The Cure for M105's short working time and dusting issues

[Lasthope05]

The Cure for M105's short working time and dusting issues


As you all know M105 is an a staple in many peoples arsenal. It has the ability to quickly remove heavy defects while finishing up almost LSP ready, but it also has its draw backs. First off , M105 has an extremely short working time and if you over work the product, the residue dries on like cement. Secondly M105 dusts like crazy.

With M105, many people use the KBM method of pad priming and using a mist of water to reactive/relubricate the polish once it has been worked. Originally using a mist of water was only for the rotary version of the KBM but it shifted to the DA version. I dont know about anybody else but on a DA the M105+water has never worked out too well for me but on the rotary it was perfect.

The solution/alternative I've found that works better than water as a lubricate is mineral oil(marked as baby oil in the US.) I first found out about this trick when I ran into a G37 with the notorious stick clear coat. No matter what I used or did the polishes I used would gum up on me. I eventually did finished up the car and afterwards searched the forums for a solution to this as I knew I could run into this issue again in the future. In doing so I found out about using mineral oil as a spray lubricate. So, naturally when the car returned for a follow up maintenance wash took out came the buffer for a little testing. Could you have guessed it? It worked like a charm. Working time of M105 went from a few seconds to minutes. The lubrication was amazing and to top it off I noticed a dramatic reduction in dusting.

The use if mineral oil as a lubricate is not a new concept. I have found that Gloss-it has a product call EVP Prime which is a lubricating oil itself. Now I know people are wondering is there any down side of using mineral oil with M105 or is it compatible with foam pads and after some research I can it is perfectly safe.

According to the MSDS sheets on M105 avaible on the Meguiars website (LINK.) One of the ingredients used in M105 is Hydrotreated Distillate( CAS number 64742-46-7). Through further research I found Hydrotreated Distillate, specifically CAS 64742-46-7, is closely related and very similar as mineral oil.

Ok, since I got that covered I'll get into how it is used. First I found that using a small travel sized misting bottle to work extremely well. VS applying a small drop on the pad, the sprayer would evenly coat the entire pad.

-With a fresh pad, use to sprays of mineral oil to prime the pad for use.
-Apply a circle of product to the face of the pad and spread it out on the paint. (With the mineral oil on the pad, you no longer have to worry about drying out the compound.)
-Work M105 into the paint until the defects are removed as usual. (You will immediately notice the added lubricity/working time, very minimal/no dust, and very easily removed residue. This is counted as one cycle.)
-Clean the face of the pad with a brush to removed spent polish/abraded paint and use a cotton towel to remove the remanding residue in the pad(Cleaning your pad on-the-fly.)
-Reapply an addition mist of mineral oil after 3 or 4 cycles or each new panel.

A quick mineral spirits wipedown will show that the defects are removed and not masked by the mineral oil.

Note: Do not use too much mineral oil as it can over lubricate the surface and cause the pad to essentially "hydroplane."

I have found after using this trick that I no longer need to use the KBM method with the DA(M105 only.) The (much) longer buffing cycle allows you to really work down those heavy defects but I guess it wouldn't hurt

I also made a little video demonstrating its lubricating/low dusting effect. This is an extreme case video showing how long you can easily work M105 using mineral oil as a lubricant(easily 16-17 passes.) Using a fresh orange pad I primed it with 2 sprays and a circle of M105. Notice at the end how easily the residue is buffed away.

Click the picture to play the video.

[satrianivia]

thanks for posting

[cwpcasey]

If this really works you need a nobel prize. Is there a brand of oil you buy? Im going to go out and buy some tomorrow and finish the car Im working with. I want to make sure I do everything the same. Same oil and everything. I thank you for taking the time to make a write up for me.. You have no idea!

[Lasthope05]

thanks for posting

No problem. I know there are a lot of guys out there with these problems and sharing a trick like this would do the whole community a favor.

If this really works you need a nobel prize. Is there a brand of oil you buy? Im going to go out and buy some tomorrow and finish the car Im working with. I want to make sure I do everything the same. Same oil and everything. I thank you for taking the time to make a write up for me.. You have no idea!

I just used regular Johnson's baby oil that I had laying around in the house. Baby oil is basically just mineral oil with fragrance, in case you were wondering. Good luck tomorrow!

[WRAPT C5Z06]

AWESOME!!!

[StephenK]

thanks alot for doing all the "foot work" to figure out this problem most if not all of us have had with this other wise wonderful product

[Make it shine!]

very impressive!!!

[Detail]

Two days after I fought the vette! But great work! Thanks man.

[loudog2]

Nice find, but talk about a long work time!!!

[Rob T]

Very informative and well written post. For me personally, I find the KBM for priming the pad (and keeping it clean) to work well enough that I don't feel the need to try the mineral oil, but this is a good read for those who still struggle with the M105