First I wanna say thanks to all of you. Reading and learning has helped me get to where I am. I have figured out with 105/205 and fg400 exactly how my paint correction is going to go. I will spare you the details with all of that.

My question is now that I know what product and pads I will be using, do I go around the whole car with 105/fg400... then come back and hit with 205/sealant for my finish? I have done the square thing and am confident in my technique and products.

Thanks,
David

 

That basically is up to what you decide. Will you do one panel at a time complete, and possibly take a couple days to complete the job? Do you prefer to do the whole car with the first step, then go back over for the second? There is no right or wrong method, just choose what you are comfortable doing, and make the choice based on how long you think the complete process will take.

 

How much polishing does the finish need ??? Generally most will find nice results simply by using 105 and then following up with the finishing polish 205. The abrasives in Meg's does not break down and continue to cut (polish) at the same level. You can use different abrasive pads as needed for more or less power from the polish. Make sure you have enough pads so they don't get caked with polish before you finish with one polish and move onto the lighter polish.

Once the finish is completed, you can then use the sealant to protect all your hard work. Just remember to do so by hand or with a non abrasive pad. You don't want any polishing ability when applying the paint protection of your choice.

 

Thanks for the support. Let me tell you about my journey. Bought a dirty black Vette (1500 miles) and I asked the salesman " Can I trust your best detail guy not to swirl the paint" He assured me that his guy knew what he was doing considering they are one of the biggest Vette dealers in the country. Well he didn't! After I washed off his coverup material there it was...disaster!

So I started watching videos... Then I bought a Shurhold DA and ordered what I thought was gonna be the best stuff... the V line from you know who. Failed miserably...So I started reading a little closer in this forum for Vettes..go figure huh

I drove my ignorant butt straight to Columbus, OH and bought a Flex 3140 with a orange,white and blue foam pads. Luckily my AutoZone carried 105 & 205. Ordered some fg400 to try also. WOW...what a difference the right tools make!

After doing one side of the car tonight with 105 and the orange flex pad, it left a nice shine with some broken swirl marks. I hit two areas with the 205 and white pad, the first spot looked like my test area..darn near perfect. The other had just a little twinkle of swirl marks. I have two 2000 lumen led 5000k work lights beaming on my work area. Maybe Im too OCD, but at this point Im all in!

I think I need some better pads for the finish or I may need to hit another pass with the 105 and orange or try the 205 with the orange. Sorry so long but thought I would share my journey.

 

First off glad to hear you are going at it yourself. The reward to me is much sweeter. I've been doing this for a long time now-however I still continue to try new products and techniques. What I have learned is 1- you will always get much conjecture.2-Do what yields
"you" the results you are looking for.
FG400 and M105 work in opposite manors. As stated M105 does not break down and continues to cut. Not only do you need to keep an eye on pad saturation but material (removed) build up as well. As you polish you generate heat which does help to cut-but also softens the paint. Additional marring can be reintroduced. Personally I prefer all Menzerna products to everyone else's. FG400 is a DAT or diminishing abrasive. It breaks down as it is being used and at a point will do no more polishing. As to your M205,again I myself prefer Menzena SF1500. Sometimes I have to go over an area twice-but that has become rare. The lights are your best friend when finishing!!
For years now I've been using Lake Country Pads and prefer them. Pad choice will change the way the polish affects the paint. I like to do a panel or panel and a half and change pads. Wash immediately and they are easy to clean.
After that polish don't forget to do a nice IPA wipe down or chemical cleaner to remove any residual oils left behind from polishing before apply that sealant/wax to maximize the bond to the paint

 

Most will use 105 with an orange pad first. If you felt it was not polishing and needed more , then you could go to a more abrasive pad or a more aggressive polish. Just remember to start lower on the abrasive scale and move more abrasive only as needed. Pads and polishes both come in various degree's of abrasiveness.

 

Orange pad is working great with the 105. Im thinking these Flex pads Im using are made by Lake Country. After I hit a spot with with 105 then once or twice with 205 and white pad I can't really see any swirl marks with my shop lights or my 4000 lumen work light that is beating down on the car. But...when I shine my flashlight up to it I can see a bunch of marks that are really dull in the clear coat. They are not visible any other time though...Im thinking Im just gonna have to live with knowing they are there and forget about them. Out of sight out of mind. Ill post a couple of pictures later today.

As for the FG400. It stinks, made me light headed in my garage with no doors open. I did like the way it finished out. It does not work with my system I have down with 105 & 205. It leaves more of a haze than the 105 when I use it the same amount of passes. Im sure it is a great product..but being closed up in my garage and already having a system that works with my 105/205 combo I will wait to find out how to work it. In the spring I may use it on my wifes scratched up Grand Cherokee. Not sure how hard the clear is on it...sure I will find out!

