understood the concept of how a paint can be very hard yet still scratch very easily. The term is... scratch-sensitive. They confused scratching easily with softness. That's all been cleared up now if you read that forum now day.

Should I go more aggressive to Meg 105 with the same pad or go with a more aggressive pad with Meg 105.

The M105 with a foam or microfiber cutting pad on the high speed setting should take care of anything you "should" remove. M101 works well too...

5.5" pads too rotate better for the correction step on hard paints also...

[FUNX650]

Any other product suggestions?

Thanks for the help

Have you tried Meguiar's Ultimate Compound yet?



Bob

[KenVette57]

Thanks all for your input. I do have a pink pad CCS that is labeled light cut 5.5" and a CCS orange light cut 3.5 pad. I'm using a PC DA, @ level 5 to work it around then level 6 for 2 passes and down the 2 passes left to right. I may be too OCD expecting swirl free paint. I still have very light Cobb Webs and maybe that's the best I can expect. I'll try to load some pictures but in the mean time I'll go more aggressive with the pad and product, Meg 105.

Again thanks very much for all your input, I'll post with my next results.

[KenVette57]

Thanks all for your input. I do have a pink pad CCS that is labeled light cut 5.5" and a CCS orange light cut 3.5 pad. I'm using a PC DA, @ level 5 to work it around then level 6 for 2 passes and down the 2 passes left to right. I may be too OCD expecting swirl free paint. I still have very light Cobb Webs and maybe that's the best I can expect. I'll try to load some pictures but in the mean time I'll go more aggressive with the pad and product, Meg 105.


Again thanks very much for all your input, I'll post with my next results.

I'm using 6.5 pads not 5.5. 6.5 CCS pads have pink.

[lhuynh1210]

Vette paint is definitely the hardest car I've done. I tried doing orange ccs + 105 and that wasn't enough. Had to go pick up a mf cutting pad with d300 and a drop of 105. That sped things up big time.

Here's a few photos. I've been a lurker but Ill have multiple detail write ups soon of a black 03 z06, and a black Infiniti.

[Mike Phillips]

I'm using 6.5 pads not 5.5. 6.5 CCS pads have pink.

The key thing when using 6.5" thick pads on a Porter Cable is to make sure you see the pad rotating. If the pad is not rotating or at least not rotating well then you're not leveling the surface.

Dry pads rotate better that wet pads too... just keep that in mind as you work around a car as your pads will tend to become wet with product the longer you use them.

Mark Your Backing Plate - Makes it easy to see Pad Rotation


Anytime you're trying to remove tings like swirls, scratches, water spots or oxidation using a DA Polisher you want to see the pad rotating while you're applying firm downward pressure.

To make it easier to see if the pad is in fact rotating, here's tip, place a black mark on the back of your backing plate. This will make it easy to visually see if the pad is rotating.

Like this,