M205 question

[finedetails]

I don't know if this is a rediculous suggestion/question, but I thought I should say it....have you clayed/ironx the car before polish?

[TrolleyVW]

I don't know if this is a rediculous suggestion/question, but I thought I should say it....have you clayed/ironx the car before polish?

It's not ridiculous at all but yes, I have clayed and chemically decontaminated as thorough as possible.

This happens to be my personal vehicle but I do this for a living as well. I've seen it a few times on other cars but they were all black cars with soft cc. My car is a dark blue metallic 2013 VW with rather hard cc but apparently that may not be the case?

[jhallhall]

Why don't you try compounding before the 205? I read that you live in the northeast and are recovering from the past winter, did you possibly use a brush or broom to clean your car of snow?

In my experience VW clear is pretty hard and it could be the 205 isn't aggressive enough to remove the marring your seeing. Just a thought

[spiralout462]

Just from reading the OP's posts I would bet he hasn't touched his paint with a "broom" or "brush".

[fly07sti]

What towels exactly are you using? Do you use your towels for interior and exterior or do you use certain towels for specific areas?

[jhallhall]

Ever find a fix?

[dannyBBQ]

What towels are you using? I had the same problem where the edges of my towels were marring the paint as I buffed off the polish. Got some edgeless towels, no more marring.

[Christopher.Brown]

This isnt a 205 issue because 205 isnt used in a horizontal motion unless its applied by hand.

More than likely the culprit is one of the following:

A] Towel was not soft enough to address this finicky paint. [recommendation: use BRAND NEW softer towels of at least 350 gsm, however for this problem i might start at 400 minimum because the paint sounds particularly finicky]

B] Towel had somehow picked up some contaminant particles in its surface.
[recommendation: use fresh towel for final polish removal]

C] Too much pressure was applied during final polish removal.
[recommendation: less pressure with a thicker towel so the towel absorbs some of the pressure applied to the panel]

Also, spritzing the removal towel with one trigger pull of distilled water [at a distance where the single pull covers the entire exposed cloth section] can also aid in pulling off polish and even compound because it adds a tad bit of friction. This means less motions with the towel engaging the paint surface and thus less chance of leaving a mark when removing polish from the panel.

hope these help out some... but dont worry, i am 1000% confident its NOT a 205 issue as the thread name implies.

THE GOOD NEWS IS: once you figure out this issue youll be all set, because it sounds as if the products are giving you the results you wanted while the final wipe off posed the issue.

[tuscarora dave]

the striations go in the direction of my first wipe off. After that, I can flip the towel to wipe again and I don't notice anything.

M-205 is pretty oily polish. The above leads me to believe you are either adding too much product to the pad, stopping short in the polishing cycle...ultimately leaving too much product behind on the panel to wipe up with your towel of choice.

Priming, then adding extra drops of 205 to the pad, in my experience is too much product. Try using less and less product until you dial in a process that works well. Slow down your arm speed when wiping the remaining product off the panel too, giving the microfiber more time to absorb the product you're trying to remove.

It's been my experience that 205 can sometimes be cantankerous in the removal process.

Less is more.

[CM8 6MT]

M205 is so easy to use. It wipes off effortlessly. Anything beyond easy to remove is more user error than the product itself.