So Many Test Spots

[h8dirtycars]

Ok, so I'm prepping the new lease car for CQUK 3.0. I did the wash, Iron x and clay, on the white VW Tiguan. Started with Essence and orange LC pad on the roof, because I wanted to get that over with, with GG3". Side note: I saw the detailer who installed PPF on my Lincoln and he told me Essence can need some practice if you're not experienced, which I definitely am not. The Essence didn't work out (had to try), so I moved to M205. A little better but still swirls and the DISO. So I moved to the GG 6", with the thin pro LC orange pad. A little better.
I moved to the hood, with the above combo, and again not much luck, so I went to the grey LC w/ M205. A little better, but not where I think it should be before coating. Then I tried a Scholl Concepts Blue Spider Pad which I received for free from somewhere. Still a little better but also still swirls, and what seems to be the straight light scratches. I'm planning on moving to 105, but don't want to do it twice, refining with the 205. And my wife going to want her car back eventually.

Here is what I have on hand to try that I've been stockpiling. What would be good before coating?
Essence
Ultimate Compound
M205
M105
HD Speed
Megs Ultra Polishing Wax
Megs DA Microfiber System
Optimum Hyper Polish
Swirl X and Scratch X
GG 6" & 3"

I know this isn't as simple as putting polish to pad and going to work. Experience and experimentation have a lot to do with it. I've gained a new respect for those that can do this well, as just getting to it does take a lot of practice.

And this is a rhetorical question: what the *%#! do they do with new cars at dealerships for *%#!sakes? I see the Audi's and VW's when they come in, they're friggin' shrink wrapped! They really jack these cars up.

[Desertnate]

VW paint is very hard. It sounds like you need a different combo, maybe the new Blackfires, Sonax Cut Max, or maybe Menzerna 400 along with a matching finishing polish from the same line. I used the old Blackfire duo on my Black VW and it worked wonders. I never had much success with Meguiars UP/UC which are similar but slightly milder than 205/105.

What LC pads are you using? The gray LC Thin Pro pad is really aggressive and I would have thought an orange Thin Pro or Flat pad with 105 would have been aggressive enough to take care of most of your problems.

As for the damage? I've seen dealerships wash cars with dirty rags and course brushes using gray water in a bucket and dried with a terry cloth towel. We also have some dealerships with their own tunnel-of-swirls car wash bays which do the same amount of damage, only faster.

[jkrig]

Finding the right combo can be a lil frustrating especially with pads/products you don't have experience with, what I have seen with VW paint is that it tends to be on the hard end of the spectrum......without seeing the defects or your technique first hand its hard to tell why you haven't had success. If you have the Megs MF system you should have a couple of MF cutting pads give those a spin...you can play with product to find one that finishes down to your liking. I've done Essence and Hyper Polish with MF cutting pads on harder paint (metallic BMW specifically) with minor defects and it finished down beautifully, you are dealing with white paint so defects are even harder to spot which works in your favor.

Couple of other things that could be play
1. Machine speed ?
2. How many section passes ? For me I don't like to go more than 4-5, if I don't get desired results I step up pad and or product.
3. Do you have multiple/enough pads once you find the right combo ? Sound like some light cutting so having clean pads is crucial for best results.
3. Why rule out second step...you can really refine the paint and amp up the gloss (Both Hyper Polish and Essence are awesome for this)

[fightnews]

Sounds like you are trying to get a finished look with cutting pads

[h8dirtycars]

What LC pads are you using? The gray LC Thin Pro pad is really aggressive and I would have thought an orange Thin Pro or Flat pad with 105 would have been aggressive enough to take care of most of your problems.

I was using the thin pro orange. I have 5 of them.
Thanks

[h8dirtycars]

Couple of other things that could be play
1. Machine speed ?
2. How many section passes ? For me I don't like to go more than 4-5, if I don't get desired results I step up pad and or product.
3. Do you have multiple/enough pads once you find the right combo ? Sound like some light cutting so having clean pads is crucial for best results.
3. Why rule out second step...you can really refine the paint and amp up the gloss (Both Hyper Polish and Essence are awesome for this)

1. 5-6 Machine speed, with some pressure and lightening up on last pass.
2. 4 Passes.
3. 3 LC grey, 5 LC orange, 2 LC white, 1 LC black. 1 Griots mf, and the 4 Megs that come with the MF correction kit.
4. I actually wouldn't mind the second step, but with all the tuning in, it turns into 4 or 5 steps.

And I have to get this done today, I'm already prepped and want to keep going, so I can my wife her car back.
And thanks for the advice on the polishes w/ MF pads, that's pretty much what I'm looking for, what combo to try with what I have.

[h8dirtycars]

Sounds like you are trying to get a finished look with cutting pads

I thought you could finish down with LC orange pads.

[Desertnate]

I thought you could finish down with LC orange pads.

I think it depends on the polish, pads and the paint.

On my black pearl/metallic VW I could get a pretty good looking finish using Blackfire's SRC Finishing Polish (no longer available, but very similar to Menz 3500) and the orange Flat Pads. The key is I was not trying to do much correction and only knocking out a few light swirls, so I wasn't working very hard at it. In my opinion the Orange Flat Pads are less aggressive than the Thin Pro's, so the results will be different. HOWEVER, I feel I got better results with a different approach, but it did work pretty well in a pinch.

I get the best 1-step polishing results using a more aggressive swirl remover/light compound and a white LC Flat or Thin Pro polishing pad. Again, this is polish/paint/pad dependant. Some products work this way better than others.

This is all IMHO as products/pads/paint and the environmental conditions all have an effect on results. Just sharing what worked for me on hard German paint.

[Audios S6]

Megs microfiber cutting pads and d300 on the gg6 to cut.

Hyper polish with white or orange pads on the gg6 to finish

Now get to work.

[The Guz]

Based on what you have here is what I would try.

Meguiar's D300 on a microfiber cutting pad on speed 4 of your polisher. Clean and switch pads accordingly. I would prep wipe after the compounding stage as well.

Follow up with Essence on a polishing pad.

Prep wipe with Eraser to remove the polishing oils from Essence. I don't care what anyone tells you, I would still do this just to be sure.

Coat with CQUK.