Im still amazed at the difference the 3401 made. If somebody made a polishing/waxing kit to put over lights and other trim pieces for the Vette they would be rich. Reusable type vinyl, slap on and peel off. AutoGeek don't steal my idea unless you wanna split the profits...

 

Check out Adam's Polishes for Liquid Paint Sealant which can be applied to the lights, and either Super VRT for vinyl, rubber & trim or Adam's In & Out Spray for trim pieces.

 

Not exactly sure what you need or are offering .... Xpel makes a clear vinyl that can be put over headlamps. I might also suggest considering Optimum Lense Coating for pretty much permanent protection from fading which is the most common complaint.

http://www.autogeek.net/headlight-lens.html

As for trim ...there are also trim coatings that are now available to protect trim from the effects of exposure and UV rays. It isn't permanent, but application lasts longer than traditional sealants by a mile.

http://www.autogeek.net/car-paint-gl...-coatings.html

Now if you are suggesting a disposable product, in which a new one can be quickly added after removing the original one. Well that's something I haven't yet seen in the industry likely due to cost. But hey its a rather cool idea.

 

C5 and C6 cars have some of the hardest clear I have ever corrected, 205 isn't going to do much work on these cars as a first step.

I have never used sealant, if you wash correctly and take care of the correction it will last a good long time.

I keep going back to Meguiars NXT wax, love the stuff. Easy on/off, no residue, you can get it on plastic and it doesn't leave chalk marks...smells good to lol.

 

Yes Autogeek...that is what Im talking about except not disposable. Kinda like the film that comes on a device screen. If it was reusable people would be all over it. Think of the time people would save from taping everything off.
Maybe you would spray a little something to help it stick. It would come in the shape of your headlights with an extra 1/2" to cover the paint. Same thing for other areas on cars that people don't wanna q-tip or wipe on. If you think it would sell let me know...I'll invest

Fastfatboy...M205 leaves little broken spider webs by itself on my paint. M105 6 passes on setting 5 then 4 passes of m205 on setting 6 then 2 passes at setting 3 is leaving a black mirror on my car Will follow it up with CG blacklight finish/v07 sealant combo...only because thats what I have. Has a curing time of 15 min. and really does look good. I will admit as a newbie I fell for the black products BS. Now that my paint is almost corrected I understand what the Junkman is saying about BS black car products.

 

Believe it or not .... you have been using a sealant (a synthetic wax). NXT , paste or liquid, is synthetic based and can be considered a sealant. Generally protecting paint comes in three flavors: traditional waxes, Sealant, or Coating.

 

I went with the ADAM'S correction last spring and had great results. As was said earlier in this thread, C6 has the hardest darn clearcoat in the civilized world. I used a micro fiber orange pad for the cut and I found this worked better than the foam orange pad.

Slow and overlap will do it.

 

Thanks for the kind words....... You are correct the C6 clear is pretty hard and our Paint Correcting Polish with our MF pad does a great job.

http://adamspolishes.com/shop/exterior/polishing.html

 

This spring I am going to try getting rid of what I would say is 10% correction left. Being 40-50 degrees in my garage and trying to keep heat on while working is getting old. I am still in a learning curve with the final polish getting rid of the "haze". Looks awesome in the garage under my shop lights...but in the sun I can tell it is there. Of course my wife and friends think Im crazy...but it's there

I may try the microfiber pad and see if it can get what the Blue Flex pad and the orange Hex pad didn't.

 

Do a foam wash with Dawn detergent, then an alcohol wipe in one spot in the sun and see if it comes off.

If not, do a good pass with M205, should clear it up.

 

Can you provide a picture of the haze ?? Most of the time hazing is micromarring (smaller scratches from heavier polishing, and breaking up swirls). If its micro-marring only polishing will remove. A lighter finishing polish often gets the job done. I like Menzerna personally ...

 

Micromarring Im sure is the culprit. Most of the shiny little broken swirl fragments are gone. But when I shine my flashlight close to the paint I can see thousands of little dull etchings in the clear. It really isn't that bad. I still have some swirl marks. Thinking I didn't put enough pressure on the pad the first go around. Im gonna hit the whole thing again with 105 and cyan, then hit with which Menzerna if the 205 and tangerine still leaves the micro haze? I have some pictures..just need to upload them.

 

I would hit a small spot with M205 on a LC orange pad.

 

I have had to run M205 finishing polish over black cars twice after an aggressive compounding step. You might try a softer pad like the light blue ones for the last step and maybe less machine pressure.