Least Aggressive M105/205???

[Rei86]

I wouldn't start off with M205 and black. Go M205/White>Coarse Green>Cyan>Orange

If all else fails go for M105/Orange.

Also M205 has greater cutting ability than Swirl X.

[offthahorseceo]

ok, so should i start with swirl x then? thanks for the tips i may have gotten the pad colors confused as well, they are lc ccs pads and i think the actual colors are grey and blue/cyan not green

[Rei86]

Lake Country makes a lot of pads with different colors so it can get a bit confusing but when we're talking about pads we're going to use with a DA you'll find these

Autogeek Buffing Pad Comparison Chart

also if you get the kompresser the purple goes before the yellow.

[lokerola]

So here's how I did it as a first timer. I read a lot here, then I guessed. Yep - I completely based my methods on reading these forums and guessing about what would work.

I had a 96 Mazda pickup with 155K miles that was previously owned by a concrete contractor. It was water spot city, and it was covered in light, probably concrete water spots. It also had scratches, scuffs, etc.

I could have started with Megs 205 and moved to 105 if the 205 didn't work. But I decided it had too many deep paint problems to start with 205. Everyone seemed to be removing swirls and RIDS with 105 - why not start with 105 myself?!

I decided to start on the roof. If I screwed it up, then hardly anyone would notice. I did the 105 on half of the roof, it looked very good, but just a bit hazy. Than I hit it with Griots #3 (a gentler polish, closer to 205), then I topped off with Klasse AIO. Man, it popped! I ended up doing the rest of the truck with M105, Griots #3, and KAIO. For a beater truck it turned out great.

My point is you have to guess and test. If you have a beater, maybe start with the 105 in a test area. If you've got something nicer, start with 205, then drop to 105 if the 205 doesn't remove the problems. I guessed correctly that I would need something strong, like 105 to get out the nasty paint problems left after the wash and clay, and I was right.

Anyway, good luck!

[umi000]

I wouldn't start off with M205 and black. Go M205/White>Coarse Green>Cyan>Orange

If all else fails go for M105/Orange.

Also M205 has greater cutting ability than Swirl X.

Just a slight correction here - Swirl X is more abrasive than M205, based on Mike's article on the aggressiveness order of SMAT products.

From the most to the least aggressive...

M105 Ultra-Cut Compound/M95 Speed Cut Compound = The same in abrading power
Ultimate Compound
ScratchX 2.0
M86 Solo Cut & Polish Cream
D151 Paint Reconditioning Cream
SwirlX
M205 Ultra Finishing Polish

[Rei86]

I was thinking about Ultimate Polish when I typed that.

Sorry for my miss info offthahorseceo

[offthahorseceo]

:0

i used swirl x after m205! thanks alot for misinforming me geeeezzee!

nah jk i did but i think the cutting abilities are so close it doesnt really make a difference. not only that i used a less aggressive pad with the swirl x so it probably was "just as" aggressive.

[bigaizsosexy]

Yeah, you are kind of mixing two topics together here. The first is, yes you use a progression of polish/pads from coarser to finer to remove defects and then refine the finish of the paint, in the same way that if you wanted to round off a 2x4 you would start with some really coarse paper and then progress to fine paper to get a really smooth finish at the end. This is a bit blurred by the SMAT abrasive in M105 which leaves a better finish than the typical old school compound.

The "least agressive method first" is don't use a coarse polish (compound) if you just need a fine polish. Since M205 is a pretty fine polish, and since M105 finishes so well for a compound, in most cases people simply start with the 105, as was stated above.

You are on point mister. :thumbsup: